The heavy object rolled over his foot, and he felt its weight slam down on his shin. He roared in pain and instinctively tried to pull his foot back, but the bomb was already up to his knee. He could feel the pressure exerted by the weight, crushing as it sailed over him.
It slowed, the angle of Ben’s leg stalling it, and it rolled backwards. It bounced a little and then came to rest on his left foot, a crunching sound in his ankle causing Ben to gasp and almost pass out.
The initial impact of the device and the final crushing blow as it bounced and stopped on his foot rendered Ben completely immobile. He was laying upside down, his head farther down the path and lower than his feet, one of which was pinned beneath the metal cylinder.
He groaned, pain lancing up his leg, as he tried to wriggle his foot free. He sat forward, resting on his elbows, so he could examine the situation. Every time he even thought about moving his foot, his brain seemed determined to disobey the order. Still, he struggled against it and tried to force the foot free.
It was no use. The pain was too much to bear, and the device wouldn’t budge. He sighed, falling back.
Chapter Fifty-Six
This is it. It’s over. I’m going to die in a hole in the ground, waiting to blow up.
Ben’s foot was on fire. The pain had grown worse, surprisingly, and he was now nearly hyperventilating as he tried to breathe in and out, focusing his mind on other thoughts.
But the thoughts that came weren’t helpful.
I failed. I let everyone down, and I let Julie down.
I lost her.
He tried again to force his mind to other thoughts, but the only other thing that came to mind was to check the time on the bomb. The screen hadn’t turned off again, and he slid sideways a bit to catch a glimpse of the countdown clock.
36 minutes…
He watched every second tick down, the display mesmerizing him, calming him.
35 minutes…
This really is it, he thought. The seconds ticked by, and all he could think about was the bomb, the countdown timer, and Julie.
Julie, I’m sorry.
He wished he had the radio and that it had a little battery left. Not to call for help, but to hear her voice again.
Just one more time.
“Ben!”
He sprang up, momentarily forgetting his helplessness, and almost screamed as his leg reminded him. He fell back to the floor, but managed a weak response. “Hello? Julie, is that you?”
It had definitely been her voice, but she wasn’t in the cave yet — it sounded quieter than it should have been, as if she were standing at the mouth of the cave.
“Oh my God, Ben, are you really in there?” she called again.
“Y — yeah, I’m here,” he said. “Might be here for a while, though.”
He could now see a flickering light dancing above him, casting slight shadows on the walls around him.
“I’m coming down — are you hurt?”
He didn’t answer, instead waiting for her face to appear. How do you explain an idiot move like this?
“Ben! What happened?”
He frowned, wanting to yell at her to shut up and help, but stopped himself. “I got attacked by this barrel. Came out of nowhere. Like an ambush.”
Julie did not look amused. “You think you’re funny?”
“Funnier than you,” he replied, the sarcastic twinge of his voice downplayed by the obvious pain he was feeling.
“Let’s get this thing off of you. That sound good?” She examined the bomb, noticing the countdown timer, but not saying anything about it. “Hang on a minute.”
Ben’s eyes grew wide as Julie turned and ran back up the cave, leaving him and the bomb in complete darkness. “Hey!”
No response. Ben waited impatiently. A minute ticked by, then another. He wished he didn’t have a way to tell exactly how much time had passed, but he did.
Three minutes, on the dot.
“I’m here,” he heard her say. He saw the light again, and she raced around the corner and over the step, this time holding a large stick.
“It’s not going to be strong enough to lift it all the way over —”
“It doesn’t need to be,” she responded, cutting him off. “Shut up and hold that thing steady.”
He did as he was told, and Julie propped the end of the stick underneath its bulk, careful to keep it away from Ben’s foot. She wiggled it deeper, pushing it around until it cracked a little. She met Ben’s eyes. “Let’s hope that was just the very end of it,” she said. “Ready?” She reached behind her and grabbed a round stone lying next to the cave wall. She stuck the stone beneath the stick, right in front of the bomb, forming a lever.
Ben nodded, and Julie heaved downwards with all of her bodyweight. A strained noise escaped her mouth, and Ben couldn’t help but notice how cute it sounded. He quickly returned to the situation at hand and placed his hands on the bomb’s exterior. He held it steady as Julie pushed again. The metal canister moved slightly forward, and Ben felt the immediate sensation of freedom. He ripped his leg back, the terror of having his foot crushed greater than the pain of moving it that quickly.
He put more weight on the bomb, then nodded. Julie let out the air she’d been holding and released the lever. The bomb slid back a little but stopped as it hit the rock and the force from Ben’s hands.
“Okay, now what?” she asked.
Ben looked up at her. “You didn’t think to bring any of those cops down with you?”
She shook her head unapologetically. “I didn’t tell them I was leaving. A few of us met up, and I, uh, sort of borrowed one of the cars.”
“You stole a police car?” Ben asked incredulously.
“You stole mine,” she responded.
He almost smiled. “Whatever. I guess you get to help me with this. Here —” He moved his hands over to the side of the bomb, and she crouched down to help him, placing her hands on the right side. “My bum leg is going force me to move a little slower, since I’ll pretty much have to balance on the other one, but I think both of us can —”
Before he could finish, Julie had started lifting. Ben felt the bomb move a few inches up toward the shelf, and he struggled to keep up. He added his strength, and together the pair lifted the metal tube up the side of the short rock step, using the vertical section of rock as support.
With a final push, they lifted the bomb over the edge and onto the flat, gently sloping section of cave above.
“Whew, that’s not the lightest thing I’ve ever lifted,” Julie said.
“Yeah, try getting it all the way up here,” Ben said. He realized they hadn’t stopped yet — they were moving it along, hand over hand, inch by inch, working together.
“Oh, right, macho man. You’re quite the stud. Maybe next time don’t drop it on your foot?”
“Maybe next time don’t start without me?” Ben shot back.
“I know why you don’t talk much,” she said, a smirk forming at the side of her mouth.
“Why’s that, genius?”
“Because all you do is whine,” she said.
Ben laughed, glad that the ordeal was over, but also glad Julie had joined him. The pain in his foot was still significant, but he thought it might be a hairline fracture rather than a full broken ankle. It was difficult to walk, but he knew he’d be fine.
They reached the end of the cave and rolled the device over the grassy land between the cave and the truck. They stopped when they reached the road, letting the bomb come to a rest in front of the truck’s high tailgate. Ben sat down on the grass, letting his leg relax.