Jill walked over to the edge of the hole. Frankie stood slightly behind her and laid a hand on her elbow. "Careful doc."

She peered down into the depths, but despite straining her eyes, couldn't see the bottom and subsequently, couldn't see the girl. "Torch?" She turned back to Frankie briefly only to accept the torch he handed her. She pointed the beam of yellow light downwards, bouncing it off the mud, the coal and the wooden beams, but it wasn't strong enough to illuminate the bottom. This made her extremely concerned about the child's condition. A fall of that distance would surely only result in critical injuries. Despite this, she shouted to the girl. "Julia! Julia, can you hear me?" She held her breath, hoping against hope she would receive some sort of reply, even a moan, but none came. The area around them was silent, the breeze almost non-existent, but no response reached her ears. She turned back to Frankie, knowing there was only one way to rescue her.

"Frankie, do you have a rope in the ambulance?"

"Yes, I think so."

"Would it be possible to lower me down?"

Frankie frowned and shook his head. "It'll be dangerous doc. You might fall as well."

"No, it's the only way. I've got to take the chance."

"I could go down, you stay up here."

"I need to treat her. And I need you up here to hold the rope."

Frankie sighed resignedly. "Okay doc. If you're sure..."

She nodded and Frankie ran back towards the ambulance. She followed him, slipping out of her coat as she did so. "Steve!" She shouted, balled up her coat and threw it at him.

Moments later, Frankie came running towards her, rope in hand. She held her arms up as he brought it around her waist, tied a knot, pulled it so the rope was tight around her, and tied another knot, pulling it to make sure it was secure. It put pressure on her sore ribs, but despite the pain, it was a welcome pressure, reassuring her that it was tight enough not to allow her to slip through.

Then Steve came rushing forward, took the other end of the rope and tied it equally as securely around the bumper of the ambulance. They worked in silence, both obviously knowing exactly what needed to be done, and working together, and yet separately to accomplish it, and to ensure their colleagues' safety.

"You ever abseiled before doc? Frankie asked, once he'd finished. She just shook her head, then listened as he outlined quickly but thoroughly what she needed to do, and what she shouldn't do. He patted her arm briefly. "Good luck."

She tried to smile in response, but she was too terrified to succeed. She hoped she'd be able to keep her wits about her, and remember all that Frankie had said, and most importantly, carrying out what he'd instructed.

She took a deep breath, putting it off as long as she could. But then the mother caught her eye. The absolute distress on her face, along with her utter reliance on them, pushed Jill to make her way, albeit shakily, over to the very edge of the pit.

She turned around so she was facing Frankie and Steve who took up the rope, keeping the length between her and them as taught as possible. She closed her fingers around the rough fibre, squeezing as hard as she could.

Taking one last breath, she stepped back.


For one terrifying moment, it didn't feel as if there was anything to put her foot against, and she felt herself starting to swing across, imagining herself crashing against the side of the mine shaft. But after that moment, she felt her shoe connect with hard rock and the swinging stopped. She released a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding and placed her other foot down. The first foot followed that, and with time, she started speeding up, slightly. It felt vaguely strange to be almost vertical and moving downwards at the same time. She also thought fleetingly of the single line back up to the surface, the only thing stopping her falling to the unseen depths. But she pushed this thought out of her mind and concentrated instead on the task in hand, and trying to block out the pain engulfing her torso. The rope pressed against her bruised ribs, constraining them, binding them, crushing them almost into her lungs, causing her breaths to came short and rapid, creating a slight feeling of light-headedness and the beginnings of a tingling sensation in her hands and feet. She paused in her decent, and forced her breathing to slow, terrified of what would happen if she hyperventilated, knowing that had it gone on much longer, she could have been unable to control herself.

It was after about five minutes of the descent that she felt an increased pain in her side, and it augmented as time went on. She knew it was the barely closed wound that had reopened, the sides parting the weak bond they'd managed to make. Not long after this, she began to feel a disgustingly, slow, wet substance trickling its way from her wound, down her waist and finally absorbing in the waistband of her skirt.

The pain continued to increase, and the liquid continued to ooze out, but still she continued downwards, towards the reason she was doing this in the first place; the child.