Chapter fifty-eight

Holding his breath David brought the six foot fiberglass pole he was holding up and lightly touched its metallic tip against the exposed wire in the side of the broken down subway tunnel. The old subway line had been flooded out fifty years ago and at the time rather than fix it when the waters receded they just concentrated on other lines. With the subways become more crowded and over burdened plans had been made to revamp the old line. However before that could happen it was important to learn if any of the corroded wires were still live before letting a working crew in to do the heavy work. Even though the pole was insulated to keep him safe there was always the slight risk of the electricity arcing. Touching the wire produced a negative reading letting David know it was safe.

"Fifty-six A is cold." David announced. "Chris? Chris, you get that?"

David looked over his shoulder to find his partner standing in the middle of the abandoned tunnel with his head cocked to the side. He was supposed to be marking down the wires that they were cataloging so any live wires could be taken care of a safely. Instead Chris was standing stock still with his brow furrowed, staring transfixed down the abandoned tunnel.

"Chris?" David waved his hand. "Hellooo?"

"David, come over here."

"Sure, fine, whatever…not like I'm doing a dangerous job or anything." David rambled sarcastically as he walked over. "Seriously, Chris, what the hell are you doing?"

"You can't tell me you don't hear that."

"Hear what?"

"Listen for a second, it keeps repeating."

"I don't hear any…"

"Ssssh!" Chris hissed.

Rolling his eyes David humored his friend and waited in silence. David was about to tell Chris to get back to work when a faint sound echoed eerily off the concrete walls from further down the tunnel. David reached up and rubbed at the hairs on the back of his neck that had been raised by the noise. The reedy note held for a few seconds before dropping off into silence again.

"That!" Chris crowed in triumph. "Tell me you heard that."

"Yeah, I hear it." David replied trying to be nonchalant about how the sound chilled his blood.

"What the hell is it?"

"I'm sure it's nothing."

"It's not nothing." Chris said firmly.

"There must be a vent open somewhere." David shrugged. "The wind can make funny sounds down here."

"It ain't the wind either." Chris shook his head. "Come on, let's check it out."

"What? No." David complained. "We've got like two hundred more wires to get through before lunch, and I'm already getting hungry."

"It'll just take a few minutes." Chris insisted. "It's so mournful, I think it might be a dog or something."

"What would a dog be doing down here?" David asked doubtfully.

"I don't know, but it sounds hurt. Maybe it got trapped or something. Stay here if you want, but I'm checking it out."

"Fine." David sighed. "If it turns out to be nothing you're buying me lunch."

"Deal."

Taking his long handled volt meter with him David trotted after Chris who had already taken off to hunt out the source of the sound that had caught his attention. The ghostly cry kept repeating itself but not at regular intervals, making it more likely to have an organic rather than mechanical source. However after traveling a few hundred yards they still hadn't come across anything. At first David thought it might be getting louder but then it fell off again. Becoming more and more curious David put his hand out and stopped Chris for a moment.

"Hang on." David stopped. "I think we passed it."

"Maybe it is just the wind." Chris sighed in defeat.

"No…"

David paused waiting to hear the sound again. It was taking longer for it to repeat itself but when it did there was something about it that was increasingly heartbreaking to hear. Determined to figure it out David turned around and started to back track. Moving more slowly this time they both stopped when the mewling suddenly seemed to come from their left. Having been walking down the center of the tracks to avoid any potential live wires they had walked right past a drainage grate set in the floor on the far side of the rails. Looking down in the darkness didn't really reveal anything but it didn't take long before the siren call that had brought them here lifted up out of the midnight.

"That's not a dog." Chris said anxiously. "What is that?"

"Hold this." David said as he handed Chris the volt meter.

Getting down on his knees in front of the grate David pulled his flashlight off his utility belt. Shining the beam down through the grate revealed a shaft that went down about twelve feet before hitting stone again. At first David didn't see anything in the narrow beam of the flashlight however moving it slightly to the side David gasped sharply at the sight it revealed. Startled by the unexpected sight David jerked back causing Chris to jolt as well.

"Dave?"

"There…there's a man down there!"

"What?!"

Chris dropped down next to David and peered down into the grate as well. Laying on the floor bloodied and painfully thin the man gulped a few shallow breaths before fighting to fill his lungs to cry out again. His voice had been worn so raw that even at this short distance he sounded a mile away as he howled desperately for help. Putting down the flashlight David laced his hands into his the grate. Chris followed his lead and together they managed to pull the heavy metal grate off the opening. Shinning the light back down into the shaft David tried to get the man's attention.

