Dark Visions – Chapter Eleven
Carmichael took Frank's plunge into the dark abyss as his opportunity to escape. He pushed Bre forcefully toward the hole and ran for the stairs that led to the outside.
Donovan hit the ground hard and felt his left ankle give under the force of the impact. He grunted loudly as the pain ripped through his leg. He wasn't sure if it was broken or twisted. He bit back the pain and tried to jump to the ledge and climb out. "Damn!" he moaned as he hit the ground again.
Bre had the presence of mind to leap over the opening and land on the other side. She looked up as Alex and a limping Jake came down the stairs. "Quick! He just went out the back!"
They raced past her, unaware of Frank's situation, and headed toward the outside staircase.
Bre lay on her stomach, oblivious to the pain of her knife wounds. "Frank? Frank!"
"I'm okay, Bre. Maybe a broken ankle."
She shone her small flashlight around the interior of the pit. "A root cellar! Who knew these still existed?"
"Bre?"
"Yeah, Frank."
"Wanna get me out of here?"
"Be right back." Bre looked around the basement. Some twine here and there...knife...camera...developing fluid. No ropes, no ladders. She ran upstairs and ransacked the kitchen, but found nothing. The house had been deserted for years.
************
Cody saw Carmichael rounding the corner of the house and quickly drew his gun. It felt heavy in his hand. Give him a hacker job over this any day. "Federal Agent!" he yelled, bringing Carmichael to a halt.
Carmichael turned to head back in the other direction when he heard Alex and Jake heading his way. "Give it up, Carmichael!" Alex commanded.
Carmichael raised his hands in defeat. He grunted when Jake turned him toward the back of the house and shoved him forward. "Get moving!"
The were nearly to the basement door when Carmichael stopped suddenly and landed a punch on Jake's wounded thigh, simultaneously pushing him into Alex and Cody who trailed behind. He made a dash for the basement. If he was going to go down...he would make sure someone went with him. Someone important to Donovan.
************
Bre knelt down beside the opening of the root cellar. "I can't find anything. How deep is this?"
"I'm 6'2" and there's a good three feet above my reach."
Bre felt a familiar presence nearby. "Poppy?" She watched as her grandfather appeared to her. It was rare that he actually materialized, and she would have smiled at the sight of him, if the situation weren't so grave.
"You have to hurry, darlin'," he said. "He's coming back."
Frank listened to the voices from above. He couldn't believe his ears. Maybe it was the pain.
"Poppy, Frank can't reach the top and I can't find anything to lower down to him."
"There is one thing, little girl. Now is the time to break that promise."
Bre's eyes grew wide. Why hadn't she thought of that! She scrambled to her feet and retrieved the knife from the table. Reaching behind her, she cut her braid off at the nape of her neck and then secured the cut end with the twine lying on the table.
She wrapped the thin end around her hand once to get a firm grip on the braid. "Frank...I'm lowering something down to you. I'm not sure if it will reach."
She lay face down and wound her legs around a beam that braced the ceiling of the basement. That allowed her to hang over the edge at her waist, giving her more length to reach Frank.
He grasped the rope quickly but let go just as fast. "What the hell is that?"
"Just grab hold and get your ass up here before all the blood rushes to my head!"
"Hurry, darlin'. He's near," Poppy warned.
"Hurry Frank."
He grabbed the 'rope' again and pulled himself up with effort. He could hear Bre's moans. He was probably ripping her stitches open. He climbed enough to reach her forearm.
"Keep climbing, Frank," she said through clenched teeth. "Just climb over me."
Donovan heard activity outside and could hear Alex yell, "Over there, Jake! Cody!" Then he heard a noise inside the basement. A shadow fell over the pit, and he could see the flash of a blade over Bre.
Without thinking, he clung tightly to Bre's arm and drew his gun, triggering a shot so quickly Carmichael never knew what hit him. Donovan heard a loud thud and knew Carmichael was down. He resumed his climb over Bre and fell heavily to the floor when he reached the top.
"Hey...a little help here!" Bre yelled, still hanging upside down over the side of the pit.
"Sorry." He rolled over to help her up.
"Ow...." she whined as she slide up the wall. She didn't want to see what damage she had done to herself. She collapsed into Frank's arms. "Is he dead?"
Jake, Alex and Cody clamored down the stairs. "Looks dead from here," Cody commented. Moving closer he said, "Yep, dead. A shot from 'Right-between-the-eyes-Donovan'."
Jake nodded. "We've seen that shot many times."
"Thank God it's over," Alex said.
"Not quite," Donovan replied.
"Monica!" Jake, Alex and Cody exclaimed in unison.
Bre laughed. "She's here somewhere...let's go find her." She stood and offered a hand to Frank helping him to his feet and put an arm around his waist to support him.
"Bre! Your hair!" Cody yelled, looking at the length of braid she still held in her hand.
She brought the same hand that held the braid up to feel the shorn locks at the back of her head. "Yeah...well...it was Poppy's idea," she said, laughing.
Donovan took the braid from her. "So this was the rope."
Bre shrugged. "It was the only way to get you out. It'll grow back, if I let it. I may keep it short for awhile." She smiled up at Frank and tugged at his waist. "Let's go find Monica."
Cody almost laughed at the sight he was watching. Alex was supporting a wounded Jake and Sabrena was supporting a wounded Donovan. "Women two, men zip," he said with a chuckle.
Everyone turned toward him, a look of confusion on their faces. Bre shook her head. "As long as I've known him, his humor still escapes me."
"You're not alone," Alex replied.
************
"It's about damn time!" Monica barked as the gag was removed from her mouth.
"Let's gag her again and see if she's a little more appreciative," Cody suggested as he cut her bindings.
"Do it and die," she threatened, rubbing her freed wrists. She accepted the hand Cody offered to help her up. "But really, guys, you all are a sight for sore eyes. I thought I was a goner." She looked the team over. "Wow, you guys really took a beating. And, Bre..."
"Yeah, yeah...it's a long story," Bre said with a grin, fingering her short hair.
"No, honey...you're bleeding," Monica said, pointing toward Bre's shoulder.
"It's not hers...it's Carmichael's," Frank said.
"Oh, thank goodness," Bre said, a little shaken. As an afterthought, she unhooked her vest and pulled her collar open to see if she was bleeding anywhere else. "Wow...Doctor Pendleton did a great job, Frank. Not even all your weight pulled the stitches open!"
Everyone laughed and Donovan said, "Yes, well, let's get back to the hospital. We could all use a doctor at this point."
To be continued...