An Unexpected Turn

From the Frying Pan

Carl and Chad had just finished another round of lovemaking and were cuddling on the sofa when Carl noticed the time and said, “I wonder why Steve and Ian aren’t back yet”? It was then that their eye caught the news flash. There was a landslide on a mountain and two children had been rescued, but that it was believed that their rescuers were killed in the process, but nothing has been confirmed as of yet. Then the weather person came on and said the weather would be dry for the next few days, for a change. Traffic was next where the guy described a traffic jam on the highway caused by a fender bender in the tunnel under the very same mountain where the landslide had occurred. Suddenly Carl and Chad were both paying attention and were concerned. “Maybe they are delayed because of the accident in the tunnel”, Chad offered. “Let’s hope that’s the case”, Carl said. They clicked through the channels and tried to get more information and then both tried calling Steve and Ian. They were then very concerned when neither of them responded to the calls. Chad then called Ryan who responded, “Hey Chad. What’s up? Are you with Steve? I tried calling them to let them know the plane landed safe and sound, but neither of them answered their phone”. “I was afraid you would say that. We’re experiencing the same thing and we’re worried something may have happened to them”, Chad said. “Oh my god no!  Please don’t tell me there was an earthquake or landslide nearby”, Ryan responded. The blood suddenly drained from Chad’s face and Carl asked, “Chad, what is it”?  The silence on the phone was deafening and Ryan realized what the answer to his question was. He began sobbing and said, “I told them they can’t die on me Chad! I told them”! Chad just sat there in shock with tears rolling down his cheeks. Carl grabbed the phone from his hands and said, “Ryan, what’s going on? What did you tell Chad”? There was nothing but sobbing on the other end for a while until Carl said, “Ryan, you need to talk to me! I need to know what you know”. Ryan tried to get himself together and took a few deep breaths before saying, “They were having nightmares about dying in a landslide while trying to save some kids. They were having the same exact nightmare! How do people do that Carl”? Carl then realized why Chad had turned white. He knew Steve had talked to his dead grandfather and knew of the other things Steve had seen and done, but to have foreseen his own death was a shock to even him. “Oh my god Ryan. They told you that”? Between sobs, Ryan said, “Yes, they woke me up yelling and then explained it to me. I made them promise they wouldn’t die on me though”. Carl grabbed at that little respite, “They promised”? Ryan blew it up though, “No, they actually said they didn’t plan on it, but I guess maybe it happened anyway”. Ryan’s sobbing grew louder. Carl then said, “Ryan! Please calm down for a minute and tell me exactly what they told you about their nightmares. Trust me, Ryan. I need to know everything. Ryan sobbed out, “Ok”, and then he filled Carl in on what he had witnessed and been told by Steve and Ian.

As Carl ended the call with Ryan, he shook Chad from his depressed, shocked state and said, “Come on Chad. We need to go”. Chad responded, “Where? What difference can we make”? Carl angrily responded, “Did Steve or Ian ever ask themselves that question? I don’t know the answer to that, but I do know they would never give up trying”. Chad’s eyes instantly lit up and he said, “You’re right, they wouldn’t. Let’s go”. On the way to the site of the landslide, Carl called Tony and filled him in on the situation.

The site was clearly visible from the peak of the mountain as the area was brightly illuminated with floodlights and flashing lights from emergency vehicles. Unfortunately, the road was lined with vehicles and closed at the entrance to what had been the parking area, so Carl and Chad had to turn around and park about a mile further back. They walked from there. As they approached, a policeman stopped them and inquired who they were and informed them that the area was off limits. Once they informed the officer who they were and that they feared it was their friends who were caught up in the landslide, the officer asked them to stay there and he would return shortly. As they waited for the officer’s return, four people approached them from up the road. “Carl! Chad!”, one of them yelled! It was Tony and Scott along with two other older guys. Carl greeted them, “Tony. Scott. I’m glad you came”. Chad greeted them with a half-smile. Tony then introduced the other two, “This is Steven and David. Their families are staying with us until the flooding situation is sorted out. They insisted on coming with us to help out any way they can”. “Carl”, a voice called out and as they turned, several uniformed men were approaching, one being the officer who had talked to them earlier. It turned out, the one who had called Carl’s name was Greg, Chief of the Fire Dept. “Hey Greg. What’s going on. What’s the situation? We want to help”, Carl said.

