Luke’s brain reaches deep into his past, searching for the physics class he took forty years ago. His brain returns nothing so he decides to experiment with subtle pushes to the table.
Luke, on his back, let’s his knees fall into the table, knocking it lightly. The can hardly moves. He does it again only this time much harder. The can slides and rocks slightly. He watches the can closely to learn which way it will fall when he finally hits the table hard enough. It moves like a can with liquid in it. It can’t be empty. He rocks and slams his knees into the table again, this time the can rocks off its base and nearly tips; so close.
Luke closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. He carefully rocks his body to the left, holds it briefly then slams his knees hard into the table. The can tips and falls hard onto the tabletop. In a gush the sweet liquid is released onto the table, it mixes with cigarette ashes and forms a stream. With all his strength, Luke lifts his head to watch which way it flows. His neck cramps. He can see the mass flow toward him so he cranks his head hard preparing himself for it.
The flow quickly slithers its way to the edge of the table and spills over the lip. Luke holds his mouth open wide, his head shakes from his weakening muscles. The liquid hit his forehead and spill into his eyes, then drip down his cheeks. Quickly, he inches his body up and catches a few drops of the precious liquid in his mouth. It tastes like heaven, but stops as quickly as it began.
Luke yells in anger. The puppy whimpers. It wants to come to Luke but paces in fear instead. It inches up to Luke, then turns and runs when Luke looks at him. Luke can no longer withstand the pain from his back, raw and painful from the ropes digging into it. He rocks himself away from the table and off his back before resting on his side. With eyes stinging from the Mountain Dew, Luke closes them and begins to sob. He cries himself to sleep.
Luke wakes screaming, ravaged by leg cramps. The muscles clamp down so hard, he can barely breathe. He clenches his entire body, holding his breath and waiting for them to pass. Finally, the cramps release their hold and Luke releases his breath. With the cramps gone and his senses open to other sensations, he feels stinging bites on his cheeks. Something crawls on his face.
Ants.
He can feel them running crazily along his hairline and in his ear. He frantically rubs his face into the nappy carpet but it doesn’t touch the ants since he’s rubbing the wrong side.
Luke tries to rock his body up and over to the other side but his knees get caught under the table and prevent it from happening. “Ooowww!” He frantically starts crawling on hips and shoulder blades, trying to move his body past the coffee table so he can roll to the right and rub his face on the ground. The rope digs deep into his spine as he inches his way. His exhausted body should resist, but the desire to get the ants off fuels his crawl.
Finally, he gets his feet past the table and lets his body fall to the right side. He rubs his sticky, ant covered face into the dirty carpet. The puppy sits watching, then barks with excitement. Pieces of lint and dirt stick to Luke’s face and lips as he spits and rubs, and spits and rubs. He stops, feels more crawling on his face and resumes rubbing. He can’t reach the bridge of his nose or the top of his forehead so he struggles to pull his knees up to his forehead but fails and collapses in exhaustion. The puppy barks one more time, then becomes silent.
In exhaustion, Luke lies panting on his side, completely helpless. He feels the crawling he can’t stop and the itch he can’t reach. He feels the leftover cramping in his legs that extends to his shoulders and neck and entire body. Helplessness consumes him.
The puppy reluctantly walks over to him. Luke gazes softly at the puppy, closes his eyes, and screams as loud as his burnt vocal chords will let him.
The traffic light turns red and Chuck curses under his breath. He lets off the gas and moves his foot to the break. The huge rig slows gently and comes to a stop. Chuck is careful; it’s not difficult to burn out the brakes when you haul a heavy load like this one.
Luke must regroup. It’s time to pull himself together and work on his next goal – the door. Turning his head hard, he can see the narrow hallway that leads to the front room where the door is. He needs to focus on baby steps.
He takes a deep breath and rolls his body onto his back. The pain from the ropes as they dig into his spine makes him wince hard. Breathing audibly though the pain, he begins the tedious process of inching his shoulder blades and hips. Making it less than a foot, he collapses his body to the side, the pain is almost unbearable. He will have to rest briefly before trying again.
Chuck pulls into the truck stop and spots the black Dodge Ram he was expecting. After pulling up behind it, he jumps out of the cab, leaving the truck running.
“You know where you’re going?” Chuck yells as the man in the pick-up truck steps out of his cab.
“Yep. You can follow me. The roads get a little narrow up there but we won’t have any bridges or tunnels, you should be fine.”
“Who’d ya bring with you, Tony?” Chuck points with his nose toward the cab. There is a grinning little girl with long blonde hair in the passenger seat.
“That’s my nine year old daughter, Jesse. I promised her she could come to a job with me before the summer is over. I figured today would be pretty exciting.” Tony blushes, a little embarrassed and proud at the same time.
“Alright. Well I’m following you. Go easy, this thing is heavy.” Chuck climbs back into his cab.
