Mine

Cole didn’t know if he was asleep or awake until he heard someone cough.

Then began the incessant striking of hammer on stone. Earl, the foreman, had set up shifts for everyone.

He’d said, “Keep pounding. Let them know we’re still here. Alive.”

There was no light. None. Not a glimmer.

Everything felt dreamlike. Only Cole’s dreams felt real. They played out in daylight.

How long since the cave in? Time had lost meaning. It felt like forever. Or an hour ago. He’d startle awake and wonder where he was. Then remember. How long had he slept? A few minutes? Days?

His watch was accurate, give or take twelve hours. Memories blended with reality.

Hunger marked time’s passing.

Rolling against gritty stone, he sat up. Hearing others move reminded him there were others, and so far, they had survived.

At least the dust had settled. After the collapse, choking dust hung in the air forever. They thought their lungs would never clear. For a long time, whenever someone switched on their lantern, everything looked smoky. Eventually, their coughing stopped.

Had it been days? Earl knew but didn’t want them focusing on that.

He’d spent his life in the mines. If anyone asked, Earl would tell them he cut his teeth on a chunk of coal. After the cave in, he told himself, ‘This is the end. I get out alive, I’m gone.’

After the initial shock, they could only wait and hope a rescue party would find them before...

When the tunnel collapsed, so much happened at once. The screams, the groans, the terror… the chaos...

They would all have died had Earl not kept them focused. After a few rushed to escape and got caught in the collapse, his shouted orders stopped the panic. They heard their screams but could do nothing.

There wasn’t time. Their equipment was inadequate. Couldn’t save themselves. The silence that followed gave them chills.   

The survivors pulled Jed from the rubble. He couldn’t walk. They cleared a level spot for him. Using his medical training, Earl directed the others. He stopped Jed’s bleeding. But setting broken bones with improvised splints was painful and difficult.

They gave him precious water.

Earl said, “Hope he gets professional help before they set…”

He knew they would need to rebreak them once he got to a hospital.

Reality settled. Rescue could take days. Might never get out. The prospect of starvation loomed.

Earl counted heads. Besides himself, four others survived, Sonny, Jed, Cole, and Roman. All but Sonny had grown up together. Their fathers all came from the mines.

The collapse came in the morning, so they had food and water.

“Stow your kits and gear,” he said. “Once you’re secured, douse your lanterns. Save the batteries.”

The guys were hungry. Earl said, “Husband your resources, guys. Don’t gobble it all at once. Make it last. May be down here a while.”

Earl organized shifts for them. They were to strike stone with a hammer in the Morse Code S-O-S distress signal.

Earl handed Cole a pick and pointed to the wall.

“You start. Someone’ll spell you in an hour. Signal ‘em that we’re alive and waiting.”

Cole found comfort at the wall. Activity filled the time. He felt useful.

It amazed him how things become routine, even in the most primitive circumstances. While each took their turn at the wall, the others sat together in the dark, sharing stories. Sometimes, they even laughed in the face of their plight.

After a while, Roman began to weep. Hearing his sobs in the dark unsettled the others. A giant of a man, everyone saw him as stoic, a man of action. He would take on any task. No one expected blubbering about his wife and kids. Now, he despaired. In the darkness, his mask of strength invisible, he revealed himself.

Their situation was undeniable. At the wall with the SOS, Cole tried to drown out Roman’s sobs.

Roman couldn’t stifle his tears. His sobs became wails.

Earl said, “I know it looks bad, man. But you’ll be home in a day or two.”

With a constricted voice, Roman tried to explain. “She counts on me. What’ll May do if I’m not there for her? She worries… says, ‘Be sure to come home. What can I do without you?’ Says the kids cry when I’m late…”

There was nothing to say. Roman’s sobs subsided into labored breathing. It was impossible but the darkness seemed even blacker.

Lacking sight, their sense of hearing sharpened. Each man recognized the personal signature of anyone’s slight movement. The darkness did not obscure anyone’s location.