Greg took a deep breath, then said, “Right now we’re assessing the situation. We can’t do anything until we’re sure the situation is stabilized. The whole area is off limits until it’s been deemed stabile. A woman interviewed at the scene say she and her two children were returning to their car after an afternoon picnic. It seems they come up here all the time. She said they passed two men crossing the road in the opposite direction and that the kids then raced to the car ahead of her. As she approached the car, there was a loud rumble like thunder and the vehicle in front of hers suddenly vanished. Her vehicle then dropped down as well but was stopped by the guardrail. She said the two men ran to the car and were able to rescue her two children from the car. Unfortunately, the guardrail gave way and the car and men plummeted over the edge followed by a ton of dirt and stone. She said she thought the one man could have saved himself, but he wouldn’t let go of the other one. Her description of them match those of Steve and Ian”. A tear rolled down Gregs cheek as he said, “Your showing up here leads me to believe it may have been them”. Chad was in tears and Carl said, “We were expecting them back at the house hours ago, then we saw the news”. Now tears were running down Carl’s cheeks as well. “They can’t be dead! There’s always a chance they survived”, Scott said, tears filling his eyes as well. Greg then said, “For now at least, go across the road and hang tight. I’ll let you know of any new developments.

Hours later, the sun was rising. The six of them huddled together waiting. Suddenly, there was a loud boom and the ground shook beneath them. “What the fuck was that”, Tony asked? They looked over across the road to see people scrambling everywhere. As they looked on, three ambulances pulled up and minutes later, three gurneys were brought up. Two of the bodies had sheets draped over their faces. The other, apparently a fireman was bleeding, but conscious. As they were being loaded into the ambulances, Chad ran over yelling, “Please tell me it’s not Steve and Ian under there”! The ambulance crew didn’t respond and two policemen blocked Chad from getting to the gurneys and escorted him back to the other side of the road. One said, “You need to keep your friend over here. I know he’s upset, but we don’t need any disruptions”. “What happened”, Tony asked? The policemen just shrugged. Just then a mud-covered Greg came up and indicated to the policemen to back off. As the policemen walked back, Greg turned to them, “We were assessing the situation when an explosion occurred under the debris, possibly one of the cars. It’s not looking good at this point. If anyone had survived the landslide, it's hard to imagine they could have survived that. The explosion killed one of my men and a civil engineer. Another of my men was struck by debris, but he’ll be ok”. Just then another fireman ran up, “Chief! You need to see this”! The fireman handed Greg a badly burnt sneaker. “Oh my god! Fuck No!”, Chad screamed loudly and then collapsed into a heap on the ground sobbing uncontrollably. Carl tried to console him. Greg asked, “I take it your friend recognized this Carl”? Carl looked to Greg and nodded sadly, “It was the sneakers Ian was wearing when they left”. Greg just nodded and walked away. Scott was crying into Tony’s shoulder as the news registered on them. Steven put his arms over Tony and Scott and said, “I’m so sorry”. David patted Tony’s shoulder. News crews were packing up most of their things leaving only a skeleton crew. Then someone began screaming, “No! They said they wouldn’t die on me! You can’t be dead!” Chad recognized the voice and pushed his way to his feet and ran over to embrace Ryan, crying. They held each other for a while, both sobbing. A hand gently squeezed Chad’s shoulder. As he looked up, he recognized Peter, the busboy. Peter suggested they join their other friends and they walked over to them. Chad introduced Ryan and Peter to those who didn’t know them.

After a few more hours, Greg returned and announced, “I’m sorry, but at this point this is no longer being deemed a rescue. It’s now a recovery mission. As such, we’ll be returning in the morning with a digging crew and machinery”. “You can’t just give up! They may still be down there alive! You can’t just leave them”, Scott screamed! Greg looked at him with sorrow in his eyes, “I’m sorry. Those are my orders. The area will be taped off, but the engineers surveyed the area after the blast and said it was now stabile, so digging can commence. My crew must have forgotten a stack of shovels at the bottom of the debris. I’ll have them pick them up in the morning”, Greg finished, giving Carl a knowing glance and nod, then added, “I doubt any of the patrolling officers would bother anyone who might be digging down at the site tonight”. Carl gave a slight smile and said, “Understood. Thanks Greg”. Greg gave a slight smile and said, “I’d join you if I could”, then walked back toward his vehicle. Steven then said, “David and I are going to head back and check on our families and tell them the situation then we’ll be back with some food. I know no one is probably very hungry right now, but if you’re planning on doing what I suspect, you’re going to need to keep up your strength”. Tony smiled at him and said, “Thanks Steven. See you when you return”.

