by Doug Welch
Elizabeth ducked under the water and wormed her way against the flow through the opening. The water pressed her against the side of the hole and she lost some skin as she grappled with the edge. She felt a hand grab her ankle and she kicked, but it held firm. The sodden sock suddenly slipped off and she moved through the opening, allowing the current to carry her the remainder of the way through the hole.
The water seemed deeper and the current stronger in this section. She couldn’t regain her footing, so she drifted with the current.
A little way downstream she crashed against a solid object. The current held her fast between the tunnel wall and whatever she’d slammed into. She struggled against it but her hips were trapped, and she couldn’t get free. She slid her hands along the object and met fabric.
It must be that stupid fucking couch!
If it was the couch that held her, she knew she was close to freedom, but she couldn’t budge it and the current kept her pinned. She began to struggle and cry uncontrollably.
Chapter 22
All or Nothing
The five of them fought to keep their footing as they followed Cecil out of the flood control tunnel.
As they’d struggled with the current, the water had risen past their knees and it threatened to carry them downstream. The current flowed less at the walls so they tried to hug them as they moved.
Paris continued to scan ahead to detect any hint of a human presence, but so far the tunnel seemed empty with the exception of his group. The sound of the water flowing past had increased in volume so they had to shout to be heard “How much further, Cecil?”
“’Bout a quarter mile I ‘spect. They’s an outlet and a place we’s can climb out on.”
Suddenly at the periphery of his mind Paris sensed a mind-glow. “Wait! I sense something.”
He examined it and tasted a familiar presence…
Elizabeth!
“It’s Beth!” he shouted. “She’s close!” He concentrated. The mind-glow felt chaotic, panicked and desperate. “I’m going back!”
The beams of five flashlights turned to illuminate him.
“Where is she?” Dan asked.
Paris frantically tried to think of a way to locate her.
Then he remembered their wedding night. He concentrated, feeling the familiar pattern, and intertwined his mind with it. He soothed the fragmented parts, projecting calm and quelling the panic. The connection seemed like a beacon and a link.
“She’s not in this tunnel, but I can find her. She’s in trouble.”
“I’m going with you,” Dan said.
“No! You get the group out of here! I don’t want to risk your lives. If I don’t make it, Kitty may be the only chance the Family has to survive. You know what she needs and Alex knows where to find it.”
“There’s got to be another way, Paris,” he pled.
“No! I’m not coming out of this without Beth. Either we both make it or neither of us will. Now go!”
The group hesitated.
“I want you to go, Dan. Don’t make me force you,” Paris warned.
He turned and began to work his way back along the wall. The beams of the flashlights flickered once and then focused away from him.
He’d noticed that the openings low in the walls of the tunnel seemed to be at regular intervals, and were cut into both walls. But the link seemed to come from the vicinity of the left wall. When he’d turned back, he found himself on the wrong side. He crept along the right wall, so he would have to cross the current which had become much stronger.
He felt along the wall with his foot, looking for an opening. After a while, his foot encountered emptiness and he bent down into the water to feel along the wall. Satisfied that he’d found it, the next task was to cross the channel.
He pocketed his flashlight and set out carefully, leaning against the current. The floor of the tunnel grew smoother, likely scoured by the periodic flows of water, and the footing became slippery as he got closer to the center.
Abruptly he slipped and although he fought it, the current began to carry him away.
He flipped his body over and swam toward the wall he sought, struggling to get a purchase with his feet and hands.
Finally, he encountered the rough wall and scrambled to regain his footing, losing a little skin in the process. He found enough friction to stop himself from moving and rose from the water.
The depth had increased in the short period he’d fought the flow and he knew he had little time. The link with Beth still remained and he sensed renewed panic. He calmed her once more even though his own anxiety level had risen and threatened his control.
He fought his way back upstream, feeling once again for the opening. He finally found it and without hesitation, ducked under the water and squirmed through the opening to the other side.
Once his head cleared the water he found that the water in the new tunnel was much deeper and the current stronger. The link with Beth lay downstream so he quickly set off in the new direction. The water was chest high and even alongside the wall, threatened to sweep him off his feet. He moved as fast as he could while maintaining contact with the floor, toward her location.
He fished the flashlight out from his soaked pocket, praying it still worked, and turned it on, then directed the beam down the tunnel looking for Beth.
The tunnel curved to the right and he continued along the wall, sweeping the flashlight across the stream of water.
In a while the light caught a flash of white in the black water.
“Elizabeth!”
A weak voice echoed back. “Help! I’m stuck!”
The urge to rush to her side was strong, but he held it in check because he knew it might cause him to lose what little footing he maintained. He continued more cautiously down the tunnel.
“Help me, Paris.” She sputtered.
“I’m coming sweetheart, just a little further.”
He continued to move alongside the wall toward her.
“The waters rising, Paris. I won’t be able to breathe much longer.”
