MIRACLE ON KAIMOTU ISLAND/ALWAYS THE HERO

by Marion Lennox

  Abby’s headlamp was shining on the same place his was.

  ‘What’s the problem, Tom?’

  ‘I can’t get through the gap. It’s too small.’

  ‘Jack’s small. Can’t he climb up to it?’

  Tom had to swallow hard. ‘No. He’s a good twenty feet further down and he wouldn’t manage the climb.’

  ‘I could get through that gap.’

  ‘No way, Abby. It’s far too dangerous. Stay where you are.’ The beam he was cautiously kneeling on was solid enough but Tom wasn’t about to push his luck any further. He could feel a sponginess that instinct told him was a very clear warning. One good aftershock and this whole lot could shake loose and tumble further.

  No way on earth was he going to let Abby risk her life here.

  Tom turned his attention back to what lay between him and rescuing Jack. Could he find another gap? Somehow move one of these beams?

  He reached out to test the earth around where one end of a beam was wedged. The dirt crumbled in his fingers and, weirdly, some of it seemed to fly up and ping off his helmet.

  Tom stopped what he was doing.

  Another shower of earth rained down. A small stone sounded like the graze of a bullet on his helmet.

  Realisation hit far too late.

  Appalled, Tom looked up again but he knew he wouldn’t see the beam of Abby’s headlamp where it had been.

  She was already halfway down the slope of the sinkhole, without even the protection of a rope. He saw the moment the small boulder she was using as a hand grip came loose from the surrounding earth.

  The moment that Abby began to slip.

  CHAPTER SIX

  IT HAPPENED TOO FAST to feel any fear.

  That reaction came seconds later, kicking in the moment Abby felt the grip of Tom’s arms as he caught her and stopped her fall. When she realised she was safe, in that powerful hold, hearing the fervent relief in the oath that escaped Tom’s lips, along with her name.

  ‘Abby...’

  As if her safety was the most important thing here. The way he said her name touched something very deep but Abby could ignore it far more easily than that touch on her face a while back. It wasn’t her safety that mattered. And, anyway, she was relatively safe again now. More importantly, her impulsive action of climbing into the sinkhole hadn’t made things worse. What if she’d dislodged enough debris to send the whole lot crashing down to bury Jack?

  Jack.

  Abby pushed the fear aside. Wrenched herself out of Tom’s arms so that she could drop to her knees and put her face into that gap between the beams.

  She could see him.

  And he looked so small and vulnerable. Dirty and scared and all hunched up in a little ball. Somehow Abby choked back a sob and even managed to sound calm.

  ‘Hey, sweetheart...’

  ‘Mummy.’ Jack started to cry. ‘Can we go home now? I d-don’t like it down here.’

  ‘I know, darling. You just hold on tight. We’re going to get you out of there.’

  ‘Abby...’ The way Tom said her name this time was very different. A warning rather than a prayer of thanks. A warning that she was promising something they couldn’t deliver?

  ‘I can get through that gap,’ she told Tom. ‘I’m sure I can.’

  ‘And then what?’ Tom kept his voice low so that Jack couldn’t overhear. ‘Drop twenty feet and break your leg? So that we’ve got two people to try and dig out?’

  ‘You’re not using your rope. You can tie that around me.’

  ‘No. I won’t let you do this, Abby. It’s far too dangerous. We have no idea how stable any of this stuff is. We’ll radio for backup. Get some engineers and USAR guys here.’

  ‘And how long will that take?’

  They both knew the answer to that. Too long.

  ‘You can’t stop me, Tom.’

  ‘Oh, I can, Abby.’ It was more than a warning now. More like a threat.

  ‘That’s my son down there,’ Abby hissed.

  Tom just stared at her silently. He didn’t have to say it. It was his son down there, too.

  As if nature was impatient with the stand-off, a rumble of sound echoed in the mine shaft and the ground shook. It wasn’t a big aftershock but it was enough to remind them all of how they came to be here in the first place. Of just how dangerous it was. That they all needed to get out of there as fast as possible and the clock was ticking loudly.

