Robbie got two of the officers at the crime scene to hold his legs as he lay on the ground near the small hole Laura had disappeared into. He could barely get his arm inside and wondered how on earth Laura had fit in.

Laura had gone only part way through the opening and landed on a partially rotted beam of wood, just strong enough to hold her. She had taken the small torchlight out of her pocket and looked farther down the hole to see how she would get to James who could still be heard screaming. Then she heard a voice from above.

"Laura, grab my hand and let me pull you up." Robbie could just see the edges of her white crime scene suit.

She could have moved close enough to take his hand. She stayed put.

"Robbie, I have to go down to James."

"It's too risky. Come up here with me and wait for help. A team is coming with equipment and engineers."

"No. If Lyn was down there, you would do the same thing."

"Laura, please don't arg-"

"I love you."

Robbie lost sight of the white suit and all hope as well.

"Laura!" He heard some rumbling in the ground and was horrified to see that his actions had caused more earth to fill in the hole. Paralyzed with guilt and overcome with a sense of doom, Robbie didn't notice as the two officers slowly pulled him away from the hole as ordered by DI Anderson.

After carefully lowering herself from the beam Laura was able to climb further down and then release herself into the bunker landing near the now hysterical James. He was too deep in despair to be talked out of it so she reached for the syringe in her pocket, uncapped it and injected into his shoulder. In just a few seconds James calmed down and quickly drifted into sleep. Laura pulled the spiders off of him and killed them. She made a quick assessment of their surroundings. She was, as her American friend would say, 5 feet of woman in 100 feet of trouble.

More decayed earth followed her down the passage and she could barely see an opening. Then she turned off the torchlight not wanting to risk the battery going dead. Laura needed to know that the light was still available. She couldn't let them be permanently confined to total darkness.

While she was busy tending to James she was not bothered by the small space and the darkness. Having something to do kept her sane, now with silence and dirt falling on her she had to fight off hysteria. Laura needed to remain calm if she was going to help James.

Laura implemented all the tools learned in counseling for avoiding panic and started taking shallow breaths. She relaxed her shoulders and face and started to hum softly, a silly song from her childhood about meatballs rolling off the spaghetti. Focusing on James made it possible for her to remain oriented and avoid confusion. If she had been in here alone it would have been hellish. She put her fingers on James' wrist and felt for a pulse then lay her head on his chest to listen to him breathe. He sounded fine for now and hopefully for long enough until they got out of here.

Robbie said that help was on the way. She was sure he would not rest until everything possible was done to get them out. The problem was not knowing how long it would take. Laura used a few precious seconds with the torchlight to assess the bunker. She made an estimate of the size and looked worryingly at the ever shrinking hole above them.

Alarmed that she may have made a fatal error in joining James in the bunker Laura tried to calculate how long the available air would sustain them. Lessons learned long ago in science classes were fighting their way into her brain. She calculated a survival time for both of them and one for James on his own.

Ever since those twins tried to murder her, she kept a very powerful tablet with her at all times. Laura needed to be in control if ever someone else decided when she would die. She would at least decide how. Even when surrendering, Dr. Hobson would be in command and not die a slow and painful death. And now she might need to die in order to save James.

Laura remembered a physics teacher from years ago, one who was interested in her because she was clever, who told the students to pay close attention as you never knew when and how you would be tested. After making calculations in her head and checking her watch, she set a schedule that would only change if there was progress made by their rescuers.

Above the ground Chief Superintendent Jean Innocent arrived on the scene at the same time as the rescue squad and a team of engineers armed with heavy equipment, tools, and electronic devices. A chain of command was quickly established with the Chief Rescue Officer, Commander Bernard, heading up the operation with the engineers and police officers at his disposal.

Engineers were sent to assess the strength of the bunker and the ground around it. Radar was used to pinpoint the exact location of Laura and James in order to get a microphone embedded so that Bernard could communicate with them.

