by T A Williams
Then, just as she was sliding down a particularly steep part of the track, she sensed a movement out of the corner of her eye. As she turned her head, she glimpsed a whole chunk of the steep bank behind her collapse in a mudslide, coming crashing down against one of the piles of freshly-cut logs. To her horror, the whole pile lurched and seconds later she found herself running for her life as tons of timber came rolling down the hill behind her. Just as it appeared she was going to be crushed, she toppled forwards into a hole, landing heavily on her knees and elbows. Above her, the rumble of falling timber continued for some seconds until all movement had ceased.
Jess raised her head and looked around. She had fallen into a rectangular concrete trench, not a lot wider than her shoulders, the length of a bed, and deep enough for her to kneel, but not stand up. Above her, the light was almost completely obscured by a mass of wet timber that had landed across the opening and which, if the pit hadn’t been there, would no doubt have crushed her to death. She gave a sincere sigh of relief when she realised what had happened.
Her relief didn’t last long.
Raising herself onto her knees, she tried to shift the logs out of the way, but couldn’t get them to move an inch. Presumably there were more logs piled on top and the weight was pressing down, imprisoning her in this concrete box. She wriggled about until she found a thin gap between two logs where she could see a little bit of foliage outside but, try as she might, she was unable to budge them. She could just about get one hand through the gap, but that was it. Then, just as the penny was dropping that she was trapped, the light was almost obscured by a familiar face.
‘Brutus, you’re all right.’
The dog’s tongue reached down and licked her fingers as she took stock of her predicament. At least Brutus was all right, but she definitely wasn’t. For the first time she inspected her knees and elbows and her hands came away covered in blood. She was able to move easily enough, so hopefully nothing was broken, but she had clearly scraped away a lot of skin and cut herself as she fell. She scooped up some water from the floor of the pit and washed the cuts as best she could. It was as she was doing this that she suddenly realised the significance of the water.
Outside, it was still pouring with rain – in monsoon proportions – and water was streaming in, down the sides of the concrete, and she could see that the trench was gradually starting to fill up. A wave of panic swept over her as she realised that when the water reached the top of the walls, she would drown. For the first time in her life, Jess found herself in a life-threatening situation. It was absolutely terrifying. She crouched there, shivering with fear and cold for some moments, before common sense kicked in. She needed help. Badly.
She wriggled about until she could remove her phone from her pocket and muttered a silent prayer of thanks when she saw it turn on. She knew that the emergency phone number here in France was 112, but as her fingers reached down to start dialling, she realised that she didn’t really know how to describe to them where she was. The road to Ramatuelle, a forest track, then another forest track, and then an old wartime bunker almost completely hidden by bushes and, now, a pile of logs. By the time they worked that out, she would be dead.
Her brain was working overtime. Just as she was desperately trying to rehearse her story in French before phoning for help, she came up with a better idea. It had been Olivier, and then David, who had told her about this place. Without hesitation, she called David, praying that he would answer.
His phone rang and rang, and she had almost given up when, to her eternal relief, she heard his voice.
‘Hello, Jess?’ He sounded hesitant – no doubt after the way things had ended between them the other night.
‘David, thank God. Listen, I’m in a hell of a mess. I’m trapped.’
She went on to tell him where she was and what had happened. As she was speaking, she felt the water reach her thighs. It was still pouring in.
‘And the thing is that I’m trapped in a sort of concrete box and it’s filling with water. Unless you can get somebody to get me out of here, I’m going to drown.’
‘Listen to me, Jess.’ His voice cut through her rising panic. He sounded calm and in control. ‘Nobody’s going to drown. I’ll ring the emergency services now and we’ll be with you in a matter of minutes. I know exactly where you are and I’ll guide them to you. I’ll call you from the car in a few minutes when I’m on my way, so just stay cool until we get there.’ He paused for a moment. ‘I’m not going to let anything happen to you, Jess. Trust me.’
