ch 2
Not hesitating, Myka had crawled into the dark tunnel with only her cell phone to illuminate the passage with a dim bluish light. The tube was not quite high enough for her to crawl on her hands and knees so she was doing a bit of a crab crawl on her elbows and could already feel her arms, belly, and legs soaked through with the small trickle of water that ran down the center of the pipe. She had only gone about 15 feet before she came to a break in the drainage pipe creating a t-like intersection. Strait ahead the drain pipe continued, but a hard right turn led into a more primitive dirt tunnel that looked similar to the entrance they had seen inside the abandon warehouse.
Using her cell to flash light down the drain pipe and then the dirt tunnel she strained her eyes for any sign of HG. After calling out the other Agent's name and getting no response she took an educated guess that HG hadn't gone the other way she shifted her body to make the tight turn. There wasn't any water in this portion of the tunnel. Just dirt. Trying to conserve her phone battery she would flash it for a minute and then crawl on in darkness for a few feet before the close quarters and utter blackness would cause her to instinctively press the small display screen again.
The dirt tunnel was narrower and the oppressive feel that the earth was crushing down on top of her was getting hard to ignore. Forcing herself to breath evenly and not panic Myka flashed her phone again and nearly cried in relief when she saw HG's dark head in the distance. "HG! Are you all right?" Getting no response Myka shimmied forward as quickly as she could. Flashing her cell immediately when it cut off. As she neared she could see the other woman's head was bent not looking up as Myka approached. At first she thought the other woman was unconscious but then she noticed her position. HG had shifted on her side and was pressing her back against one wall of the tunnel with her hands and knees pressed against the opposite side as if to hold the walls back from crushing her. In each hand she still clutched the flashlight and tesla.
As Myka's phone dimmed again she realized that the flashlight must have died leaving HG in utter darkness. Creeping forward carefully, Myka eyed the tesla gripped in the other agent's hand. She could see that HG had the trigger depressed but it was clearly out of juice. She must have used the light of the gun till it too had run out leaving her in the oppressive darkness. Something far to reminiscent of being Bronzed for even HG's incredible will to overcome.
Knowing she would have to proceed carefully Myka gently touched HG's head. "Helena? Its me Myka." Easing forward till she could see HG's face she pushed the dirty hair out of the way. In the dim blue light she could see that HG had her eyes squeezed tightly shut and every inch of her body was completely tense. Awkwardly keeping the phone lit with one hand she used the other to stroke HG's face. "Please Helena. You have to hear me. Feel my touch. You aren't back there. I swear if you just open your eyes and come with me I will get you back to day light. I promise."
At first getting no response, Myka just continued to touch the other woman and talk to her. She knew that being bronzed was like being in a sensory deprivation tank. Just the thought of being in a tank for 100 years gave Myka nightmares. She could kick herself for having let HG enter the tunnel as she realized the other woman's hesitation hadn't been about not wanting to get dirty. It had been a much deeper phobia.
Working the tesla and flashlight out of HG's stiff fingers, Myka tried to pull the woman's arms lose from the wall but the she was using every ounce of her strength to hold herself in place. "Damn it HG!" Fear was starting to settle heavily on Myka as well as she began to panic trying to think of how to get the catatonic agent to move.
Reaching out she cradled HG's chin and forced the woman's head to turn toward her. "Open your eyes HG. Open them right now!" They were so close together that Myka could press her lips to HG's furrowed brow, and then, clutching HG's stiff arms she used her cheek to rub against HG's trying to give as much physical contact as possible. In a quiet voice she begged, "Please open your eyes Helena. Please. I need you to help me get us out of here because I'm not leaving you behind."
Even as the light from the cell phone blinked off, Myka felt HG give a little gasp of breath against her face. Pulling back slightly Myka reactivated the phone and was greeted by the sight of HG's frightened eyes looking directly at her in the dim light.
"Myka?"
"Yes! I'm here. I'm right here." Myka leaned back in to press her face against HG's and dust her cheek with quick kiss unbelievably relieved that the other woman seemed to be regaining her senses. "Can you move? Are you trapped?" She shifted back to try and see the other woman's legs but couldn't see anything that might be holding her in place.
Still dazed, HG carefully tried to unbend her arms and legs rolling onto her stomach. Shifting up onto her elbows she grabbed both of Myka's hands in a fierce grip. "Get me out of here now."
The tone in HG's voice was almost frightening and Myka nodded her head. As she tried to pull her hand away to pick up the phone HG refused to let go. "Helena, you are going to have to let go of my hand."
"No."
"Just one. So I can grab the phone and your tesla."
Just then the phone once again went dark and HG's hands tightened around Myka's in a death grip. Leaning forward Myka spoke directly into HG's ear. Their cheeks touching. "I'm right here. Feel my hands. Feel my face. Can you feel me?"
After a second she felt HG nod her head and whisper, "Yes."
"Good. Now I'm going to let go with this hand." She shook the hand she meant so HG would know, "And I'm going to turn on the phone again so we have light. Okay?"
Again the whisper in the dark answered. "Okay."
Slowly releasing HG's hand, Myka flicked on her phone again only to see HG already gripping the tunnel wall with the freed hand. "Its okay Helena. We are okay. Stay with me." Grabbing the tesla she awkwardly stuck it into the back of her pants before gripping the phone and shifting onto her elbows. "I am going to crawl backwards and you are going to crawl toward me. Okay?" Seeing HG nod and remove her hand from the wall, Myka smiled. "Good. Now come on."
Slowly but steadily Myka backed up the tunnel never letting go of HG's hand or letting the phone light fade. After an eternity that was actually only a few minutes she felt her feet touch a wall and knew they had reached the T junction with the drainage pipe. "HG. We are almost there. We are at a junction. I'm am going to shift back so you can go out head first toward the exit in front of me."
Myka had been watching HG stoically crawling the entire time, but at her words the traumatized woman began to panic. "No! Don't let me go!"
"It will be faster Helena. Trust me. You will be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel."
Seeing HG's eyes going wild and the hand gripping hers tightening to painful levels, Myka risked putting the phone down and letting it go dark to reach out with her free hand to touch HG's face. Holding the woman's head in a strong grip she scooted forward till their foreheads touched. "Feel me Helena. I am real. You just have to trust me a little bit further and we will both be out of here. Okay?"
Just as the phone went out again HG relaxed her grip but didn't let go. With her own free hand she touched Myka's face briefly. "Okay."
Quickly relighting the phone Myka smiled broadly at the other woman. "Good. You are doing great." Awkwardly shifting her legs around the bend Myka scooted back into the drainage pipe. As she pulled her shoulders out of the dirt tunnel she gave a small involuntary cry when she could immediately see the point of light shining in the opening. As HG's head and shoulders pushed into the space she also cried out in relief and began scrambling toward the light as quickly as she could. In a flash she was way ahead of Myka leaving her rescuer to crawl toward the exit alone.