Laura could hear sounds above her and felt some hope that rescue operations were under way. She needed a plan in case the rescue attempt made things worse. The most important thing right now was to be as close to James as possible. She rested her head on his chest still satisfied with his condition. The sound of his breathing helped keep her calm and centered, focusing on the only thing that mattered, his safety. These were precious moments that she might have to end herself. In the worst case scenario where they would both have to die, she would see to it that James was the one who died peacefully.

Laura heard a soft voice, not sure if it was real as she was unaware of the microphone.

"James, Laura, if you can hear me answer quietly."

Laura involuntarily took a deep breath instead of a shallow one.

"Yes, I can hear you, she whispered."

There was no response.

She repeated herself a little louder.

"Good. My name is Bernard. We're going to get you out of there. Was that Laura speaking?"

"Yes."

Bernard asked some general questions about the conditions in the bunker and if they had any injuries. After Laura answered he asked to speak to James.

"He can't talk right now. I've sedated him." Never lie to your doctor or your rescuer.

"Okay, thanks for the honest answer." Bernard had been told that Laura was a doctor. He would find out later how she came to sedate him. At least James would be calm for now. Panicky people were more difficult to rescue.

Robbie had been as close to Bernard as possible during this exchange. He was desperate to talk to Laura.

"Please, let me talk to her."

"Sir, I have to ask you to wait patiently. There is vital information I need to exchange with the subjects."

Even though he knew better, Robbie was ready to argue. Jean Innocent approached him and commanded, "Lewis, my car, now!" Then she got closer to him and whispered in his ear, "Please Robbie, let them do their work."

Robbie knew that Innocent was right. He would never forgive himself if he impeded the rescue operation in any way. He followed her to the police car. Innocent asked her driver to stand by the scene and let her know ASAP if there were any developments.

Sitting in the back of the cruiser, Jean quietly told Robbie, "You need to remain calm. I know you want to help. We must let the professionals do their jobs. If Laura needed surgery you wouldn't perform it yourself now would you?"

"You're right. I'm sorry. It's just that I can't lose Laura or James." Robbie put his head in his heads as he was overcome with despair.

"Robbie, I know how hard this is for you. We have to focus on what we can do." She touched his arm. "You are listed first as Laura's emergency contact person, then her brother. Once we have more information you can call him."

"Yes, I'll do that." Robbie wanted to do more and tried to pull himself together. He knew that even though Bernard had determined that Laura was physically okay he was terrified of the thought of her trapped in the dark bunker. Would they get her out before the unthinkable happened? And why hadn't James been able to respond?

Innocent brought Robbie out of his brooding.

"Unlike Laura, James has not updated his personnel information for some time. His emergency contact persons are Fiona McKendrick and Reverend Sean Kennedy. McKendrick is on her way. Do you know the Reverend?"

"I've never met him although I've heard James talk about him. He runs the All Saints Church where they practice World Music."

Innocent's driver approached the car and quietly knocked on the window. Jean lowered it to speak with him.

"The chief engineer is giving an update ma'am". The officer pointed towards the tent set up for the rescue team, those not currently at work on the bunker. Robbie and Jean headed over there.

"The walls on three sides are unstable. Our one chance is to go in from the west side. We are going to provide support to the other walls." Robbie tried to listen further but his distressed mind couldn't comprehend the engineering terms. He called Laura's brother and gave him what information he could and tried as best he could to sound positive.

After a couple more hours where nothing seemed to be happening Jean took Robbie's elbow and ushered him back to her car. Coffee and sandwiches were delivered to them. The best she could do was to get Robbie to take a few sips of coffee.

Laura's brother called to say he would soon be boarding a flight to London and upon arrival there would be driving to Oxford. Robbie hoped that by the time he got to Oxford Laura would be recovering in hospital. He knew she would hold herself together in the bunker in order to help James and the terror would come later. That's if they survived…

Innocent interrupted his thoughts.

"McKendrick should have been here by now."

"James would probably prefer to have the Reverend Kennedy with him ma'am."

"Even so, McKendrick is now missing and that's worrisome."

Robbie couldn't hide his anger. How could she be worrying about her precious Fiona while Laura and James were in danger.