Bob desperately turned the steering wheel, spinning the tire over the pipe but try as he might it would not break. He had long ago made peace with the idea of dying young. It wasn't that he wanted to die perse. It's just after losing his mother so young. He knew just how easy it could happen and reluctantly accepted that maybe his future, but Linda and the kids. They didn't deserve this fate. Linda was so full of life and the kids were way too young. At least Lily and him had made it to their forties. His mom had been just shy of her fiftieth birthday when she died. He was only a few years younger. His life wasn't what he expected it to be, but it had been a good life. He just hoped Linda felt the same way and that the kids were satisfied with what little time they'd had.
"What's going on?" Tina asked from the back seat.
"I can't get the pipe to break. I'm sorry but we are… we're going to die." Bob apologized.
"Ah! My ghost is going to wear these clothes forever!" Gene cried.
"Gene you wear the same thing every day." Louise remained seemingly unphased.
"Shut-up! Shut-up! These are our last moments! Stop saying stupid stuff!" Tina cried as she began to hyperventilate.
"Especially with you hogging all the air." Louise scoffed.
"I don't want to die." Gene sobbed.
"We're not going to die! Louise be nice! Tina and Gene calm down!" Linda cried.
"Lin, I can't break the pipe. What else can we do?" Bob demanded as tears rolled down his cheeks.
"We are going to push. Push like we've never pushed before, and we are going to open the top. If I could deliver Gene vaginally, alone without even an epidural. We can team together and open this thing!" Linda insisted.
"Is it too late for an epidural?" Gene asked.
"Yes, it is! Now you heard the lady! PUSH!" Louise cried.
On that the family rose as high as they could and pushed with all their might. Between Tina's puberty strength, Louise being surprisingly strong for her size, but above all Bob and Linda's refusal to let their sweet children die. They managed to do the impossible and get the clam shell open. Unfortunately, despite their efforts the clam never opened more than a few inches and they had to keep their grip to keep it open. At least it gave them air and their voices were no longer trapped inside. Maybe they could yell enough to draw attention. No, they couldn't, they were still underground and holding the shell open was taking all their strength.
"This is hopeless. We are screwed." Bob sobbed.
"Actually, I think I can fit through the hole." Louise announced from the backseat.
"I don't know Louise it's not a very big opening." Linda observed.
"In case you haven't noticed I am not a very big girl. It will be a tight squeeze but if you can push Gene out of ten centimeters. I can climb out of however many centimeters that is. I will get out and get help." Louise insisted.
"That's my brave girl." Linda sobbed.
Louise wasn't proud of herself, but she grabbed Kuchi Kopi. Before climbing from her seat. The family took a brief moment to embrace Louise. Bob, Tina, and Gene giving her side hugs. Not wanting to let go of the shell of overstep Louise's boundaries. Linda, however, pulled Louise into a bear hug and smothered her with kisses. Before helping her climb out of the shell. She was most of the way out when the shell snapped shut on her leg. She let out a sharp yelp but managed to free herself. The shell was shut once again, and she feared it would not open again. Now it was even more serious. She had to get help and fast. Her leg hurt worse than any other pain she had felt in her entire life, but she forced herself to push past it. Limping until she came to a storm drain. She considered trying to climb out but between her broken leg and the lack of anything to grip onto or lasso around the drain. She was stuck.
"HELP! SOMEBODY HELP! HELP ME! HELP! PLEASE! I NEED HELP!" Louise cried at the top of her lungs.
