The fireman waved to one of the City of Lakeland fire trucks that had recently arrived and signaled for them to bring another ladder and several ropes. He turned to the two men and said.
“Well guys. I guess it’s time to see whom we can get out of the hole from this end. Are you guys up to going back down and showing us the way before the lake completely fills the hole?” “Yeah we’re ready, aren’t we Kevin?” Bill directed to his friend.
“Sure. I’m anxious to get back down there and see whom we can help.” Kevin started back down the ladder, not waiting for the other firemen to arrive. “Let’s haul tail though. I think were quickly running out of time.”
Bill Forham followed him quickly down the ladder and they both waited at the bottom for the firemen to bring the ropes and another ladder. The firemen, seven in all, grouped together when they reached the bottom of the ladder and awaited orders from their lieutenant who had been briefed quickly by Kevin and Bill.
“Well men. The way it has been explained to me is that we have a really straight passage to follow and there is a large chasm at the end of it. If we lay our ladder across the opening and tie off ropes on both sides by pounding stakes in the limestone walls, you did bring the hammer and stakes didn’t you Fred?” One of the firemen nodded down at a toolbox he was holding. “We can form sort of railings to hold on to so people won’t be so squeamish about crossing the ladder over a large drop off. When we have that set up, we can branch off in groups of two and search for survivors. Does anyone have any suggestions?”
“I have one Lou. Why don’t we use the other ropes to tie each other together in case the water tries to knock us over? The chances of at least one person standing and being able to save his partner cut down the odds of two people getting lost at the same time.”
“That’s a good idea Tom. We have enough ropes don’t we?”
“We have more than enough.” Answered one of the firemen. “We brought every coil we had on the truck and we also have two oxygen setups in case we run into anyone having trouble breathing.”
“Very good men. Well let’s hit it.”
The firemen turned on their flashlights and started following Kevin and Bill into the darkness.
Wendy Wikowski began broadcasting again into the microphone as the TV camera began to roll. This was her big moment and she didn’t want to blow it. There were enough people outside the lobby to help the survivors being helped out of the hole and every since the gunmen had taken over no one else was allowed out. She thought back to when she first arrived at the entrance to the resort after getting the call from her friend Marcia. She had gotten a glimpse of the rear end of the sheriff’s patrol car rounding the bend away from the entrance when she had pulled up next to deputy Horwith.
“What’s happening in there deputy? I heard there is a large sinkhole and hundreds of people are trapped.”
“Well miss. We are having somewhat of a problem at the resort but, I can’t verify the amount of damage or how many people are in trouble. Now, I must ask you to back your car up and head back down the road. I have to leave this open for emergency vehicles to get through so please leave now.”
“Listen deputy, I’m a reporter for channel ten news and I need to be at the scene of the disaster.”
“I’m very sorry miss but, my orders are to not let anyone but emergency vehicles in and I’m going to do just that.”
“I have a press pass. I’m allowed to go anywhere. So if you don’t mind please let me pass and I will go about my business.”
“As I said before, Miss Channel Ten, no one goes in that is not authorized and you are not authorized so please leave or I will have no choice but to handcuff you for obstructing justice and place you in the back of the patrol car until I have time to take you back to town.”
She remembered she had been fuming as she had thrown the car in reverse and had spun her wheels as she had headed back in the direction she had just come from. Her reporter instincts had put in the back of her mind a small sign she had seen about one half mile before she had arrived at the entrance to the resort. The sign had been white with black letters. “Construction Vehicles Only” it had read. She at the time would have bet her eye teeth that the dirt road leading off into the woods was a back entrance to the resort and by God she had thought she was going to be a construction vehicle. She had sped down the road until she saw the sign on the right shoulder and had hung a turn faster than the car’s manufacture would have said was safe in the owner’s manual. The car had bounced in the ruts caused by the heavy trucks and had left a plume of dust trailing behind it. She had gone no more than a quarter of a mile when the woods diminished and she had seen the lake shimmering in the distance. Everything had looked very peaceful but, the problem had been, she had seen only one row of buildings, and from the publicity shots she had known that there should of been at least five other groups of buildings visible. She had thought this was terrible as she had driven the last quarter mile toward the lake. The closer she had gotten the more devastation she had seen. There had been large holes where the buildings had been and the main road right before the resort had cracked and fallen into the earth. She had seen several groups of people running or standing around and most of the attention had seemed to focus in front of what she had guessed the main lobby. Wendy had seen flashing lights on top of three vehicles but, they were between the main entrance road and the large crack in the pavement. What a hell of a mess she had thought as she had pulled her car onto the tennis courts, one of the safest places she had seen, and had gotten out and ran toward the nearest group of people peering into the hole where the lobby had been. Luckily she had called the camera truck that was on its way to The Green Swamp on her cell phone while she was still heading toward the resort and told them to meet her there. She called them back on the way down the dirt road and told them she was being denied access to the entrance but, she thought she found another way in. The minute she saw the resort in the distance she told them where the turnoff was and to meet her inside. She had helped several people by the time the truck came to a halt by her car on the tennis courts and she ran back to guide them as close to the hole as they dared. The ground seemed quite stable in the parking area directly in front of the hole so, the truck maneuvered into position and began unloading their equipment. The sheriff was already tending to his wounded deputy and he gave them no hassle when they began setting up the camera directly above the hole.
Wendy was covered with dirt and her hair and makeup was a mess but, she decided it would give better play for the viewers and her bosses to see she was really involved in the rescue attempt. When the camera and sound men gave her the okay signal, she jumped right into her broadcast.
“Ladies and gentleman, if you’ve just joined us, this is live from what is believed the largest sinkhole ever to hit the western hemisphere and perhaps in the entire world. We have hundreds of people trapped beneath the ground and we still have no word on the number of casualties that we might have. A report just in said world famous movie stars Tiffany Royal and Brandon Miles were trapped below the surface but have been saved by a brave group of people who started a rescue attempt long before the authorities arrived. Their condition is listed as good even though Brandon Miles was briefly knocked unconscious. Tiffany Royal’s agent and traveling companion and Brandon Mile’s bodyguard and best friend are still reported as missing. We hope they will be found safe and sound.”