impatience; irritation; frustration; fretfulness
vigilantly (watching for an opportunity); eagerly; with an eagle eye
absence; disregard; indifference
desperate situation with no escape; being driven into a corner; being cornered; last extremity
crisis; critical situation; emergency; pinch
powerless; weak; lacking physical strength; incompetent; lacking ability; powerless
to tear; to rip; to break through (cordon, opponent's defense, etc.); to breach; to defeat; to beat; to break (e.g. silence)
holding a castle (during a siege); holing up; confinement (to one's home); staying at home; staying indoors
creak; squeak; creaking; discord; strife; friction
to become pale; to turn pale
(scattered) spots; specks; speckles
to rise to the surface; to come to the front; to emerge (e.g. from obscurity); to stand out (e.g. against a dark background)
taking refuge; finding shelter; evacuation; escape; seeking safe haven
promptly; quickly; without delay; before others; first
to sense; to infer; to gather; to pick up on; to get wind of; to perceive
to take (someone) to task; to tell off severely; to give a good talking-to; to scold
ringleader; mastermind; leader (of a plot)
with a clatter; with a rattle; (almost) empty; (mostly) vacant; raspy (voice); gravelly; with a gargle
collapse; crumbling; breaking down; (radioactive) decay; disintegration
rubble; debris; wreckage; trash; rubbish
fragment; broken piece; splinter; chip; shard
to tumble down; to roll down
dead center; (right in the) middle; midst; midst (e.g. of a storm); heyday; (the) height (e.g. of a debate)
one's heart's desire; one's dearest wish
acting rashly; running wildly; runaway (process); reckless baserunning
death by crushing; being crushed to death
to throw into; to toss into; to throw-in; to play a throw-in
for now; for the time being; for the present; though not quite satisfactorily; after a fashion
to trample; to crush underfoot
(place of) refuge; escape; exit; way out; shelter; hiding place
siege; encirclement; envelopment; surrounding; besiegement
(having) two choices; choice between two things
to thrust at someone (e.g. a weapon); to point (a gun, knife, etc.) at; to hold up threateningly to (someone's face); to present forcefully (demand, document, etc.); to confront someone with (evidence, facts, etc.); to force upon
to run out; to rush out; to start running; to begin to run; to break into a run
advance warning; previous notice; prior announcement; herald; harbinger; forerunner
sudden rise; steep climb; trending
rapidly; vigorously; by leaps and bounds; steadily