It has come from the mountains nearby like a poison ready to taint the lives of the Deacon family once more. The water furiously pours down a sharp slant of rock on the other side, and it moves and swirls like a spiral stairwell as it reaches an opening in the world. It is a hole that leads deep into the ground, and the water is carrying broken branches and rocks with it, feeding the hole, taking the debris to tight spaces underground where breath and life are but a dream.
And above this, clinging for dear life to a piece of ground that has only recently opened up, is the tiny, red-coated figure of Rebecca, holding onto what is around her. One slip; one release of her weakening arms, and she will fall into that abyss below.
“Please, God, save her,” Melody says as the wind violently swirls around her. As if in answer to her prayer, a thunderous clap sounds from above as lightning momentarily bleeds the sky white, illuminating the world and then fading as quickly as it has arrived.
There is no way for Melody to go around the rim of the depression and then down to Rebecca's side. The cascading floods from the mountains have torn away at the fabric of the earth, creating a sheer vertical fall that would be impossible to traverse without climbing equipment.
Melody does the only thing she can: she moves as fast as possible without falling in. She now climbs down the side of the incline further while keeping her gaze trained on Rebecca across the gaping hole in the ground. One false move, and Melody will be swept away into the darkness and nothing or no one will save the girl. Their only hope is that Melody can make it around a conglomeration of rocks and tree roots nearer the mouth of the cave and then get to the other side.
Rebecca now looks around, clinging for dear life to a large chunk of rock pushing out of the ground as if in rebellion against the forest which surrounds it.
“Miss Winter!” she cries, seeing her teacher scrambling down the incline and then desperately trying to move around the gaping maw of the hole in the ground; the rain and wind lash her as she does.
The wind howls above, funneling down through the depression in the earth, down towards Melody as she steps on a large piece of tree root to make her way to Rebecca. A loud crunch sounds as the earth beneath gives way and the soil shatters in two. Melody feels weightless for a moment as she plummets down towards the abyss. Flailing her arms wildly, she grabs hold of another piece of root and scrambles with her feet, trying as best she can to stay alive. The flow of wet mud now underneath her body makes it difficult to get a footing, but finally, she grabs hold of a solid tree root and manages to get back onto her feet, staring in disbelief at how close to the cave hole filling with water she now is.
Another crunch.
Another piece of the Earth gives in to the storm. This time, it is near little Rebecca. A large conifer tree becomes swathed in a downpour of water and its roots break beneath the ground. The massive cataclysm of tree trunk and branches, capsizes, shuttling past Rebecca at speed. It roars and groans like a leviathan rising from the depths.
“Hold on, Rebecca!” Melody screams.
Seeing little Rebecca inches from death, Melody's resilience is renewed. She pulls herself up further with all her might and manages to gain a more solid footing on a ridge of rock still clinging to the mouth of the hole for dear life. She rushes along its edge, not daring to look into the darkness below again. Icy water now cascades down towards her, it hits like a sledgehammer to her heart. She feels her body fighting the shock. Gasping for air and shivering, she continues as the unnatural waterfall above falls at an increasing rate around her. It is a thunder of a different kind.
The freezing water flows over Melody's face, partially blinding her. The cold brings with it pain and a throbbing inside her head. But she must push on. She must save the girl. Again, she thinks of God. How she hopes He is listening.
Finally, Melody reaches an outcrop of rock just a few feet from where Rebecca is holding on.
But it is too late.
Rebecca loses her grip and begins to fall down towards the horrid mouth of that cave, to be lost forever. But just as she is about to be consumed, a hand comes through the cascading water like that of an angel's. It grabs hold of Rebecca, catching her before she can disappear.
Then, Melody hears a booming voice accompanying it.
“Pull, Tam!” it yells. If anything can defy the storm it is this cry.
Melody watches in disbelief as Tam the grounds keeper and Maximilian Deacon yank up a rope dangling near the hole from above. Tied to it, is Will, and he has his arms wrapped around dear little Rebecca. In that instance, Melody knows that Will would never let that little girl come to any harm. Not if all the rains, winds, and lightning storms of the world united to tear her from him.
With immense effort, the three men pull Will up and then cradle Rebecca to safety.
“I'm coming, Miss Winter!” Will booms once more from the treeline above.
Melody looks around. Things are not going well. She can see a crack forming on the ground next to her as the icy water erodes everything in sight.
“Hold on!” Will shouts, lowering closer to her, Tam and Maximilian holding the rope with all their might.
Now, Melody
