Benworden Page 11

  With the air so thin and his energy spent Bungles was almost to the point of passing out. He was beginning to gasp for air but he knew if he could just hang on a little longer he was in with a chance of surviving. With dust and perspiration stinging his eyes and his hands shaking he battled to place the inflation pin and hose back into the ball and then taped it to the outlet valve in the small oxygen tank. He knew that if this didn’t work it would be the end for him but he could see no other options.

  Bungles put the ball on the floor and then knelt down on it to fold it in half so he could squeeze it through the bars. At first it wouldn’t go, but he pushed and bent it from side to side until it eventually made its way out. His lungs were now feeling like they were half-filled with cement and were barely expanding each time he tried to inhale. He reached outside the bars and placed the basketball into the cavity under the boulder and turned the outlet valve on which started the ball inflating. With the ball enlarging and Bungles working desperately with the crowbar the boulder finally began to move and rolled across the floor, freeing the lever. He finally threw himself forward and pushed on the lever with his last ounce of energy and then passed out.

  Bungles woke up to whirring sounds and a piercing light. Rubbing his eyes he was unsure whether he had been dreaming or, worse yet, was no longer of this world. It didn’t take him long to realise it was neither and that the generator had kicked in without a moment to spare. He now had oxygen and light and the emergency computer on line. Bonnie had programmed the computer to set off a systematic alarm in everyone’s mobile if there was ever a cave-in and all the members knew there was something very wrong when this occurred.

  I was sitting at my desk when my alarm went off. At first I didn’t hear it because I always study while listening to my favourite music so I had the headphones on. It was only the mobile’s vibration in my pocket that made me realise there was something wrong. The very next thing I knew I had Roo rushing through my door with a distressed look on his face and our conversation regarding the drilling was flashed back at me like a lightning bolt. I realised I had made a huge mistake by not investigating the matter further and now Bungles was trapped below. The one thing I was grateful for was that it could have been worse, there could have been more members down there due to the pupil-free day, but the guilt of my ignorance and Bungles’ predicament was churning me up inside.

  I was soon ripped from my thoughts by Roo’s words. “I told you so! You wouldn’t listen and now look. I told you!” he said. Roo threw his hands to the top of his head and began to grab at his hair and continued, “Why wouldn’t you listen?”

  I’d never seen Roo like this before; he was always very relaxed, so I replied, “Calm down, mate. I know I’ve done the wrong thing but we need to keep it together for Bungles’ sake. We have to follow our set procedure.”

  With the thought of calming down for Bungles, Roo took control of his emotions and said, “Well, at least something has gone right for Bungles. The drilling guy has blown a hole in his hydraulics so he’ll be shutting down his operations for today, but I don’t know how bad it is down there.”

  I asked him how he knew all of this information and he replied, “I couldn’t let go of the feeling that the drilling was about to commence so I went down to have a look, but it had been well and truly underway before I got there, and just as I was about to race back to let you know, the hose broke and work stopped. Not long after that my mobile alarm went off so I knew there had been a collapse.”

  By now all the other members had received the alarm and were heading for the foyer, which is the set plan when it comes to emergencies such as this one. I explained to Roo we needed to go and we headed off downstairs. Each of us would tell our supervisors we were going into town for different reasons and we had it worked out that we would do it in a way that wouldn’t arouse suspicion.

  Once we were out of the building, half the members got into my car and the other half into Gerry’s and then we drove to a small park off the main road where we could discuss our plan of action. There wasn’t a word spoken in the car on the trip to the park and by the time we got there everyone was quite calm. We all knew there was a lot at stake and it was important we got it right the first time.

  Gerry set up her laptop on a park bench and she emailed Bungles. He emailed back with a detailed description of his situation while also letting us know that he was ok apart from being in a cramped position. Now that we had a clear picture of his circumstances we could begin to set out a plan, but our biggest concern was the large boulder on the top of the cage. I knew if we used an oxyacetylene burner to cut through the bars the cage could crush under the weight of the rock. The way Bungles had described his position told us that there was more of the boulder on the outer side of the cage and that given the right momentum it may be possible to roll it off.

  After a long discussion we came up with a plan. We decided that we would need a bobcat to shift soil and rubble and an oxy torch to cut through the bars. We would also need two of the metal rails from a railway line and they would be cut to size to fit in the cage. Our plan was to clear the area of debris with the bobcat and then carefully cut out a bar of the cage on the side that was supporting the least weight. We would then put the rails next to Bungles in an upright position to ensure his safety. Once this had all been done it would be time for the most dangerous part of the mission, which was to cut through the bars on the outer side of the cage so that it would collapse and the boulder would slide or roll off. Bungles could then be safely cut out of his enclosure. This rescue was not only dangerous to Bungles but if the boulder rolled badly it could be lethal to the rescuer as well.