The line went dead and Jess stared down at the phone, praying that he was right. As for staying cool, she was freezing. She became aware that she was shaking like a leaf, but there was nothing she could do to warm herself up. As much for Brutus’s sake as for hers, she put her mouth to the gap between the logs and called the dog. He appeared straight away and she felt glad he hadn’t run off. She crouched there for a few minutes, talking to him and, from time to time, putting her fingers up through the gap to be licked. It was very comforting to have another being alongside her, even if he was powerless to help.
Suddenly her phone rang and she almost dropped it in the water that had now reached her bottom.
‘Hello, yes, David?’
‘Hi Jess. It’s all in hand. I’ve spoken to the fire brigade and they’ll be with you in ten to fifteen minutes. I’m already on the hill and I should be with you in five. Just hang on in there. All right?’
Jess felt a massive sense of relief. ‘Yes, I’ll be fine now. Just a bit cold. Thanks, David. Thank you so much.’
‘So what about the dog? Is he in there with you?’
Jess sensed that he was trying to keep her talking and she did her best, even though her teeth were chattering by now.
‘Brutus is right outside. When you see him, you’ll know that I’m close by, under a pile of logs.’
‘I told you when it rains here, it really rains. It’s like driving through a waterfall.’
‘All I can hear is falling water.’
‘Dad did say the gardens need some rain.’
She knew he was trying to take her mind off her present predicament and she loved him for it.
‘Maybe not quite this much – all in one go.’
‘I’m turning off the road now.’ There was a momentary pause. ‘Listen, the track’s very slippery, so I need two hands on the wheel. Sit tight. I’ll be there soon.’
Jess tucked the phone into her breast pocket along with the car keys in an attempt to keep them out of the water. This was still rising steadily and she could now feel it almost up to her waist. Hopefully, he would be with her soon and she would be all right. Of course, she thought wildly, David wouldn’t be able to do anything to help. Even if he managed to get his car along the forestry track as far as where she had left the Range Rover, there was no way the Jaguar would get up the slope to where she was, and he wouldn’t be able to manage it on crutches. She just had to hope that the fire engine got there soon. At least David would be able to show them where she was.
She knelt there for what felt like an hour, but which was probably only a few minutes, doing her best to stop herself from shivering all over. She tried thinking of sunny beaches, hot cups of tea and that wonderful passionate kiss with David the other night. She didn’t stop shivering, but it occupied her mind and stopped her from thinking about what was going to happen to her if the fire brigade didn’t get to her in time.
Then she heard something other than running water. It was Brutus and he was barking, something he had hardly done since leaving London. She put her ear to the gap in the logs and strained to hear something other than the rain. Suddenly, she heard a splashing sound and she started shouting, waving her fingers through the hole. Seconds later, a strong, warm hand caught hold of hers and gave it an encouraging squeeze.
‘Jess, it’s me. Listen, have you get the keys to the Range Rover?’
‘Yes, hang on a second.’
As she was scrabbl
ing for the keys, she saw his face above her and his eyes looked down into the pit. The water was just below her shoulder blades by now and she really hoped the fire brigade would get here soon. Grabbing the keys with both hands, terrified that her trembling might make her drop them, she squeezed them out through the gap between the logs and felt him take them.
‘Good. Now, listen, Jess. I’m going to get the Range Rover and bring it up here. It’s about the only vehicle that can manage something like this. It’s what they were designed for. When I get to you, I’ll use the car to push the logs out of the way. You’re almost free, Jess, all right? Got that?’
‘Yes, yes, thank you so much.’
She hear a splashing sound and then he was gone. She crouched in her concrete coffin, wondering just how he intended to drive the car when his legs didn’t work. Maybe he had some firemen, or possibly George, with him. She certainly hoped so, as the water had just reached the tops of her shoulders and she felt it cold against her throat.
