TRAPPED

I sat alone in the dank darkness of the tunnel, with only my fears to keep me company. With much effort, I attempted to calm myself. My mind ran through the list of reassuring expressions that we offer to our victims. You'll be okay, try to be calm. It all rang so empty now. I reached out my hand, to search the cool dirt beside me in the hope of locating my flashlight. I placed my hand around the tube and flicked the switch to the on position. The small stream of light cast by its beam made me smile. At least something was working, I told myself. I gripped the flashlight tightly and shone the beam around the chamber. The light rested momentarily on the body of a man. A man I was sent to rescue. I heard a small whimpering sound, and soon realized it had originated within me.

"I can't die here. Please, not like this," I said aloud. A spray off dirt, dropped from the ceiling to answer my plea.

"OK, They're still working. They haven't given up." I kept telling myself that. I couldn't give up either. How long had it been? Minutes? Hours? Time was meaningless now.

I tried to shift my weight to my other side. The metal bar that pinned my legs to the floor refused to cooperate. I screamed in frustration.

A thought soon occurred to me. It's always been said that your life will pass before you when you're going to die. My mind didn't turn to memories of childhood, friends or family. The need for survival was so strong; there was little else that occupied my thoughts. I took this as a sign of hope.

I did take time for thoughts of my co-workers. My friends who wouldn't give up on me. I knew that. And I thought about my partner. My best friend. I could only imagine what was going through his mind.

How I wanted to see them all again. Closing my eyes, I began to pray.

*********************************************************

I opened my eyes to see a small stream of light come to rest on the ground in front of me. Of course I assumed it was coming from the flashlight. It took a minute or two for my confused mind to realize that the flashlight was switched off, and laid at my side.

A voice called from above. I wasn't sure I had heard it. Maybe it was my imagination. But when I heard the voice again, I was sure my prayers hadn't been in vain. Someone was calling to me. They had found me, thank God.

I opened my mouth to call out an answer, though no words were spoken. My throat had become dry and refused to let them pass. Don't go! I'm here! My mind screamed.

Nothing. Silence. The only sound that filled my ears was the pounding of my own heart.

Think. Think! Desperately my eyes scanned the cavern. I stopped when I saw the corpse. As morbid as it sounded, I kept thinking better him than me. My fist had hit the ground with a dull thud.

I reached out and grabbed the flashlight. I sat up straight and banged the metal tube against the bar that trapped my legs. Pain shot down my spine, but was well worth the effort. Hurry! Please!

I heard the voice again, calling to see if someone was down there. With renewed strength I banged the tube harder. Faster. It's me, I rasped.

The voice spoke once more. Hold on pal, we're coming.

I laid back to relax, and took a deep breath. It's over I told myself. I hardly noticed the slight tremor that snaked through the ground beneath me. Dirt filled my eyes and my mouth. The light disappeared.

****************************************

I wiped desperately at my eyes and mouth and tried to clear the dirt lodged there. I tried to focus, but there was nothing to see. The tunnel seemed even darker this time. That light had given me some hope. Now I wasn't sure I even had that left.

They're coming back. They know I'm here now. I started to cough. The effort pulled on every muscle. The taste of the damp soil in my mouth made me retch. I raised my arm and wiped my sleeve across my mouth. My heart was beating faster and my body started to shake. Dry heaves burned in my throat.

I reached for the flashlight. My security blanket. I searched the ground in panic. It must have rolled away. I was alone. Oh God.

The ground began to tremble again. This was the final collapse, I told myself. It was strange, but a small part of my mind felt relief. Good, the waiting's over. I've heard people talk about it. Going home. I began to think about my life. What I had done, what I had yet to do. What I would never do. Too late for regrets. I eased back against the wall. I told myself not to fight it.

My peace was broken by another coughing spasm. My body ached. I touched my hand to my mouth and felt something wet and sticky. I vomited once more. My head pounded. I was tired and wanted to sleep but a cacophony of noises assaulted my mind.

It sounded like digging, shovels. I thought that I was hallucinating. There was more noise. I squeezed my eyes shut and raised my hands to my ears and tried to block everything out. My mind had turned against me and created false hopes. The digging noises stopped, like I knew they would. I didn't want to open my eyes, but forced myself. The beam of light had returned.

I told myself it wasn't real. I wouldn't believe it. But this time was different. Other noises. Movement. Hurried footsteps. The light travelled in my direction. A hand touched my shoulder.

"Thank God we found you."

I looked up bleary eyed at my rescuer. "Roy, is that really you?"

"Yes, John. It's going to be okay."

"Not going home yet." I said.

"No, John, not yet," Roy replied.

I smiled to myself. He thought it was a question.

Author's note: Thank you to the people at AllE who were kind enough to let me post this story to their list.