Talisman

by S.E. Akers

  Though my body was still reeling from the jolt of the explosion, I forced myself up to my knees and crawled my way over to Samuel. He was lying a few yards from one of the safety shacks and covered in rubble.

  I yanked off my hard hat and gas mask. “Samuel, can you hear me? ARE YOU OKAY?” I pleaded frantically while I brushed debris off his body.

  Samuel’s eyes fluttered open. “Sh—Shiloh? W—What are you doin’ . . . down here?” he groaned, sounding just as dazed as he looked.

  “Rescuing you. Can you move?”

  “A little,” Samuel winced. “But it hurts like hell to.”

  “I’m going to try to move you. Tell me if it’s too painful, and I’ll stop. Okay?”

  “O—Okay,” Samuel mumbled. I’d barely touched him when he let out an agonizing wail.

  My hands flew off him immediately. “SORRY,” I blurted nervously. My gloves felt wet, almost saturated, and then a distinct smell flooded my nostrils. I grabbed the hard hat and aimed its light at his midsection, confirming my worst fears. It was blood, and there was a lot of it. My teeth sank into my bottom lip like an anchor. I didn’t know the extent of his internal injuries, but it seemed clear that my only option was to try to heal his wounds right here.

  “What’s wrong?” Samuel asked, looking confused and equally concerned.

  I stopped biting my lip. “Nothing,” I lied, trying not to alarm him — or me. After all, this was my first solo attempt at healing someone. The Amethyst Talisman’s magical mending the other night didn’t count. Tanner was a supernatural who claimed some of his own healing capabilities — Samuel wasn’t. Would I even succeed? This was a mere “human” I was about to lay my inexperienced hands on. Talk about on-the-job training…

  “Just close your eyes,” I urged.

  He either complied willingly or was on the verge of slipping into an unconscious state. Either way, his lids closed within seconds. I took a deep breath to prepare for a little mystical intervention.

  Before I could even take off my gloves, another rumble sounded from above. I looked up to see several large rocks crashing down towards us. I threw myself on top of Samuel to shield him from their crushing blow. The brut force of the rocks pummeled my body, but they simply bounced off me like a playground ball, leaving me unscathed. Another rumble roared throughout the mine. There was no time to waste. Any “healing” would have to be put on hold. I had to get Samuel out of here and fast, before the whole damn roof collapsed on top of us. I could climb out, but Samuel would surely be buried in the rubble and ultimately perish. Even with that decision clinched, there was still one major problem: we still had to get past the cave-in — courtesy of me, and one accidentally ignited carnelian.

  Think… Think…

  A rail car was sitting on the tracks nearby with one coal car connected to its rear. An explosion of my own went off in my head. Now I had an idea as to “how” I was going to get him out of here and break through our rocky barrier.

  “Samuel . . . I’m sorry,” I said, clenching my teeth.

  “Why?” Samuel moaned.

  “’Cause this is REALLY going to hurt,” I admitted.

  Before Samuel got a chance to voice any pain-fueled protests, I already had him carried and loaded in the coal car. I used a tarp I’d found nearby to cover his frail frame and then headed towards the rear of the car. I grabbed underneath it and tightened my grasp. Even though I was glad that I’d thought to wear gloves, they really didn’t offer much of a firm grip — especially with them soaked in about a quart of Samuel’s blood.

  Swiftly, I backed the two steel cars down the mine about a hundred feet. The conjoined coal cars were easy to tow, like pulling a loaded shopping cart down an aisle of a grocery store. Thankfully, I didn’t feel any of the iron’s sluggish effects.

  That should be plenty of room. After I’d secured the little carnelian in my hand, I clutched the lip underneath the coal car and took a deep breath.

  “Here we go. Just stay down, Samuel,” I called out as I crouched down and then began pushing the coal car down the track. I gradually picked up my pace, which was now an awkwardly hunched over, high-speed sprint.

  We were approaching the spot where the mine had collapsed. I increased my speed and ran as fast as I could, hunkered down behind the car. A few yards before impact, I hurled the carnelian towards the mass of rubble. The stone ignited, causing a thunderous and fiery explosion to roar towards us. I heard a crashing sound as soon as the front end of the rail car struck the remaining rocks that blocked our path. I charged through the barrage of debris with breakneck speed. Luckily, we plowed right through the obstruction without a hitch, and to my astonishment, I’d even managed to keep both cars on the tracks.

  That was a close one!

  Within seconds, a faint light abruptly appeared up ahead. I was moving so fast I couldn’t make out what it was. Strangely, the light remained fixed. I hadn’t passed any working lights on my way in, and it looked to be about head-high, so I had to assume it was coming from a miner’s hard hat. I held on to the rear coal car and planted my feet firmly against the ground lying between the rails. Sparks from the metal wheels flew towards me. I had to tighten my grip when I felt my hands rattling loose from the car’s lip. My feet were sizzling from the friction, and the smell of burning rubber rose from my sneakers as I came to a screeching stop. I peered around the rear of the coal car to see Uriah Hatfield jerking off his gas mask and looking seriously pissed.

