Home Again

by Lisa Emme

“Damn it all!” She pounded at the water then stopped and looked down. The water was past her waist now. Why was it still getting higher? The rain had stopped but if anything, it seemed like the water was rising faster.

  Gritting her teeth against the pain in her side - her broken arm had thankfully gone numb - she reached up for a handhold and started up the wall again. She had to get out. She had to find her son.

  ***

  Mike stared down at the bottom of the pit in horror. After finding the van, they had scoured the area, at last stumbling across the pit. It had taken ten agonizing minutes to set up enough lights to see down to the bottom, and what they found sent a chill down his spine. David Granger lay sprawled at the bottom, partly covered with rock and dirt. The pit wall must have toppled down on top of him. From the strange angle of his legs, it looked like he had broken at least one, if not both of them. The occasional groan that filtered up from the bottom was the only thing that indicated he was still alive. There was no sign of Allie or Dougie.

  Mike turned at the sound of a truck. A Circle D 4x4 eased in beside the paramedic truck that had arrived a few minutes before. They had brought the trucks into the area as far as they dared. The men from the volunteer fire brigade were in the process of using a winch to lower a man down into the pit to check on Granger.

  Without warning, a black and white ball of fur streaked out of the truck and ran up to Mike, barking madly. Mike looked down, shocked to see Bella.

  “Sorry,” Randy said as he walked up to Mike. “She wouldn’t stay on the farm.” He shrugged apologetically. “I tried to leave her but she just ran behind the truck, following.”

  Mike petted Bella’s head absently. “It’s okay.” He looked down at Bella. “In fact….” He crouched down beside the dog, grabbed her head and gave her ears a scratch. “You here to find your boy?” he asked the dog. “Come on Bella. Where’s your boy? Find your boy.”

  Bella barked and jumped to her feet, running a few yards down the trail then back again. She stopped and looked at Mike expectantly then with another yip, she turned and scampered down the trail.

  Mike jumped to his feet. “Come on,” he shouted to no one in particular. He ran down the trail after the dog.

  “Mike! Wait! These trails aren’t safe.” Evan shouted after him. “Wait up.” He looked at his dad. Randy shrugged. With a curse, Evan hurried after Mike.

  ***

  Spike sat beside Dougie and howled a weak, little howl. He jumped to his feet and sniffed at the boy again, still no reaction. He licked Dougie’s face and then sat down with a thump.

  “ Awoooo! Yip! Yip! Yip! Awooooo!”

  ***

  Mike slowed to a halt. Where had Bella gone? She had scampered off the trail and disappeared into the bush. Evan skidded to a halt behind him, panting.

  “What’s - ”

  “Shh!” Mike gestured to Evan to be quiet. “Do you hear that?”

  The two men paused, listening.

  “Awoooo!” The sound was faint but distinct.

  “Is that Bella?’ Evan asked.

  “I…I don’t know.” He turned trying to pinpoint the direction the sound was coming from.

  “Yip, yip, yip!”

  Mike turned. “There. It’s coming from that way.” He hurried through the brush, Evan close at his heels.

  Bella ran out of the bush and barked at them. “Bella!” Mike shouted. She barked at them again then ran off through the scrubby bushes. Mike waded through them, the brambles catching and tearing his clothes. “Bella!”

  The sound of frenzied barking drew them to a small clearing. Mike stepped into the opening and his heart leapt.

  “Dougie!” He ran to the prone boy. “ Dougie, Dougie.” He gathered him in his arms and bent over him to check for breathing. Clutching the unconscious boy, he frantically scanned the area, looking for Allie.

  Evan stopped a look of concern on his face. “Is he…”

  “He’s alive. Oh thank God, he’s alive.” Mike’s voice cracked with emotion. He hugged the boy close. “He’s so cold.” He set the boy carefully back on the ground and quickly pulled off his jacket. He wrapped it around the pale, frail body.

  “What’s wrong with him?” Evan asked worriedly.

