𝑶𝑪𝑬𝑨𝑵 𝑬𝒀𝑬𝑺 - Rumplestiltskin [1]

TWELVE

12|MINES AND CRICKETS

"Holy shit balls." Bella ran out of her car and into the crater, the ground shaking as it started to collapse even more. "What happened? I received an 'SOS' text and was sent here."

"Henry went inside, Archie is in there with him." Emma explained to the late woman. "I thought we might need your medical skills if push comes to shove."

"And every time you do something the entire place keeps collapsing?" She asked, trying to get a better understanding of the situation. Emma nodded her head in agreement before turning back to the grieving mother.

"We need to find some way to punch through the ground." Regina stated, her voice shaking as she spoke. "We need something big."

"Like what?"

"Explosives." Marco suggested, listening to their conversation. Regina quickly got to work making sure everyone stood back and behind something. They loaded up explosives to the crater and quickly ran back with the switch.

"Okay, we're all clear." Emma informed the man in charge. Graham pulled Bella down beside him, broking her from the soon to be blast.

"Blow it." Regina ordered once they had all hidden away. The explosion was small and quick causing Emma to run into the smoke to check on the opening. "Did it work?"

"It didn't open."

"Then what did it do?" Graham asked aloud causing Bella to look at him with sadness.

"He will be okay." Bella remained hopeful. "They both have the entire town looking for them and trying to get them out safely."

"Thank you, Bella." The Mayor said gratefully to the optimistic woman before running over to the explosive men. "What was that? What the hell was that? You said you could do this. They could've killed my son."

"What's wrong, boy?" The doctor wandered away from the two concerned mother's to check on Archie's dog. "Come here." She let it out the fire engine, patting it soothingly while it still tried to pull her towards the crater.

"Bella, let the dog go." Emma demanded, running over to her as she hesitantly let the dog go. "It's Archie's dog. He's found something." The dog sniffed at some raised patch of soil, trying to dig up the dirt. "Look, this is where they must be. What is it?"

The men quickly cleared the dirt off the heavy slab of metal, Bella holding the dog back while Emma repeatedly called him a "good boy".

"What is that?"

"It's an air shaft." Graham answered, staring down at the bared up hole. They hooked the tow truck to the crate and slowly lifted it, the truck tipping slightly at the weight.

"So, what's next?" Regina asked as they all stared down at the very deep hole.

"You need to lower someone straight down, or the line will collapse the sides of the shaft." Marco explained to them, tightening the hook to make sure it won't break.

"I've got a harness."

"Lower me down." The Mayor stepped forwards.

"Oh, no way." Emma stopped her. "I'm going."

"He's my son."

"He's my son, too." The blonde reminded her. "You've been sitting behind a desk for ten years. I can do this."

"Just bring him to me." Regina said sadly, stepping closer to the woman. Bella placed her hand on the mayor's shoulder, not knowing any other way to comfort her. They all heard a loud clank, not knowing what was happening and only all standing in fear.

Finally, they pulled the three out safely, the whole town clapping in joy at the safe rescue. Bella was pulled over by Regina, making sure her son was okay.

"Hey, Henry. How you feeling?" Bella patted the boys head as his mother ran over to Dr. Hopper. "There is barely a scratch on you."

"You need to check on Archie." Henry pointed to the injured man with worry. "He got hurt more than I did."

"So you're sure you are okay?" With his nod of approval, the doctor raced over to the man. "Hopper! Let me clean up that wound for you."

"Thank you, Dr. Richards." Bella got to work cleaning the wound before putting on a small bandage.

"All better." Bella left to talk to some people, everyone having a small gathering in celebration of their safety. "Excuse me, Ruby, I need to go double check on them."

"Gentlemen." Emma greeted Archie and Marco as they approached before noticing Bella sitting down beside her. "Come on. Your mom wants to take you home."

"Hey! Listen!" Henry said excitedly causing them all to go quiet. The evening was filled with the sound of crickets, a foreign sound in Storybrooke.

"Crickets." Archie smiled.

"They're back. Things are changing."