Gold

Chapter 8 - One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

ok I'm out of excuses. Basically I've been a lazy butt and prompting from a certain boyfriend made me write this chapter (it's long overdue anyway but I probably wouldn't have done it at all if it weren't for him). So I'm sorry for the ridiculously long wait guys, I should keep up with my writing better. Cookies for all of those lovely people who have actually put up with my laziness and kept up with this book!

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I awake for the third time in twenty-four hours in a dark mineshaft, the moans of groans of the other miners mingled with the sounds of moving water as people wake up once more. I attempt to get up and immediately double over retching, coughing and spluttering as I bring up any water that I must have swallowed when the pipe burst. I wipe my hand shakily across my mouth and lean against the wall with my good side, letting my eyes adjust to the dim light in the tunnel. Despite the lack of light I can see – and hear – several people moving around, shouting to their friends and colleagues as people assure each other that they’re ok. I move carefully through the people, looking for anyone I recognise in the darkness. I hear Rachel’s voice ahead of me and I look up to see her picking through the crowd, assisting anyone who seems to be injured and directing the removal of bodies as she encounters them.
“Rachel,” I reach out my hand to her as she comes closer towards me, inspecting more of the bodies for any signs of life. “I’m so –”

“Get someone to help you and take this body back to the main chamber,” she says tersely, gesturing to the body of a man floating beside her. “I don’t have the time right now.”

“Rache – ” She turns her back to me and continues making her way down the tunnel, clearly signalling that our conversation is over.

I sigh and motion for one of the other men nearby to come and help me, and slowly but surely we manage to manoeuvre the body down the tunnels. We pass the bodies of several people as we make our way towards the main chamber, but the sheer number of people that were killed when the pipe bursts surprises me – bodies are piled up high against one wall of the chamber, numerous arms and legs hanging limp in front of each other as the bodies continue to pile higher. We sling the man’s body onto a pile and I step back, my mouth open in horror as the full extent of my actions dawns on me.

“It’s horrible, innit,” one man says from behind me. “We lost half the men when the fekking lift exploded, and now a pipe’s gone and burst and drowned even more. I’m not sure how Rach plans on getting us out of here – we’re dead men, I tell ya. I’m Crowley by the way.”

The man holds out his hand and I shake it, surprised by his calm demeanour in the face of so much tragedy.

“Bruce.”

“Oh, you’re the poor bugger who burst the pipe! Bloody hell man, you’ve made a mess. I can’t blame ya though; you were only following instructions, and Michael didn’t exactly draw up the best bloody map in the entire fekking world.”

“So you’re a mate of Michael’s then?”

“Nah mate, Michael ain’t got many friends down here. He’s a bit of an ass, ya see, always trying to boss us around like he’s better than e’ryone else. Rachel only likes him because she’s just as bad.”

Crowley notices my look of confusion and laughs, slapping me on the back. “Ah, she ain’t so bad. She keeps us all in line. She’s a good leader,” he says after a moment’s thought.

I nod and we both head back into the tunnels to collect more of the bodies.

“How do you think we’ll get out of here now?”

“I’m not really sure, man,” Crowley says thoughtfully. “I mean, we can wait until someone digs this place apart and gets us out, or we can find a way out ourselves. It’s either that or die down here.”

I nod my head thoughtfully – ‘What if we die down here? What if we don’t find a way out and we all die down here, buried under tonnes of rock?’

Crowley looks over at me, sensing my panic, and pats me on the back once. “Ah, we’ll be a’right mate, don’t you worry yourself over it anymore. You might not remember it, but we’re miners, and we’re tough. We’ll find a way out of here somehow. Mark my words, we’ll be out of here by the end of the week.”

I smile at Crowley, although his words do little to comfort me.

‘A week!’ I exclaim silently, trying to hold back the panic that threatens to consume me. ‘I could be dead within two days!’

I notice the number of bodies floating through in the tunnels and I feel a pit of despair open up within me.

‘We’re never going to get out of here…’