Chapter 5
Little Heath and Nicky began to move around the town, slowly and carefully because the light was beginning to fade and now they knew for real that this was a dangerous place, ghosts or no ghosts. They called for their father, and then listened, but they just didn't hear anything.
Little Heath said, "If he's in one of these old buildings, he might not hear us."
"I don't want to go into any of these buildings," Nicky said.
"We may have to," Little Heath said. Then he realized how frightened his little brother was. "For now, we'll just listen close at the doors and windows and we'll call through them. Don't worry. Papa maybe just twisted his ankle and can't walk out from where he is. We'll find him."
Nicky nodded. "Okay," he said, but his voice was barely a squeak.
So, bit by bit, they went from shattered door to shattered door and called into the wreckage of old buildings, even ones that didn't have anything more than one or two walls partially standing. But no one responded. It was getting darker. Little Heath was glad he'd built the fire, and he glanced back at it now and then to make sure it was still going. At one point he said to Nicky, "You stay right here – right in this spot. I'm going to go throw some more wood on the fire. You can watch me from here. You stay right here and I'll be right back."
Nicky nodded and watched his brother run back to the fire, put some more wood on it, and then start back toward him. That was when Nicky heard the voice.
"I hear him!" Nicky yelled to Little Heath as he came closer.
"Where?" Little Heath asked.
"Here, right in here!"
They were in front of the saloon. Little Heath grabbed Nicky's hand before they started in. "Papa?!" Little Heath called. "Papa! Are you here?!"
Down in his basement hole behind the bar, Heath heard his son calling. "Heath! I'm here!"
Buoyed, Little Heath and Nicky came toward the bar.
"Be careful!" Heath yelled. "The floor's caved in!"
Neither boy could really see the floor and could barely see the bar, so they stopped. "Where are you, Papa?!" Little Heath called.
"I fell when the floor caved in!" Heath yelled. "I'm in the basement!"
Little Heath got a better bead on where his father was. "Stay right here," he said to Nicky and put Nicky's hand on a beam that used to support the roof. The beam wasn't completely upright, but it was stable enough for Nicky to anchor onto. "Right here!" Little Heath repeated.
Nicky nodded.
Little Heath inched his way to the bar, then around it. There was still enough light for him to tell that there was a hole back there. "I'm right here, Papa!" he yelled.
Heath sighed with relief, but was still half frantic the floor would open up under his son. "My leg is hurt!" He called. "Can you find the basement door?"
Little Heath looked around. The fallen roof and the increasing darkness made it hard to find anything.
"There should be a door under the stairway!" Heath called. "Can you find it?"
Little Heath looked and saw the wrecked stairway at the other end of the bar, not a dozen feet away. "I see it!"
"See if you can get the door open, but don't come down, not yet," Heath said.
"Okay."
As Nicky tried to watch through the darkness, Little Heath made his way bit by bit to the door, holding onto the bar all the way until he had to let go because the bar had collapsed. Thankfully, there was no debris blocking the door. Little Heath grabbed the knob and pulled, but the door frame was smashed out of kilter and the door did not want to open. He tried again. He got it open, but only a few inches.
Down in the hole, Heath heard the door open and saw a little bit of light, and he got himself up and to the stairs. He had no idea if there were really any steps left. "Can you hear me?" he asked.
"I hear you," Little Heath said.
"Don't come down here. I don't know if any of these steps are still there but I'm going to climb my way up real slow. You stay right there. Try to get the door open a little more."
"Okay."
Little Heath wedged himself between the door and the frame and got in enough to move the door a few more inches. Below, he could hear his father trying to get up the stairs.
Heath held close to the part of the steps that were against the wall, and one by one he pulled himself up. He felt a step give way, but held on and got to the next one. The same thing happened again, just as he was within reach of the door. He grabbed the bottom of the doorframe where it had been anchored to the floor, and he felt Little Heath grab his wrist.
"Almost there," Heath said, and he gave a final push against a fragile step.
Little Heath grabbed his father by both wrists and pulled him up through the door frame. The both of them fell on the floor right next to the bar, but thankfully, it did not give way. They stayed there, panting.
"Are you okay?!" Nicky yelled, terrified but glued to the support beam where Little Heath had put him.
"Yes," Heath said. "Stay where you are. We'll be there in a minute."
Little Heath got to his feet and helped his father up. Heath needed his support to get across the room – he was grateful that Little Heath was big enough now to help him. They got to where Nicky was and Little Heath reached for his brother's hand.
"You grab onto my belt and go outside with us," Little Heath said.
"Okay," Nicky said and did as he was told.
In a bunch, the three of them made it out toward the light of the fire in the street, and in a moment they were out of the building and in the dirt. They stopped there, Heath sagging to the ground, Nicky not letting go of Little Heath's belt.
Little Heath said, "You can let go now, Nicky, but stay with us." He bent to his father when Nicky let go. "Where is your leg hurt?" he asked.
"My knee," Heath said.
Little Heath felt around his father's knee and said, "It's popped out of place."
Before Heath could even agree or say another word, Little Heath deftly adjusted the knee and popped it back into place.
Heath didn't have time to yell. The procedure hadn't even hurt that much anyway.
"Is that better?" Little Heath asked.
Amazed, Heath said, "Yes."
Little Heath looked at the cut on his father's head. "That's not much, but it's bleeding. Let's get back to the hotel and clean it off."
Little Heath pulled his father up, and as soon as he did Nicky grabbed the back of Little Heath's belt again. Again, as a bunch, they made their way down the street, past the fire and into the hotel.