Louise continued to scream to no avail for five minutes. Where was everybody? It was a weekday night, but she was below Ocean Avenue and there were always people on Ocean Avenue this time of night. She heard the wail of a siren and for a moment she felt hope. Until it whizzed past. She continued to scream, and more sirens sped past, but nobody came to save her. She wondered what was going on. Until she smelled the smoke. It was strong. How had she missed it before. Her heart dropped when she realized where the smoke was coming from. It was coming from the wharf. Which meant that the Fishodors were most likely dead, and her family wouldn't be far behind if she didn't get help soon. People were walking past now. Most likely going to check out what was going on. She tried to scream but she had wasted her voice. Boy had she screwed up. Her family was going to die, and it was her fault. Unless she could get attention some other way. She looked down at Kuchi Kopi. The batteries were going out, she couldn't count on him to be a light but if somebody saw a toy fly out of the sewer. Surely, they would stop to check it out. It was worth a toy at least. She gave her beloved nightlight one last hug. Suddenly feeling stupid for embracing a hunk of plastic but wriggling away when her family tried to hug her. She looked up at the grate, studying it. She wasn't the most athletic but between her desperation to dunk Mr. Frond and attending several of Mandy's softball games. She had gotten decent aim. Still, she had to get this just right. She eyed what she prayed was the sweet spot and hurled Kuchi Kopi towards the hole. She couldn't watch but breathed a sigh of relief. When she heard him hit the top of the grate and a second sigh of relief when he didn't crash right back down.
Beau Walker made his way down Ocean Avenue. He had just completed a grueling day of classes. Part of him wondered if he was making a mistake trying to fast track his degree. At least he only had two weeks left in the semester and he had already taken a lighter load for the fall term. Still the next few days were going to be hell, but he couldn't think about that now.
Right now, he had to completely rethink his dinner plans. Both his parents had evening plans that night and had thus left him in charge of his younger sibling Sage. Sage would turn fifteen in two months. They were already attending concerts and had convinced their parents to allow them to get a nose piercing. They hardly needed a babysitter, but Beau wasn't one to turn down time with his baby sibling. His plan had been to get them takeout from the burger place that Sage liked. Unfortunately, they were closed. He had heard about the sinkhole but figured they would be open now that it was filled back in. No such luck and since the apartment upstairs also appeared to be empty there was nobody he could ask. He wished he had their number or that Sage was better about answering their phone. So, he could get it from them without having to go home. He decided to just grab something from one of the other restaurants on the street and do the burgers another time. Unfortunately for him now there was a fire on Wonder Wharf, and everybody had gone to see that. He sighed and headed back towards his car. When he noticed something flying out of the storm drain. What was going on today? It was a toy. A small green bear like thing. He couldn't recall what it was but knew it was from Japan. Why on Earth was a toy flying out of a storm drain? Sighing, he walked over to pick it up.
"HELP!" a weak voice called from below. Was this town cursed or something. He fell to his knees and peered into the drain. Standing below the grate was a child so small if it weren't for the pink bunny ears. He never would have seen them.
"Are you OK?" Beau called.
"Oh, I am excellent. I just thought I would take a sewer walk on this fine evening. OF COURSE, I'M NOT OK! I'M TRAPPED!" Louise cried.
"Right poor choice of words but uh yeah I am going to try to get you out of there." Beau replied.
"Try?" Louise scoffed.
"Well, the thing is there is a big fire down at the wharf and the fire department is busy with that, but I am calling 911." Beau explained.
Louise felt a little bad for snapping at Beau especially because he was her only prayer of rescue, but it wasn't like she was having the time of her life down here. Besides he was the one who asked a stupid question. How could she possibly be OK in her current situation? She couldn't. She was trapped and hurt, and her family was dying. Her family was dying. She probably should have lead with that part. What was wrong with her? She was hurt but at least she could breathe. Her family not so much and she had already wasted so much time. She felt her chest tighten and she began to hyperventilate. Shit! Was this a panic attack? Because it sounded a lot like what Tina would describe. It sounded a lot like Tina when they were in the clam, and she had made fun of her. Now Tina could be dead and the last words she had said to her were "Especially with you hogging all the air." She had made fun of Gene too and she had said nothing to her parents. Beyond thinking she could fit out of the hole. Beau continued to talk to her, but she could not focus. The world around her began to spin and she fell to the ground with a thud.
