"Please hurry Ted. You don't know what else could possibly happen around here."
Ted had been gone just over three minutes when Marcia suddenly felt a rough hand clamp tightly over her mouth and a sharp pain in her middle back.
"Don't make a sound." Came a nervous voice close to her ear. "Stand up and come with me."
Marcia's eyes, bulging with fright tried to get a glimpse of who had grabbed her when the voice said. “Don’t try to turn around, just start walking."
The sharp pain in her middle back increased and she could feel a warm trickle starting to run down her back. She was roughly pushed along until she came to the backside of the manmade mountain and she saw the door was standing open. After she entered the doorway the voice told her to stop and the sharp pain decreased momentarily from her back. She heard what she thought was the sound of the door closing and the sharp pain returned in a slightly different place. She was pushed up the circular stairway leading to the top of the mountain and was suddenly pushed toward the porthole when she reached the upper landing.
Marcia tried to maintain her balance but her forward momentum caused her to land on her hands and knees and she let out a short yelp of pain and fear. She turned herself slowly around still on her hands and knees and faced her abductor.
"Mr. Brown. What are you doing? Have you gone totally crazy? Why did you grab me? Otis is badly hurt and he needs help. I need to stay with him until the people from the helicopter rescue him. Let me go back there and I will forget you ever grabbed me and brought me here. We can pretend that this didn't happen. I am going to go back to Otis now." Marcia Meadows started to get up when she saw the large hunting knife that had been pressed into her back start to move slowly toward her throat.
"Stay right there Miss fancy television reporter. I'm the boss now and you are going to do exactly what I tell you, if you want to live." He pressed the sharp point of the knife backwards on her chest and cut the top button off with a slow flick of his wrist. "Me and you are going to have a little party. Just the two of us. Nobody knows we are up here and while everyone is busy trying to save all those stupid fools down in that hole we are going to have a great time."
Stanley T. Brown, proprietor of the Brown Spot, had been hiding on the backside of the manmade mountain watching Marcia Meadows and the cameraman Ted Brumfield take shots of the waterfall. He heard all the commotion when the ground fell in and had seen that young girl from the corporate office open the door and her and the dog disappear inside. She shut the door after her and Stanley Brown waited for a few minutes and then walked toward the doorway. Just as he had approached the opening, he heard the door start to open and he hid behind a large palmetto bush and watched her and the dog come out and head toward the lake. He walked into the doorway, that she had forgotten to close, and went upstairs when the idea had come to his mind on where he could take Marcia Meadows. He could not believe his luck when the cameraman left her alone with the old man and he seized the opportunity with a mind that wasn't quite right anymore.
Something inside Stanley Brown's mind had snapped the day before, when he had first set his eyes on the gorgeous reporter. The years of constant nagging from a three hundred and forty-pound overweight very homely wife had finally taken its toll on Stanley's mind. He had married the former Suzanne Powers, even though she was voted secretly by her classmates as the most unattractive student in their high-school class, because her father was one of the wealthiest men in town and Stanley T. Brown had always been very greedy. After that first honeymoon night when she still very slim and Stanley had really tried to make love to her but his stomach just couldn't handle her white naked repulsiveness and she had harassed him for his failings to be a real man. He would have left after that first night but, the greedy part of him just had to have her dowry. He took the money her father had bestowed on them, payment Stanley thought just to get rid of his ugly daughter, and purchased a rundown liquor bar and turned it into one of the most prosperous places in town. He had spent just about every waking hour at his establishment and turned his unused sexual emotions into hard work. That was until Marcia Meadows had entered the picture and his mind had gone south.
"Well, pretty lady." He cooed to Marcia Meadows. "How do you like having a real man around you instead of that wimpy cameraman? I am going to show you a really good time. I promise."
Marcia shivered with a mixture of fear and revulsion and said in a very low voice.
"Please Mr. Brown. Let me go. Nobody will ever know what happened. You can just walk down those steps and I'll wait before I leave so you will have plenty of time to get back to your bar. I won't say a word."