“Just hang on, I’m almost there.” He felt something brush his leg and reached down. His hand encountered something. He felt along the side and encountered fabric. He crowded against the wall and saw Elizabeth’s face a few feet away. Just her mouth and nose projected from the water. She held her neck craned back, struggling to breathe.
“I’m stuck between the wall and this fucking couch,” she sputtered.
Paris reached her and felt her body. His hand traveled down to her waist. A piece of wire likely from the frame of the couch was tightly wrapped around her hips, keeping her pinned.
He put the flashlight in his mouth and ducked under the water. The light didn’t help much in the cloudy water, but he tried to remove the wire. It seemed wound around her and wedged in her clothing. He grappled with it, trying to unwind it but couldn’t find the end. He ran his hand along the wire to the place it was attached to the couch and felt a staple. He jerked on the wire and the staple popped free but the wire still held.
He reemerged from the water and saw that Elizabeth’s head had emerged. The water was up to her chin now.
“Thanks, Paris at least I can breathe for a while. Can you get it loose?”
Paris removed the flashlight from his mouth. “I don’t know. It’s wrapped around you. I can’t find the end.”
He handed her the light and ducked under again. The wire seemed rusted and he thought he might be able to break it if he could find some room to work. He reemerged from the water.
“I’m going to try something.”
He put his back to the wall and braced one foot against the back of the couch. As soon as he found purchase, he lifted the other and pushed with his legs.
At first the back didn’t seem to move, so he increased his efforts, his legs trembling from the strain. Abruptly it gave way almost sweeping him away with the current. He reached out and Beth grabbed his arm, pulling him back against the wall.
“That was close. I thought I’d lost you.”
“I’m not leaving here without you, Beth.”
He noticed the water had again crept past her chin.
This time he held her hand and wedged himself between the wall and the remaining section of the couch. He braced and thrust with his legs, straining to move it. The couch slid forward and was almost carried away by the current. It bumped a few times and then settled on the floor of the tunnel.
Beth bobbed in the current still tethered by the wire. He moved toward her and wrapped his arms around her. She did the same and they clung to each other as the water roared around them. Paris kissed her cheeks, her eyes, her forehead and her lips. Once he reached her lips she responded fervently, molding her body against him.
She broke the kiss and stared at him like she needed to indelibly stamp his image in her mind.
“I thought I’d lost you forever.”
“I’d find you Beth. I’d die before I lose you.”
“But we’re not out of this yet are we.”
“No, I need to break the wire to free you. Okay, sweetheart, hold on to my belt with both hands and hold the flashlight in your mouth. I need to go under again.
He ducked under the water, found the wire and gripped it with both hands. He furiously bent the wire back and forth to weaken it. The chill of the water prevented the metal from warming so it refused to yield. He doubled his efforts, feeling the need to breathe encroaching upon him, but he ignored it.
Frustrated and about to take the breath his body demanded, he felt wire weaken and part, freeing Elizabeth. The current tugged on him, so he gripped a strip of the fabric to prevent them from being washed away.
He emerged from the water gasping for deep breaths of life-giving air.
Elizabeth removed the flashlight from her mouth, still clutching his belt with one hand. “Thank God! I thought you’d drown before you quit. Are you alright?”
He nodded and gasped. “Give me a moment.”
Finally his breathing slowed to normal. He looked around at the tunnel, which was illuminated by the diminished glow from the flashlight. The water neared the roof and they didn’t have much more time.
“We’re not walking out of this, but we’re both good swimmers. When I let go, hold on to my belt and we’ll swim with the current. Alright?”
Elizabeth nodded. He took the flashlight from her and felt her hand wind tightly around his belt.
“Okay, let’s go!” he released his hold on the couch fabric and they were swept down the tunnel.
Paris aimed the flashlight ahead to illuminate the way. The current seemed to get stronger as they moved down the tunnel. He furiously dog paddled; trying to keep them centered in the flow, and felt Elizabeth emulate him.
The ceiling flashed by just a few inches above his head as the water carried them along. He had no idea where the tunnel might lead, but he knew that eventually it would emerge in an open channel where they might be able to crawl out. Then he spied something that sank his hopes.
The water ahead seemed to fill the tunnel all the way to the ceiling.
Chapter 23
The Channel
“Beth! Do you see that?”
“Yes! We’ll have to dive!”
He gauged the distance. “Okay, three deep breaths and then we go under!”
He heard her flush her lungs while he did the same and just before they reached the end, they dove.
Paris swam as hard as he could. He tried to use the waterproof flashlight to illuminate the way, but it proved almost useless in the turbid water.
The journey seemed to never end and his lungs screamed with the need to breathe.
Abruptly the flashlight went out and they swam in black darkness.
Paris’ brain pummeled him with the demand to breathe! But he struggled to ignore it.
He saw a faint glowing rectangle ahead and swam toward it.
Passing the opening, the water grew more luminous. He swam toward what appeared to be the surface and emerged from the water along with Elizabeth, gasping for breath.