  Abby had to bite her lip hard to stop herself crying out in fear. Jack screamed. Tom’s face was grimmer than she’d ever seen it. Even when he’d been lying in his hospital bed, telling her that their relationship was over. That it could never work so the best thing for both of them would be to walk away now before anybody got really hurt.

  It had been way too late for her by then. It wasn’t too late now but it soon could be. For Jack. And for them. Was Tom going to learn that he was a father and then lose his child on the very same day?

  No. It wasn’t going to happen. Abby wasn’t going to let it happen. She’d rather die trying to prevent it.

  ‘You can’t do this, Abby.’ Tom’s tone was curiously hollow.

  ‘I can’t not do it,’ was her response.

  ‘You guys okay down there?’ Moz was at the rim of the sinkhole, the rope he’d been monitoring wrapped around his waist instead of the beam, now.

  ‘So far,’ Tom said grimly. ‘Chuck that rope down here, will you, Moz? Abby’s going to try and get down to get Jack.’

  ‘What? Oh, man...’ Moz sounded shocked.

  ‘Just do it,’ Tom ordered. ‘Chuck the rope.’

  Moz did it silently. Maybe nobody argued with Tom when he used that commanding tone. Abby wasn’t about to, either. Not when he was knotting the rope into a kind of harness and giving her instructions about how she could use the underside of the criss-crossing beams to get to where she could find a foothold to help her get down to the bottom of the sinkhole.

  There was no going back as she squeezed herself through the tight gap between the beams. Having achieved that, she found herself suspended in midair, groping for a handhold to start trying to move sideways. The rope bit painfully under her arms and between her legs. The dank smell of damp earth filled her nostrils and she had no way of knowing whether anything she held on to would be strong enough to take her weight. Or whether the earth would start moving again, and that would simply be the end of it all.

  Abby had never done anything this dangerous in her whole life. It would have been impossibly terrifying if it wasn’t for the fact that she was doing this to get to Jack. Having been compelled to start and now on her way, however, she couldn’t deny the underlying thrill that was interlaced with the terror. The adrenaline rush was unexpectedly powerful. Exhilarating, even.

  And it certainly helped that she had Tom watching her back. Keeping his headlamp where it was needed and talking her quietly through the ordeal.

  ‘There’s a rock...to your left...down about a foot.’

  ‘Stay where you are. Catch your breath.’

  ‘You can do this, Abby. You’ll have to jump the last bit. I can take some of your weight so you’ll land softly.’

  Then she was down.

  Checking Jack out all over. ‘Are you sure nothing hurts? Nothing at all?’

  ‘No. I just want to go home.’

  Abby’s voice wobbled. ‘Not before I get a squeezy hug.’

  Tears came then, but only a few. The clock was ticking even more loudly in this potential tomb. They had to get out in case another, larger aftershock happened.

  ‘How will we do this, Tom?’ Abby called. ‘Do I take my harness off and put it on Jack?’

  ‘No-o-o...’ Jack might consider himself to be getting too big for squeezy hugs but he clung t
o Abby fiercely now. ‘Don’t put me down, Mummy. Don’t.’

  ‘I’ll send down another rope,’ Tom called back. ‘You can put it round Jack but we won’t use it unless we have to. Do you think you can climb back up while you’re holding him?’

  ‘Yes.’ Abby made sure she sounded confident but she had no idea whether she was capable of doing this. She swallowed hard and put her mouth close to Jack’s ear. She could feel his warmth. The tickle of his soft hair against her face.

  She was halfway towards succeeding in what had seemed like an impossible mission such a short time ago. There was more than the thrill of the danger, now. Abby could sense how overwhelming it would be when they got through this and were safe again.

  ‘You’ll have to help me, Jack. You’ll have to hang on like a little monkey so I can use my hands to help us climb. Like...like Action Man would. Can you do that, do you think?’

