A Message for Julia

by Angel Smits

  “Let’s go see him.” Hank put the walker in front of her and grinned. The rattle of the walker was a bit slower than it had been, but just as enthusiastic.

  Mamie hugged everyone then was gone. They’d meet again soon. Everyone promised.

  Linc would be next. Julia moved right up to the TV and sat beside Rita. They clasped hands. “I look forward to seeing Ryan back in class,” Julia said.

  Rita simply nodded and squeezed Julia’s fingers.

  The news reporter stepped in front of the camera. Behind him, the rescue capsule was still poised above the hole. “What are they waiting for?” Rita demanded. Jack leaned forward and turned up the volume.

  The reporter answered her as if on cue. “The crew seems to be spending a bit more time with the last man.”

  Before the reporter could say more, Patrick’s frantic voice cut through the airwaves. “Get it down! Fast. That water’s gonna get ’em.”

  Julia’s heart leaped into her throat.

  “Damn.” Jack stood and paced.

  “Oh, hurry, hurry,” Rita told the TV. They watched the crew scramble to get the metal cage back down. Julia didn’t remember the cable moving that quickly before.

  Water was not good.

  The world Julia had known just a few weeks ago was gone. Blown away by a rockfall. Buried beneath a mountain of stone. Perhaps forever.

  The doubts she’d spent the past few days ignoring leaped at her with a ferocity she couldn’t ignore.

  Even if Linc survived the cave-in, would he survive the slow rescue? Was he even alive now or was all this effort for nothing? Had the water flooded the chamber?

  Oh, God, please don’t let all this be a waste.

  What would she do if he were gone from her life?

  Would she ever know if he still loved her?

  Divorce was just as much a threat as the mountain. What if they saved him and he came back up and still told her goodbye? The thought flirted with the edges of her sanity.

  Then, as if carried on the breeze, calm settled over her. She’d rather lose Linc to divorce than death. At least then she’d know he was alive. Not permanently, irrevocably gone. Just the idea of a world without him in it was beyond her comprehension.

  She knew that if she had to, she would let him go.

  But she hoped she didn’t have to. She didn’t want to. Her love for him was as strong as ever and she didn’t want to lose what they had together. She had to show him it was still there.

  Finally, minutes…hours later, the winch stopped as it had five times before. It had reached the bottom. Julia could envision Linc climbing into the capsule. Ryan would help him. She wrapped her arms around her waist. Hurry. Please hurry.

  The signal was given and the winch pulled the thick cable. For long minutes it moved slowly. Suddenly it stopped moving altogether. Men jumped off the rig and from the edges of the hill. Two EMTs hurried from where the two remaining ambulances sat.

  The shadows danced in the huge floodlights like moths caught in a giant flame—back and forth, men scurried about. The reporter must have moved away as there were no voices to match the gestures and lips she saw moving.

  Time ticked away. Julia had to force herself to stop looking at her watch.

  Finally, the crowd moved back and the cable moved—but was it going back down?

  “No! What’s wrong?” Then, as if hearing her words, the cable stopped and reversed direction. Finally, the top of the capsule appeared and slowly emerged.

  Ryan’s face was a black mask of dirt beneath his hard hat. Water poured out of the bottom of the capsule.

  No! Where’s Linc? Julia trembled, her heart pounding so hard it stole the air from the room.

  Rita bounced to her feet and headed to the door. “My baby,” she said several times. Jack moved more slowly, obviously torn between his wife and wondering what had happened to Linc. He stared at Julia, then at her parents, who looked as shell-shocked as she felt.

  “Go, go.” Julia pushed Jack’s shoulder. “I’m going, too.” And before anyone could argue with her, she gathered her jacket and headed toward the tent opening. She had to know what had happened. Linc was down there and no one was going to keep her from him.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Saturday Night, Fifty-Four and a Half Hours Underground

  DRY GROUND WAS FADING FAST. Even the tiny spot Linc sat on was soggy and muddy.