  “I think he’s had a seizure.” He brushed the damp, matted hair from the boy’s face.

  He looked up at Evan. “Do you have your GPS?” At Evan’s nod he added, “Mark this spot. We have to get Dougie back for medical attention.”

  Mike gathered the boy in his arms and climbed to his feet. “Come on little man,” he said quietly to Dougie. “Let’s get you home.”

  He looked over his shoulder to see Bella following behind, her wayward pup gripped gently in her mouth. “Good girl Bella. Good girl.”

  ***

  Evan radioed ahead that they were coming, so the medics were ready with warm blankets and a stretcher. They took the limp boy from Mike’s arms. Mike gave up his charge reluctantly, concern etched across his face.

  “He’s epileptic.” He glanced at his watch. “He’s almost three hours late for his medications.”

  “Do you know what he’s on?” the EMT asked.

  “I…” Mike frowned. “I can’t remember…”

  “It’s okay,” the man looked down at Dougie’s wrist. “He’s wearing a medic-alert bracelet. We’ll call it in.”

  Mike followed them to the ambulance. At the door he hesitated, torn. He should go with Dougie, but he still had to find Allie.

  Duncan came to stand beside him. Where had he come from? He put a hand on Mike’s shoulder. “I’ll go with the boy. You’re needed here.”

  Mike smiled gratefully at Duncan, relieved. “Thank you. Call me with any news?”

  “I will.”

  Mike watched the ambulance drive away then turned to where Evan was settling Bella, who was nursing an eager Spike, in a nest of blankets in the back of a truck. Brian had come to stand beside them too.

  “They finally got down to Granger. He’s alive but unconscious.”

  “Bastard.” Mike growled.

  “We won’t be getting anything out of him any time soon. He’s broken both his legs and they think he might have a spinal injury and internal bleeding.”

  “Serves him right,” Evan muttered.

  “We’ll find her.” Mike stated emphatically. “We have a place to start looking.” He turned to Evan. “You got those coordinates? Dougie couldn’t have wandered far from her. She must be close.”

  They rounded up Rowdy and the four men headed out on foot.

  Allie gulped and struggled to lift her face above the water. She had been treading water for what seemed like forever. She didn’t really know how long because her watch had died. It wasn’t meant to be waterproof. She thought the water had finally stopped rising. Too bad. If it had kept up, she could have just floated out of the damn hole.

  She looked up at the top of the pit. It was only about six feet above her now. Might as well have been a hundred though. She was too weak to try and pull herself up the wall now.

  She leaned back trying to float for a minute. She was so tired and cold. Her teeth chattered and her muscles twitched. Tears welled in her eyes. She was going to die here. They would never find her in time. She didn’t know how much longer she could last. The only ray of hope she had was that they would find Dougie. He would be safe. He had to be.

  With a groan, she righted herself and started to tread again, keeping her head above the water. What was Mike doing right now? Was he looking for her? Oh God, she was so stupid. She should have said yes to him this morning. Had it just been this morning? Even if the proposal was half-assed, she loved him so much. She couldn’t imagine life without him now. They had already felt like a family these last few days.

  Her head dipped under the water and then bobbed up again. She spluttered, gulping at the air. Oh Go
d. Maybe it was just as well she hadn’t said yes. Would it be easier for Mike to move on after she was gone? The thought of Mike spending the rest of his life with someone else caused a pain even worse than the one in her side. She loved him. Had she even said that to him yet? She couldn’t remember. She was so tired. So very tired. Maybe she should just stop swimming. What was it like to drown?

  “NO!” Allie shouted out loud, startling herself. She would not give up. She couldn’t. Her muscles screamed but she kept moving, holding her head above the water. She would see her son. She would see Mike. God, she wanted to see him so badly she was beginning to imagine she could hear his voice.

  ***

  “ALLIE!” Mike called out again. After reaching the spot where they had found Dougie, they had spread out several yards apart and began to walk a line south, following the grade of the terrain downhill. Randy had gathered up the remaining volunteers and sent them their way and so they soon had a long human chain of searchers scanning the brush. “Allie!”

