On Sunday 4-25-10 there is going to be a memorial for the twenty nine miners who lost their life in the Upper Big Branch Mine in Raleigh, WV. These men ranged from someone getting ready to retire in five weeks to someone who started their first day as a company man.
Thank you, Mikell, for taking the time to mention the accident in your author notes. That touched my heart more than you will know. And thank you so much to everyone who said a prayer for these families that lost their loved ones. In a time when you don't know how to console...a prayer always helps.
I know that this plot has been done so many times...but I needed a happy ending.
Leo and Don fought side by side in the condemned warehouse. Their brothers were racing to the scene after getting a distress signal from Don's cell phone. They had fought their way to the first floor and was as close as they could get to an exit, when one of the black clad ninja threw a wrench in their plans.
The foot soldier rolled a bomb into the room.
"Leo!" Don shouted when the silver sphere rolled near his brother. "We need to get out of here!"
Leo felt his stomach drop when he saw the red numbers counting down the explosion.
Twenty nine point two seconds.
That is all the time that they had to retreat. And the foot soldiers blocked all the lower exits.
Leo pointed to the rickety stairs. There was water on one side of this building. If they could get to a window that would break their fall.
Don followed Leo up the stairs and he rushed to the first window he came to. He tried to open it and it would budge. When he got a closer look he saw that it had been nailed shut.
"It won't open!" Don yelled as he unsheathed his weapon and pounded the glass. The window shattered and brought in the cold night wind. Don looked at the dark, churning water below. It wasn't the best exit, but it was better than getting blown up.
"Come on, Leo!" Don turned in time to see his brother locking blades with a foot soldier that was willing to die for his master.
"I'm right behind you! Go!" Leo shouted back and kicked the ninja into the wall.
Don jumped, hoping that his brother was behind him. He hit the cold water just as the explosion filled the night air. He kicked furiously and broke the surface, but his blue clad brother was no where in sight.
Leo didn't hear his brother splash down. He didn't even hear his own scream as the floor rumbled and fell out from under him. He tumbled out of control, hitting shards of glass and chunks of concrete on the way down. He landed on his shell, the force knocked all the air out of his lungs.
He blacked out, or he thought that he did. When he opened his eyes nothing but darkness met his vision. The ringing in his ears had stopped and everything was eerily quiet. Just a few creaks and groans as the building settled around him. A steel support beam hung above him and kept most of the debris off of him. The dust and smoke burned his eyes and throat. The aching sensation blazed deep into his chest. He couldn't move. Every time he would try to shift the creaking got louder.
He swallowed thickly and tried to wipe his eyes. It only made the stinging worse. Panic swelled inside him. Not only for his situation, but for his brother. He hoped that he made it to the water, that he was safe. His heart squeezed painfully. He told his brother that he was right behind him.
He promised.
Time slipped away and he started to fade in and out. The sounds of rocks and steel settling got more distant. He wondered if his brothers were looking for him. They didn't know that he was alive.
Several times he thought he heard his name being called. It was so far away. He thought about calling out, but no sound would come out of his throat. Just a small croak or whimper.
Raph and Mikey couldn't believe it as they drove to the docks, the whole building crumbled to the ground in a matter of seconds. When they pulled up to the warehouse, the same warehouse that the distress signal came from, they noticed someone pulling themselves out to the water.
"Donny!" Mikey opened the door and jumped out before Raph came to a full stop.
When he ran over to help his brother he could hear him barely coughing and sputtering Leo's name. Just then, Mikey realized that his eldest brother wasn't behind him. Mikey scanned the surface of the water, and saw nothing.
Raph ran up to them. "What happened, Don?"
"Where's Leo?" Mikey's voice trembled.
Don heard Mikey gasp and Raph curse under his breath when he turned to the smoldering remains of the warehouse.
"No!" Raph roared as he ran to the wreckage.
"He was supposed to be behind me…he…said," Don mumbled.
Leo's eyes snapped open when he heard the debris above him shift. Bits of concrete and wood fell around him. He lifted his arms to cover his face. His mind wandered to the cartoons that Mikey would watch…how the coyote would hold up the umbrella to stop the boulder. He couldn't help but to chuckle. He knew that if he was going to die, he wanted to go out thinking of his family. Wonderful memories of everyone that he loved.
He could feel himself start to drift again. Thoughts of his father, his brothers, his friends rolled through his mind. He could almost hear Raph's voice. Muffled and distant. His mouth twitched into a smile.
More creaking sounds the muffled voices got louder. He could feel a cool breeze touch his skin.
"Over here! He's here."
"Quick, get that off his leg."
"Leo? Can you hear me?"
Leo cracked his eyes open and a blur of green swam in his vision. He knew it was Donny. His touch was cool and damp.
He tried to open his mouth, to tell him how glad that he was that he was safe. But only a wave of coughs escaped.
He felt a warm pressure on his chest. A silent reprimand to stay still and quiet.
Raph.
Leo rolled his eyes around to search for his third brother. To know that they were all safe. A soft touch to his forehead let him know that his youngest brother was there.
Leo could hear sirens blare in the distance…or was it Mikey that called out that the authorities were on the way. Things started to fade again.
He felt himself being lifted and he ignored the pain that it caused. He let his eyes slide shut knowing that he was safe and was going home one more time.
"We did not receive the miracle we were praying for. This journey has ended and now the healing will start." -Gov. Joe Manchin, WV