you know it. How close are you anyway?" her friend had asked.
Wendy had replied in an excited voice, "Marcia, I'm almost to Green Swamp Wildlife Management Area to do the follow up on that body they found yesterday but, this sounds much bigger. I'll catch highway 98 right past the Swamp and I can be there in less than twenty minutes. Are you and Ted all right? You're not too close to the sink are you?"
Marcia Meadows had replied quickly to her questions. "We're fine Wendy but, we are going a lot closer, to see if we can help. It is utter chaos over here because nobody seems to be in charge. I heard from a lifeguard that we ran into when we ran back toward to lake that he had gotten hold of the sheriff in Forest Glenn and they were going to send out the National Guard. I just hope they make it in time before these holes get any bigger. Hurry up and we'll see you when you get here. Now take care." She had warned her.
June 14, Saturday 1:49 p.m.
Edge of lake
Paul Zangallio, Marcia Meadows, and the cameraman Ted Brumfield were walking along the edge of the lake approaching where the marina office had stood when Paul stopped at the edge of the newly formed hole and peered intently down into the gloom. All three noticed the lake began pouring into the hole and Paul wondered what happened to Otis. Marcia Meadows saw the quizzical look on Paul's face and remarked.
"What seems to be the trouble? You don't think anyone is down there do you?"
"I don't know." Paul replied in a shaky voice. "I just know that Otis who runs the marina, was in the office less than one hour ago and frankly I'm worried that he's still in there somewhere."
"No offense kid." Stated Ted Brumfield. "But I don't see how anyone could have lived through the collapse of that building. It is literally torn in half."
"Well, all I know is, that is the last place I saw Otis and he is a tough old bird. If anyone could survive a crash like that it, would be Otis."
"Can you see anything?" Offered Marcia. "It sure looks dark down there."
"I think I see his legs. The beer cooler is laying on its side but it looks like there is a pair of shoes sticking out from under them but, it is filling up with water so fast I can hardly tell. Hey Otis. Are you down there?"
"Is that you Paul?" Came a very weak voice from down in the hole. "I'm trapped down here and the water is getting ready to cover me over. I can't move my legs so I guess it's time to say goodbye. I love you boy and your girlfriend Becky. May God be with you?"
"Don't give up Otis. We'll get you out of there. Just give us a couple of minutes."
"Listen son." The voice a lot weaker now. "The water is up to my chin. Don't waste your time on an old man like me. Go save someone who hasn't lived their life yet. Just say goodbye to Bart for me and you and Becky take care of him for me. He likes you two a lot."
"Don't be silly Otis. We'll get you out of there." The unsure ness was very apparent in Paul's voice but he wanted to be brave for Otis. "We'll have help in a moment. Ok?"
There was no reply from the hole and Paul Zangallio's eyes began to well up with tears.
Becky ran up to Paul at that moment and shakily asked.
"Otis is trapped down there isn't he? Oh what can we do? We have to save him. We just have to."
As Paul looked into Becky's eye with a look of total sorrow, Mark Summers came running up with an extension ladder in his hands.
"I saw you guys looking down in that hole. I figured Otis might be in trouble and Mike is putting the other ladder in the place where the lobby was so, I thought you might could use this ladder over here."
"I turned on the pumps to lower the lake level, Mark. I just hope it was in time but, we can't hear anything from Otis now." Becky volunteered.
"Come on Paul. Let's go down there and see if we can help him. You also, if you will." Mark gestured to Ted Brumfield.
"Sure anything I can do to help." Replied Ted Brumfield as he helped Mark Summers lower the ladder down into the hole.
The ladder wasn't all the way in place when Paul Zangallio started climbing down. He reached the bottom of the ladder and he was knee deep in warm lake water. He started sloshing his way toward the back of the hole and heard the other two starting to splash behind him. All three reached the edge of the fallen down beer cooler but couldn't see Otis because the water level was almost half way up the cooler. Paul waded around the top side of the cooler and bumped into something under the water. He reached carefully down into the murky water which had finally stabilized in height and found Otis's head. Slowly lifting his face clear of the water he bent down and pressed his lips against the old man's and tried to breathe life back in the cold compressed lips like he had learned in his CPR training as a lifeguard. He got no response from Otis but, continued even though he felt totally useless. In the meantime, Mike and Ted managed to shift the heavy beer cooler off the prone body of the old man with the help of the buoyant water. Paul was sobbing to himself. "Come on God dammit breathe. You can't quit now."
A gagging, coughing sound all of a sudden emerged from Otis mouth and he opened his eyes and looked up at Paul.
"What's the matter boy? You didn't think they could kill an old goat like me did you?"
The tears that came to Paul's eyes were now tears of joy and he yelled up out of the hole.
"Hey Becky. Otis is all right now. He's going to be just fine."
The small group began wading through the water cradling Otis between them and they managed to half drag, half carry him up the ladder to the smiles of the two females waiting on the surface.
June 14, Saturday 1:50 p.m.