  Allie’s name echoed through the area as searcher after searcher called it out. Mike slowly moved the beam of his flashlight ahead. “ALLIE!”

  ***

  Allie held her breath. Okay now she really was hallucinating or something. She was sure she had heard her name for real this time.

  “Allie! Allison Daniels!”

  There it was again, she huffed out the breath she had been holding in surprise. Someone was looking for her.

  “Huh…hhuh…heeere!” Her voice rasped out. “Hhhhheere!” Hope gave her new found energy and she thrashed harder. “Oh God, I’m here. Please. I’m here,” she called out weakly.

  A pain pierced through her side, different from the one before. Her leg muscles cramped up. She thrashed helplessly, but her head slipped below the water. Desperately she tried to kick her legs to bring herself back up to the surface but a second cramp doubled her over. Her vision started to waver and her lungs burned. She felt her foot hit bottom and with one last Herculean effort, she bent her legs and pushed with all her might. She rocketed up, breaking the surface where she gulped a mouthful of air gratefully. “HERE!” she yelled with all her might.

  ***

  “Here! Over here!”

  Mike stopped at the shout.

  “Over here. I think I found her!”

  Running towards the sound of the voice, Mike crashed through the scrub, oblivious to the branches whipping his arms and legs, tearing at his clothes. He came to a halt in a small clearing. A volunteer he didn’t know was standing at the edge of an opening in the ground, peering in with his flashlight. Mike pushed him out of the way and looked down.

  “Allie!” Mike cried out. “Hang on Kitten.” He tossed his flashlight to the ground and jumped into the pit with a splash.

  He came up spluttering and looked around. Allie was floating head down in the water. “No!” Mike’s voice was full of pain and denial.

  He swam over to her and pulled her head out of the water. “Allie! Allie! Wake up. Oh Kitten, I’m here.” He rolled her onto her back in the rescue position and checked her breathing. “Help!” He looked up at the top of the pit. “Somebody get some help.”

  Pinching her nose, he breathed into her mouth. One breath, two breaths. Allie suddenly coughed and spluttered out water.

  “Oh thank you God!” Mike pulled her to him, hugging her.

  “M...m…mike?” Allie blinked at him in confusion.

  “Yeah Kitten, it’s me. Dougie’s safe, do you hear me? Dougie’s safe.”

  “Oh, thank you…thank you…” she whispered hoarsely, closing her eyes.

  Mike kissed her face over and over. “You’re safe too, I’ve got you.” He kissed her tenderly on the forehead. “I’ve got you and I’m never going to let you go again.”

  Epilogue

  Allie reached in and turned on the shower. She let it run for a few minutes to heat up while she stood in front of the mirror and peered at herself. The bruises had all but faded. It was amazing how much had changed in the last four weeks. She opened her robe and looked at her side. There was still a faint yellowing where she had broken two ribs. She took a deep breath and let it out again. At least that didn’t hurt anymore.

  She frowned and looked down at her arms. She held them up side-by-side and grimaced. Her left arm was pasty white and much skinnier than the right, but it sure was great to finally get that darn cast off. She flexed her wrist experimentally. It still felt weird not to have the cast on, like her arm was naked and vulnerable.

  The mirror began to fog and she turned and stepped into the shower.

  “Ahhhh,” she sighed gratefully. That felt wonderful.

  She stood for a minute, letting the water cascade down around her, thinking about all that had happened the last few weeks. Uncle Russ was continuing his slow recovery from his heart attack and he and Elaine were now happily living in their new condo. The farm was now hers, or rather hers and Mike’s.

  Allie smiled at the memory. After another bedside proposal, this time a hospital bed, she had said ‘yes’, much to Mike’s relief. Mike had officially moved in with her and Dougie and they were currently living in sin, as she liked to joke. They were thinking a spring wedding and when they told her aunt, Elaine had clapped her hands with glee and immediately began planning.