While there had so far only been no reported injuries in the Wonder Wharf fire. The staff of Devereux Medical Center was on full alert. The wharf had mercifully been closed when the fire broke out. Which would hopefully spare them from a slew of burn victims, but they fully understood that was not how any of it worked. If the fire spread to Ocean Avenue they could be in for a long night, but for now all they could do was hope for the best and prepare for the worst. The front doors burst open, and paramedics raced inside with a young girl on a stretcher.
"Nine-year-old female, broken right femur. The person who called it in said she was trapped in a storm drain." One of the medics called.
"Any identification? Causation?" Dr. Fisher questioned.
"No, the person who found her talked to her briefly, but she suffered a panic attack and lost consciousness before he could get anything out of her." Daryl explained.
"Contact the local police stations and see about any missing children. If you don't get any hits report her as a Jane Doe and get her picture out there." Dr. Fisher instructed a nurse.
"On it!" Sheila replied.
"Hang on! She had this! She might need this! At least it may help identify her!" Beau called.
"And you are?" Sheila questioned.
"Beau Walker. I am the one who found her." Beau explained.
"And you couldn't get any information?" Shelia repeated.
"No, I was honestly in shock and I'm sure she was as well. By the time I thought to ask. She was already having a panic attack." Beau explained.
Louise snuggled close to Bob's chest as he carried her up the stairs. She hoped he would chalk it up to the heavy painkillers she had been given and that he wouldn't know how much she was enjoying being carried. Especially after how close they had come. They could have all died. They should have all died, but she had saved their lives. She had saved her entire family! She had broken her femur and that was less than ideal but at least it meant missing the last few days of school and she was sure to get all kinds of sympathy for being laid up all summer. She wondered if she could convince the family to switch her room and the living room. That would be pretty sweet. At least she would get everybody to do things for her and total control of the remote. Maybe even ice cream for dinner until the cast came off in six months. Bob placed her gently on the couch and Linda grabbed the good pillow off of her and Bob's bed. Tina placed Kuchi Kopi in her hands. She tried her best to ignore how scuffed he was. Though she assumed she would get a shiny new one out of this deal. She already had good Kuchi Kopi and bad Kuchi Kopi. Maybe medium Kuchi Kopi. Not good but also not trying to convince her to hate her family. Yeah, that would be sweet. Gene picked up the remote and flipped around until he found a show she liked. She didn't even have to change the channel. She was definitely going to get used to this. Suddenly the TV began making a horrible blare "CODE BLUE ROOM TWO! CODE BLUE ROOM TWO!" Somebody called over a speaker.
"Come on, Tina! My leg is broken! Oh yeah and I saved all our lives! I control the remote and I HATE medical shows!" Louise bellowed.
"CODE BLUE ROOM TWO! CODE BLUE ROOM TWO!" Tina replied.
"What the hell?" Louise demanded as the living room began to fade away.
"She's waking up!" Somebody called.
Louise was hit by the strong smell of antiseptic. Better than the last scent she remembered, which was smoke but not by much. She was no longer safe in the living room at home. She was in the hospital! Why was she in the hospital? She managed to pull herself up enough to see that her leg was in fact broken. It would be pretty bad if she had to stay in the hospital. She hoped it was just an overnight deal or better, yet they would spring her now that she was awake. Hang on if she was in the hospital where was her family? Outside of the NICU. Which she didn't remember considering she had been two months old when she left that place. She had never seen an actual intensive care unit, but from what she had seen on medical shows. This did not look like the ICU. So, she doubted her family actually couldn't visit. Unless it was late and visiting hours were already over but maybe they would let her seem them now that she was awake?
"Where's my family?" Louise asked weakly, her throat still raw from yelling and breathing in smoke. Shit! There had been a fire in town! She prayed that Rudy was OK. Because with a broken leg she wouldn't be able to properly kick his ass if he weren't.
"Let me go get somebody." Dana replied.