They bobbed in the water, helplessly carried along by the current while they tried to resume normal breathing. The glow of the Las Vegas neon lights provided enough illumination to see the concrete channel’s walls. The edge rose a few feet above them, just out of reach.
“We need to get to the side where the current’s less,” Paris yelled. He searched frantically for a way out of the channel, but the walls were too high and slippery. Then he felt the rain pounding down and he knew people would be indoors in this weather. Their chances of finding help were slim.
Paris scanned the channel as the walls flashed by. He searched both sides looking for a crack in the concrete, a projection, anything he could grab and prevent them from being swept away with the flood.
His jaw clinched in frustration. To escape the tunnels only to be denied salvation seemed a cruel act of fate. Maybe if they rode it out, the walls might offer a solution, but so far they appeared smooth and without flaw.
Then he saw something in the distance that chilled his blood. A little way downstream, the channel terminated into another tunnel. This one appeared filled to the top. If they couldn’t climb out soon, there was no hope.
A wave of water washed over both of them and Elizabeth sputtered “Do you see what I see?”
Paris tried to remain calm and think. “Yes, I see. We need to get out before we get there.”
Elizabeth floated, trying to keep her head out of the water. “How? I haven’t seen any way out, have you?”
Paris didn’t respond.
Elizabeth seemed resigned. “We’re not going to make it are we?”
Again, he didn’t reply. The thought that their trials would all be for nothing threatened to overwhelm him and he needed to remain calm. “We’re not done yet.”
“If we’re going to die, Paris, I need to tell you that I love you and I’m glad I married you.”
Paris turned his head to look at her. “I love you too, Elizabeth, more than anyone or anything in my life. But we’re not done yet. Not while I’m alive.”
The yawning mouth of the tunnel came nearer.
Panic threatened to make him lose control and surrender to their fate, as the swift water carried them nearer the tunnel mouth. Then he saw a section of the chain link fence which bordered the channel near the entrance of the tunnel. It had been dismantled and it curled down the wall. It dangled near the water, but on the opposite side of the channel.
“Beth! Swim! Swim hard!” He stroked out against the current, angling up stream, while keeping an eye on their only chance for escape. He stroked harder than he ever had in his life. The fence moved nearer and he feared they wouldn’t make it. He furiously kicked, fighting the water.
Just out of reach, the chain-link edge dangled in the water inches away from his out-stretched arm. His rage at the circumstances that had led them to this point and the possibility it all might be for nothing, fueled a powerful adrenalin surge, overcoming his near exhaustion. He screamed, “Beth, hold my belt!”
He kicked with all his strength, rising out of the water like a porpoise, and caught the edge of the fence with his fingers.
The shock of halting their rapid progress toward the yawning tunnel enveloped his hand in agony. He screamed, but held on. He felt something pop in his shoulder and he nearly blacked out from the pain. Almost unbearable anguish in this hand and shoulder weakened his will and he knew he little time to act.
“Beth, crawl along my body and grab the fence. I can’t hold on much longer.”
She moved along his side, holding onto his shirt. She reached his wall and wrapped the fence in her fingers, removing some of the strain on his hand and arm.
She looked worried. “Your hand’s bleeding.”
“Is it? I think I just dislocated my shoulder.” He locked his free hand around the chain link and further eased the tension on the damaged arm and hand.
Eliz
abeth gripped the fence with both hands “It’s raining and I don’t see anyone outside the channel. Should we start yelling for help anyway?”
The pain of his hand and arm flooded his mind, but he managed to choke out the words. “You’re married to an Adept –remember? –Give me a little time.”
The sound of motors and tires swishing on wet pavement signaled that the channel lay near a busy street, but the minds grew nearer and receded before he could merge with them. He forced his mind to its extreme limits seeking a mind-glow.
Eventually, the glows advanced and stopped.
Paris merged with some of the minds and laid a pattern. He heard several car doors slam shut.
In a few seconds, a group of people looked down at them.
One of them yelled, “Oh my God, there’s two people trapped in the channel! Call 911! Hold on folks, we’ll get you out!”
Chapter 24
Recovery
Paris woke to the sight of pastel colors and whiteness. It took a few moments for his mind to organize itself and then he remembered flashing lights, firemen lifting him out of the channel with ropes, and the trip to the emergency room in the ambulance. Past that point his mind was a blank.
He looked around at the bed in which he lay and observed a machine monitoring his vital signs and an IV stuck in his arm.
He tried to move and a twinge of pain in his shoulder and hand reminded him of his desperate struggle to hold on to the fence. His arm was strapped to his side and his hand was swathed in bandages.
A raging thirst urged him to look around for something to quench it. A pitcher and cup sat on the rolling stand next to the bed and he groaned with pain when he tried to reach it.
He sensed a presence in the room and saw someone rise from a chair tucked in the corner.
“Hold it Paris. I’ll get that.” Kitty walked over to the bed, filled the cup with water and handed it to him. “How’re you feeling?”
“Like shit,” Paris croaked. “Where’s Elizabeth?”