  Jack nodded but his bottom lip wobbled. ‘I couldn’t find Action Man,’ he said sadly.

  The end of the new rope was dangling above her now. Abby wound it around Jack and tied the best knots she knew how. If, God forbid, she fell or dropped him on the way up, Tom would be able to save him. ‘It doesn’t matter,’ she told Jack as she worked. ‘We’ll get you another Action Man.’

  ‘But he won’t be mine.’

  Abby was already moving. She hitched her son more securely against her body. ‘Hold on really, really tight,’ she instructed. ‘This is the biggest squeezy hug you’re ever going to have to give me, okay?’

  ‘Okay.’

  It was much harder getting back up, with the extra weight of Jack. Painful, too, with the rope continuing to bite into her body from the moment Tom had used his weight to help her up that first bit, which she’d jumped on the way down. Was he trying to make it easier by taking some of the weight?

  By the time Abby got up to the level of the wedged beams, she could hear that Moz had joined Tom in the hole. Why? Surely they needed someone up on solid ground in the tunnel in case something went wrong?

  And then she realised why both men had put themselves in more danger. This was the point where she had to let go of Jack because there was no way she could fit back through that gap while she was holding him. Tom was lying above the gap and he had his head and arms through it.

  ‘Moz has got Jack’s rope, Abby. You need to hold him out. Jack? You need to grab my hands, buddy, so I can pull you up.’

  ‘No-o-o...’ Jack clung more tightly. ‘Don’t let me go, Mummy.’

  ‘I have to, baby. Just for a few seconds. And then it’ll be my turn to come through the hole and I’ll never let you go again if you don’t want me to. Okay?’

  ‘N-o-o-o.’ Jack was sobbing. Terrified.

  ‘Tom’s my special friend,’ Abby said desperately. ‘He’s your...’ Dad. The word so very nearly slipped out. ‘That makes him your special friend, too. He won’t let anything bad happen to you, I promise.’ She was prising Jack’s arms and legs from around her body, unaware of the tears coursing down her face. ‘Tom’s like...he’s a real-life Action Man, Jack. This is what he does. He saves people.’

  Jack’s sob ended on a hiccup. He’d turned his head to see if he could see this real-life Action Man. All either of them could see was the blinding glare of the headlamp, of course, and the two big hands waiting to catch hold of Jack, but having his attention diverted even for a moment was enough for Abby to break the hold.

  She lifted her son away from her body and turned him to face outwards. She stretched her arms out to the limit of their capacity. Holding her baby over what now seemed like a huge, huge drop.

  Jack shrieked in terror but his arms had gone out instinctively to find something to hold on to. Instead, Tom’s hands had circled the small wrists.

  ‘Pull us back, Moz.’

  Abby saw Jack’s little legs disappear through the gap. She was shaking like a leaf now. No way could she manage to get over there and back through that gap by herself.

  She didn’t need to. A moment later she felt the rope around her body tighten.

  ‘Your turn, Abby. I’ve got you. I won’t let you fall.’

  It only seemed a blink of time since Abby had been trying so hard to hide the fact that she was limping so that Tom wouldn’t notice. So that he wouldn’t scoop her up and make life easier for her. Since she had resolved so firmly not to allow herself to depend on this man again. Somewhere in the back of her mind, now, there was an echo of something that could have been an ironic chuckle. Who had she been trying to kid?

  She was dependent on him for her very life at this moment and she knew without a shadow of doubt that she could trust him. There was nobody else alive that she could give this kind of trust to.

  So, when he had taken her whole weight and pulled her to the relative safety of the other side of that gap, it seemed only natural that he would keep pulling until he had her so tightly clasped in his arms it seemed like he never intended to let her go.

  And it was just as natural that breaking such awful tension would release a flood of emotion from Abby. That she was laughing and crying at the same time. Holding Tom just as tightly as he was holding her. That his head was bent over hers and they were pressed so close together that when she moved her head, her lips brushed Tom’s cheek. That when his head moved in response, it was their lips that brushed.

