Tunnel of Love?
Perry could hear Della's screams in the dark. He reached out blindly, sliding across the seat to find her shaking body. She was still screaming when he put his arms around her, pulling her against him.
"Shh, Della it's alright. I'm here. Please stop." She put her head against his shoulder, grasping his arms tightly.
They heard more concrete falling, several chunks raining down on the hood and roof of the car. Thankfully the big car withstood the onslaught, although the windshield cracked. But with every sound, Della's cries became more uncontrollable.
To Della, the shaking and noise seemed to go on for hours but Perry knew it had probably only been one or two minutes. When at last the noise stopped, Della was trembling violently, but her screams had quieted to low sobs. Perry kept his arms securely around her, whispering soothing words, trying to calm her.
What few emergency lights remaining in the roof suddenly flashed on, alleviating some of the darkness. Perry had to wonder how much damage had been done to the structure. His first inclination was to get out and see whether he could find a way out. But he also knew he couldn't leave Della in her current state.
Fortunately she was no longer shaking and her sobs had stopped. Without releasing her, he spoke softly. "Della look at me." He felt her move even closer in his arms. "C'mon Della look at me, please."
Finally she raised her head, tears still streaming down her cheeks. Perry took his handkerchief and handed it to her. " .thank you." She wiped at her tears.
Then her panic resurfaced. "Perry we're trapped. It's going to cave..."
Perry put his hand to her chin. "Listen to me Della." She nodded. "I need to get out and see just how bad the situation is. But I need you to stay here in the car where you're safe and..."
"No Perry, no. Please don't leave me alone." Her tears started falling again.
Never had Perry been so undecided about what to do. He knew he needed to find a way out if he could, but the tears in Della's eyes tore at his heart. "Della, listen to me."
Della was shaking her head from side to side, her hazel eyes wide with fear. "No, no. You can't leave. We're going..."
Perry realized she was quickly becoming hysterical again, so he did the only thing he could think of. He leaned in and kissed her. When he released her, he waited for the slap he was sure would come. Instead she just stared at him and uttered a soft 'Oh'.
Her response was surely not what he expected, and he knew they would have to talk about this later. But at least her hysteria had stopped. And right now he needed to figure out what to do about their current situation.
"Della, I really need to see what I can do about getting us out of here. I know you're frightened but..."
She grabbed his hand, her voice quietly pleading. "Please, please let me come with you."
At the plaintive look in her eyes, Perry knew there was no way he could leave her. He smiled and helped her carefully climb out of the car, and together they started making their way back in the direction of the tunnel entrance.
They came across four cars and a truck that must have been behind them. In two of the cars, the occupants were beyond help. Perry shielded Della from seeing them as much as possible.
Proceeding further, climbing over chunks of concrete and other rubble, he found three men and two women standing at what used to be the entrance. It was completely blocked by what Perry was sure must be at least a ton of debris.
He introduced himself and Della to the others. Phillip and Marsha Stevens were from San Clemente, and were in their 60's. They had been heading to their beach house in Malibu. There was a young couple, Jack and Carol Price from LA. They said they were just out for a drive. Last was Kevin Grant, also from LA, probably in his 40's.
As luck would have it, Grant was a construction worker who had been on his way to a job.
Hearing this, Perry looked at him with hope. "So what's your opinion on how we proceed Mr. Grant?"
When all eyes turned to him, Grant took out a handkerchief and mopped his brow and neck.
"Well it's pretty obvious we ain't gettin out this way. All we can do is head to the north end and see if there's any way out there. But..."
Perry stared at the man. "But what?"
Grant cleared his throat. "Our bigger problem is the air. First off, ya see, is the gas fumes from the cars. Even if we get them all shut off, there's still gonna be fumes. We have to hope the ventilation system wasn't damaged. And if we are totally cut off..." Della and Marsha both let out gasps. "Sorry ladies but I'm just givin' ya the facts."
Perry looked at the other two men. "Okay. The first order of business is to try and get to the other end, making sure we shut off any running cars. We also need to find and collect any other survivors along the way."
Jack Price spoke up then. "Mr. Mason, don't you think the women should stay here until we find out if..."
Della looked at Perry, shaking her head. "I go with you."
Marsha Stevens gave her husband a fierce look. "Same goes for me."
Perry looked with admiration at both women, then back to Price, whose wife was just staring at him. "Seems like our ladies would prefer to come along. How about it Mrs. Price?"
"Since I'm not staying here by myself, I guess I'll have to come along." But she didn't sound happy about it, and she glared at her husband.
Della stared at the couple, sensing something was definitely not right with them, but then decided maybe it was just her nerves. Still there was something in the man's face.
"Okay Mr. Grant, let's get going." He turned to the other two women. 'Ladies, I must warn you that there is a lot of rubble and...well some pretty..."
Marsha Stevens gave him a weak smile. "We understand Mr. Mason. I think I speak for the other two ladies when I say we can handle it."
Perry had to admire the older woman's spunk. Della looked at him with a smile and nodded. He also noticed that Carol Price didn't seem to be willing to stay by her husband. She stood off to the side, unwilling to look at the rest of the group. Well that was her husband's problem.
Turning back to Kevin Grant he motioned for him to take the lead. They set off in the direction of the north end, hoping to have better luck.