Ben, Sandy, and the kids watched as Joel and Allie descended out of sight and into the depths of the shaft. Ben let go of the switch and hoped he’d made the right decision about sending them down. Sandy went around the room and pulled curtains away from all the windows, allowing the sunlight a chance to penetrate the dismal interior of the container. Seeing more clearly was both good and bad.
Emma was disgusted by the conditions and had to step outside for some fresh air. Bradley didn’t seem to mind as much but went outside at Ben’s request to make sure his sister was okay and didn’t fall through any rotten deck boards.
“Sam, out! Dogs, out! Go on!” Ben shooed the dogs out after the kids when he caught Sam rolling in something in the corner of the room. He didn’t want to know what she had found and certainly didn’t want to smell it all the way to Cloverdale.
Ben wished he had a way of communicating with Joel; it was taking them way too long to send the first cart back. Or maybe he was just being impatient.
“They’ll be okay,” Sandy assured him.
“I know.” He sighed and moved away from the shaft. Staring down into the dimly lit tunnel wasn’t doing him any good. “How are the kids?”
Sandy peered out the door. “They’re fine. Emma’s getting to know her new friend.” Sandy rolled her eyes and cracked a smile. “So another dog, huh?”
“Yeah, just what we needed, right?” Ben smiled back. He appreciated Sandy trying to take his mind off the fact that Joel and Allie were a hundred feet or more below ground, but it was no use. He felt his heart skip a beat when the pulley at the top of the shaft squeaked and went taut under load. The cart was finally on its way back up.
Ben wrung his hands as he watched the shaft for any signs of the cart. He was half-hoping to see the kids riding on top of it but knew they would have to stay put. He was guessing about a dozen trips, maybe less, but he was being conservative.
Slowly but surely, the mine cart materialized over the crest of the shaft, and eventually, he could see the whole thing. Joel and Allie had done a good job, filling it to the brim and then some. Ben saw rifles and ammunition cans jutting out from the cart’s profile, as well as a small red light.
“That-a-boy.” Ben had to smile as he commended Joel for his thoughtfulness. Riding front and center on top of all the gear was one of the two-way radios. The radio was turned on, and as soon as Ben had the wheel chock in place and the brake set, he reached out to Joel and Allie.
“Come in, Joel. Over.” Ben wondered if they would work inside the mine. The distance wasn’t the issue, but the rock might very well block the signal. He didn’t have to wait long for an answer.
Pshhht. “Joel here. Copy tha… You’re brea…up a…bit. Over.” Shhhhhh. The signal was mostly static and a little choppy, but it was better than nothing and a good idea on Joel’s part.
“I’ll let you know when we’re sending it back. Over.”
“Need to hurry…generator only…gas left…”
“Roger that. Over.” There was no time to waste. If the generator ran out of gas, the lights would go out and the cart would stop working. But worst of all, Joel and Allie would temporarily be stuck down there in the dark. They had flashlights, but being trapped wouldn’t be a good feeling, and he wanted to spare them that.
Immediately, Ben started handing things to Sandy and had her call the kids in on her first trip out to the truck. Ben grabbed all he could carry and made a trip out to the vehicles as well. Bradley and Emma joined the procession, along with Rita, and before long, they had the cart empty and headed back down the shaft.
He thought about sending some gas down but didn’t want to take the time to find a can or siphon it out of one of their vehicles. Besides, they were going to need all the gas they had. If he remembered correctly, both the Jeep and the Blazer were below half a tank, and Ben didn’t want to make it out of here only to run out of gas and be stuck in the middle of nowhere an hour down the road.
Ben checked his watch. It was almost 7:30 in the morning. The sun was getting bright, and already he could feel the temperature rising. Running back and forth to the truck with heavy ammunition cans wasn’t his idea of a good start to the day, but that didn’t matter.
He thought about sending one of the younger kids to see if Martin could help. Carlos could certainly manage to blow an air horn if he saw anything suspicious approach the compound, but Ben wasn’t ready to trust their security on an old man who just recently found the strength to walk on his own. Better to just keep at it until they were finished. The sooner they were done running this mine cart up and down the shaft, the better. Ben’s nerves grew thinner with every trip the old rusty bucket on wheels made; the noises it produced while under load weren’t very encouraging, either.
Ben was able to communicate with Joel well enough to understand that he and Allie thought it would take about three more loads to complete the job. He was glad to hear it. Sandy and the kids were dragging, and he was right there with them. Each load of gear carried from the cart to the vehicles seemed heavier and larger than the last, and negotiating the decrepit set
