“Hello?” It echoed off the walls. “Dean?”
The sound of the echo was enough to make me dizzy. I remembered the day of the accident and I had to fight my own memories so stay lucid, so I wouldn’t panic. I couldn’t do that to Jenny or Dean.
No answer.
I shut my eyes, realizing what I had to do.
“Jenny,” I said. “I need you to go wait in the car.”
She looked at me like she didn’t understand.
I pulled out my phone and dialed 911.
“Hi, I’m at Palmer Mine. I need emergency medical care for two people,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. The operator told me to stay on the line, so I muted it and handed the phone to Jenny.
“You can’t!” she said, suddenly sounding desperate. “You can’t leave me!”
“I have to go help him,” I said. “Have you ever known a time when Dean didn’t come running to help you?”
She shook her head.
“You’ll be safe in the car,” I told her, giving her a quick hug. “When they get here, don’t tell them I went in after him. We all know this is stupid.”
She handed me the flashlight she’d found in the glovebox of the car.
“Take this. You might need it.”
I nodded as I descended into the mouth of hell.
“Lauren?” I turned.
“Be careful,” she said. “Please find him.”
“I will,” I promised her. Then I turned back into the darkness.
I CAREFULLY MADE my way through the mud in the tunnel. I heard dripping, but other than that it was completely quiet. Every so often, I called out his name, but there was no response. I knew that Palmer Mine had more than one hundred miles of tunnels, so if he was too far off the main tunnel, I was never going to find him.
I came to a fork in the road and knew this was bad. I flashed my light down the one on the right. Nothing but darkness. On the left, I saw a small pile of rocks that didn’t look like they should be there. I quickly untied my hair, which was kept up by one of Emma’s neon hair bands, and dropped that where I was standing so I would know which direction I came from when I needed to get out. Or, when someone needed to find me, a thought which made me shudder.
I took a deep breath and went forward slowly into the left tunnel.
“Dean?” I called. “Can you hear me?”
Nothing. And then, out of the silence, something. It sounded like a rock being thrown up against a wall. I approached a huge pile of disheveled rock that went almost all the way up to the ceiling. From what I could tell, this wasn’t normal. Why would they just leave a rock pile here like this with no markings?
Some of the rocks in the pile shifted and a few tumbled down toward me.
And why would it still be shifting?
I gasped.
This was recent. Why was this happening?
I rushed forward, pulling at all of the rocks that I could. Some of them tumbled down around my feet, and I knew what I was doing was incredibly stupid. I was blinded by the need to make sure Dean wasn’t trapped underneath all of this rock.
“Dean!” I called out, panicked.
My voice echoed along the walls behind me, and I was about to give up leave the mine. My mind was playing tricks on me, and I didn’t like spending time underground, least of all in the place that had claimed so many lives. There hadn’t been an accident since the one that claimed my father’s life, so it was high time for one.
I heard a muffled groan and flew back to the rock wall, desperately pulling at them to find where it came from.
“Dean are you in there?”
I heard something else that sounded like my name, but I could have been hallucinating. One of the rocks cut my hand open and I felt blood dripping off it. I had to be crazy; there was no other way. I’d been lured down here by the promise of finding my best friend, but instead, I had lost it completely and sat there alone and bleeding.
I wasn’t sure how long I was down there, holding my hand to my shirt to stop the bleeding when I heard them.
“Miss Lindsay! Mr. Powell!” I flashed my light over the entrance to my tunnel, hoping they would see.
“I’m here!” I called, hoping they would hear me. I was so, so dizzy.
As they got closer, the tunnel lit up completely and I heard men talking on radios to one another.
“I’m here!” I screamed again, and this time several men came into view. One rushed toward me and his headlamp blinded me.
“Miss Lindsay,” he said. “Are you hurt?”
For a second I thought this firefighter was Dean, and I had the urge to throw my arms around his neck. My theory was disproven when he spoke.
“Where is Mr. Powell?”
I shook my head.
“I don’t know where he is,” I said. “My hand.”
I held it up for them to see, but the blood had dried and the fabric was now adhered to my skin. I knew that if I pulled them apart, it would rip the cut open again.
At that point, I started crying− full on, Emma style. Where was Dean? What was going on? Why did my head hurt so much?
I felt someone lift me up and I didn’t struggle. My head lulled to one side. Once I was out of the area, I heard rock start to crumble as the firefighters searched through the cave-in.
Fresh air washed over my face and I involuntary took a deep breath.
“Lauren! Oh my god, Lauren!” I heard Jenny’s voice. “Is she okay?”
“She’ll be fine,” my firefighter said. Then he set me on a stretcher. Someone else got to work on my hand while he put an oxygen mask over my face.
“Dean!” I tried to shout as it covered my mouth. “You have to find him!”
“Miss Lindsay,” he said. “You need to try to calm down. We’re doing everything we can to free Mr. Powell.”
To free him? That meant that he was trapped underneath all of that rock! How could anyone survive that?
The minutes ticked by like hours, but I had no concept of time. My head was starting to clear, but I didn’t care. I lay limply on the stretcher. Jenny was sitting on the back of one of the ambulance bumpers. Was she even allowed to do that?
