Tread with care

Lenn hacked at the branch of a tree with an urgency that he had never felt before. The sounds of his frantic work echoed faintly through the forest.

Eventually the branch came down, allowing Lenn to whittle it down a little so that it resembled a long stick.

He then ran towards the large, two story house that looked as if it had been abandoned for years, if not decades. Lenn stepped over the door that lay broken on the floor leading into the house.

"Ann, can you hear me?", he shouted down the dark hole that she had fallen down moments before, but no response came. "I'll get you out." Lenn muttered to himself as he looked around.

To his left he spotted a set of stairs leading downward. He instinctively went to take a step forward, but caught himself just before he put his foot down.

Instead he took the stick and poked it at the floor with considerable force to make sure it would hold his weight. Slowly he started making his way towards the stairs.

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This is an entry for Inktober 2019 (#20: Tread), which is the second part of the story.