The guys waited until there was no one left down at the site and the policeman stationed at the entrance to the parking lot had conveniently stepped away for some reason. They then quickly entered the top of the lot and found their way around and down to the bottom of the debris. Sure enough, a pile of shovels and pickaxes were lying nearby. They quickly decided where they wanted to start and then began digging. At one point, Tony glanced up and saw the policeman watching them. Tony waved and the policeman waved back. It was obvious he wasn’t going to attempt to stop them.

It was now late afternoon, and they were all tired from digging, but no one was slowing down. The sun was beginning to set. Carl noticed a lone figure join them, carrying his own shovel. The guy positioned himself behind Scott and began digging. Carl thought it strange he hadn’t greeted them and the rest of them were busy digging and hadn’t noticed the new presence. Carl seemed to know the face, but couldn’t remember from where, but the guy was digging with a purpose. As the guy tossed the dirt onto a pile, Carl wasn’t sure if it was his imagination or just the moment, but the pile of dirt the guys was creating with the hole he was digging almost looked like a freshly dug grave. It caused a chill to run up Carl’s spine. Then he heard him, “I’m so sorry Scott. I didn’t want to hurt you. It was how I was brought up and now I can’t take it back. I’m so sorry”. Scott turned suddenly, “Mike”? Tears were running down Mike’s cheek as he said, “I never meant this to happen. You have to believe me. I didn’t mean what you heard me say and now this happened. I’m so sorry. I know you can never forgive me”. Scott walked forward. He was crying too. He embraced his friend and said, “I know you’d never want any harm to come to Steve or Ian. I don’t blame you for this Mike”. Mike continued sobbing, “Steve saved our lives and now he might be gone Scott”. As Scott continued holding Mike, Tony noticed and smiled. As Tony walked up to his two friends, he looked down at where Mike had been digging. Tony reached down and pulled something from the hole and said, “What the hell”? He stood up holding a pair of jeans. He drew them to his nose and sniffed and made an odd face. Chad came up as Mike and Scott looked on, “Those look like the jeans Ian wore when they left, but why would he take them off”, Chad asked? “Sniff”, Tony said. “Gasoline”, Chad said wrinkling his nose. By now they were all gathered around Tony. Carl said, “If Ian took off his pants, it would have been after the landslide, so he at least survived that”. “What about the burnt sneaker”, Scott asked? Mike said, “If he took off his pants because they were soaked with gasoline, maybe his sneakers were too”. This filled the group with renewed, though reserved hope. Ian had at least survived the landslide, but what about Steve? There had been no sign of him. They continued digging where they had found the jeans, but soon were finding a huge flat rock they couldn’t get through. Frustration started to set in and then Steven and David appeared with bags of food. Between bites, they told Steven and David of their discovery of Ian’s jeans, but also of the slab of rock in their way.

Scott sat down between Tony and Mike. Mike gave him a tentative look and said, “I’m such an asshole. It doesn’t matter what I think about what you two do together. It doesn’t give me reason to be a dick”. Tony couldn’t help but throw a friendly jab, “You just can’t help yourself”. Scott grinned at Tony and then said, “Seriously though Mike. We wanted you to be the first to know because you’re our best friend. I guess we should have known you might react the way you did, but then it seemed things were getting better. That is until I heard what you said on the phone”. Mike cringed at Scott’s remark, “Yeah, about that, I was talking to my dad. He was telling me about problems he was having convincing his colleagues about a project. I was commenting on that and them. I doubt any of them are actually fa um gay. It was just a bad choice of words and then you heard me say it. I didn’t say it like you heard it Scott. I really didn’t, but I did say it and I’m such an asshole for saying it. I’m sorry. I won’t even ask for your forgiveness because I don’t deserve it”. Scott got up and walked over to Mike and held out his arms. Mike stood up and they embraced. As he hugged Mike, Scott watched as Tony approached and smiled. Tony hugged them both and said, “You don’t need to ask our forgiveness Mike. You’re our best friend and we forgive you regardless”. Mike began laughing and Tony and Scott were perplexed. “What’s so funny”, Tony asked? I’m just thinking what dad’s going to look like when I tell him my two best friends are gay and I don’t care what he thinks about it”. Tony and Scott just grinned at each other. It seemed they had gotten their best friend back.

