My Home From Home (ManxMan)

Chapter 38

A cacophony of gasps and chatter erupted in the distance as both Emily and Henry turned their attention towards the tunnels to the mine, seeing one of the men in Thomas rescue party rushing toward them, carrying a young boy in his arms.

"God in heaven, lay him down right here." Henry leapt up and directed the man to lay the boy down on the blankets so he could examine him; immediately noting the boy was bleeding from his leg.

"He's the first of five, Constable Wilson has us take him first since he's the only one who was injured physically." The young mine worker who'd rescued the child briefed Henry. "But they're all a bit dazed, some have headaches, a few of the boys vomited in the mines. We suspect it might be-"

"Gas..." Henry's heart dropped with dread as the man simply gave him a knowing nod. "I feared as much..." he sighed in disappointment before turning to Emily. "Emily, ask the mine workers for every oxygen cylinder they've got, it's absolutely vital that everyone coming from the mines get fresh oxygen. And Mary!" He called out towards the young red headed girl as he remembered that many of the townsfolk were holding candles. "Do me a favour and request the townsfolk to blow out any candles." He gave his orders as he leant down to take the boys pulse which was slower than usual but not dangerously so.

He tended to the boys as they came, one by one administering oxygen as the need arose; as time elapsed and the men spent more time exposed to the leaking gas in the mine, they too began requiring doses of pure oxygen. Henry was thankful that the boys seemed to be stable; the gas exposure wasn't enough to be fatal but it was enough to exude a physical response which wasn't something to take lightly. He'd know more later, but for now they were safe, alive, and out of what Henry knew could be a rather volatile situation...

"Alright buddy, you're up." Thomas scooped up the final of the five boys and passed him through carefully the opening in in the boulders so that the last member of his rescue team could make haste to the outside; he kept calm though as he felt boys each grow less and less responsive, though thankfully still conscious. But deep inside he knew that time was running out. Here he was battling against not only the clock, but a colourless, odourless enemy that he couldn't even identify; and something about that terrified him to his core. "Go on and get him out, I'll be right behind you."

"But Constable-" The worker protested, prompting Thomas to sternly glare at him.

"That's an order, sir. Get the child out to safety." Thomas commanded with a final order that the man grudgingly followed, leaving Thomas alone in the cave with emptiness behind him and only the distancing sound of footsteps on the gravel ahead. He took of his brown wide-brimmed Mountie hat to wipe the sweat off his brow, taking a moment to catch his breath before making his own exit from the tunnels; but he felt it noticeably harder to breathe.

He heard a small thud behind him with the slightest rattle from the birdcage he'd brought into the mines with him and hung carefully on the wall. Glancing over he felt his stomach turn, seeing the once chirping and animated canary now reduced to a lifeless heap of yellow feathers at the bottom of the cage. Thomas grabbed the cage, to examine the bird, feeling very slight glimmer of hope as he noted the canary's body moving ever so slight; a sign of life though he knew not whether it'd past the point of no return.

Thomas climbed over the rubble, ducking his head to clear the little opening; he hissed in pain as he felt one of the boulders under his boots give way, rolling his ankle and nearly falling, had it not been for his palms breaking his fall. As he tried to recover his sense of balance, he glanced around, feeling a disoriented sensation in his throbbing head as the world around him seemed to go hazy

His heart began to race as he pulled himself up to standing, and with concerted steps he managed to manoeuvre through to the other side; he wanted to lay on the ground and simply fall asleep, feeling as though his body was heavier than his legs could bear to support. He closed his eyes as he took it one step at a time through towards the end of the tunnel; wincing in pain as he grudgingly put weight on his now sprained right ankle.