"You have already said enough. Just shut up and enjoy the best time of your life."
He slowly cut off the remaining buttons and her blouse fell open revealing a black lace low cut bra. He pushed the blouse off her shoulders and cut the front of the bra open with the sharp edge of the hunting knife. His left hand reached up and he roughly caressed her right breast and said with a sneer.
"You’re really going to enjoy this baby I'm your main man now.'
He removed his hand from her breast and he started to unbuckle his leather belt.
June 14, Saturday 2:07 p.m.
In the woods
Kathy Santos leaned against a large pine tree and reached down and massaged her right foot. Sally Backlin looked back at her and said.
"Are you, are right? Did you hurt your foot? "I'll be fine. I just stepped on a burr of some kind. I should have grabbed my shoes before I left my room but, all I could think about was getting out of there as fast as I could. I will just watch my step more carefully from now on."
Bart the dog, looked back when Sally had spoken but continued to walk deeper into the woods. His nose had picked up the scent of something that normally wasn't in that area. The normal squirrel and rabbit smells were overpowered by the smell of human beings and these were very fresh to his nose. He continued along the path he had taken the other day with the two females following directly behind him. He came to the hole he had seen the other day and the hair stood up on the back of his neck. He wasn't aware of what was happening but in his animal brain he sensed something was not to way it was supposed to be.
Sally looked at the small dog as it began to shiver and she tried to comfort him.
"What's the matter boy? Does that hole scare you? It scares me too but, we have to find my brother and his friend. Let's keep walking and we'll get away from this nasty hole."
Kathy Santos noticed the dog didn't follow Sally when she started to walk away from the hole and said.
"Wait a minute Sally. Bart is still looking down in that hole. You don't think your brother could be down there, do you?"
"They wouldn't be stupid enough to climb in that hole, Kathy. Even my little brother isn't that dumb."
"But wait Sally. Maybe the hole got bigger like those other ones and they fell in. Bart seems to think there is something down there."
"You might be right, Kathy but, I hope not. I can't even see the bottom. Hey Jack are you down there. How about you Billy. Are you there?"
Only silence answered her question and she looked at Kathy with a saddened expression on her face.
"If they fell down there they could be badly hurt. Oh, what can we do Kathy?"
"Listen, keep calm Sally. We'll work something out."
Kathy looked around her and saw a fallen pine tree about eight inches in diameter. Bart began whining and scratching at the edge of the hole.
"Sally, I think they are down there, the way Bart is acting. Help me drag that fallen tree over here and I'll see if I can climb down and look for the boys."
Sally and Kathy dragged the fallen tree over to the edge of the hole and gently lowered it down into the blackness. They hit bottom with about two feet of the log sticking over the edge and Kathy began climbing down into the hole.
"Oh please be careful. Don't fal
l. I don't know what I would do."
"I'll be all right. I used to be a real tomboy when I was your age and tree climbing was one of my favorite things to do. Lucky I don't have any shoes on, it makes climbing a lot easier."
Kathy reached the bottom of the tree and brushed her hands off on her jeans. She looked around in the faint light coming from the top of the hole and saw a crumbled figure lying about five feet away and hurried over and knelt beside it.
"Can you hear me? Are you hurt badly?"
Sally hearing Kathy talking down in the hole yelled down to her.
"Kathy. Did you find my brother? What's happening down there?"
"I found one of them Sally. It's too dark to tell if it's you're brother or not but he is still breathing. I don't know how badly he's hurt but I think he might just be knocked unconscious. I'll stay down here and look for the other one. Why don't you see if you can find someone to help us get him out of this hole?"
"Okay Kathy, I'm on my way. Please find the other one. Please."
Sally started running down the path leading out of the woods and Bart remained at the edge of the hole still sniffing the air coming out of the darkness. Sally ran past the boulder and looked down the driveway just as more ambulances and fire trucks began arriving. She ran toward the big crevice in the road and yelled across to the men climbing out of the first fire truck. "Oh please help us. My brother and his friend are down in this big hole and we can't get them out."
