Kerry steeled herself and took a few short steps into the dark passage, gripping the door frame and then the crumbly wall to steady herself. Even with the torch, the further she got from the door, the harder it was to see virtually anything. She edged along, and was annoyed to find that the passage was slightly too wide to hold onto both sides, which would have made things a lot easier. Instead, she had to hold onto the wall with one hand and balance herself with the other, trying not to jar her leg too much.

oOo

"You ... you should have gone with her," Debbie murmured weakly. "It's not too late ... you can still ..."

"Shhh," Eve whispered gently, stroking Debbie's hair. "I'm not leaving you, that's a promise."

Debbie was too weak to argue. Her vision was becoming hazy; she felt incredibly tired, and the pain was beginning to subside. In her mind, her thoughts all merged into one. Every now and again she'd realise she had to stay awake; that her life was in danger if she didn't, but then reality would be eclipsed by the strong and overpowering urge to close her eyes and sleep. It was so much easier, didn't require any strength or effort ...

"Keep your eyes open, Debbie," Eve's voice jolted her back to a higher level of consciousness, and along with it came the fear and sharp, persistent ache every time she tried to breathe in. She knew that she was not getting nearly enough oxygen to keep her alive for long; she knew that all too well, and although she knew she would never admit it out loud, she was scared.

"I know it's scary," Eve said gently, as if reading her thoughts, "I've been there and I know what it's like, but whatever happens, you mustn't give up. It won't be long now; Kerry will be nearly there and before you know it, they'll get you out. You are going to get out of here, trust me." She looked fearfully up at the ceiling as the trickle of dust started to get faster and another small gap opened up further along. It was not going to hold for much longer.

oOo

Kerry kept going, on and on, for what seemed like hours. The passage smelled damp and stale, and by the sound of it had no proper floor; just earth. She glanced behind her to see how far she had come, but hadn't realized there had been a very subtle bend in the passage and she could no longer see the entrance. She wanted to rest; she wanted to wake up from the nightmare, but something inside made her continue on, inch by inch. Her hand brushed against a spider's web, sending a shiver down her spine, but as she swung the torch upwards instinctively, she saw a flash of light on metal, no more than fifteen feet away. It was the ladder.

Relief flooded through her, overwhelming her so much that she almost burst into tears on the spot. In a sudden burst of adrenaline, she let go of the wall and broke into what vaguely resembled a run towards the ladder, the way out, salvation...

For the first few steps, she managed to keep it up, but then reality made itself all too abundant as her ankle gave way and she fell against the wall, flinching as another firebolt of pain shot up her leg. There was a sudden crackling sound, and without any further warning, an avalanche of earth rained down out of an increasingly large hole in the wall, right beside her.

As the dust cleared, Kerry heaved herself slowly up, breathing heavily and reached over the mound of earth and debris for the torch, which she had dropped. As she did so, her hand fell upon something in the darkness that had clearly fallen out of the wall along with everything else, something round and solid but with holes here and there. She picked up the torch and turned it around to focus on what she was holding; something that made all the hairs on the back of her neck stand up in frightened disbelief.

It was a skull. A human skull.

oOo

Darkness was closing in. Debbie could no longer think clearly and drifted in and out of consciousness as the minutes went by. Every now and then, she would find herself fighting to stay awake and she had tried, she had tried so hard, but the strength she needed to survive was all but gone. Even the fear had left her now; she was no longer afraid of dying; it didn't seem to matter. On the contrary, despite scarcely being able to breathe at all, she felt incredibly floaty and peaceful, as if she was lying on the beach on a beautiful, hot summer's day and falling asleep in the sun without a care in the world.

oOo

Kerry dropped the skull with a gasp. It landed back on the mound of earth, rolled down the side and came to rest. For a moment, she could not take her eyes off it: its smooth, yellowish surface, the eerily empty eye sockets, which almost seemed to be looking at her. As she apprehensively shone the torch a little further forwards, her fears were confirmed; it wasn't just a skull but a seemingly whole skeleton. It had broken up when it fell, presumably, since the various bones were scattered in disarray, but there was no mistaking what it was: a human skeleton.