Front parking lot
Paul Zangallio and Becky McClellan ran back to where the lobby used to be after being reassured by the reporter Marcia Meadows and the cameraman Ted Brumfield that they would take care of Otis until an ambulance arrived. They arrived back at the hole in time for Steve Sidel to yell up from the fallen roof of the lobby if anyone knew where any flashlights were. Mark Summers, had brought back the other ladder and he and his brother Mike were helping transport people up the two ladders leaning into the hole. The two men, Kevin Backlin and Bill Forman built a ramp from the boards Beverly Forham and Connie Littlefield carried from behind the maintenance shed and were sliding the ramp into the crevice where the roof had split.
Steve Sidel told Wendy Wikowski to untie one of the ropes that was around the closest royal palm tree and after she threw it down into the hole Steve tied it to the base of one of the ladders and dropped the end into the split roof opening. Several people were able to shimmy up the rope and those were the ones the twins were helping climb out but, no one else apparently were uninjured enough to make it up the rope and Steve Sidel decided to climb down into the crevice to see whom he could help out
Paul Zangallio answered Steve about the flashlights in his usual polite manner even though his nerves were on edge.
"Yes sir. There are several large flashlights hanging on the wall in the maintenance shed. I'll get them for you"
"Thanks son. But, please hurry. I think we have some badly injured people down here."
When Paul Zangallio ran toward the shed to retrieve the flashlights, Becky McClellan began walking the people who had made it up the ladders with the help ofthe twins, over to the palm trees on the edge of the driveway so they could regain themselves in the shade. Beverly looked across the remaining grass lawn of the resort and saw the emergency vehicles were still blocked from approaching them because of the cave-in of the driveway. The deep drainage ditch that ran parallel with the drive was too steep for anything but a four-wheel drive vehicle to cross so, the emergency crews were starting to climb through the ditch with their equipment and no vehicles.
Paul Zangallio made it back from his trip to the shed and tossed two five cell flashlights down to the waiting trio standing on the fallen roof. Steve Sidel and Kevin Backlin each caught a light and started climbing down the ramp into the darkness with Bill Forham right
on their heels. The screams and moans that had been drifting up through the crack in the roof were very faint by now but the terror was still very evident in the sounds.
June 14, Saturday 1:53 p.m.
Drainage ditch
Sheriff Ralph Slocum and Deputy Paul Johanson had just climbed to the top of the drainage ditch with the ambulance attendants and firemen from Forest Glenn right behind them lugging their emergency equipment when they heard the chopping sound of the first helicopter.
Sheriff Slocum ran to the middle of the courtyard of the resort and started waving his arms frantically to signal the helicopter to set down on the grassy lawn. He shielded his eyes from the debris blowing around in the constant swirl of the helicopter blades and backed toward the still standing second floor. He heard a cracking noise over the roar of the blades and turned around in time to see the second floor sink completely out of sight. He yelled into his hand held radio, previously tuned to the same channel as the helicopter.
"Get back! Don't try to land. You're making too much vibration and everything is caving in more. You have to get back"
The helicopter pilot immediately reversed his direction and headed back toward the driveway where the emergency vehicles were parked.
"Okay Sheriff," came a metallic sounding voice from the sheriff's radio, “You'll have to transport the people over to the driveway in order for us to pick them up. I’ll set down by the patrol cars and shut my engine off. We have one more helicopter on the way and I'll radio them and tell them it's not safe to fly over the main part of the resort."
"Thanks. I hope not much more damage has been done."
The sheriff looked toward the lake and was horrified to see that a large crack that led to the marina was now slowly spreading toward a group of people in the front parking lot. The water from the lake was filling the crack as fast as it widened and he saw a small boat caught in the surge of the water with two people yelling for help from the inside of the boat. As he continued to stare at the boat, he saw the bow dip down in the rushing torrent and soon the little white boat was completely gone from view.
The people standing at the edge of the hole where the lobby once stood began yelling down in the hole and pointing toward the approaching crack. Deputy Johanson looked at the Sheriff and loudly exclaimed.
"My God Ralph. It's getting worse. We've got to get those people out of there before the whole place disappears."
"You're right Paul. I think the whole place is going under. Let's go over to the parking lot and see if we can get those people out of there."
June 14, Saturday 2:00 p.m.
In the lake
Jeff and Todd Finley were almost to shore when they saw the large crack form between where the marina had stood and the shoreline. Jeff slowed the boat down and tried to turn around but the current caught the boat and started to pull it toward shore and the large crevice that had formed. Jeff slid the lever that controlled the speed to the extreme right but the pull of the water was stronger than the motor's output. The sweat broke out on his forehead and large beads began rolling into his eyes stinging and making him constantly blink. His ample size shirt was plastered to his dripping back and his face changed to a bright crimson. Still, the boat wanted to follow the strong pull of the water. He yelled at Todd to come back and sit on the seat next to him and grab the handle of the little five horse motor. Todd quickly did as his dad said and took over trying to steer the boat away from shore.
When Todd had a firm grip on the handle, Jeff grabbed the boat's worn varnished paddle and with his massive arms began stroking the water on both sides of the boat. His alternating strokes finally began making headway and they started slowly to pull away from shore. The cypress and concrete dock was only twenty feet away and he told Todd to start steering in that direction but, very slowly so they would not be pulled over sideways.