"Okay miss." Yelled back the closest fireman. "We'll be right there."
The firemen began pulling an extension ladder off the top of their truck and laid it across the large crack in the pavement. The other fire trucks and ambulances began unloading their emergency equipment and began running toward the ditch in the direction of the front parking lot. The firemen from the first truck began crossing the ladder very carefully, their ropes, and other equipment strapped to their backs.
When three of the firemen had crossed the ladder, they ran up to Sally and asked her to show them the way to where the boys were. She began running toward the boulder with tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. The closest fireman looked over at Sally and said.
"It's okay now. We'll save them. Don't worry."
Kathy Santos, after brushing the dirt away from the fallen boy's forehead and making sure he was still breathing, got up and began hunting around for the other boy. The hole was really dark away from the opening and she tripped over something as she searched around. She bent down and felt a warm arm laying across what felt like a small tree that had fallen into the hole. She ran her hands down the length of the arm and felt a pile of sand where the shoulder should be. Oh my God she thought to herself. He's buried. She could feel the warmness from his flesh and knew he was still alive but didn't know for how long since he was obviously buried. The arm suddenly gave a little jerk and she heard a slight moan come from under the small fallen tree.
"What's happening?" Came a little boy's very muffled voice “Is someone there, where am I and where is my friend Jack?"
"Your safe sweetheart." Soothed Kathy Santos. "Your friend is right over there and you both will be okay."
Kathy started digging in the sand around the small boy's shoulder and realized the small tree had created an air pocket around his face when the sand had fallen over him. She quickly dug him out enough that his head and shoulders were free and he helped her pull himself out of the mound of sand. He groggily got to his feet with her help and they slowly walked over to where Jack was still laying unconscious ."Will he be all right lady? He just has to be."
"I think he'll be just fine." She assured Billy. "I think he probably just got the wind knocked out of him when he fell. Help will be here for you in just a minute."
Kathy Santos looked up and could see Bart looking down at them and a smile came to her face. What a great dog she thought. He knew those boys were down here even if we didn't.
As she was looking at the dog a face peered over the side and she recognized the friendly hat of a fireman.
The firemen tied their ropes to the closest trees and lowered a canvas cradle down to the waiting arms of Kathy Santos. Two of the firemen quickly lowered themselves down into the hole and began helping Kathy load up the frightened Billy into the cradle. As they other fireman hauled Billy to the surface, one of the firemen shined his light into the face of Jack and he blinked open his eyes and a big smile came to his face.
"Are you guys really firemen?" He asked as soon as the flashlight beam was removed from his eyes. "Can I go for a ride in a fire truck?"
Tears of joy came to Kathy's eyes as the fireman lifted Jack to the surface and began strapping the harness around her body.
June 14, Saturday 2:09 p.m.
At the main hole
Paul had just tossed the flashlights down to the men in the hole when he turned to Becky and said.
"I think I'm going over and check on Otis. I love him like a father and I'm really worried about him."
"I'll go with you Paul. You know I feel the same way about Otis."
He grabbed Becky's hand and they trotted over to where Otis was laying by himself on the edge of the hole where the marina once stood.
"Oh my gosh Paul. He looks terrible. Why has he been left alone?"
"I don't know Becky. We need to get him some help."
Ted Brumfield came running up with two men carrying a stretcher and another man with an emergency kit. The two men laid the stretcher along side Otis and the third man began checking for vital signs.
"Where's Marcia?" Ted blurted. "She was here when I left."
"I was going to ask you the same thing." Paul questioned. "Otis was all alone when we arrived."
The men lifted Otis gently up on the stretcher and began to carry him to the helicopter when a very weak voice stopped them.
"Wait. Don't go yet."
"Otis." Paul said. "You're alive."
"Yeah. I was in la la land for a while but I'm okay now." Otis opened his eyes and stared into Paul worrisome face. "I had just woken up when I heard a strange voice and looked up just in time to see that weirdo from the bar in town, that Brown fellow, pushing that nice reporter lady toward the mountain. I must have passed out again but that's the direction I saw them going."