“We’ve got him,” I heard over the radio.
Then, my firefighter moved my stretcher. The ground was uneven and it wouldn’t roll easily, so he turned and picked me up easily and brought me to the first ambulance. I realized that he was going to take me away before they brought Dean out, most likely because he was dead.
I started to struggle and scream, and Jenny rushed over.
“Stop Lauren,” she said, putting her hand on my arm. “Stop. Let them take you. They said your hand needs stitches.”
“Jenny!” I screamed. “You don’t understand! I can’t leave without him, I can’t!”
I felt delusional.
I was causing a lot of problems for my firefighter, but I didn’t care. Another EMS worker came over to help him subdue me, but I didn’t stop struggling.
“He’s dead, isn’t he? That’s why you’re taking me away now.”
The firefighter stopped and grabbed his radio.
“Jensen, over.”
“Go for Jensen,” I heard on the other end of the line.
“Jensen. What state is Mr. Powell in? Over.”
“Jensen, Mr. Powell is unconscious, but alive, sir. Other injuries sustained but not diagnosed. We’re able to move him and will begin assessment on the surface. Prepare ambulance and alert HQ. Over.”
He put the radio back in his pocket and looked at me.
“Did you hear that? He’s alive. I’m getting you ready to go so we can take you both once they’ve got him out. Don’t fight me, sweetheart. You won’t win.”
I wanted to kick him for adding that last line, but all I cared about was that Dean was alive.
Jenny started crying.
“Can she ride with me?”
The EMS driver nodded.
“I’m not sure how long it’ll take to free Mr. Powel
l, so it’s best if she goes with you.”
Jenny’s face paled and I was instantly upset at him for saying that. We just found out that he was alive, so I didn’t appreciate the fact that he made it sound like Dean was such a mess.
Someone transported the stretcher they had been trying to use for me over into the back of the ambulance, and the firefighter and EMS driver lifted me into the back onto the stretcher. I wanted to tell them that I was fine, but I was so exhausted that I almost didn’t care that random men were hoisting me everywhere.
Jenny climbed up next to me and reached her hand out to grasp my good one.
“He’s going to be okay, right?” she asked, looking at me with wide eyes.
I nodded beneath the oxygen mask.
“He’s Dean,” I said. “Of course he’s going to be okay.”
She smiled at me sadly, and I felt like I was trying to convince myself more than I was trying to convince her.
JENNY KEPT WATCH out the back of our ambulance.
“I don’t see anything, I think they were waiting for us to leave before they brought him out.” She sounded panicked.
I tried to pretend I wasn’t right on the same thought train that she was.
“It’s going to be okay,” I told her over and over.
My hand throbbed on the way to the hospital. It seemed like it took hours to get there, but I knew it was only minutes. My head was clearer now, at least.
They wheeled me in and let Jenny come into my room with me, most likely to keep her out of Dean’s.
“Can you call Jed?” I asked her. She still had my phone. She nodded.
“I’ll be out the hall,” she said as she dialed.
I looked at the person who was sticking needles into my hand.
“Have they brought my friend in yet?”
The nurse shook his head. “I don’t know, I haven’t heard anything. I’m just trying to make sure you don’t have a huge scar on your hand for the rest of your life.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Thanks.”
He went back to work and I ignored the pain.
Seconds later, I heard Jenny screaming. I couldn’t get up because the nurse had string coming out of my hand and was holding it with scissors, but I saw several people run and pick her up. They escorted her somewhere, and my heart rate monitor freaked out.
“Miss Lindsay, your heart rate is spiking. I can’t do this if you’re going to panic. Do you want me to give you something?”
I shook my head.
“No, no, I need to be alert.”
I was scared out of my mind that Jenny had reacted that way. What had happened to him to make her freak out? I felt terrible that I was in here without a way to contact her, and there was no way they were letting her back in here. I slammed my head back against the bed and hoped Jed would get here soon.
“Miss Lindsay,” the nurse gave me a look that said me flailing around was not helping him put stitches in. I sighed and tried to put it all out of my head. The sooner he was done sewing, the better.
Three hours later, my hand was all wrapped up, Jenny was allowed in my room, and so was Jed. Dean was alive, but they weren’t telling us anything. The doctor said he would come when he had good news. So far, we hadn’t seen him at all.
“What am I going to do?” Jenny put her head in her hands. “I’m not eighteen yet. If Dean dies, I’m all alone. I’m back in the foster system.”
I put my good hand on her shoulder and looked her straight in the eye.
“Jenny, I’m not going to let that happen. We’re going to take care of you. We’re family.”
I looked at Jed, who nodded.
“You mean that?” She looked like she was on the verge of tears.
“I promise.”
She burst into tears and sank down further into her chair.
We all jumped when we heard a sharp knock on the door. My heart rate spiked with anticipation.
“Dr. Patel,” Jenny shot up. “Is he okay?”
Dr. Patel entered the room and nodded.
