Fair Fight - Alternate Ending

By

Jane Royce

"HT 51, this is engine 51, do you read?" Asked Captain Stanley for the third time. His men were anxious to hear word from Johnny after the last cave-in, but heard nothing. Panic was beginning to set in, especially since the daylight hours were slipping away, all without word from their comrade.

The rescue should have been simple, but then no rescue underground can ever be deemed simple. Since Johnny was the thinnest member of the crew, he was the logical choice to go into the small cave where the mine workers were, but after the unstable ground began to cave in, his size did not make the difference. It had been one hour since the crew above heard from Johnny and the anxiety of the team was beginning to show.

"Cap, we've got to find another way" Asserted Chet. Johnny may be the butt of many of his pranks, but he didn't want to see any harm befall him.

"We are doing the best we can Chet, we have to keep calm" Responded an equally concerned Captain Stanley.

"Cap" began Stoker, "With Marco and Roy digging in from the main entrance, maybe we can start to dig from above."

"I agree, but above is where the slides took place, by the time we shore up the sides to create a new entrance from above, it will be several more hours." Cap replied.

"Not if we use a backhoe and get a crew up here" suggested Stoker.

"You've got a point there pal, let me see how much longer the crew is going to take, it's been 30 minutes since my first call already, it should be any minute."

Captain Stanley didn't have enough time to actually finish his thought when he was interrupted by the sound of the construction crew off in the distance. Another engine could be heard as well, the siren heralded it's approach. *I am gonna need a few ambulances as well I'm afraid*

~~~~~~~~~~

"Roy, how close to them do you think we are?" Marco asked, exhaustion creeping into his voice.

"I have no idea Marco, we don't even know how close to the entrance Johnny was before the collapse, this whole rescue is a mess." Roy replied, his voice trying hard not to relay the concern he was feeling for his partner, his victims and themselves.

"We better break through soon, there could not have been much air in there for them."

"I agree Marco, I am just trying not to think about it."

The pair continued to dig, each one hoping that they would reach the men before it was too late. Neither wanted to consider the possibility that the result would be a poor one, but both knew the potential outcomes. Both refused to discuss it with the other.

"Marco, do you see what I see?" Roy enthused.

"Dios Querido Roy, I see it, hurry!"

The men dug furiously at the sight of that hand, but were elated and found renewed energy at the sign of one of the men, both felt a greater purpose to their digging now. Gently, Roy removed the dirt from the hand enough to be able to expose the wrist.

"Oh no, no no no, there is no pulse. Please let it not be Johnny" revealed Roy, praying that he was not holding the hand of his partner.

Marco was shaken by the news, he wanted to find survivors, but he supposed that with each passing moment, this was unlikely.

"HT 51 to engine 51, how do you read?" Roy's response was thick static, the cave was doing it's best to offer a difficult transmission.

"HT 51 to engine 51, how do you read?" Roy inquired again.

"HT 51, this is engine 51, we read you, what have you got down there?" Captain Stanley asked.

"Engine 51, we have uncovered the hand of a victim, code F. We are working to uncover the victim for identification." Roy continued.

"10-4 HT 51, extra crews just arrived and we are going to star digging from above." Informed Captain Stanley.

"10-4 Cap, we need all the help we can get right now."

"This is good news Roy, good news indeed." Marco smiled.

Roy began to quicken the pace, he hoped to uncover this poor soul and find the rest of the men. If there was to be a chance, they had to move, and fast.

Marco and Roy worked in silence as they uncovered the sand and rocks from the miner. Both were relieved to see that it wasn't Johnny, but were saddened for the loss of this young man. They laid him out along the wall of the tunnel and set to work ahead in hopes that they would find someone else, someone else alive.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Cap, where do you want us?" Asked the construction crew chief.

"You tell me pal, this is where my man went in and this is where it al caved in on him ten minutes into the rescue. That was well over an hour ago and there were three other victims down there. He was about to begin to get them out when the walls caved in on him." Cap explained.

"OK, did you say the walls caved in on him, or the hole did." Asked the crew chief.

"Does it make a difference?" Asked a weary Chet.

"Yes it does actually, below here is a system of caves with tunnels, if the men were in a cave, they would stand a better chance in terms of air pockets and in terms of wall support. If the walls caved in, then the cave may have collapsed which is the worst case scenario, but if it was the entry tunnel only that collapsed, they may all be alive and well, just a little dusty." Explained the chief.

"Well, how will we know, and what's the best approach to get them out?" Asked Cap.

"I think we can quickly dig from above, but not at the area where the collapse is. According to the miners map here, there is a smaller cave connected to the larger cave where the men were. Lets dig into there from above and shore it up along the way to get them out safely and prevent more cave-ins." Suggested the chief, he hated jobs like this they were unpredictable.

"OK Mac, lets get started." Enthused Cap, he finally allowed himself to feel a ray of hope.

"Let me call my men who are below us, they entered the area from the entrance over there and did encounter a victim already. He didn't make it" said Cap.

"OK Captain, I'll get my men in position now."

"Hank, lets get my men involved too." Instructed Captain Williams who had arrived with station 10 in time to hear first hand, the plan of action. He gently placed his hand on Hanks shoulder, knowing too well, the stress that he must be feeling.

"Thanks Joe, lets get this started."

"HT 51, this is Engine 51, how do you read?"

"Engine 51, this is HT 51, we read you loud and clear." Roy replied.

"Roy, we have men in place now, they are going to dig from above to an adjacent cave to where Gage went in. They will shore up the walls in the process for stability. Station 10 is here and are standing by." Cap informed.

"10-4 Cap, we will keep up our approach from this end. We must be close."

"10-4, engine 51 out."