"Thanks Otis." Paul hugged him. We'll go save her, don't worry."
"I know you can handle it boy. I know you can." Otis closed his eyes again and the helicopter attendants started back toward the helicopter.
"Come on let's go." Paul took off running for the manmade mountain with Becky and Ted right behind him.
"Where do you think they went?" Questioned Ted Brumfield as the trio arrived at the base of the mountain. “I don't see any sign of them."
"You know." Becky answered in a quiet voice. "I remember leaving the door open when I left earlier but, now it's shut. I bet they went inside."
"Your probably right Becky but, let's be really quiet when we go in. Maybe we can sneak up on them."
Paul pushed the button and the door slid silently back into the wall. The three went quietly in and stopped just inside the doorway. Paul pointed down the hallway and motioned Ted to check the office doors that were closed. He and Becky started to slowly ascend the stairway with Paul holding his finger to his lips to signal silence. They were almost to the top of the stairs when they heard a man's voice.
"Come on honey. Just relax. I am going to make you feel really good."
Paul stuck his head up past the bottom of the top step and looked over toward the porthole. He saw Stanley Brown with his pants off approaching Marcia Meadows cowering in the corner in just black lace panties.
"Stop you asshole." Paul yelled at the half-naked man. "Let her alone."
Stanley Brown turned toward the stairway and Paul could see a large hunting knife gripped tightly in his right hand.
"Don't come any closer you punk or I'll cut her throat."<
br />
Stanley T. Brown grabbed Marcia's hair with his left hand and pressed the knife against her neck.
"You've got to do something Paul. You've got to save her." Becky cried.
Paul climbed the last few steps and began circling toward Stanley.
"I said stay where you are." Stanley threatened and pressed the knife harder against Marcia's neck.
Ted Brumfield arrived at the top of the stairs and pushed Becky gently back.
"Let her alone." Ted ordered and stared at the crazed man.
Paul reached in his back pocket and felt for the round lump he knew was always there. He slowly dug the well-worn baseball out of his pocket and kept his right hand behind his back. As soon as Stanley's attention was drawn toward the other man, Paul pulled his arm back and threw the baseball just like he had thousands of times in practice. He prayed for the perfect pitch just as the ball sailed through the air and caught Stanley at the base of his left temple. Stanley looked up with a puzzled look on his face, dropped the knife and slumped over backwards. Ted rushed over to the freighted reporter, pulled his shirt off, covered her nakedness, and pressed her sobbing body to his chest. Becky ran over to Paul and grabbed him in a big bear hug
tears of joy trickling down her face and said.
"You said you were going to be big and important one day, Paul. Well, that day has come early. I love you."
June 14, Saturday 2:10 p.m.
In the hole
Marvin Schumaker was at the grand opening in a pale linen suit and shiny black shoes and trying to hit on any unattached female. As usual, the women all saw completely through him and he was strutting around like a rooster without a hen house to protect. When the roof caved in, Marvin was the first to start whining and trying to climb over everyone to get to the surface. He might have made it if he acted like a normal person but, he started telling everyone he encountered, he was a special agent and it was imperative he was one of the first ones out of the hole. Unfortunately for Marvin, he told Bubba Relinska, the Russian champion weight lifter, a special guest of Huruto Tankinato, that he was super important. Bubba took one look at Marvin, realized what a fake he was, and backhanded him into a crumbled heap of the floor of the lobby. Marvin woke up about twenty minutes later, his lips a bloody mess and started crying softly to himself. Marvin, sniffling through a very swollen nose, decided maybe it was time for him to actually become himself and began crawling toward the light coming from the broken roof and decided when and if he reached the surface, he would actually be a changed man. He would not tell any of the women he met he was anything but, what he actually was but, he decided it wouldn't hurt if he told them he was in charge of the actual running of all the special effects at the resort. What the heck, he decided. They all needed a hero.