“He’s going to be fine,” he said. “I can’t give you an exact time of when he’ll be discharged, but it will be sometime in the next few days. He’s suffered a couple of fractured ribs, a concussion, and a few lacerations here and there. We also have him on oxygen since there was a known gas leak earlier this week which may have caused hallucinations for both of you.” He nodded at me.
“But what happened,” Jenny cut in. “What happened to him when he was down there?”
Dr. Patel looked at me disapprovingly.
“Do you not remember, Miss Lindsay?”
I shook my head. They thought we were down in the mine together. They didn’t know I’d gone in there willingly. If my judgment wasn’t sound, there was no way the state would allow me to adopt Callie, Chase, and Emma.
“He was trapped under a pile of rubble from a cave-in. He was very lucky, he could have easily been crushed and killed.”
Jenny gasped and Dr. Patel continued.
“Interestingly, Miss Lindsay showed minimal signs of gas inhalation. She was also very lucky.” He gave me a look as if he knew what was going on, and then turned to leave.
“When can we see him?” I piped up.
“You may go in and see him now, but one at a time. We have him under a sedative for now. It’s very similar to what Dr. Evers gave Miss Lindsay when she had a concussion a few weeks ago. He should be awake soon.”
As soon as Dr. Patel exited the room, I pulled the wires off of myself. I wanted to see Dean.
I thought Jed would disapprove, but he pulled his phone out of his pocket and answered it.
“Yes,” he said. “She’s right here.”
He handed me the phone and I took it without checking the caller I.D., since part of me was hoping that Dean was calling me on Jed’s phone from the other room.
“Jenny, you go see him first,” I said, holding my hand over the receiver. She nodded and ran from the room without another word.
“Hello?”
“Hey sis,” Tucker’s voice came through the speaker. “Are you trying to break some record for most hospital visits in one month?”
I wished he could see my face.
“No,” I scoffed. “Well, maybe. But not on purpose.”
“I’m glad you’re okay.” He laughed softly. “Anyway, now that I know you’re no worse for the wear, I have something to tell you.”
It sounded ominous.
“Tucker, what’s going on?”
“Well,” he said, taking a breath. “Mom’s getting married.”
“What? I’m sorry, I think I just hallucinated.”
Jed gave me a look as if to say that wasn’t funny right now.
“Mom’s getting married.”
“What? When? Who is she marrying? Why?” Nothing made sense.
“She’s marrying that pilot guy, Steve.”
“That is such a tacky name.”
“They’re getting married tomorrow night,” Tucker said, ignoring my comment. “Can you get out here? I know it would mean a lot to her.”
Tomorrow!
“Oh right. I’m the kid she doesn’t care about.”
“Lauren, you know that’s not true. She’s just, Mom. Please come. I don’t want to have to sit here all by myself.”
“Oh,” I said, wondering why my brother wouldn’t have a date. He wasn’t as bad as Old Dean, but he was close. “No hot date?”
I could practically see him shaking his head over the phone.
“No hot date. It’s just me. Now you see why I need you to come.” He paused. “Come on, we can play Drunk or Crazy with all the wedding guests!”
I laughed. It was a favorite past time for us.
“Fine,” I said. “If I can, I’ll be there. Can you text me the details?”
“Definitely,” he said. “Feel better L, I’ll see you soon.”
“See you soon, Tuck. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
“Well, it appears I have a wedding to attend. But first, I have to go make sure my boyfriend is alive.” For some reason boyfriend didn’t feel like the right word, but that was all I had right now. It didn’t feel like enough for what Dean and I had.
“Good plan,” Jed said. “How’s your hand?”
I waved it around.
“Well, right now it’s great. When the pain medication wears off, I’m sure there will be hell to pay for my stupidity.”
“Well,” Jed said, in a truly parental way, “At least you learned to never go down into a mine all alone to make out.”
I rolled my eyes. He knew that wasn’t the case even though he didn’t know the real story.
“Now, let’s go make sure they stitched him up right,” Jed said.
I couldn’t get there fast enough.
JENNY SAW ME through the window in the door and came out.
“Here, you can see him now. He’s still asleep.”
I hugged her quickly.
“Thanks Jen. I’ll be fast.”
She gave me a sad smile and sat down next to Jed on a chair in the hallway.
Dean was lying in a bed in a room that was identical to mine. There was still an oxygen mask on his face, which was surprisingly not as cut up as I expected it to be. When they said he was lucky, it was the understatement of the year. His heart monitor kept beeping, which annoyed me to no end, but I couldn’t take his off like I did mine. It was so incredibly hard to see him this way. It was like proof that Clark Kent was mortal.
I sat down in the chair by his bed and realized he must have done this for me when I was sleeping after the avalanche. I wanted to laugh at how accident-prone we were, but somehow it didn’t seem appropriate since he wasn’t awake to laugh with me.
I took his hand in mine and felt the tears come.
“Dean,” I whispered softly. “I hope you can hear me right now, because I’m so mad at you. Not because you didn’t tell me that you knew my dad, or that Emma was my sister. I am mad about those things, believe me. But that can wait. What I’m mad about right now is that you would risk your life and go into that mine when I already lost someone in there. Did you think I could lose you too? Did you think Jenny could lose you? Whatever you went down there for better be pretty damn important.”
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