Gold

Chapter 9 - Conflicted

We spend the rest of what I presume to be the day collecting bodies and attending to the wounded – between the explosion and the flood (which Rachel assures me wasn’t my fault but I still feel guilty about nonetheless) Rachel believes more than two-thirds of the miners who worked in this area were killed; looking around the chamber, I can see even fewer people. Rachel has been assuring us that we’re going to be ok and that we’re going to get out of here, and that the pipe bursting was only a minor drawback, but with miners dying every hour from dehydration or starvation or injuries, my faith in her is quickly dwindling – and it seems I’m not the only one who’s losing hope either. Looking around, I could see people chatting quietly together, their faces full of concern and uncertainty each time they glance in Rachel’s direction. I follow the gaze of one and see Rachel limping towards me, a makeshift cane now under her arm.

“Bruce.”

“Rachel,” I say, inclining my head towards her. “What happened to your leg?”

“I’m not really sure. I think I must have hit my knee against a rock when the tunnel flooded. Obviously I don’t have the worst injuries here,” she says, looking mournfully over at the pile of bodies on one side of the chamber, “but it hurts like a bitch.”

I make a sympathetic noise and I turn away, guilt suddenly consuming me.

“Bruce,” Rachel says softly, placing a comforting hand on my arm. “None of this was your fault, I’ve told you that. Yes, you were the one who broke the pipe, but you didn’t know it was there – not even Michael did, otherwise he would have stopped you sooner. Don’t blame yourself?” Rachel looks at me imploringly, and I slowly look back in her direction.

“Thankyou. Now, do you think you can do a simple task for me?” She asks.

“Yeah…” I mumble; I really shouldn’t be letting this affect me so much.

“Good. Go over there and help some of the girls ration out the rest of our food. We lost more when the tunnel flooded so we have to be careful now.”

Rachel pats my shoulder once and walks off, leaving me to go over and help some of the girls with rationing out the food – it’s a simple process, but the constant chatter from the other women keeps me entertained and helps me to keep my mind off of what happened.

“Hey Sarah, did you hear about what happened between Michael and Rachel earlier?”

“No, what happened?” The girl, presumably Rachel, replies.

“Apparently Rachel got really pissed off at Michael for drawing the map wrong and killing all of those people, and so he walked off into the mine, and now nobody knows where he is!”

I can’t stay silent any longer. “Wait, Michael’s out in the mineshafts alone?”

“That’s what I just said!” The girl telling the story says. “Rachel yelled at him, so he told her he was going to prove that his maps were fine and he stormed off into the mineshaft!”

I freeze, questions running through my mind at a hundred miles an hour. ‘What is he doing out there? How is he going to survive? What if he dies out there? Why do you care if he dies or if he doesn’t? What if he finds a way out?’

The last one sticks on my head. ‘What if he does find a way out?’ I wonder silently. ‘Would he come back for the rest of us, show us the way out? Would he tell the authorities where to find us? Would he even try to get us out? He seems like a pretty selfish bastard.’ I know this last thought is unfair; but considering the only memories I have of him are negative, it seems a pretty safe bet to say this – at least in my own head. Despite all of this, I feel a sinking feeling in my stomach at the idea of Michael alone in the mineshaft, and I decide that, despite how horrible he’s been to me in the past, I’m going to go and find Michael – and our way out – no matter what it takes.

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I've actually posted a chapter somewhat on time this time! Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed! Do you think Bruce will find Michael alive?
Love and lost miners, 
~midgeandangie~