A particularly loud crash of thunder made Catherine jump, and Kieran reached across the table to cover her hand with his. "Just the storm," he reassured her. "The cabin stood through worse." His touch lingered, warm and comforting, until another sound cut through the storm's fury, the urgent ringing of a bell. Kieran was on his feet instantly. "That's the mine alarm," he said, reaching for his hat and coat.
"Something's wrong." Catherine grabbed her own coat, following him into the driving rain without hesitation. They ran toward the mine entrance, where a single figure was emerging from the darkness, ringing the emergency bell that hung by the tunnel mouth. It was Tom Bailey, soaked and mud-splattered. "Cave in!" he shouted over the storm. Down in the lower shaft, men trapped, Kieran demanded.
Peters and Gonzales, Bailey confirmed. They went down to check the supports during the storm. Water must have weakened something. I'll go, Kieran said immediately, already moving toward the equipment shed. I'm coming too, Catherine insisted, following him.
Bailey and Kieran exchanged a glance, but neither argued as they gathered lanterns, ropes, and tools. Minutes later, they were descending into the main shaft. The storm's fury muted by layers of rock and earth. The going was slow, their path lit only by lanterns as they carefully made their way deeper into the mine. Catherine's heart pounded with fear, not for herself, but for the trapped men and for Kieran, who moved ahead with determined strides.
They reached the cave-in after 20 minutes of careful descent. A wall of fallen rock blocked the tunnel completely. From beyond it, they could hear faint calls for help. Peters, Gonzales, Bailey shouted. Can you hear me?
We're here, came the muffled reply. Gonzales is hurt, but alive. We'll get you out, Kieran promised, already examining the blockage. How's the air in there? Getting thin, was the worrying response.
And there's water seeping in. Kieran turned to Bailey. We need to create a stable opening without bringing down more rock. Start at the top, work our way down. For the next hour, they worked in tense silence, carefully removing rocks one by one, passing them back along a human chain.
Catherine worked alongside the men without complaint, her clothes soaked with sweat and grime, her hands raw from the rough stone. When a small opening finally appeared at the top of the pile, a cheer went up. Kieran enlarged it enough to pass through water and food to the trapped miners, then continued working to make the hole big enough for a person. "Almost there." He encouraged as they removed a particularly large boulder. "Just a bit more." Suddenly, there was a groan from the ceiling above them.