The bow of the boat was within five feet of the edge of the dock when Jeff heard the helicopter approaching the edge of the lake away from the buildings. Not wanting to stop his frantic paddling he told Todd to wave his free hand in the air to try to catch someone's attention. Todd began waving his left arm back and forth but, looking down he saw the white rag his dad used to wipe his hands after unhooking a fish. He reached down and picked up the smelly rag and began waving it not unlike a flag announcing a surrender The bow of the boat bumped the edge of the dock and Jeff Finley dropped the paddle and went toward the bow to catch the closest wooden plank on the dock. Just as he reached out to get a grip the crevice on shore broke wide open and the water current jerked the boat backwards toward the shore. The little motor at full acceleration gave a loud clunking sound and quit running. The boat spun quickly around and started to head with the water current at full speed.
The boat suddenly started to dip down in the bow with the flow of the water heading down into the large chasm. Jeff grabbed Todd around the middle with his large left arm and picked up the stern anchor with his right. He swung the anchor rope in a large circle around the top of his head and released in the direction of the dock at the same time the boat sank under the surface of the water. Jeff's bad leg with the brace on it jammed beneath the back seat of the boat and they were jerked violently underwater.
The anchor spun through the air and over the top railing of the dock close to the shoreline. When the rope hit the railing, it reached the end of its length and the anchor wrapped around the sturdy rail. The stopping motion of the rope jerked back on the boat and it pulled the boat toward shore at the base of the dock.
Jeff Finley, with a tight grip on his son sputtered as the boat with its two occupants rose back out of the water and smashed into the side of the dock. Jeff, with heavy labored breaths reached up to the railing and pulled him and his son out of the half-submerged boat. He lay panting on the rough planking of the dock and said to his still coughing son.
"Next time we go fishing. I'm going to listen to you and we'll go in early if the fish are not biting. The bumpy ride in the boat wasn't so bad. It was that sudden stop that did me in." He grinned at his son and tousled his soaked blonde head.
June 14, Saturday 2:01 p.m.
By the lake
Sally Backlin and Kathy Santos ran down the entire side of the lake searching for Billy and Jack. They called their names every minute or so but were answered only by silence. They made their way back to where the marina had been and saw Otis laying on the ground surrounded by a small group of people. He was obviously in much pain and they didn't really want to bother him but they figured he would have seen the boys if anyone had.
"Excuse me sir." Sally barely spoke. "Do you think I could ask you a question?"
"I don't think he is any shape to answer any questions." Piped up Ted Brumfield the cameraman. "He almost died in that hole in the ground."
"It's all right young lady. I'll be fit as a fiddle very shortly. What question could a young lady like you possibly want answered by an old cripple like me?"
"It's my brother sir. I'm really worried about him. We have looked all around the lake for him and his friend and we can't find them anywhere. I wanted to ask you if you had possibly seen him and his friend. They said that they were going down to the lake to play early this morning and no one in our families have seen them since. I was hoping you might have seen them since you run the marina and can see the lake from where you work. My brother has red hair and his friend has blonde hair and I'm just hoping you saw where they may have gone.
"Well young lady, I did see two boys playing down at the lake till about noon and then I saw them head toward the woods by that big boulder over there. If I were you, I would wander over in that direction and you just might find them all safe and sound playing their fool hearts out. But, if I may add, you might want to take my dog Bart with you. He is very familiar with those woods and he has a powerful nose on him even if he looks a little lazy. I have seen the time he has rustled up a rabbit or two when I had n
o idea that one was even around. He never hurts them mind you. He just likes to play a little game of animal hide and seek and he is really good at it. Just call him to follow you into the woods and if your brother and his friend wandered too far in the woods he will scout them right out for you."
"Thank you very much mister. I will borrow your dog since you don't mind. I'm sure he will be a big help. Come on Bart. Let's find Jack and Billy."
Bart wagged his tail and smiled like only a dog lover could notice and followed Sally and Kathy as they headed toward the big boulder at the edge of the woods.
June 14, Saturday 2:05 p.m.
At the marina
Ted Brumfield looked up when he heard the sound of the approaching helicopter. He watched as it flew over the courtyard and saw the sheriff frantically waving it away. He turned to Marcia Meadows as the helicopter began descending onto the large road leading into the resort after coming back from circling around the edge of the lake and said in a very somber tone.
"Marcia. I am going to run over there and see if they can get a stretcher over here to transport Otis to the hospital. I don't like his color. I think we might be on the verge of losing him."
Otis had been unmoving for the last five minutes and his face had turned an ashen gray. Marcia had run to the edge of the lake and dipped her handkerchief in the water. She tried to soothe Otis by patting the cool cloth on his warm forehead. She wiped the dried mud carefully out of his eyes and tried to console him with her gentle words but, she had not received a response since shortly after the red-haired girl and the attractive brunette had left to search for the missing boys.
Marcia Meadows nodded her head in agreement and continued to caress Otis's face with the damp cloth. Ted Brumfield carefully sat his video camera down on the grass and ran toward the just landed helicopter. Marcia called after him and said.