Chapter 12 #2
“Still here,” Thomas said. “Not feeling so good though.”
Ethan looked around and, by the light of the single shaft of sunshine, he saw Thomas pinned by his legs under a pile of debris.
“I’ll get you out,” Ethan promised him.
He set to work lifting planks and rocks off his friend’s legs. As he freed more of Thomas, the man was able to sit up and help.
When they were done, they looked at what had happened. Thomas definitely had a broken leg. His right shin had a large purple bulge that didn’t look good at all. His left leg was cut and bleeding, but although it was a long gash, it wasn’t deep and was already starting to scab over.
Thomas surveyed the damage to his legs without a word. His breathing was shallow, but he seemed to have a handle on himself. Thank goodness. Panic would be their undoing.
Ethan’s mind raced. What should he do now? How could he help Thomas?
What would Diane do?
Staring down at his friend, Ethan realized how incompetent he felt in situations like that. But then, his expertise lay in a different field, and that wasn’t a bad thing. Perhaps by using some knowledge he had gleaned from his time with Diane and his own skill set, he could keep them both alive.
Both? Wasn’t Darren with us when they fell? Where is he now? No, wait! One problem at a time. First, see to Thomas, and then look for Darren.
“I think I should make you a splint,” Ethan said, frowning. “I don’t want to try to reset your leg, in case I make it worse.”
Thomas looked doubtful but agreed nonetheless. “I guess that’s a good plan. Of course, you know we’re not getting out that way,” he said, pointing to the shaft of light, which was smaller and dimmer than it had been a short while ago.
The day was progressing. Soon there wouldn’t be any direct sunlight but only the vague glow of light. If they wanted to get anything done, they would have to do it now.
Ethan tore a couple of strips off his shirt and found a suitable piece of plank to turn into a splint. Then he tied them to Thomas’s left leg. The man groaned and gritted his teeth, but he didn’t complain.
When everything was done, he forced a smile. “Thanks,” he mumbled, clearly trying to hide his pain.
“Now we need to find Darren.”
They were in a cave. That was the most Ethan could work out—a cave with a hole in the top of it and what looked like a sharp decline on the right-hand side. It just melted away into darkness.
“Darren!” Ethan called and winced. His ribs were very sore, as was his previously injured ankle. “Darren!”
No response.
Ethan kept moving around the cave and calling out. It didn’t take long to find there was no sign of Darren at all.
The man had disappeared. Ethan wondered if he had fallen into the darkness on the right. That would possibly mean he would never be found. Without light, Ethan couldn’t see what was down there.
The light was disappearing too, and the thought of facing a night of utter darkness down in a hole was more than Ethan could stand.
“I’m going to make us a fire,” he said.
“Is that a good idea? We’re in a cave with only a small opening in the ceiling,” Thomas pointed out. “All that smoke …”
“It’s better than spending a whole night in the dark,” Ethan said.
Thomas held his gaze and then shrugged. “Hand me two pieces of wood. I’ll help.”
Together they sat with the broken, partially charred wood from the ruined smelter overhead and tried to light a fire.
“Makes you consider taking up smoking, doesn’t it?” Thomas joked. “Then at least we would carry matches around with us. It would make this a good deal easier.”
“Yes,” Ethan agreed. “That’s true.”
Finally, there was a little spark. In his excitement, Ethan let it go out.
“Oh well, at least we know it can be done,” Thomas, the eternal optimist, said.
They worked at it again and this time, when the thin spiral of smoke began to rise from the bit of wood, Ethan was very careful not to let it go out. With coaxing and the addition of small bits of wood, they got a flame going. The smoke rose and exited the cave through the debris-lined hole.
“Do you think you could climb out on the debris?” Thomas asked, looking at how it was stacked.
Ethan hobbled over and inspected it. With the fire lit, he felt that there might be some hope for them. If help was merely forty yards up, Ethan would risk trying to climb to fetch it.
Did anyone even know they were down there? Surely, by now, someone had noticed that the investigation team hadn’t emerged from the ruin of the smelter. Someone had to be looking for them, didn’t they?
Did Diane know? By now she would be wondering about him, wouldn’t she?
On the one hand, he didn’t want to worry her, but on the other … He could use her help. She was the one constant his mind kept returning to, to how happy he would be to see her when he got out of there.
The debris pile was precarious. It was made of too many strange and ill-fitting things to be solid and reliable. Even just testing his weight on it was met with everything shivering and shaking.
Still, he had to try. What was the saying? Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Well, he was venturing everything and hoping to gain freedom for himself and Thomas and hopefully for Darren too, wherever he was.
Ethan climbed up, wincing against his bruised ribs and his aching ankle. He tried, finding precarious hand and footholds, wondering how far up he could go.
And then, something shook. There was a loud clatter of falling wood in the dark, and suddenly the whole lot gave way and came tumbling down … with Ethan in the middle of it.