by Akart, Bobby
By the time they reached the car, a steady stream of water and mud was coming under the roll-up door. Tommy fired the engine and spun the Mustang around. He quickly moved away from the growing debris and crested the hill to start down the steep incline. When the car’s headlights were on the same plane as the hill, they illuminated Kristi and Isabella struggling with the animals.
“Let me out,” said Chapman, flinging the door open before Tommy could come to a complete stop. “Can you ride behind us and show the way? I think it’ll calm the horses if they can see where they’re headed.”
“Yeah, but hurry!”
Chapman was clear and half-jogged down the steep slope. He was pressing his heels into the increasingly muddy concrete in an attempt to avoid falling on his butt.
He failed. His feet flew out from under him and he landed on his side, sliding ten feet or so down the hill. He turned to grip at the concrete until he finally stopped just above the women.
“Nice of you to drop in, brother,” said Kristi with a laugh.
“Yeah, right,” he said with a groan.
Isabella was struggling, as her horse was willing to be led down the hill, but the obstinate Wonky Donkey was not.
He calmly approached her and took the reins of the horse. “I’ll bring her down if you can convince that thing to get moving.”
“Oui. He is, um, têtu. Piggish and headstrong.”
Chapman kissed her and grinned. “He’s a Boone.”
Suddenly the sound of breaking plastic or glass was heard.
“Let’s go! Rocks are coming. One just broke a taillight!”
Chapman tugged at his horse. He and Kristi began to slowly move down the hill, but Isabella wasn’t coming.
“He will not budge!”
“Come on, donkey, let’s go!” shouted Chapman in vain. His angry tone of voice most likely had the opposite effect.
A larger boulder rushed past them near Kristi’s legs. “Whoa!” she exclaimed as she did a skipping motion to avoid being hit. “Just leave him. He’ll catch up.”
The water and mud combined began to swirl around their shoes. Tommy could see it gathering around them as his brake lights cast an eerie red glow on the slowly moving sludge.
“Yeah, let him go,” said Chapman in a somewhat somber tone. It was his father’s donkey, but their safety was in danger.
With Wonky Donkey standing alone in the dark tunnel, the rest of them made their way down the slope. Just as they reached the bottom, all hell broke loose.
Chapter 16
The Tunnel
Louisville, Kentucky
When the packed soil around the mini-Bee excavator that had been left stuck in the lateral line began to erode, chunks of dirt and bedrock came rumbling downward. Levi’s initial instinct was to look upward, as he thought the tunnel was collapsing. As the ground shook and the noise rose from a grumble to a throaty growl, Levi gathered Sarah, Carly and the kids and moved for safety against a wall.
The sounds grew louder as if a distant aircraft was approaching a runway for landing. That was when an enormous crash was heard in the tunnel. In a flash, the mini-Bee came sliding down a river of mud and rock before violently striking the concrete floor of the tunnel.
Screams could be heard in the darkness on the Louisville side of the tunnel together with footsteps running away from them. The horses became agitated and vocal, but not seeing the carnage, they managed to only walk a few steps forward before stopping again.
“Daddy! What’s happening?” Rachel began to cry as she hugged her father’s leg. Jesse wrapped his arms around Levi’s waist and began to squeeze the breath out of him.
“Everybody, stay close. Jesse, grab my belt. Rachel, keep your hands on your brother’s back. Mom and Carly, keep us straight. We’re gonna walk back to the horses and lead them away. Calmly, everyone. We don’t need to startle them further.”
The air became moist as water began to fill the tunnel. They had moved deep enough into the tunnel to avoid the deluge pouring out of the lateral line, but the accompanying water was beginning to creep toward them.
Just as they started moving the horses, a rush of cold air swept over them. A tremendous volume of water coupled with debris flushed down the lateral line and splashed across the bottom of the tunnel.
Carly stopped and tugged at Levi’s sleeve. He lifted the lantern to see her face. “Listen? Do you hear that?”
