Calamity Jena (Invertary 4)

“She’s probably passed out,” the doc said.

“What if there’s gas down there? Lack of air? Magenta, what do you know?”

Magenta tossed her bobbed black hair and peered at him, her eyes rimmed with thick black eyeliner. “There’s air. There’s no gas. Trust me. I know. This mine isn’t anywhere near a gas seam. Especially this close to the surface. They didn’t use gas of any sort in the mine.”

“Right, okay.”

Harry patted him on the back. It didn’t help. Punching Frank a time or twenty might have eased him a little, but right now the only thing that could make a dent in his stress level was getting Jena out of that hole.

“We’re through,” Grunt shouted.

There was

a cheer. Matt made a move to rush across the beams to the grassy island. Magenta put her hand on his arm. “We’ve got this. You’ll get in the way.”

Matt wanted to roar. Instead he nodded. He put his hands on his hips and bowed his head. It was the worst feeling in the world to stand back and do nothing when others were saving the woman he loved. He took a deep breath as he watched his friends work.

The digger had been removed. The drill-bit attachment they’d been using to get deeper was gone. The two large wooden beams stayed in place. A frame rested across them. Attached to the frame was a swing-like construction, with a harness. It hung over the newly drilled hole. The idea was for Jena to sit on the swing and be strapped into it. Then the men would winch her up. Gordon had put most of the contraption together while they waited for the hole to be dug. Magenta was the one to source the harnesses and safety rigging from her caving business.

Magenta strapped on a safety harness and a hard hat. “Okay, I’m going in.” She winked at Harry and jumped into the hole, abseiling down to Jena.

“She’s an expert,” Harry reminded him. “She’s also the smallest here. None of those ex-forces guys would get through the hole.”

“Magenta wouldn’t let them anyway,” Matt said.

“True.” Harry chuckled. It sounded tense.

The wait was endless. At last the signal was given. Grunt and Lake hoisted Jena up. Matt held his breath until he saw her honey-coloured hair appear in daylight. There was a cheer. Matt ran across the beam to get to her. No one and nothing would have stopped him. The men were laying her on the grass beside the doctor.

“Is she…” Matt fell to his knees beside her.

“She’s passed out. Probably too much pain.”

As the doc examined her, Matt did the same. Magenta had immobilised her ankle with an inflatable boot. She’d placed a brace around her neck for the ride out of the mine, to stop her head lolling and to prevent any neck injury. Her arms were strapped to her waist to reinforce her ribs. It was a good job. As Magenta climbed out of the mine, he gave her a grateful smile.

“She did good, Matt,” Magenta said as she unstrapped her safety hat. “She was in the right spot. The room was pretty stable too. There was plenty of air down there. She would have been fine for a while yet. I think her ankle got to her. It looks bad.”

Matt clenched one of Jena’s hands in his while stroking her hair with his other hand. “Will she be able to dance?” he asked the doc.

“I hope so,” he said. “Let’s get her to hospital and find out.”

Matt leaned forward and kissed her grubby, tear-stained cheek. “It’s going to be okay, princess. I promise.”

He stood aside to let the paramedics load her onto a stretcher. Matt followed them over the makeshift bridge to find his family waiting.

“We’ll go to the hospital with her,” his mum said.

The twins nodded.

“Grunt will take us,” Claire said.

Grunt wrapped an arm around Claire’s shoulders and she leaned into him. “I’ll make sure they’re safe. I’ll check in with you every half an hour.”

“Every fifteen minutes,” Matt said.

Grunt grunted. Matt ran a hand through his hair. He wanted to be the one to go with her.

“You can’t,” his mum said, as though reading his mind. “You need to arrest the bastard who did this.”