“Ok, let’s get a plan together”, Carl said. “How are we getting through that rock slab”, Chad asked? “What if we go around it”? The suggestion came from David. He continued, “If anyone was to survive that explosion, they would have to have been protected. Maybe that slab of rock protected them”. “That slab of rock is what probably stopped the landslide from going further down the mountain. It’s probably filled with dirt”, Chad said pessimistically. “Only one way to find out”, Mike said as he climbed the mound and chipped away until he found a softer spot he could dig at. Tony and Scott instantly joined him. They all worked through the night digging. At one point, Steven went up to the policeman on duty and informed him of the discovery of the jeans and their renewed hope. The policeman had nodded and said to Steven, “Don’t hold out false hope sir”. Steven smiled and said, “It’s not false hope sir. I went back to fill my wife in on the situation here. I was unaware that my oldest son was listening and after giving her the bad news, he walked up and stood in front of us and said, “They’re heroes dad. Heroes find a way. I think they’ll be ok. And that sir is good enough for me”. The police officer hadn’t expected that response as he was trying to prepare the guy for what he thought would be the inevitable outcome. The police officer then asked, “How old is your son sir”? Steven laughed and said, “Five going on seventy-five, I think. He’s younger than his years sometimes, but then other times he seems so much older in his wisdom than I could ever imagine. A child’s perspective can surprise you and even enlighten you at times”. “I agree”, the officer said, thinking he’d just been schooled in wisdom. “I trust in my kid’s hunch and I’m still holding out hope. My kid thinks these guys are superheroes and believes in them. I believe in him. Please relay that new information to your superiors. It may make a difference in how they approach this”. The officer replied, “I most certainly will sir. Good luck”.

It was three in the morning when everyone heard, “Oh shit”! Tony jumped back a little. He was digging and his last shovel full caused the ground under it to fall away. “What is it”, Carl asked Tony? Tony hesitated as he looked, then said, “There’s a hole here. I don’t know how far down it goes”. Just then someone else came down from above. It was Greg. He’d been alerted to the new findings. “What’s going on”, he asked? “I was digging up here because we kept hitting a stone slab down further and all of a sudden the ground dropped exposing this hole”, Tony explained. Greg examined the hole which measured about a foot by a foot and a half across then said, “I’m going to get a flashlight. Keep back from it. It may open up larger and swallow anyone near it”. Greg soon returned with a flashlight and another fireman. They secured a harness around Greg and tied him off and then he moved to the hole. He turned on the flashlight and peered into the hole for a while, searching. Scott asked, “Can you see anything”? Greg didn’t respond at first, but then yelled into the hole, “Anyone down there! Steve! Ian! Anyone hear me”? No response. They all looked at each other, afraid to say what they were thinking at that moment.