  He’d sent the kid up in his place. The boy had argued at first when Linc told him how it was going to go. If it had been anyone else—like Robert—Linc might not have won the argument. But Ryan was scared and cold and too damned young to be down here. Linc had more than told Ryan, he’d made him swear he’d go back to school and at least think about college.

  Ryan had hesitated, but not for long. When the capsule came down, he’d looked at it so longingly, Linc hadn’t even had to insist. They’d shaken hands like men, but then Ryan had stepped forward and given him a brief hug. “Hurry up, okay?”

  “I’ll do my best, kid.” He’d relish the memory of that moment for the rest of his life.

  Even if it was a short life. He scooted back, but the water licked at his steel-toed boots with a wicked slapping sound. He swallowed and prayed they’d hurry.

  All too soon, he could no longer sit as the water rose to his knees. The area where the capsule came down was now flooded and he cringed. Thankful for the extra batteries, he flashed the light over the water. Waiting.

  He moved and the sound of paper crackled in his pocket. He reached in and pulled out the haphazard note he’d tried to write Julia. He’d forgotten about it when the drill broke through, but now, looking at the water, he bit his lip. It was still rising. Fast.

  He might not make it. Fumbling in his pockets, he found the pen he’d used earlier. His hands shook with the cold and his emotions. He had to let her know.

  I’m trying to get to you. I love you. He underlined the last three words. Twice.

  He sloshed around the chamber, looking for something to protect the note. Even if they couldn’t get him out alive, they’d find his body and someone would give her the note. They had to.

  The sandwiches had been wrapped in plastic. The old bucket they’d tossed the wrappers in floated over by the high ground. He pulled a bag out and struggled to get it open. Finally, he stuffed the paper in and resealed it. Scrunching it, he put it in his shirt pocket, then settled back against the wall to continue waiting. His thoughts grew disjointed.

  Was this what his father had gone through? This dark cold…only without the hope? Linc swallowed his grief.

  As a kid, he’d blamed his father for the accident, for not coming home. For all their misery.

  But getting to know these men, men he realized were much like his father, he saw how unfair he’d been.

  If he’d been able to, Jim Holmes would have come home.

  “I’m sorry, Dad,” Linc said to the darkness. “I’m so sorry.”

  There was no answer and he didn’t expect one. But the peace that settled over him eased a lifetime of anger. He closed his eyes and pictured his father standing with his mother in a bright light. It felt right.

  He didn’t see Jace there, though. He wanted to find him. Had he heard about this? Linc knew he needed to make things right, for himself, for Jace and for their parents.

  The sound of the capsule rattling its way down the shaft brought him back to reality. Relieved and desperate to escape, Linc shoved his way through the water toward it, his teeth banging together as he shivered. Until he saw the sky above him, he wasn’t banking on anything.

  Taking a deep breath, reminding himself this was just like a first plunge into a summer pool, he stepped into the deeper water. He wasn’t sure if the battery would work if it got wet, so he took the light off his helmet and held it aloft.

  The heavy capsule bobbed with the waves of his movements. Only the top quarter of the capsule was out of the water. It was enough.

  He reached it and tried to unfasten t
he latch. His fingers were stiff with the cold and he fumbled. The metal tore his skin, but he barely felt the pain of the cut.

  He pulled the door open and stepped inside. The cage swung awkwardly and nearly spilled him out. He gulped a mouthful of the brackish water before righting himself. Slapping the helmet and its light back on his head, Linc curled his fingers around the mesh to hold himself in place.

  Reaching out, he grabbed the door and fought the water to pull it closed. He had to twist around in the tight space to get it firmly shut. He struggled with the latch. He stopped and took a deep calming breath. Focus. One step at a time. He concentrated on his fingers, forcing them to do his bidding. Finally, the latch clicked tight.

  He scarcely had room to move and had no clue how the other, much larger men had fit in this thing. But they had. Thank God, they had.

  Linc pounded on the roof and barely felt the impact. His fingers were useless from the cold. He leaned against the side of the metal cage.