  Aw, shit…

  “Shiloh Wallace?” Uriah Hatfield yelled out. “Daggumit! I knew it! I knew ya was upta somethin’! What in the Hell ya doin’ down here? I saw ya sneak through the gate. I was onta ya as soon as I saw ya walkin’ off. Ya caint sneak nothin’ past me no more, Missy! Don’t ya know there’s been several explosions in here. I hadta sneak past the damn safety crew still standin’ ’round outside waitin’ to check gas levels. They’re comin’ this way. They’ll have my ass over this if they find ya down here. I swear! You’re just as stubborn as ya were when ya’s little, and cause just as much trouble! This ain’t chya personal playground!”

  I ignored his rants and tugged him towards the rear coal car.

  Uriah resisted. “No, no! You’re a comin’ with me!”

  “LOOK!” I screamed and pointed to the coal car.

  Uriah stepped towards the rear car, scratching his head. “What in the hell am I lookin’ at?” he huffed.

  I reached over and whisked away the dirty tarp to reveal a very injured and unconscious Samuel Clark.

  “Uriah, Samuel needs help,” I pleaded as I pointed to his abdomen.

  Uriah looked like he was rapidly descending into a state of shock as he stared at Samuel’s coal-dust covered, bloodstained body. I tried calling out to him several times, but the weathered old security guard kept silent, just standing there with his mouth open and swaying in sync with his breaths. Though I was pleased that he’d finally shut up, right now the clever security guard was as about as useful as a paper condom. This was going to take some “subtle” intervention.

  I grabbed his arms and shook him. “URIAH!” I yelled.

  Without delay, the surly old security guard snapped to my attention. He was no longer catatonic but in a hypnotic trance — my trance. This was my first successful attempt at compelling someone directly. State Trooper Burks and Lila the waitress had both been coerced in an accidental manner, so I wasn’t sure how hard I needed to concentrate. With a safety crew approaching, I had neither the luxury of time nor the privacy to heal Samuel’s injuries (and at this point, even my confidence was bordering on iffy). Uriah was the best and safest option I had to help Samuel.

  I took Uriah’s hand and looked deeply into his wide brown eyes, focusing intensely. “Uriah, listen to me. You’re going to drive the rail car to the mine’s entrance and get Samuel to safety. He’s badly injured, and you’re the only one who can help him. Nod your head
if you understand me.”

  Uriah’s head bobbed up and down slowly.

  “Good,” I replied as I guided him over to the small operator seat.

  Uriah cranked the electric engine and took hold of the levers. I could hear voices approaching in the distance.

  I grabbed Uriah’s arm. “You rescued Samuel,” I whispered in his ear. “You never saw me. I was never here. Do you understand?”

  “I rescued Samuel,” Uriah mumbled, nodding his head the same as before.

  “That’s right, you’re a hero. Now GO!” I stepped back into the shadows, keeping my eyes glued to the rear coal car as they puttered off down the track. It seemed like only seconds had passed when a rescue crew appeared and halted the approaching rail car. A couple of the guys hopped in the back to assess Samuel’s injuries. A heavy sigh boomed from my lungs at the sound of the engine’s crank, followed by a wave of sheer relief as I watched the car chugging towards the mouth of the mine.

  I heard several more voices heading my way. Unfortunately, I’d left my gas mask and helmet back where I’d found Samuel. I glanced down at my powerless little golden topaz and slammed my foot against the ground. Crap!

  With no other alternative, I flipped up the collar of my fireproof jacket, buried my head down low against my chest, and then walked swiftly past them like nobody’s business. Sometimes you just kind of have to “own it” in situations like this. Luckily the rescue team seemed too preoccupied with their task at hand to notice anything, let alone me.

  Thank goodness…

  The bright morning sun striking my face provided my worrisome frame with a warm reception, like a much-needed lift to my sunken spirits. At least I took it as a sure sign that Samuel was going to be all right. I hid behind one of the nearby buildings and watched as the paramedics loaded my surrogate father onto a stretcher and into an awaiting ambulance. The bright orange and white vehicle was marked, “McDowell County Hospital”, so that’s exactly where I would be heading. I rushed to peel myself out of the safety garb I’d borrowed. All the pieces were caked in coal dust, but thankfully they had protected my clothes underneath. A shrill emergency siren pierced the air as the ambulance exited through the security gate and then took off zooming down the road, lights flashing and sounding its battle cries for motorists to clear the way.

  PLEASE let him be okay…

  You would think, as with any disaster, that fear and uncertainty would usher in all kinds of pandemonium. But as I looked around the grounds, everyone appeared to be diligently focusing on their assigned duty. The only person who looked an absolute nervous wreck was Harper Riverside. He was running around franticly, and I knew why. Sure, he was worried about the welfare of his miners. He would have to be a pretty cold-hearted bastard not to be concerned about the safety of his employees when it came to a catastrophe such as this. However, with the impression left by Lazarus questioning the mine’s safety, you could bet his thoughts were consumed with the fear of a failed sale. Mr. Riverside wanted rid of it. With an investigation sure to follow, he may end up closing it down after all. The sad part about it was that it wasn’t “company error” or even “nature’s fault”. The mine had been sabotaged, but I didn’t have the faintest idea how any forensic team could prove it.

  Do they have a test that detects magic “rock bombs”?

  I ran off through the woods and steered a path straight for McDowell County Hospital, located on the opposite side of town. I arrived just as the ambulance was pulling up to the side entrance marked,