I opened my eyes but couldn’t see anything. My nose was filled with dust. It was hard to breath, there was so much of it. There was also the smell of something else, gasoline. I had no idea where I was and realized when I tried to move that my left leg and arm were stuck. A voice called out, “Steve! Steve! Are you ok”? It was Ian. I heard him cough. “Ian? Where are you? I can’t see anything, and I seem to be stuck somehow. Are you ok?”, I called back. Ian yelled back, “I’m over here, wherever that is. I’ll turn on the flashlight app on my phone. Hold on”. “No! Don’t turn your phone on! There’re gas fumes in the air! It could cause them to ignite”, I cautioned! “Ok. Keep talking Steve and I’ll try to make it to you”, Ian said. “Pull your shirt up to filter out some of the dust. It’ll help you to breath better”, I said trying to think of things to talk about. “Ow!”, I heard, “Ian! Are you ok”? “Just hit my head. There’s hardly any room to move. I really need a light. My pants are soaked, and my legs are burning, but otherwise I’m just fine”, Ian tried being funny. I couldn’t help but smile at his attempt at joking. He seemed to be getting closer by the sound of his voice. “I’m still here Ian. I’m trying to get my other arm free and I’m making a little progress. My leg’s pretty buried though. Do you hear that, Ian? I hear water running, like a creek”, I continued talking. “I can’t hear anything but your voice, but that’s more than enough. Keep talking Steve, I’m getting closer”, Ian said as I heard him crawling closer in my direction. It seemed to take forever, but eventually his voice sounded like he would be in the next room if we’d been in a house. That made sense since there seemed to be stone directly in front of me. “Shit!”, I heard Ian say. “Ian! What’s wrong. You sound like you’re right on the other side of this rock from me”, I asked? “I am Steve, but this is more like a wall, not a rock, but I hear the sound of water now. I’m going to work my way across this thing and try to find a way around it. Keep talking while I do”, Ian said. “Ok Ian. I just hope we’re not using up all the oxygen down here by all the talking”, I said, concerned. “Thanks for bringing that up Steve. I thought you were the optimistic one”, Ian said and by the sound of his voice, he was moving away from me to my right and toward the direction the sound of water flow was coming. “I’m still here Ian”, I started repeating every now and then, but his responses were sounding further and further away.

Ian began fearing that he and Steve were completely separated from each other as this slab of rock seemed to go on forever. He was getting closer and closer to the water though as it sounded like it was just ahead of him. He could barely hear Steve’s voice at this point. He was glad he’d left his pants behind since his legs weren’t on fire any longer. Somehow, he’d gotten them soaked in gasoline. The drawback was the cuts and scrapes he was receiving on his bare legs as he crawled across the ground searching for a way to Steve. He also had to hold his phone since he didn’t have a pocket to put it in which resulted in only having one hand to pull himself along. Then he found it. His hand was in the cold water and it was flowing under the stone. He no longer smelled gasoline where he was, so he risked turning on his phone. It lit up and using the light, he saw the water flowing under the rock and began using his hands to try to dig the hole under the rock deeper. It was a slow progress and he tried yelling back to Steve from time to time to let him know he was still there.

I could barely hear Ian now, but he seemed to be staying the same distance away. I began to wonder if his way was totally blocked now. I figured if it was, he’d make his way back to me and try the other direction. I continued calling to him and it seemed he was remaining where he was for some reason. By now, I had my left arm almost free from under the debris, but I could feel it was bruised pretty badly.

Ian was making some progress. He was actually submersing himself under the water to pull more dirt out to make the hole bigger. It was dark and he couldn’t see nor feel how far he’d need to dig to get to the other side of this rock wall, but he was intent on getting there. He was almost stretching the full length of his body into the water under the wall to pull out more dirt and rocks. Suddenly there was an air gap under the rock wall above the water. Ian began working harder and soon thought he could make it through. He retrieved his phone from the ground and slowly crawled through, keeping his phone elevated in the air gap above the water. Eventually his head was on the other side of the rock wall. It was a squeeze, but he was now on the other side. He discovered there was more headroom on this side and he could actually crawl on hands and knees instead of doing a belly crawl. “Steve”, he yelled!

I hadn’t heard a reply from Ian for several minutes and was getting concerned. Then suddenly I heard him call my name and he sounded closer than he had been. “Ian! I’m over here. Still! I got my arm free, but my leg is still buried under the ground. It’s starting to fall asleep”. “I’m coming Steve”, I heard him yell and then I saw a glimmer of light here and there through openings in the rocks. As he got closer, he seemed to be moving faster. Suddenly he was at my side with his phone in my face. “I thought I told you not to turn on your phone”, I admonished him, but he knew by my grin that it was in jest. Then I noticed and asked, “Where’s your pants”? “They were soaked in gas. I had to ditch them. We need to get your leg out. If it’s starting to fall asleep, it means you’re losing circulation”, Ian said with concern and then handed me his phone and began working to get my leg free. Several bloody fingers and cuts on our hands and arms, Ian helped pull my leg out. Just as my leg pulled free, the button on my car’s FOB was hit and I heard a chirp. “Get down”, I yelled and pushed Ian to the ground and fell on top of him! There was a loud explosion on the other side of the wall. 

End of Chapter 37