"Let me go get somebody." Louise had seen enough medical dramas to know it was never good when somebody spoke those words. She had been too late. She had failed. Her family was dead, and it was entirely her fault. She hated herself. Then again maybe she was overreacting. Maybe they were just hurt really badly. Yeah, that was it. They were hurt and the somebody was going to tell her how bad it was. She just hoped she didn't have to stay with Aunt Gayle. While they were in the hospital. Especially given that would mean having to see Mr. Frond and if he came over. Gayle and he might get back together, and she hated the thought of that. Dana returned a few minutes later with a slender man "ha-ha Slender Man." Not that she had ever seen that movie. Louise knew from the slacks and sweater that he was a shrink. That's how they looked on all the TV shows and they were about the only hospital doctor who could wear such attire and not have it ruined every day.
"Sweetie this is Dr. Myer." Dana introduced.
"Why did you get a shrink? And my name is Louise not sweetie by the way." Louise questioned skipping the pleasantries.
"Well Louise you were brought in without any identification. No way to find your parents. So, Dr. Myer is going to see if he can help you remember where your family is." Dana explained.
"Wait you don't know where they are either?" Louise gasped. Her last thread of hope officially snapping.
"I'm afraid not but I am sure they are worried sick about you. Can you tell me the last time you remember seeing your family?" Dr. Myer asked.
"Cl…Clam Clam." Louise stuttered.
"A clam? You saw a clam with your family? Were you on the beach?" Dr. Myer asked.
"Gr… Gr…. Over… Grover" Louise stammered.
"Like the blue fella on Sesame Street?" Dr Myer questioned.
"Yeah street" Louise replied.
"So, you were watching Sesame Street? And Grover had a clam?" Dr. Myer questioned.
"No Fi… Fish…" Lousie stuttered.
"Would it be easier to draw a picture?" Dr. Myer asked, struggling to understand what Louise meant.
Louise nodded unsure if the doctor was an idiot or if she were really making that little sense. Dr. Myer left and returned a few minutes later with a pad of paper and some crayons. He placed them on the bed tray and Louise got to work. Her hands were shaking but she had to do this good. She couldn't speak clearly, so she had to draw well. This was her last chance to save her family. Unless it was too late, which it most certainly was. Especially with how slow she was drawing. Eventually she managed to finish the picture. That she prayed was clear and handed it to Dr. Myer.
"Is this true?" Dr. Myer gasped.
"Yes" Louise replied.
"So, your family is…" Dr. Myer began.
"Trapped under Ocean Avenue in a clam car! Suffocating! So, stop asking questions and call 911!" Louise barked.
"I'm on it!" Dana cried frantically dialing 911.
"While we find your parents and siblings. Is there any other family we can call?" Dr. Myer asked, trying to hide just how worried he was.
"Well, my mom's parents live in Florida. So, they are out. The family I have here is my Aunt Gayle and my dad's dad." Louise explained.
"And of those two who would be better to call?" Dr. Myer asked.
"Pop-Pop, I guess. Gayle is nice and everything, but she is NOT good in an emergency. My brother broke his toe while she was watching us once and she had him convinced they were going to have to amputate his whole leg." Louise explained.
"Do you happen to know Pop-Pop's number?" Dr. Myer asked.
"No but his name is Robert Belcher Senior, and he owns a restaurant a few towns over called "Big Bob's Diner."" Louise explained.
Big Bob did his final walk through. He had sent his staff home almost an hour ago but always found himself having to triple check everything. He wasn't sure if he really distrusted the mostly high school and college aged crew that much, or if it was just because he hated going home ever since Lily died. Maybe both were true. The phone rang and he sighed. He was never big for talking on the phone, but he had also never bothered to re-record his voicemail message after that big storm had knocked out his power a few months ago.
"Thank you for calling Big Bob's Diner. We are now closed but we will reopen at five in the morning." Big Bob said.
"Am I speaking to the owner? Robert Belcher?" A male voice asked.
"Yes" Big Bob replied.
"Do you have a granddaughter named Louise Belcher?" The man questioned.
"Yes" Big Bob replied.