The puppy creeps over carefully. After watching Luke’s quiet body for a few long minutes, the puppy wants to check on him. Luke’s eyes open when he feels the puppy’s whiskers as it comes in for a quick sniff. Now, more than ever, Luke appreciates having company. The little spark of life in this dungeon of hell lightens his heart.
“Come here little guy. It’s okay. You poor thing, if I ever get my sorry ass out of this hell hole, I promise I will rescue you. You deserve a nice home. Sheba will hate you but she’ll get over it.”
The puppy gets excited about the conversation and pounces up to Luke’s face. It discovers the sticky sweet Mountain Dew on his cheek and starts licking. Luke can’t help but laugh. The energy he receives from the puppy helps him roll up onto his back again. He begins the slow inching toward the door.
The farther they go, the less traffic they see. As they edge their way out of town, the young girl in the passenger seat points excitedly at a deer in a field. She turns to her father and smiles, proud to be here with him today.
He made it another foot; not even half way across the first room. Luke tries hard not to think about the step at the division between the living room and the hallway. He will just have to deal with it when he gets there.
The trucks pass through a quiet little residential area far past the edge of town. As they pass a clean brick, single-story home, a sleek gray cat watches from the window.
“I have to rest. Oh, little puppy, Sugar is it? Can you just pull me, please?” Luke has made it another foot. Under the ropes, little white parts of Luke’s lumbar vertebrae lay exposed and surrounded by his bleeding, pink swollen flesh.
The black Dodge parks along the side of the narrow road. The long rig pulls up and parks behind it. Chuck gathers a couple orange cones from the back of his truck and begins walking down the road with them. After a hundred yards he places the first cone and walks closer to his truck before he places another.
“That probably isn’t necessary, Chuck. This road doesn’t see more than two cars a day.” Tony stands next to the truck holding his daughters hand.
“Yeah, well, it’s habit. And I would rather be safe.” Chuck walks around and unhitches the chains that secure the heavy piece of equipment.
Luke fights off thoughts. His brain wants to talk about the vacation he missed and the two weeks of no one expecting him anywhere. Stopping the thoughts in mid-stream, he looks at the hallway. Joanie’s presence in the room with him, he feels her urging him to the doorway.
“Y
ou have the paper work? The electric is cut, plumbing capped…” Chuck stows the chains as he talks.
“It’s all in order. They had all of it taken care of weeks ago. The only hold up was with the permit. You need a copy, Chuck?” Tony reaches into his cab and grabs a clipboard. As a second thought he grabs an extra hard hat and sets it on his daughter’s head.
“Yeah, might as well. What are you going to do with her?” He nods toward Jesse. “I’m not sure I want to have to worry about her, maybe she should stay in the truck.” Chuck takes the paper work from Tony.
“Absolutely. She can watch from the road…in the truck from the road. The hat’s just for effect.” Tony smiles and turns to his daughter.
The puppy stands up and tilts his head. He listens for a second and lets out a yip. Luke, just inches from the doorway, has made it across the entire room. He stops, his eyes squeezed in pain. Joanie’s kind voice tells him to take a deep breath and relax. With relief, Luke allows his body to fall to the right and he takes a break.
Chuck shuts the door to the back hoe excavator. After starting the motor he begins to carefully roll it down off of the trailer in slow motion. He pauses, swings it around and then begins heading toward the driveway. The little blonde girl sits in the driver’s seat of the black Dodge Ram smiling. She bounces with excitement.
The puppy yips again and runs over to the window. Too small to see out, it stops, tilts its head and listens, then yips again. It makes a few jumps straight up into the air as if trying to catch a glimpse out the window.
Luke hears a hum. The faint sound barely reaches his ears, but he feels sure he heard it. His heart begins racing and blood rushes through his body. Like a cheerleader, the illusion of Joanie jumps up and down, clapping her hands for him.
“Heeelp! Hey. Anybody. Help! Heeelp meee.” He pauses and listens, the hum gets slightly louder. Digging deeper into his lungs, he continues hollering.
Chuck rolls the backhoe up to the house, swings it around gradually and peers out the window. He can see the little girl in the truck, her father stands well out of the way near the tailgate. The area clear, he begins.
A deafening roar approaches the window casting a dark shadow over the room. Luke yells louder trying desperately to get the thing’s attention. He shakes with excitement at the thought of rescue. The puppy barks non-stop at the window.
With confidence, Chuck reaches down and pulls the lever for the arm, releasing it. The engine stalls and sputters out into silence.
The silence outside the window jump-starts Luke into action. “HELP ME! CAN YOU HEAR ME? PLEEESE! HEEELP ME! Luke’s body soars with adrenaline, his energy skyrockets and his voice carries farther than it has all day.
Chuck reaches down and turns the key for the backhoe, it rumbles back to life. He adjusts his earmuffs with both hands, securing them better, and goes back through the process of releasing the arm.