  He knew from watching the others that it rose into the opening cut just inches wider than the cage. Black earth completely surrounded him.

  Closing his eyes, he chose not to watch.

  Saturday Night, 9:30 p.m.

  HAD SHE MISSED LINC COMING UP? The reporter hadn’t said his name. There wasn’t anyone around to tell her what was going on anymore. She’d seen Patrick on the TV screen in the huddle of men around the winch.

  If Linc had come up…he’d be with the EMT crews.

  “Where are you going?” Her father caught her at the doorway and touched her arm. She looked up at him, surprised. She’d nearly forgotten her parents were here.

  Guilt swept through her. Despite the past, they’d been so supportive through this.

  “Linc was supposed to come up before Ryan. Where is he?”

  “I don’t know.” Her father’s concern for her seemed to include Linc, which pleased her.

  “Honey, wait here. They’ll come tell you what’s going on.” He didn’t sound convinced of that and she wasn’t either. No one was headed this way.

  “I can’t. Thank you for being here. It’s been a huge help.” She closed the few inches between them and put her arms around him. “Thank you, Daddy,” she whispered. Then she pulled back and her mom was right there, too. “You two are awesome.”

  “You and your young man aren’t so bad, either,” Eleanor admitted with a forced smile, and slipped an arm around Julia.

  Their sentiments were real. Julia saw the sincerity on their faces. But they were also trying to guide her back to the seat by the TV. Away from the edge of anxiety.

  The TV reporter’s voice interrupted them. “From what I can see, the crews have determined that the chamber where the men have spent the last three days has completely flooded. The young man who just came up appears soaking wet from head to toe with water running from the capsule. The fate of the last remaining man is unclear.”

  “No!” Julia screamed. She stumbled, then righted herself. On the screen the crew behind the reporter sent the capsule back down the hole.

  “Shut your mouth.” A familiar voice came from out of the camera range. Patrick. His shoulder appeared and the reporter disappeared from the screen.

  There was no stopping Julia now. The reporter’s words only made the worry and wait worse. She had to see for herself what was happening.

  She knew that if the news was bad, she would be left up here until the mine officials figured out what story to tell her.

  She couldn’t wait. Agony spurred her to move, and she ran to the entry of the tent. This time, no one tried to stop her. Instead, her parents followed her outside.

  Julia ran out into the woods and to the trail she’d walked so many times in the past three days. Halfway down the hill, she stumbled over the tree root she’d cursed days before. Her hands and knees hit the trail, and she swore at the mud and rocks that scraped her skin.

  Her momentum kept her going, and she tumbled several more feet before the thick undergrowth stopped her.

  She wanted to curl up right there and let the pain take her. She let loose a single sob before she pulled herself together. Julia might want to die with Linc, but she wasn’t about to give up yet.

  She crawled to her feet and ran as fast as she could manage on the terrain, no more interested in caution than before.

  She broke into the clearing and shoved her way through the crowd of workers. They all knew who she was and parted to let her through.

  She heard someone screaming Linc’s name and realized it was her. She nearly tumbled again just as she reached the crew surrounding the hole. A pair of strong hands grabbed her shoulders, not to stop her, but to steady her. She looked up to see Patrick’s familiar face. So many times during this ordeal this man had been the bearer of bad news. Now he grinned along with the rest of them.

  “Almost home,” one of the men operating the winch yelled.

  The top of the capsule appeared above the hole. Like a mother giving birth, the earth released her final captive. The metal cage emerged into the bright lights, water gushing from the bottom of the capsule. Linc covered his eyes against the glare.

  He was so close. She needed to touch him. To know this was finally real.

  Before they’d even opened the door, she was pushing forward, sobbing his name.

  “Let them get him out so he doesn’t fall back down.” Patrick said patiently. Reluctantly, she stepped back, leaning on Patrick.

  The cage door opened and two men helped Linc step out. A gurney was positioned just inches away and they led him toward it.