If she needed any more convincing that this was a place of gloom and death, this was it. It took her several minutes for the shock to wear off; she really didn't need this, but eventually she pulled herself together enough to concentrate on getting out. She stepped awkwardly over her gruesome discovery and tried to shut it out of her mind as she edged towards the ladder. It was old but not rusty, and did not look as if it was another disaster area. Kerry pulled it hard several times to check its stability, and was relieved to find it did not budge at all. She shone her torch upwards and found that sure enough, it did look like a manhole cover, though there were several tightly fitted screws and latches, suggesting that it could not be opened from above without considerable force.

Making sure that the screwdriver and spanner were securely wedged in her pocket, she carefully positioned the torch on the ground, facing upwards. She was going to need both hands free for this. She gripped the sides of the ladder and, taking her full weight on her arms, hopped one step up. It was surprisingly easier than she had expected, and managed the next few rungs without much difficulty. Nearing the top, she balanced precariously on one leg while she hooked her right arm around the ladder for safety; another fall didn't really bear thinking about. The torchlight illuminated a couple of screws towards the right-hand edge, so she slowly drew the screwdriver out of her pocket, silently ordering herself not to drop it. Taking it in her hand, she reached upwards and painstakingly inserted it, then revolved it around and around. It made a hollow scraping sound that reminded her of fingernails on a blackboard. Every now and then, it would slip out of the indent in the screw and she would have to start again, but eventually it went loose and with one more turn it dropped out and fell to the ground.

oOo

Jack Meadows pulled his coat tighter around himself as the night began to get colder. It had been four hours since the explosion with very little news, yet he and his officers remained there, waiting. Most had sought refuge from the cold in the vans and cars, occasionally attempting to make conversation, which inevitably fizzled away, but Meadows stayed out, leaning up against the van and occasionally gazing up at the night sky, silently wishing for a miracle. He knew that with every minute that went by, the chances of Debbie and Kerry's survival grew slimmer and although he felt desperate for news, part of him really didn't want to know, if it was bad. His mind drifted back to the moment not so long ago when he had tried to kiss Debbie in his office. She had laughed it off, he had apologized and dismissed it as a moment of madness, but inside he had been a broken man. He didn't care what the rest of the station might think about her after the incident with Tom Chandler, or her general 'ice queen' attitude. No matter what she might appear to be on the outside, inside she was a betrayed, lost and vulnerable woman in need of love and security. Now he wished he had mustered the courage to tell her exactly how he felt ... before it was too late.

Near the doors of the office, he suddenly spotted Chris Deakin talking to the chief fireman again. He was too far away to hear any words, but could tell from the frequent shakes of his head and uncertain shrugs that it certainly wasn't good news. As Deakin walked solemnly towards him, Meadows braced himself for the worst.

"Sir." Deakin spoke briskly. "They haven't found either of them yet. It looks like there have been several further collapses in the basement and they're having to go very slowly in case they cause any more."

Meadows released the breath he hadn't even realized he had been holding and nodded, towards the ground.

"It's not good, Sir, you know that," Deakin added, tentatively.

There followed a brief silence.

"He, erm, the fire chief, he said that in all honesty ..."

Meadows finished his sentence for him. "They're not holding out much hope of finding them alive."

"Something like that," Deakin muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

Meadows felt an unusual prickling sensation at the back of his eyes that he had not felt for a long time and was not prepared for, even now. "Thanks, Chris," he nodded, avoiding Deakin's gaze. "Keep me posted, won't you?"

oOo

Eleven screws. How many more could there be?

Kerry was incredibly tired and her strength was beginning to diminish. She had been balancing at the top of the ladder for nearly fifteen minutes now; her arm was sore from hanging on and she was getting dizzy from having to keep looking upwards. She peered down at the small scattering of screws on the ground below and took a few deep breaths before focusing on the manhole cover again. Think logically, she told herself, there must be a pattern. The screws are probably symmetrical which means there's probably an even number.

Carefully, she followed the pattern of the holes where the screws had been. Four in a cross shape around the middle, then seven more, evenly spaced around the edge ... there it was. "Got you, you little sod," she muttered to herself as she braced herself against the ladder once more. This screw was quite tight and as she gave it an extra violent turn, it suddenly went loose. The screwdriver flew out of her hand and clattered to the ground.

In a sudden burst of frustration and fury, Kerry pulled the spanner from her pocket and hit it with as much strength as she could muster against the metal cover.

CLANG!!!