~~~~~~~~~~

"Hold it, hold it, I think I see something!" Shouted Captain Williams as he peered into the newly dug hole.

"I think I see something there, someone quick, jump in and take a look and get me more light over here!" Commanded the captain.

Chet was ready to be useful, so he quickly volunteered. He was easily lowered into the new hole the construction crew had created. The waiting was killing him and to be put to good use what just what he needed to renew his energy level.

"What do you see Kelly" shouted Captain Stanley.

"I see it, I see it, it's some of Johnny's equipment!" Chet reported, feeling fearful that if the equipment could be this badly damaged, the human body would be in pretty rough shape.

"OK Chet, can you dig around a bit and see if you can get to anything else?" Captain Stanley suggested.

"Sure Cap, throw me a shovel"

After just a couple of shovels full of dirt, Chet encountered rocks. "Dammit" shouted the Irishman.

"What's up Chet?" shouted Captain Stanley.

"It's rock down here, lots of rock, I can't get past this!"

"Climb out son, let my men and our machines do this work, we can handle it." Instructed the crew chief.

With minimal effort, Chet climbed out of the hole and waited impatiently while the crew set to work again. The process seemed to be taking too long and Chet was getting anxious.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey man, don't move around too much, you'll get the walls coming in on us again." Johnny instructed his patient.

"This has been quite a trip but I know our guys are gonna be close to us now, I can feel it!" Enthused Johnny.

When the walls had begin to cave in, Johnny was able to issue one directive to the men in the cave with him, and that was to take shelter. The men, being familiar with the caves and tunnels, led the way to move eastward. The cave their was stronger and contained less sand, it was more rock than anything. Regardless though, it was safer than where they had been. How the men moved at all was nothing short of a miracle considering their injuries. One man had a broken arm, one was experiencing chest pain, one had a broken leg. Johnny himself felt his ankle break when a large rock hit him just above the work boot. Sadly, one of the crew panicked and went in the opposite direction and was quickly covered in sand and rocks. By the time the cave in had settled down, the crew member could not even be seen. Johnny felt a strong pang of guilt for the man who lost his life. At the same time, he was grateful to be alive with the rest of the men. Alive for now though, the air was getting pretty thin.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Roy, I see the light where the men above are digging, hurry!" Shouted Marco.

Marco was right, they had dug clear into the area where the crew had dug from above. It was good to see the outdoors again, but they knew that they were off their target as well.

"HT 51 to Engine 51, do you read" Roy called, he was pleased to note that the connection was more clear.

"HT 51, this is engine 51, we read you loud and clear." Cap answered.

"Cap, we are at the base of the area where the crew had dug from above. We can see them up ahead and are approaching them now."

"10-4 Roy, proceed with caution."

"10-4"

"Chet!" Marco shouted, "it's good to see you my friend"

"Marco, it's good to see you. The guys here think we are close to a larger cave. Lets hope the guys are all in there." Chet informed his comrades. He was happy to see them, especially Roy. If the men were in rough shape, they will need help and Johnny will want Roy.

"SHHHHHHH!!" The crew chief shouted. "Be quiet, I think I hear something."

tap... tap... tap...

The sound was unmistakable, they all heard it and began to shout all at the same time, both in hopes to make contact and as the simple need to express some stress and joy.

Tap tap... tap...

"Can you hear me?!" Shouted the crew chief as loud as he could.

The tapping stopped for a moment.

"Can you hear me?!"

The tapping began, this time more rapidly

tap..tap..tap..tap..

With unbridled energy, all men began to dig wildly, each moving more earth and rock than ever thought physically possible.