  As far as the mortgage on the farm went, she and Mike were equal partners, just like they planned to be in everything they did from now on. Allie sighed and looked down at her ring finger. She absolutely loved the ring. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. And the fact that it had been his grandmother’s made it priceless in her mind.

  Still smiling, Allie grabbed the loofah sponge and poured some of her favourite morning wake-up body wash on with a ‘glop’. She breathed in the scent of pink grapefruit and began to lather herself up.

  When the curtain rustled, she grinned. “I thought you had to get to work,” she said with a laugh.

  Mike stepped in behind her, his hand caressing her shoulder to slide down her arm and grab the sponge from her hand.

  “Changed my mind.” His breath tickled her ear and she shivered when he nipped at her earlobe playfully.

  “Dougie get on the bus okay?”

  “Yeah, he’s still the little celebrity.” Mike chuckled. “You should have seen him high-fiving his way down the aisle.”

  Allie laughed. What a relief. Dougie seemed to have bounced back from his ordeal, none the worse for wear; kids were so resilient. Of course, it didn’t hurt that Dougie was enjoying his newfound celebrity, after his heroic climb that saved the day. Allie shook her head. She still didn’t know how Dougie had managed to climb out of that pit.

  She frowned as her thoughts turned back to that horrible day. She still woke up with nightmares about it, but it helped to wake up with Mike’s arms wrapped protectively around her, his voice soothing her gently.

  At least she wouldn’t have to worry about the Grangers ever again. Dustin Granger would be going to jail for a long time for his part in the scheme. His brother David, on the other hand, had paid the ultimate price. He hadn’t survived his injuries. Seth Granger had died a few days after his son in a drunk driving accident. Thankfully, it was a single car accident so no one had to pay for his tragic end, except Seth himself. Allie had a hard time drumming up any sort of sympathy or remorse over either death.

  Rowdy was also paying for his part in everything with community service. Allie chuckled. She had enjoyed driving past the community centre the other day to watch Rowdy, scrub brush and pail in hand, clean the graffiti off the side of the building. She wondered where he would be sent next. Maybe she could pack a picnic and make a day of it. She chuckled again.

  Mike pulled her up close, her back to his front, and started to languorously rub the sponge in circles on her body. “What’s so funny?” he asked, nuzzling at her
neck.

  “Mmmm, that feels nice.” Allie closed her eyes and leaned back against him. “I was just thinking about Rowdy.”

  Mike snorted. “You know, you were rather obvious driving by the community centre a half dozen times.”

  Allie shrugged. “So sue me.” She groaned and arched her back as Mike scrubbed the loofah across her ribs. “Oooo, that’s good.”

  “Looks good from my point of view too,” Mike chuckled, giving her perky nipple a little pinch.

  Allie gasped and wiggled her butt up against his hard erection. “I can tell.”

  Mike growled and nipped at her ear. “Be patient, I’m just getting started.” He slid the soapy sponge across her belly and down her thigh and proceeded to wash her leg from hip to toe, coming to kneel in front of her at her feet. Allie giggled and wiggled her toes when he picked up her foot and rested it on his knee. He soaped it up and then massaged the sole.

  “Mmmmm, that feels so goooooood,” Allie sighed closing her eyes.

  “Careful you don’t fall there, Kitten,” Mike smirked. He bent and placed a kiss on the top of her foot before setting it back on the floor. Next, he picked up her other foot and gave it equal treatment.

  “Oh yeah, that’s wonderful.” Allie groaned again. “Not that I’m complaining, but you keep that up and we’re going to run out of hot water.”

  “Almost done,” Mike replied, rinsing off her foot and setting it down. He rose to his feet and pulled her close to him. Allie sighed and pressed herself against his chest, resting her head on his shoulder. Mike wrapped his arms around her and scrubbed her back in lazy circles. He worked his way down, giving her butt a playful squeeze, before moving slowly up her side to her arm. He gave her a little nudge and stepped away so that he could pull her arm out from her body and then gently rubbed the sponge along its length.