Levi held his breath and focused. The sound of Tommy’s Mustang idling could barely be heard over the gushing water.
“They’ve come down already. God, I hope they didn’t get caught up in—”
The wailing of Tommy’s car horn cut him off before it became more stifled. The horses shifted their feet and became uneasy, as did Sarah.
“Something’s wrong.” Her voice was full of fear.
He handed her the lantern. “Will you be okay? I need to check on them.”
“Take this.” Carly rummaged through her jacket pockets and found a SureFire flashlight. Then she turned to Jesse and crouched down. “Can you help your dad?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She nodded and hugged her son. “Okay, you boys take care of each other.”
Levi and Jesse sloshed through the rising waters until they were near the lateral line. Tommy had stopped honking the horn, and only the sound of water pouring through on top of the mini-Bee could be heard.
“Dad! It’s blocked! Look at all of that mud.”
Levi stopped and shined his light on the massive pile of earthen debris that had made its way through the partially completed lateral line. The excavator had led the way, blocking part of the tunnel before being mostly buried by the debris it had held up while wedged in the bedrock. Now an opening had occurred, and water from the nearby swollen creek was pouring into the tunnel, as it was originally intended to do.
Levi used his light to illuminate the ceiling of the tunnel. The pile was higher near the entrance to the lateral line, but only extended partially up the wall on the opposite side of the tunnel. He waved his light back and forth on the ceiling and shouted, “Chapman! Kristi! Anybody? Can you hear me?”
At first there was no response. He yelled louder this time, joined in by Jesse.
“Hey, can you hear us?”
“Tommy? Kristi? Chapman?”
He lowered the beam of his flashlight and focused it on the pile of debris. Levi got an uneasy feeling as he approached.
“Jesse, stay behind me. No matter what, you focus your eyes on my back, okay?”
“Yessir, but I can help—”
“No! Watch my back!” Levi was insistent as panic set in. He began to scan the debris pile, searching for anything, or anyone, familiar. He prayed he was wrong.
Water was pouring out of the wall where the duct tunnel was located. The amount of mud and debris had dissipated, but now the tunnel was flooding. Levi shook his head in dismay. He tried again.
“Can you guys hear me?” He flashed the light erratically across the ceiling and against the far wall of the tunnel, the only part that still had an opening to the other side.
Then he heard them. They were yelling for him. Barely discernible, but there. The voices of women and men. And now flashlights shining on the ceiling also.
“Praise God,” muttered Levi. He turned to Jesse and handed him the flashlight. “Son, I need you to run back to the wagon. We have a steel-toothed rake and a shovel. Be careful, but hurry.”
“Yes, sir!”
Jesse sloshed through the water as he hustled away.
Levi called after him, “Tell your grandmother they’re okay!”
“I will!”
Levi sighed as he turned around and stared upward at the blockage. “At least I hope they are.”
Chapter 17
The Tunnel
Louisville, Kentucky
Without warning, the donkey came clamoring past the Mustang and the two oldest Boone siblings pulling the last of the horses. Startled, Chapman looked beyo
nd the car and cupped his right ear to listen. His eyes grew wide as light appeared at the top of the tunnel, providing just enough illumination to see rocks bouncing down the concrete tunnel entrance.
“C’mon! It’s closer,” he shouted as he pulled his horse forward. Kristi didn’t hesitate as she followed his lead. Within seconds dirt clods mixed with gravel began to sail past them, bouncing along the rough concrete and skipping through the wash of the Mustang’s headlights.
“Hurry!” Tommy focused his attention out of his rear window as the back end of his car was pelted with debris. He craned his neck to observe the surface of the tunnel and saw the concrete turning from gray to brown.
A large mud-covered rock crashed into his bumper, splattering dirt across the trunk lid. He slammed on the brakes as the impact shoved his car forward and closer to the horses.