"Stop stop, I see someone!" Shouted Chet. "Gimme a flashlight, I can't see much like this!"

With the help of a flashlight, Chet was able to see into the hole the men had made with their digging. What he saw made him gasp and grapple for stability as he battled a lightheaded feeling.

"What the hell did you see son?" asked the crew chief worriedly.

"I can't believe it, I just can't believe it! I saw Johnny, Johnny was sitting up with three other men, and he was smiling at me!" Chet rambled excitedly "the pigeon is alive and smiling at me!"

Roy could not believe what he was hearing. He grabbed Chet's flashlight and looked for himself.

"Well hey partner, glad you could finally make it, do you mind lending a hand?" Stated Johnny in a calm voice.

"Oh my god Johnny, you're all right, you're OK! I can't believe it, lets get you out of here! Are you all all right?" Roy asked quickly.

"I have a victim here with a broken right arm, one with a broken right leg and one with chest pain." Johnny continued "One went in another direction when the slide started." Johnny continued solemnly.

"We found him, he was VSA, and is in a tunnel. We will get him out after you guys get to the top. He was buried under a great deal of sand and rocks, his injures were too extensive." Roy stated.

With renewed energy, the men all pitched in to get the rocks out of the way enough to allow passage of the victims. It was decided that stokes baskets would be used for all to help hasten the move topside.

"HT 51 to Engine 51, do you read?" Roy began.

"HT 51, this is engine 51, we read you loud and clear." Cap replied.

"Cap, we found them! Johnny is fine, and he has three victims with injuries. We need five stokes baskets for transport immediately."

"10-4 Roy, they are on the way. The paramedics with 10's are here and ready to assist."

With an audible sigh, the men topside prepared for the arrival of four victims, and one deceased victim. The loss of a single life was difficult for the men, as they anticipated the arrival of one of their own and three victims who needed their help.

The crews below worked quickly to get the victims loaded into the stokes. Johnny initially claimed bravado and attempted to walk out, but was quickly brought back to reality when the pain lanced through his leg and brought him down in a heap. His strength was not there any longer, he needed to collapse. He was safe, he knew it, his body knew it and his soul was at peace. He could rest now.

~~~~~~~~~~

'Johnny, can you hear me?" Dr. Brackett asked. "Johnny, can you hear me?"

"Uuhn, I hear ya doc, lemme sleep" Johnny slurred.

"I will, but I need to check you over. I need you to answer a few questions for me, can you do that for me?"

"Yeah, sure doc." Johnny answered sleepily.

"Did you hit your head or lose consciousness?"

"No, m'okay"

"Do you know where you are? Dr. Brackett continued.

"Yeah, at Roy's house in his backyard, sipping a beer, sunning myself." Johnny replied

The last answer concerned Dr. Brackett and made him begin to think that Johnny really did have a head injury afterall, until Johnny lifted his head and gave him an animated wink.

"I am OK doc, I just need some sleep." Johnny stated dryly.

"OK Johnny" Dr. Brackett smiled. "You win. Ortho is coming to look at this leg and decide what to do. You get some rest here and I'll see you in a few moments."

Dr. Brackett opened the treatment room door to find a throng of fire crew members mixed with members of a construction crew. All were animatedly discussing who had the more dangerous job when Dr. Brackett coughed to get their attention.

"Ok men, Johnny is going to be just fine. The other victims are all going to be admitted for observation but will likely be released tomorrow." Dr. Brackett continued. "The gentleman with chest pain is asthmatic and being in the cave for that period of time and surrounded by dust, elicited his pain and asthma. He will be fine but needs to wear a mask when in caves, or else he may flare up again."

"Can I see Johnny, doc" asked Roy, amid other requests of the rest of the men to see their friends.

"Yes, you can all see your friends, but just for short time. They are all going up to a room soon and they do have injuries that need to heal." Dr. Brackett instructed.

~~~~~~~~~~

Ten days later, the men from station 10, station 51 and the construction crew found themselves dressed casually and in the backyard of Roy De Soto enjoying the warm summer afternoon and Joanne's good cooking.

"That was some rescue Roy, you guys all pulled together to get us out just in the nick of time." Johnny stated.

"It was a combined effort really, but our crew is better able to handle cave-ins" Inserted the crew chief.

"Aww, not THAT arguement again!" Bellowed Chet "You oughta come and join us for a day to see what we go through every day!"

"Maybe one day, we will hose jockey!" Responded the smiling crew chief.

The sound of laughter and healing could be heard all along Roy's street that day. It was a good day, a day to reflect upon how short life can be and to learn that we all can do something to help one another in times of need.

The End