She listened hard, hearing nothing but running water until, miraculously, she heard the sound of a powerful engine. It came closer and closer, revving hard and then there was a hefty impact above her and, suddenly, light flooded down into the pit.
‘Jess, can you get out?’
She could just about hear his voice, calling to her from the car. She tried to pull herself to her feet, but her frozen legs refused to work. She was still struggling to get her circulation going again when she heard splashing and then felt two strong arms reach down and catch her under the arms. There was a massive heave and Jess found herself out of the trench, spread-eagled on the ground, with, just a few inches from her, two smiling faces. One was a very happy dog, and one was David.
He was covered from head to foot in sticky mud and he looked as exhausted as she felt. His eyes met hers and he smiled – a warm, open, uncomplicated smile that reached deep inside her, in spite of the circumstances.
‘Come on. Let’s get you into the car.’
She saw him haul himself, crab-fashion, up the steep slope and then felt his hands catch hold of hers and lift. She struggled to her knees and together, grabbing hold of branches to support themselves, they crawled across to the car and sat down on the edge of the boot. For a moment she wondered why he wasn’t opening the side doors, but then she noticed that the car was firmly jammed into the woodpile. He must have rammed it at considerable speed, as the front of the car – as far as the rear doors – was almost invisible under the pile of timber. Presumably, he had scrambled out of the car over the back seats. Even in her present befuddled state, she found herself wondering just how he had managed it. Indeed, how had he managed to get up here in the first place to get the car keys from her.
‘Here, you’re frozen. Get inside and let me hold you.’
Jess felt his hands on her body, tugging her into the car, where the back seats were folded forwards. As they did so, the car shook as Brutus jumped in to join them. David crawled back to her side and his arms encircled her body and hugged her tightly to him. At the same time, a very wet, but still remarkably warm, dog snuggled up against the other side of her. She wrapped her arms around David’s neck and then, without any warning, she burst into tears.
He held her tightly, cradling her like a little baby, as she sobbed her heart out. Beside her, she heard the dog whining and it was this, as much as anything else, that gradually brought her back to her senses. Only as her brain started working again did she realise that David was running his hands all over her head and her face, making comforting noises, and then down across her body, pulling her tightly against him so that she gradually began to feel his warmth. She snuggled her head against his powerful chest and felt the rapid beat of his heart after his exertions. She sobbed and sobbed, until finally, she managed to stem the flow and rubbed her face against his shoulder before raising her head and opening her eyes. She found herself looking up into his amazing blue eyes at very close range.
‘I’m sorry about that. I really don’t know what to say, David. You’ve saved my life.’
‘Thank God I did. I don’t know what I would have done if anything had happened to you.’
‘How did you manage to get up here from your car?’
His face broke into a weak smile. ‘I crawled. If there’s a crawling race at the next Olympics, I’m your boy.’
‘Oh, you’re my boy all right.’ To emphasise her point, she stretched up until she could kiss him softly on the lips. ‘I owe you my life. I owe you everything.’
‘I’m just glad I got here when I did. Listen, can you hear them?’
Jess raised her head a little so that she could listen with both ears. Almost obscured by the drumming of the torrential rain still pouring onto the roof of the car, she could definitely hear something in the far distance. It was the unmistakable trumpet sound of the French emergency services – still some way away, but approaching.
‘Should we try to go down and meet them?’
David shook his head wearily. ‘I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted. I think we should both just wait for them. They can follow the Range Rover’s tracks.’ Jess felt his lips in her hair. ‘Remind me to phone my grandmother tonight and apologise for making a bit of a mess of her car. And I’ll compliment her on having had the very good sense to buy just about the only vehicle that could have managed to make it up that slope into a torrent of mud and water. So if anybody saved your life, it was Land Rover. And Grandma.’
‘How did you do it, David? How did you manage to drive it up the slope?’
The smile returned to his face. ‘I’m not sure the road safety people would recommend it, but I used one of my crutches to press down on the accelerator. I didn’t need the brake – the woodpile looked after that.’
