Tunnel of Love?
They moved slowly, climbing over fallen pieces of the roof, making sure to shut off any running cars. Seeing that several of the cars were empty, the hope of finding more survivors climbed.
At one of the cars with a badly crushed front section, it's lone occupant beyond help, Della heard a whimpering. Avoiding the front and looking into what remained of the back window, she saw a small white puppy. Calling Perry over, she begged him to try and help her to get the dog. The others, especially Jack Price, insisted they keep moving, but Perry, seeing the hurt in Della's eyes, convinced the other men to help. Finally by crawling onto the trunk and using a piece of concrete to smash out what was left of the window, Perry was able to reach in and grab the wiggling ball of fur, placing the pup into Della's waiting arms.
"He doesn't appear to be hurt." He carefully rubbed his hands over the dog, while Della laughed as the pup licked her face.
"No, I'd say he's fine. Thank you Perry." At the not only grateful, but somehow sultry, look in her eyes, Perry felt the heat race through his body. He started to reach out for her but stopped at a nasty voice behind him.
"If you two are finished with animal rescue, can we please get out of here."
Perry glared at Jack Price. "Yes Mr. Price. Why don't you take over from here. I'm sure we'd all appreciate your expertise in getting us out of here."
Price backed down at Perry's tone. "Sorry. It's just that...well...never mind."
Della stared at the man for a few minutes. There was still something in his face. Maybe it was her imagination but she had the feeling she had met this man before. And she somehow knew that it wasn't going to be good when she finally remembered him.
Cuddling the small puppy in her arms, she stayed as close to Perry as possible. After climbing over and around several more obstacles they were stopped by a huge pile of debris. This end of the tunnel was blocked too. There were several people either standing or sitting, some with injuries, some obviously in shock. Off to one side Perry saw a police officer frantically trying to raise someone on his walkie-talkie.
Perry escorted Della and the others over to the new group of survivors, making quick introductions, then he headed over to talk to the officer.
"Officer, having any luck on that?" The young man looked up at Perry.
"No sir. Too much concrete and debris to get a clear signal. But I'll keep trying."
Perry reached out to shake the officers hand. "I'm Perry Mason by the way."
The young cop returned the handshake. "Yes sir. I recognized you right away. Officer Daniel Kelly."
Perry smiled. "Nice to meet you Daniel. So what are the plans now? Any idea how far away we are from the north entrance?"
"Well, the way I figure it we're about 75 feet from the entrance. I tried to climb up to see if there was a possibility of squeezing through but this pile is pretty unstable. I take it your little party came from the south end?"
Perry reached in his pocket for a cigarette, then remembering the fumes, let his hand drop. "Yes and it's pretty much the same there, although I have no idea how far in we were."
Pete looked at the small group with Perry. "No other survivors?"
Perry shook his head sadly. "No. Oh and we made sure all vehicles were shut off."
"Good thinking. And fortunately I had a first aid kit in my car. I took care of most of the worst injuries. But some of them are in shock. We are going to need to get some help soon."
Perry looked around at the group that now numbered 12. His eyes found Della, kneeling in front of a little girl and her parents, showing the girl how to hold the puppy. As the puppy licked the girl's face, eliciting a laugh, the parents mouthed a grateful 'thank you' to Della. Perry stood watching the scene, smiling. Leave it to his Della to make complete strangers feel better.
The thought struck him, 'his Della'. Yes she was, and he intended to tell her when they got out of this mess.
He again looked around at the small gathering, noticing that the Prices were off to the side, obviously not comfortable interacting with others. Although he thought it strange, he still didn't want to worry about it now.
Taking one last look at Della, seeing her talking to an older couple, making sure the bandage on the woman's arm was secure, he turned his attention back to the officer, who was now discussing options with Kevin Grant.
Grant was looking at the mound of debris. "If I can get to the top without it giving way, I may be able to get a signal on your walkie."
Daniel looked at him skeptically. "I don't know Mr. Grant. Even the little way I tried to climb, this thing is really unstable. Any disturbance could bring the whole thing down on us."
Perry listened intently. "Grant, do you really think you can get to the top without it coming down?"
Grant nodded. "Mr. Mason, I've been in construction for 15 years. Plus I've had some mountain climbing experience. You can't just climb straight up a mound like this. You have to pick and choose your path."
Perry looked from the officer to Grant. "Daniel, I'd say it's worth a try. But I suggest we get these people back a safe distance." Then to Grant. "Grant, you know you don't have to do this."
Grant smiled. "Yes sir, I know. But we need to try something. I'll need to get back to my truck and get some tools and equipment."
Perry put his hand on Grant's shoulder. "Need me to go back with you?"
"No sir. I can manage." With that, Grant took off back towards his truck.
Perry looked around the area. About 50 feet away, he saw a huge slab of the concrete roof that had fallen in an upright position, held at an angle by the tunnel wall. "Daniel, let's get everyone back over behind that big slab of the roof. Then we can try to maneuver one or two of those cars up against it. If something goes wrong, it should give us some protection."
"Okay sir." As Perry turned, the officer stopped him. "Mr. Mason...I wanted to say, I'm very glad you're here. You see, I've only been on the force for six months."
Perry put his hand on Daniel's shoulder. "Son, you're doing just fine. But..."
Daniel looked at him curiously. "Yes?"
Perry chuckled. "But let's keep the six months between us."
"Thanks Mr. Mason."
Perry squeezed the young man's shoulder. "Let's see about moving everyone, shall we."