“Almost there!” shouted Chapman as he and Kristi struggled to keep their footing. The horses seemed to appreciate the thin layer of mud that had formed on the concrete, and they picked up their pace in unison.
Just as they reached the bottom and were able to breathe a sigh of relief, the mini-Bee came flying out of the lateral line. Tommy’s headlights captured the massive excavator spitting from the wall, followed by tons of dirt and rock.
“Should we go for it?” asked Chapman.
Before anyone could answer, the donkey bolted ahead and began to run toward the oncoming rubble. Chapman handed the reins to his horse to Isabella and gave chase. The moment he’d agreed to leave Wonky Donkey behind up the slope earlier, he’d felt guilty. This was his father’s buddy and deserved to be saved just like all the other members of the family.
“Careful!” shouted Kristi.
The donkey’s heavy hooves sloshed through the muddy water, which was knee-deep to Chapman. Normally, donkeys will freeze or move a few steps away to observe what frightened it. On this occasion, even Wonky Donkey sensed imminent peril.
Chapman was catching up when a huge gush of mud and water came pouring out of the lateral line. The donkey abruptly stopped, and Chapman slipped and rolled across the surface of the tunnel. Within seconds, the mud and dirt surrounded him.
“Help!” he shouted over the roar of the water pouring out of the wall.
His legs felt like they were trapped in cement. He tried to shout again, but water filled his mouth and throat, causing him to reflexively cough violently.
“Chapman!” Isabella’s voice. She let go of her horse and trudged through the murky waters toward the pile of debris.
“Help,” he said again, but barely audible.
Her voice was frantic. “Mon ami, where are you?”
Kristi left the horses and began to run after Isabella. Tommy slammed his hand on the Mustang’s horn, hoping to attract the attention of Levi on the other side of the pile. He sensed everybody would be needed to help Chapman. He inched forward to put more light on the pile. It allowed everyone to see what they faced.
The excavator was upside down in the tunnel and nearly covered. A huge mound of dirt had risen as high as the lateral line’s opening in the wall of the tunnel and then began to spread out from there. Water gushed through the opening, bringing with it more rocks and mud, which added to the size of the debris pile. And somewhere, under it all, was Chapman Boone.
“Where is he?” shouted Kristi as she arrived at the base of the mound simultaneously with Isabella. They frantically pulled rocks and clumps of mud away to find his body.
Tommy rushed next to them and took control. “Spread out and keep shouting.”
The three of them fanned out and shouted Chapman’s name. The thick mud posed a challenge as the water continued to bring more debris into the tunnel. As they dug at the dirt and pulled at the rocks, they could hear Levi’s voice on the other side.
They screamed for help in unison, barely understandable on their side, much less on the other. There were rocks and pieces of tree roots in the way, but the trio continued their attempt to locate Chapman.
Then their light was taken away from them. The water had risen, and debris from the tunnel entrance had made its way to the bottom. It forcefully shoved the Mustang sideways and then forward so that the headlights washed the wall opposite the lateral line’s opening.
The three of them remained undeterred despite another steady burst of water coming out of the wall. All of them were knocked to the ground, with Isabella going underwater briefly. When she came back up, she wiped the mud off her face and crawled on her hands and knees to the debris pile.
She clawed at the dirt, digging furiously at rocks and roots. She moved a chunk of granite and then blindly grabbed at another tree limb.
But this was different. She pulled and then squeezed. It was Chapman’s arm.
“Here! Hurry!”
She ripped and tore at the mud, slinging it away from Chapman’s body. All three of them tried to dig him out, focusing on finding his head to provide him an air hole.
“Can you hear me?” a voice came from beyond the rubble.
“That was Levi!” exclaimed Kristi.
Tommy responded, “Help us! Chapman is trapped!”
Seconds later, Levi was climbing down the muddy slope, with a shovel and rake in hand.