  The intensity of the emotions spiked to become utterly confusing. Overwhelming. Not that there was any time to process any of it. Moz was right there beside them. And Jack, who sounded more scared now than he had at the bottom of the hole.

  ‘Why are you crying, Mummy? What’s the matter?’

  Did Tom’s hold soften or had Abby wrenched herself free? She couldn’t tell. The need to touch her son was overwhelming.

  ‘Nothing’s the matter, darling. I’m just happy that we’re out of the big hole. That we’re safe.’

  ‘We’ll be a lot safer when we get right out of this damn tunnel.’ Tom’s voice was a growl. ‘Let’s move.’

  * * *

  The anger should have evaporated long ago.

  The relief of getting Abby back through that gap should have been almost enough. Getting all three of them out of the sinkhole with assistance from Moz certainly should have done it.

  But it hadn’t.

  Tom was at the rear of the small procession finally making its way out of the mine shaft. He knew he had been far too curt in ordering everybody to get moving but this wasn’t the place for celebrating success. They could do that when they were safely clear of a space that could close in on them with a decent aftershock.

  Why was he still so damned angry?

  Maybe it was just a kind of chemical reaction. There were too many, powerful emotions roiling around inside him and, because they were all mixed together, they were producing an explosive heat. Did it just feel like anger because he had no other yardstick to measure it by?

  He’d certainly been angry. With Abby, for refusing to listen to reason and putting herself into such a dangerous situation. With himself, because he’d had no choice but to allow her to in the end. She’d been right. Trying to save Jack had been a no-brainer. It couldn’t not be done. And she’d been the only person physically capable of fitting through that gap.

  And she’d done it. She was amazing. He should be full of admiration for her courage. Pride, because she wasn’t a stranger and he had the right to be proud of her. Relief, because she hadn’t been killed and he didn’t have to face the prospect of never seeing her again for as long as he lived.

  Was that why he was so angry?

  Because he still loved Abby?

  He’d never felt anything like when he’d pulled her through that gap and had kept pulling until he’d had her as close as it was possible to have anybody who was fully clothed in rescue gear. He had felt Abby’s heart
pounding against his chest. Against his own heart. He’d felt the huff of her breath as she’d sobbed with relief and the tight grip of her arms around his neck. He’d felt the sweet brush of her lips against his cheek and then the explosion of sensation when they’d touched his lips.

  An accidental kiss?

  Of course it had been. But if he’d needed a slap in the face to wake him up, it had certainly done the trick. Of course he still loved Abby.

  The knowledge had been waiting to punch him from the first moment he’d seen her in that waiting room, hadn’t it?

  Had he really thought it was simply ancient history? That he’d buried his feelings for Abby so well, along with everything else about that break-up, that it had become impenetrable?

  And now there was Jack.

  It had been Tom who’d carried the small boy out of the sinkhole. In his arms. He could still feel the clutch of those skinny arms around his neck. The sturdy little legs around his waist. He was such a small person. So incredibly vulnerable.

  He hadn’t been crying, though. He was just as brave as his mother.

  Maybe just as brave as his father?

  Oh...man... Yes. These feelings were overwhelming. The build-up of pressure was unbearable.

  Moz and Abby, who was now carrying Jack, were ahead of him. Without thinking, Tom lashed out with his heavily booted foot, kicking at a pile of rock and earth. The debris scattered but it wasn’t enough. He kicked it again for good measure and felt a shaft of pain in his ankle as a larger rock moved.

  Good.

  Tom sucked in a breath. It was a tiny vent for the pressure inside but it helped. He paused for a moment to wriggle his foot and check that he hadn’t been stupid enough to injure his ankle, and it was in that moment that his headlight caught the shine of something pale in the rubble.

  Frowning, he stooped and brushed some more earth away. The pale thing was plastic. The head of a doll. A male doll, who was wearing camouflage clothing.

  Action Man? It had to be.

  Tom had a grin on his face as he eased himself through the gap that had allowed them access to the mine shaft in the first place.