Just The Way You Like It - Under Construction

Chapter Fifty-Eight

Chapter Fifty-Eight

Day two in the basement passed by at an extremely slow pace. Only Sam's cell phone told them the time. It felt like torture to Sam, who upon Holly's insistence, had to check the clock regularly, only to find that half as much time had passed as they had expected. They had stopped talking half way through the day. Without water to quench their thirst, talking only made matters worse.

The night was the worst though. Even being mostly below ground, the basement got terribly cold. Holly and Sam found themselves clinging to each other for warmth as the summer sun set and the ocean breeze chilled the house down. Sam gave Holly his coat to help her stay warm, and she took it without hesitation.

Day three started off with not much hope, as they both awoke and found that their predicament had not changed. Holly bolted up the steps and railed against the door, screaming to have someone let her out. She was not a survival type woman, and she missed the comforts that were only inches beyond the door. After ten minutes Sam went up and pulled her away, bringing her back down to the basement floor. Holly cried loudly, but no tears came.

By the afternoon, Holly had gone back to sleep, too weak to stay awake. Sam watched her chest rise and fall, making sure she stayed with him. He worried that she wouldn't last much longer down there, and he knew he wasn't much better off than she was. Maybe another day or two, but after that, he didn't want to think about it.

It wasn't until that night that hope suddenly came back. Sam had spent most of the day slowly walking around the basement with his cell phone. He had found one spot, half way up the stairs where a single bar of reception lit up on the screen. He placed his knife on the step as a marker and continued his search for a second bar. After going around the basement twice, Sam knew it was his only shot. The battery light flashed, telling Sam he didn't have much time.

Sam raced up the steps and stood over his knife, finding his one bar of reception again. Quickly, he dialed in the number and listened to the phone ringing. Luke answered right away, just like Sam had hoped.

“Sheriff's Department, Luke speaking.”

“Luke it's Sam, I need your help. Holly and I . . .”

“Hello?”

“Luke, can you hear me?”

“Sam? You're really faint. Can you speak up?”

“Luke!” Sam shouted into the phone, waking Holly up. “Luke, we need help!”

The line went dead as Sam's phone shut off. Sam roared in anger as he pushed the button to turn his phone back on. It adamantly refused, and in a fit of anger, Sam threw it against the steps. It smashed down, tumbled to the bottom, and remained there.

Holly rubbed her eyes, looking at Sam for a sign that he had gotten his message through. “I think he heard me. I don't know.” Holly's chest sagged as she lied back down and fell back asleep. Sam sat down on the step with his knife, idling playing with it in his hands as he watched Holly's chest rise and fall gently as she slept.

Luke jumped out of his chair and grabbed the police band radio off of his desk. “Calling all units, respond please. There were only two other units on the force besides himself and Sam, so it didn't take long for them to all answer. “Sam is in trouble and I have no idea where he is. I want a search started immediately.”

“When isn't Sam in trouble?” One of the other officer's asked through the handset.

“God-damn it all Coby, just do it! Start at Tess' house and spread out. He's been patrolling that area a lot lately, just find him. I'll be there in ten.”