"Hey! Hey, Buddy, can you hear me?"

The man jerked violently at the call. He looked up into the light with shockingly blue eyes but instantly weld his eyes shut against the bright light with a weak cry of pain. Realizing what had happened David quickly switched off the light plunging the man back into an inky darkness. The sudden isolation of the darkness caused the trapped man to bay in terror.

"I'm sorry." David called back as he turned the light back on but didn't shine it directly at him. "It's okay, we're here."

"H...help me...please..."

"We're going to get you out of there." Chris assured before turning to David. "How are we going to get to him?"

"He can't weigh very much, if he can keep a hold of the volt meter I bet we can pull him up enough for me to grab his hand." David said before turning back to the grate. "What's your name?"

"Ne…Neal."

"Hi, Neal. I'm David, this is Chris, everything is going to be okay. Do you think you can stand?"

In response Neal started pushing against the cold stone he was laying on in a disorganized fashion. After failing several attempts to stand David gave Chris a doubtful look before he peered back down into the hole. Neal was snarling and growling incoherently in frustration as he collapsed again.

"Neal, stop, maybe it would be best if you just rested while Chris goes and gets hel..."

"No! Don't leave!" Neal begged as he scrambled up as the fear of being left behind gave him the extra push he needed. "I...I'm up...hurry..."

"Alright, I'm going to lower a pole to you, grab a hold, and don't let go."

"I won't."

David winced in guilt as he was forced to put the flashlight down and Neal couldn't help the whimper of terror at finding himself back in the dark. With no time for apologies Dave had Chris hold onto his belt to help pull them back up as David laid on his stomach to dangling his front half down into the darkness. Once he was in as far as he could safely go he used the pole to bridge the gap between himself and Neal. Fumbling in the darkness it took Neal a moment to get a hold of the pole. When Neal finally gripped down onto the pole David could feel his trembling translating up the fiberglass. Uncertain that Neal would have the strength to hold on David knew they'd only have one chance for this to work before they would have to fall back on the plan of getting a rescue team.

"Hold on tight, Neal, I'm going to pull you up just enough to take your hand. On three…1,2,3!"

Fueled by adrenaline David yanked up on the pole with far more power than he'd thought himself capable of. Despite the jerking motion Neal held fast and was lifted up the foot or so needed for him to reach up and take David's free hand. Gripping Neal's hand with almost enough force to break it David kept a hold of him as Chris helped pull them both up. The narrow nature of the shaft worked to Neal's advantage and once he was up high enough to get his feet against the walls he helped push himself up. Scrambling with the desperation of a trapped animal Neal succeeded in getting to the rim of the hole. Still holding Neal's hand David leaned back to help pull him up into the tunnel they'd been working in. Once Neal was free David fell back and sat down hard as he pulled Neal forward against his chest.

Shivering uncontrollably Neal clutched a hold of David as if he was trying to convince himself he was real. Finding himself shaking as well from the adrenaline of the situation David wrapped his arms around Neal to try and help warm him as he looked up at Chris in shock. He had never saved a life before the rush was a little overwhelming. Looking just as wide eyed Chris suddenly laughed in a mixture of excitement and anxiety. David smiled brightly and chuckled weakly but he brought his focus back to the task at hand when Neal started dry heaving violently. Tightening his hold David cradled Neal to keep him up off the cold floor. Arching his back Neal started fighting senselessly against his rescuer as delirium started to take hold. Welding his eyes shut as tears streamed from them Neal rapidly alternated between trying to push David away and trying to hold him closer.

"Chris, get to the access junction, call 9-1-1 from the emergency phone there."

"F…FBI…" Neal panted. "FBI…please…Agent...Agent Hu..."

"FBI?" Chris questioned. "Are you…"

Chris stopped when Neal convulsed in David's arms before passing out.

"Chris, go!" David barked. "We need paramedics now!"

"Right. I'm on it!"

With cell phones worthless in the depths of the old subway the only way to call the surface was from the old hard line phones that were in place at all the major intersection. Breaking into a run Chris left the pair behind to get help. Not in the best shape Chris quickly developed a stitch in his side but he still kept his fast pace for the half mile it took to get to the access point. The emergency phone was on the wall housed in a thick plastic case that was covered in dust and rusted shut. Slamming his palm against it he was able to shake enough of the rust off to cause it pop open. The phone didn't need to be dialed, it only had one large red button on it that Chris pushed with a shaky hand.

"9-1-1, what is your emergency?"

"I…I need paramedics and police, and, uh, the FBI. I need the FBI!"

"Sir?"

"I…I think we just pulled an injured Agent out of a storm drain…"