When the deafening noise resumes, Luke’s excitement turns to panic. His body quakes uncontrollably. Instinctively, he throws his knees up and begins his hip and shoulder crawl frantically, trying to reach the door. He feels Joanie pushing him.
Chuck reaches the arm high into the air above the roof and allows it to drop with a jerk. The ferocious claw takes a deep bite into the house.
A large piece of ceiling falls heavily onto Luke and his yelling is silenced. He hears Joanie, “Shhh.” The world goes black around him, and the sound grows louder. The earth rumbles with noise and motion.
Chuck pulls the long arm back toward him, dragging a large section of the roof and front wall toward the machine. He releases the debris and lounges the arm back out toward the house. It succumbs to his pulls easily.
The little girl yells frantically through the window. Tony doesn’t hear her so she starts knocking at the window. Still not able to arouse her father, she finally reaches down and pulls the handle to open the door.
“Hey! No! You need to stay in the truck, Jesse.” Tony walks toward the door and yells over the roar of the construction.
“But Daddy! Did you see that? Did you see it?” She verges on crying.
“See what, honey?” Tony tries to close the door.
“There was an animal. It came out of the house. Go see, Daddy. Please. He’s going to kill it, Daddy.” She tries desperately to push the door open.
“Stop. You stay here. I’ll go look. Do not get out of this vehicle, do you understand?” He stares directly into her eyes.”
She gives a teary nod.
Chuck rolls over the section of house where the front room had once stood, working his way toward the back of the house.
Tony walks up the driveway keeping a huge distance between him and the backhoe. He walks a wide circle around the front searching for the animal his daughter saw. It was probably just a raccoon or a possum, but he needs her to see that he is looking.
Chuck swings the arm toward the kitchen area and sees Tony out the corner of his eye. He stops the machine, flips the power off and pulls his earmuffs from his head. There must be something wrong.
“Sorry, Chuck, you didn’t need to stop. My daughter thought she saw an animal. I’m just trying to appease her by looking for it.” Just as he finishes speaking a little puppy comes bounding up to him. It is tiny, black and white. He reaches down and scoops it up. When he pulls it close to his chest it licks him on the chin uncontrollably.
Jesse sees her father holding the fluffy creature so she opens the door, jumps out and begins running toward him. Chuck watches from the cab of the backhoe shaking his head.
When she reaches her dad, out of breath, she can hardly contain her excitement. “It’s a puppy! Oh, Daddy! Can we keep him, Daddy? Please.”
Tony hands the little puppy over to his daughter, not sure what to say. He’s pretty sure his wife wouldn’t go for a puppy, but the thing looks awful, desperately in need of rescue.
“Look, Daddy, it has scabs all over. He’s so skinny. Oh, the poor thing.” She nuzzles it with her face.
“It seems like that little guy needs us.” He glances down to his daughter.
“Does that mean we can keep him, Daddy?” She stares desperately at her father.
He nods and smiles.
“Yay! Thank you, Daddy. Thank you.” The little girl jumps up and down. “He’s so sweet. You’re just like sugar.” She turns and walks to the truck holding the puppy like a baby being burped on her shoulder. The puppy turns back toward the ruble, panting and smiling… rescued.
The end.
Popular Graphic Post: Breaking News
Amtrak Passenger Car Derails; Worst Tragedy in Amtrak History!
Just over 1800 miles into the Empire Builder route at approximately 11:40 am the Amtrak train heading west derailed. All 247 passengers were killed in the accident which occurred over a trestle in Northern Idaho. The cause of the accident is still under investigation but a broken or misaligned rail combined with high speeds is suspected. Continued in 3A
Man Discovered in Abandoned House During Demolition
A 57 year old man is in critical condition after emergency personnel pulled him from a partially demolished home on North Branch Road. The man was found bound with rope and suffered crushing injuries after the backhoe doing the demolition rolled partially over his body. It is unclear what he was doing at the house and due to his unconscious state at the time of press he was unable to take questions. More on 4A
Special thanks to my editor Jesse V. Coffee for her honest feedback and attention to detail, without you…well, let’s just say you are well worth the money. I would also like to thank my first readers; Mary Turbeck, Jason Zeigler and my kick-ass husband Danny. Without all of your thoughtful input and intelligent suggestions this story would not be complete.
I should also state that the accident on the train is complete fiction. Amtrak is one of the safest forms of transportation and it's a lot of fun, too! Please, go check them out: Amtrack
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If you liked this story you should also check out these stories too:
Out and Back
Newspaper Bundle
The Running Suspense Series:
The Run #1
Falcon Point #2
The Other Way #3
Reservoir Run #5
Merry Christmas Mr. Saunders #6
And many, many more to come…
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Diane Strong lives in Kentucky with her husband and their two children. She received a liberal arts degree at Itasca Community College, a Bachelors of Science in Psychology and Equine Studies from Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana and a Master’s degree in Veterinary Science from the University of Kentucky.