She felt him hug her more tightly and this time his lips pressed against her forehead and she felt him kiss her softly. She lay back in his arms, no longer shivering, slowly beginning to warm up, glad to be alive and loving being with him. By now, the sirens were still some way off, but were definitely getting nearer.
‘David, can I ask you something?’
‘Anything.’
‘Why do you have to go off and leave me?’
There was a moment’s silence before he answered.
‘I have to go, Jess. I just have to.’
‘Please tell me. I need to know – to know if there’s any way I can convince you to stay.’
She released the back of his neck, and let her hands slide forward to his cheeks. Looking deep into his eyes, she repeated her plea.
‘Please tell me. You see, David, it’s bad enough that you’re leaving, but without knowing the reason…’
She saw his eyes close for a moment, but then he appeared to come to a decision and he caught and held her gaze.
‘Jess, we’ve only known each other for a matter of weeks, but I knew it from the very first time I saw you down at the swimming pool. You’re something very, very special, and I’ve never felt this way about anybody before. I feel a connection with you, an understanding, as if we’ve known each other for years, not weeks.’
He hesitated for a few moments, during which she was still trying to digest what he had just said. If he felt this way about her, how could he possibly want to leave her? She was still pondering this when he resumed his explanation.
‘Jess… the reason I have to go is quite simple, really. I think I’ve fallen in love with you. In fact, I know I have, but I also know that’s not fair on you.’
Jess’s smile, which had been growing throughout the course of his revelation, now stalled.
‘What’s not fair?’
‘My wanting to be with you. You’re bright, you’re beautiful, you’re caring, you’re perfect – I said it before and I meant it then, just as I mean it now. It isn’t fair for me to expect a gorgeous girl like you to saddle herself with a helpless cripple like me.’
‘You’re not…’
‘Jess, yesterday I saw the specialist.’ His v
oice was serious. ‘She had the results of the latest scans, and it doesn’t look good. The improvement the physiotherapy has been making is minimal.’
For a second, he paused to catch his breath. In the background, the ever-louder sirens suddenly stopped. Presumably the fire engine had reached the bottom of the slope, but this was insignificant to Jess now. There would be time later for her to reflect on the length of time it had taken them to get here, and the speed with which her concrete coffin had filled with water. But, for now, she was only concentrating on his words, and these were far more important than the likelihood of her having drowned in a concrete tomb.
‘I almost told you last night, but I stopped myself. The thing is – it’s now quite clear that I’m going to be on crutches, or sticks, for the rest of my life. Asking you to get involved with somebody as useless as me isn’t fair on you. You’ve got your life to live – go and live it. I’ve had thirty-three terrific years, but that’s all over now.’
She saw his eyes bright with emotion and her heart went out to him. But he still hadn’t finished. He swallowed hard and carried on.
‘Jess, I’ll always love you. I want you to believe me when I tell you that. And it’s because I love you that I know the only fair thing to do is for me to go off and let you get on with the rest of your life.’
Jess’s fingers had been slowly stroking his cheeks as she listened to everything he had to say. When he finally finished talking, she tightened her grip, pulled his lips towards her, and kissed him more urgently and more passionately than she had ever kissed anybody before in her life. When she finally drew back a few inches, she saw him slowly open his eyes.
‘David Dupont, you are a moron.’
She saw his eyes open wider.
‘For a brainy man, you can be very, very stupid when you want.’ She kissed him again and felt his whole body respond. ‘That’s not the way love works. Love is being with the person you love, helping them, cherishing them, caring for them. And, just for the record, I never want to hear any more of that “somebody as useless as me” crap. Do you realise that you have just dragged yourself up a hundred-yard slope, slid back down again, driven a car which you shouldn’t have been able to drive, and saved me – the girl who loves you so very, very dearly – from a watery grave? So, please, get a grip and face facts, will you? David, you are anything but useless, and it’s you, and only you, that I want.’