  His steps were awkward but then he looked up. “Julia,” he cried and despite Patrick’s hold, she launched herself at him. She slid down through the muck and into his arms.

  They both stumbled, grasping for each other. She didn’t care that she was soon soaked through with the icy water he was drenched in. She breathed in the damp, dirty smell of him and relished it. He was alive. And here. Finally.

  She cried. All the tears she’d denied for so long rushed forward and down her cheeks.

  His arms pulled her tight. “Hey, babe. I’m okay.” Something like a laugh came from his throat. “I am okay.”

  “I’m not.” She hiccuped and clung to him. “I love you, Linc.”

  “I love you, too. We’ve got another chance. I’m taking it.” His lips were frigid, but they were alive and urgent on hers. Somewhere along the way, she realized they’d sunk to the ground and she kissed him back.

  Cheers went up all around them and everyone high-fived and clapped each other on the back. Linc’s hold on her tightened and he kissed her as he never had before, as if he never intended to stop.

  Julia pulled back. “Thank God.” Tears blurred her vision.

  “Okay, folks.” A new voice held laughter. An EMT stood grinning at them. “Let’s get you checked out so you can finish with those plans.”

  Julia and the EMT helped Linc settle back on the gurney, where they slapped an oxygen mask on his face. Six stocky miners, including Patrick, surrounded it and carried him up the hill to the waiting ambulance.

  Jostled aside, Julia trembled and tried to stumble up the hill after them. A strong, warm hand took her elbow.

  “Come on. Don’t keep ’em waiting.” Her father smiled at her and helped her up the hill and into the ambulance just before they slammed the doors and sped toward the emergency room.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Sunday Morning, 1:45 a.m. Three and a Half Hours Aboveground

  JULIA SAT BESIDE LINC’S hospital bed, waiting. He’d been poked, prodded, examined and tested for what seemed like ages. The doctor wanted him to stay until morning, just for observation.

  He was finally settled. The silence grew. And grew. She struggled to think of what to say. Or do. He was alive and well. Thank God! The initial shock was wearing off along with the rush of emotion that had launched her into his arms.

  Now what? Linc looked big and awkward in the hospital bed. He’d cleaned up some,
but the grime of the mine still clung to his hair and streaked down the edges of his face. The fresh hospital gown and the snowy-white sheets contrasted with his darkness.

  She let her gaze take in his broad shoulders and the torn skin of his fingers. She wanted to cry. She wanted to reach out and hold his hand. Hold him.

  “We need to talk.” His words were way too loud and he cleared his throat as if adjusting the volume.

  She couldn’t resist anymore. She carefully put her hand on his uninjured one. She was surprised to see herself trembling and even more surprised when he turned his hand and curled his fingers tightly around hers. “I know,” she whispered.

  The silence returned.

  “Could you…” He paused. “Would you consider coming back home?” His hesitation told her too much and echoed what Jace had shared with her about Linc’s uncertainties.

  She pulled her hand away, regretting the pain she saw flash on his face. Hastily, she tugged at the ring she’d kept on her thumb. “You are never taking this off again, ever,” she whispered as she pushed it back on his finger.

  He nodded, staring at the ring before pulling her tight against him. “Never.” He agreed and smiled through the sheen in his eyes.

  Home. The word wrapped around Julia like a blanket on a cold afternoon.

  She pictured the mess she’d left in the bedroom and the remnants of Linc’s time alone everywhere else. She blinked to clear her vision and met his eyes. “The—uh—bedroom is sort of a mess.”

  “I know.” Linc leaned his head back and glared at the ceiling. “I just… Sorry, I made such a disaster of it.” He looked at her again. “I’ll fix it.”

  Julia smiled. She knew he meant more than just the mess. So did she. “I’ll help. I didn’t exactly clean up. I was halfway packed when they called.”

  “Oh.”

  “Some of my junk is still in my car.” Suddenly she realized it was all there, her clothes probably wrinkled beyond recognition. “And there’s lingerie all over the bedroom floor.”