Hours passed. They drifted in and out of consciousness until their turn to hammer the SOS came.

“Anyone have any extra? I’m starving.” It was Cole.

No one responded.

Earl said, “Told you not to wolf, man.”

“Come on, guys… Someone must have something… You know I’d share with you…”

Cole turned on his lamp. He stood over Sonny.

“I knew it.” A stream of profanity flooded out. Others leaped to restrain him.

Sonny said, “It’s mine, man. I didn’t take yours.”

“You’re hoarding man! That food belongs to everyone.”

Earl stepped up and Cole calmed.

“What’s up Sonny? Whose kits are those?”

Sonny said, “No one’s hammering. Whose shift is it? They’re gonna think we’re dead.”

“Answer the question.”

“I found ‘em, Earl. Didn’t steal ‘em.”

“Left behind by the others?”

“Yeah, Sam and Gordy… the others who booked. They won’t be back. I took them for safe keeping.”

Everyone looked at him in silence. Finally, he handed a kit to Cole.

Earl said, “Roman, do an inventory on everyone’s victuals. Make sure there’s an even distribution.”

That seemed to satisfy everyone.

Earl said, “Who’s on SOS? Gotta keep the signal up. Don’t want them giving up the search.”

Roman said, “I’m up.”

“You keep doing inventory. Sonny, get to it.”

Things settled after that. Everyone took their turn on SOS. There was less conversation. Everyone kept to themselves.

They never knew if their signals were heard. The overhead rumblings of excavation paused. When it resumed, it seemed more distant.

Cole asked Earl, “They know where we are. What’s taking so long? They quitting?”

“The cave-in exposed unstable strata. Aggressive digging could loosen it. Bring it all down. Don’t want to lose us to their haste.”

“That’s why they don’t blast?”

“Right…”

They could only keep signaling. And hope.

Hours passed. Their existence settled into a narrow routine. Those not hammering the wall slept or dozed fitfully, kept awake by Jed’s groans. Everyone knew he was still alive.

No one knew when Jed would scream. Ghosts tormented him. Earl tried to calm him, but there was nothing to give him. Everyone put up with it.

Had days passed?

Cole awoke from unsettled sleep. He tipped his canteen up and found it empty.

He said, “When we’re back up top, if I ever suggest going camping, somebody please kill me.”

Others laughed.

Sonny said, “We’re already dead. Just don’t know it yet.”

Earl said, “Shut up. Don’t start that.”

Sonny said, “It’s true. We’ll never get out. All that’s left is arranging ourselves for the grave we’re already resting in.”

Roman said, “They’re searching. Need to be patient.”

Sonny said, “Give it up. You know I’m right…”

Earl said, “You’re not helping. Whining does nothing.”

“I’ll whine if I want. You gonna kill me? I’m already dead.”

Cole said, “When they pull me out of here, I’ll tell them to leave you behind. That you gave up… Cried until you died.”

They heard a clatter of rocks. A punch glanced off Cole’s face. If Sonny had seen his target, it would have hurt more. Screaming with rage, Cole threw himself at his attacker. They fell into the rubble.

Earl yelled “Stop!”

They threw punches and grappled. Their thrashing sounded like animals.

Earl switched on his lantern. He stood over the two. Sonny had bloodied Cole’s face. Earl kicked Sonny’s head, sending him to the cave floor.

Sonny yelled. “I’ll kill you!”

“Listen!”

Roman stopped hammering. Earl doused his light.

The sound of pneumatic drills was close. Breaks led to increased activity.

Everyone stepped back from the rubble blocking the tunnel opening. Dust stirred making them cough. Stones shifted and rolled to their feet.

Cole and Roman dodged a boulder coming to rest between them. They laughed nervously.

After several minutes of tense silence, light pierced the darkness. The five cheered as one. Even Jed joined in. Shouting and jumping, they couldn’t stop.

A large stone broke free and rolled from the tunnel entrance, bathing the cavern in light.

They’d been saved.