It was much louder than she expected, and she almost fell off the ladder as the deafening metallic sound reverberated through the passage. Having rather surprised herself at her extreme reaction, she glanced upwards again, dreading the idea of having to climb back down the ladder, and realized that the screw was probably loose enough to remove by hand. Sure enough, with a couple more turns it slid out and joined the others on the ground.

oOo

Jack Meadows' thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a noise behind him that was neither loud nor soft, a noise that reminded him of next door's cat knocking his dustbins over, only slightly muffled. He turned around expecting to see some rubbish being collected across the road or some drunks having a fight, but there was nothing to see at all. Puzzled, he looked around to see if anyone else had heard it, then dismissed it with a shake of his head, deciding that his mind must be playing tricks on him.

oOo

There were definitely no more screws. Kerry had checked all the way around several times and was now totally sure she had not missed any. Uncertainly, she gave the lid a firm push with one hand, but was not altogether surprised that it still didn't move. Sighing, she closed her eyes and rested her head on her hand, longing for the whole afternoon to have been nothing but a terrible nightmare. Then a thought struck her. She thought for a moment, then, in a last ditch effort, reached up with the spanner again and struck it again hard, deliberately, several times.

oOo

Meadows spun around. This time he was certain he wasn't just imagining things and by the look of it, several of the others thought the same, but he could not for the life of him think where it was coming from. Not the building, not any of the vehicles ... what else was there?

Cass walked around the side of the van to Meadows, looking around confusedly.

"Sir, did you hear that?"

"I did, yes," Meadows nodded, surveying the area and racking his brain.

"I thought I heard it a minute ago but I couldn' see anythin' and thought I must be just gettin' tired," Cass admitted. "But then it was there again. Where's it comin' from?"

oOo

Using a spot of violence seemed to have given Kerry an extra boost of adrenaline, and it did not take her long to realize what she had forgotten about; the latches. They looked a little rusty but there were only two of them and it looked like they might be her last obstacle. She gave the lid three more strikes with the spanner for good measure, then slipped it back into her pocket.

oOo

There it was again. Three times.

"It looks like it's coming from over there," Deakin shrugged, indicating the sealed-off roadway just behind the van."

"But there's nothing there, Sir," Rod Skase contributed, attracting the disapproving glares of the small crowd around them. "Just ... just a road!"

Meadows did not know why he or indeed everyone else was all of a sudden so concerned with what was probably a faulty drainpipe. They had much more pressing things to worry about after all; two officers missing and most likely dead, and it wasn't as if there could be a connection, so far away...?

His gaze suddenly fell upon a manhole cover half way across the road, the only hard metal object he could see. For a moment he stood and looked at it questioningly, wondering if he was totally mad, then strode swiftly over to it, followed by one or two of the others.

oOo

CLANG!!!

The first latch snapped open, sending another dizzying metallic ring echoing down the passage. If this doesn't keep Debbie awake, nothing will, Kerry thought, as she fastened her fingers around the second one. Her vision blurred for a moment, she thought for a terrible moment that she was going to faint but she couldn't ... she couldn't ...

oOo

"It's definitely coming from here," Meadows declared, kneeling with his ear close to the ground next to the cover. "Someone go and tell the fire crew, it sounds like something's trapped down there." He leaned forward until that his nose was almost touching the ground, and shouted as loudly as he possibly could.

"HELLO!?"

Kerry jumped. It was a voice, right above her, muffled but a voice nonetheless. Someone had heard. She reached up one more time and clawed at the last latch. She didn't care how many fingernails she broke in the process; all that stood between her and freedom was one small piece of metal and it sure as hell wasn't going to beat her.

SNAP!

It had opened. For a moment, she almost didn't believe it, then stepped up one more rung and pushed upwards with every bit of strength left in her. It was incredibly heavy and despite her best efforts, it refused to move, though it was definitely unlocked.

"PULL!" she yelled desperately upwards. "PULL THE DAMN THING!"

Meadows had heard, and recognized the voice. "Duncan, Rod, Tom, get over here now!" he called over his shoulder as his heart seemed to turn a somersault. "We have to get this thing up now," he ordered, ignoring their puzzled expressions. "I think it's unlocked, I can move it a bit. Ok, grab a bit ... that's it, now pull and for god's sake don't drop it!"