"Mr. Belcher my name is Detective Friedman. I am with the Seymour's Bay Police Department, and I am afraid that Louise along with the rest of your family has been involved in a serious accident." Detective Friedman explained.
"My family was in an accident? Are they OK?" Big Bob gasped.
"Louise has an injured leg and is currently in the pediatric unit of Deveraux Medical Center. As for the rest of your family. Well, if your granddaughter's drawing is correct. They are trapped in one of the old clam cars from Wonder Wharf. Under Ocean Avenue." Detective Friedman explained.
"So, you are telling me that my son, daughter in law, and two oldest grandkids are trapped in a clam car from Wonder Wharf. Under Ocean Avenue? Is this some kind of joke? This has to be some kind of sick joke!" Big Bob cried.
"Does your granddaughter tell jokes like that often?" Detective Friedman asked.
"She has a pretty twisted sense of humor. She got that from my late wife Lily, but I don't think she would joke about anything that serious." Big Bob sighed.
"In that case can you come down to the hospital immediately? Louise's doctors will fill you in more on her condition and you can wait with her for an update." Detective Friedman requested.
Big Bob hung up the phone and pinched himself hard on the arm, praying this was a horrible nightmare and he would soon wake safe in his bed. That he would be able to call Bob, Linda, and the kids; and tell them about his dream. Linda and Tina would mother hen him. Bob and Gene would assure him they were alive and well and Louise would just laugh at the absurdity of it all. Unfortunately, it was not a nightmare. It was very real.
A construction crew found themselves frantically re-digging the hole they had just filled a few hours earlier. Four ambulances were on standby to take the family to the hospital at the faintest signs of life. Though everybody knew it was a futile exercise. They were not saving lives. They were giving closure to a family facing the greatest tragedy of their lives. Once again townsfolk had gathered around to watch a tragedy unfold. Mort who ran the mortuary next to the family's restaurant stood stoically in front of the blockade. Teddy who had frantically introduced himself as a family friend sobbed heavily into the arms of an Irish woman. It was four in the morning before they were able to reach the car and thankfully aside from Mort, Teddy and Kathleen, and Jimmy Pesto. Everybody else had gone home. Because the greatest fears of the crew and waiting first responders were confirmed. There were no signs of life in the car.
Bob and Linda were curled up together with Gene lying between them. Gene had his arms wrapped tightly around Linda's waist. Bob had a look of acceptance on his face. He was almost peaceful. His last word had been "Mom" in a whisper. As she took his hand and guided him into the next life. Linda's face was stained by tears and her eyes were puffy. She cried at the end. Her last words had been "I don't want this." Knowing they would never be together again and unlike Bobby. She did not have anybody waiting for her. Well of course she did but nobody like Lily. Gene had fear in his eyes but a smile on his face. He wasn't ready to die but at least he had his mommy by his side. His last words had been "I love you." He didn't really have anybody waiting for him, but he swore he saw Alan Rickman from both his favorite film franchises. Tina had been perched near the top of the car, neck craned, eyes fixed straight ahead. She had never stopped waiting for Louise. Her final words had been words of assurance to her baby sister. It's OK, Louise." She didn't have anybody waiting specifically for her, but she saw the aunt for whom she was named. The one who had died at only seventeen. Four out of five members of the Belcher family were at peace. Never to feel pain or sorrow again, but poor Louise was about to embark on the most painful journey of her young life.
Big Bob was given the dreadful news as soon as the deaths were confirmed. Once again, the rug had been pulled out from under him and he was facing yet another unimaginable loss. He had identified the bodies of Bob, Tina, and Gene, but an immediate family member had to identify Linda's body. Though they did allow him to see her. Her parents and Gayle had been informed. Gayle had broken down screaming upon hearing the news and her parents were enroute. Big Bob had been given the option of telling Louise immediately, but the poor thing had just fallen asleep. Right before he got the news, and he could not bring himself to end what he was sure would be the last peaceful night's sleep. That sweet child would have for a long time. Possibly her last ever peaceful rest.