Chapter 18
The Tunnel
Louisville, Kentucky
Levi joined the rescuers and carefully began to shovel around Chapman’s body. They had cleared the debris away from his face and were digging around his chest when he arrived. As they revealed more of his body, it appeared Chapman had curled into a fetal position and attempted to cover his head when the deluge overtook him.
“He’s not breathing!” Kristi shouted as she checked his pulse. “Oh, God, no pulse!”
“I can do CPR,” said Isabella as she leaned over her lover’s face. She carefully turned Chapman’s head to clear the water and mud out of his mouth. “Thank goodness he was stuck on his side.”
Tommy and Kristi had removed the debris from his chest and legs, with Levi’s assistance. Levi crawled through the mud to the side and frantically dug out a flat spot on the dirt mound. With Tommy’s assistance, they quickly moved Chapman onto his back. Isabella wasted no time getting into position.
She knelt by his side and placed the heel of her left hand on the center of his chest. Keeping her arms straight, she covered her left hand with the heel of her right and interlocked her fingers so her hands could work in unison. She was careful to keep her fingers raised so they didn’t touch Chapman’s rib cage.
Then she began. Leaning forward, she used her body weight to press down on Chapman’s chest about two inches. She allowed the pressure to release off his chest without removing her hands, and then she repeated. She counted aloud but couldn’t be heard due to the water, which continued to rush out of the lateral line.
After thirty compressions, she tilted his head back and lifted his chin to open Chapman’s airway. His mouth fell open slightly and she went to work. Pinching his nose closed, she lovingly placed her mouth over his and blew into his mouth until she could see his chest rise.
After his chest fell, she did it again. Frustrated, she hustled back into position over his chest and began compressions once again. After thirty, she tried to breathe life into the man she’d fallen in love with in Paris.
“Come on, Chapman!” yelled Levi.
“We need you!” added Kristi.
Sarah had arrived. The love of his family surrounded him. As instructed, Jesse had returned to his mother and the wagons, but Sarah couldn’t sit by and wait for her family to return to her. She’d brought another shovel and made her way across the mudslide, which was beginning to dissolve under the pressure of the running water.
Meanwhile, Isabella continued. She did compressions again and then returned to his mouth. This time, she closed her eyes and prayed for the first time since she was a young girl. She whispered, “I love you,” and took a deep breath before placing her mouth over his. Her exhale was long and steady, full of lov
e for the man she adored.
Chapman’s chest rose, and then he convulsed, coughing up water and rolling onto his side to spit out the contents of his throat and windpipe.
Isabella gently tapped and rubbed his back between his shoulder blades as he hurled out debris and then vomit. “I love you, Chapman Boone,” she whispered in his ear. “Thank you for coming back to me.”
Sarah fell to her knees and began wailing in relief. She looked to Isabella as if she was seeking permission to approach her patient. Isabella waved her over, and Sarah immediately cradled her son’s head in her lap.
“Thank God, thank God. I couldn’t bear to lose you, son.”
Chapman tried to speak, but his voice was gravelly and hoarse. His eyes were wide open as he tried to make sense of what had happened to him. He was able to lift his arm in an attempt to wipe the water off his face, but instead, managed to smear it with mud.
Sarah chuckled. “Let me do that.” She lovingly used her sleeve to wipe the brown streaks off his cheeks. With Isabella’s assistance, they set Chapman upright so he could see everyone else there. Kristi and Levi took turns hugging their brother, followed by Tommy, who threatened to kill him if he ever pulled a stunt like that again.
This lightened the mood, and then a voice startled them into reality.
“Hey, is everything okay?”
Jesse stood at the top of the debris pile with a steel-toothed rake.
Levi jumped up to address his son. “I thought I told you to stay with the wagons.”
“Um, yessir. I did. But, um, the mud is washing toward us, and I didn’t want to pull away without telling you. Plus, I thought I could help.”
He raised his rake in front of him like the farmer in the famed American Gothic painting. The headlights of Tommy’s car washed over him, creating a massive shadow along the tunnel wall. It also revealed something else. The mud pile was receding.