  I looked at Gerry and said, “We can only afford to have one person down there so once I’ve rung around and organised the equipment we need, can you bring it back to the entrance where I’ll be waiting for you?”

  Roo placed both hands on the picnic table and said to me, “I want this. I want to go in there! You have to let me!”

  I understood how he was feeling and replied, “I know he’s your best mate but this is dangerous. Roo, it’s my responsibility.”

  Roo pushed on the table with both hands and rose to his feet and said, “No! You need to listen to me this time. I’m the best man for the job. Think about it. I’ve driven bobcats, I am good with an oxy, and we need you up top giving directions. I really need to do this!”

  Gerry tilted her head to one side and looked at me as if to say he had a very good point. I also knew I had to see Mr Neals so I said , “Ok mate, but you better be careful, understand?”

  Roo clenched his fist near his chest and said, “Yes! Don’t worry, I’ve got this. It’ll all be good.”

  And we all headed back to Benworden with no time to lose.

  Prior to the collapse, Geraldine and Harry spent a lot of time on weekends in the monitor room. They would work in shifts to examine footage of film that had been recorded over the previous week. The information that was gathered by our cameras and microphones that were strategically placed around the school and the boarding house was vital for the club’s survival and kept us up to date with the happenings around Benworden. We learnt a lot about the teachers through watching the staffroom and listening to conversations and gossip that occurred there. It was through these recordings that we discovered the man in charge of the drilling was a close friend of Mr Neals, and the only way to prevent the drilling causing further collapse in the club rooms was to get Mr Neals to convince his mate Paul to drill elsewhere.

  During the meeting we had also drawn up a map of Benworden detailing in red pen the boundary lines of the tunnels and rooms below. We were fortunate that Paul’s drill had seized up just before hitting the cavity below but we also knew that once the drill was up and running again it would only be a matter of time before our club rooms and club would be exposed. Desperate times called for desperate measures, and with Bungles trapped below these were desperate times.

  That Friday morning Mr Neals�
� friend Paul informed Mr Gowdy of what had happened to his hydraulics and that he had phoned around but couldn’t get a new hose for his drill until Monday. Mr Gowdy was furious and told Paul in no uncertain terms that if he didn’t get his machine up and running that day he would find someone else to do the job. Paul was well-versed on Old Gowdy’s ways by Mr Neals before he commenced the job. Mr Neals had warned him not to get on the wrong side of the principal, but Paul was no push-over either and had no time for rude people.

  Paul frowned at Mr Gowdy like a parent would a naughty child and replied, “Listen here, mate! Your board has signed a contract with me to do a job and that contract allows for breakdowns of machinery. Now to get the part to my drill by Monday, I had to pay extra delivery charges otherwise it wouldn’t have been here till Wednesday of next week. So let’s look at the options here. You can hire someone else and I can cancel that delivery and take my machinery back to the shed, or you can find some patience and it can stay here till Monday until the part arrives. Either way, your board will be paying me the total amount for this job, so it really doesn’t matter to me.”

  Paul opened the palms of his hands, his eyebrows lifted and his head rested to the right as he shrugged his shoulders and said. “Your call, mate. What do you want to do?”

  Mr Gowdy didn’t mind speaking to others rudely but he absolutely detested being spoken to in a confronting manner and any other time he would have told Paul to pack up his gear and get the heck off the property, but this time he was over a barrel. He knew the board would pull out of the venture if he rocked the boat. A lot of the members weren’t convinced that the drilling was a good idea.

  “Just get it fixed and get on with it!” he replied with a red face and nostrils flaring.

  “Righto,” Paul said nonchalantly while walking away with a smile that went from ear to ear. I think he knew he had struck a blow for the good guys.

  After the meeting I headed over to the school. I knew Mr Neals would be there preparing work for our final exams but I didn’t know how I could get to him without raising suspicion. I guess the full moon was working in my favour because on arrival at the school Miss James was coming out to get some fresh air and clear her head so I raced up to her and said, “Hi, Miss James. How are you going?”

  She replied, “Good, Dylan, but what are you doing here? It’s a student-free day, you know.”

  I looked at her in a pleading manner and said, “Yes, I know, but there’s something I need to speak to Mr Neals about.”

  Miss James looked at me curiously and said, “He’s pretty busy at the moment, Dylan. Is it anything that I can help you with?”

  I could see that Miss James was keen to assist and I didn’t want her to feel offended or left out so I said, “I wish you could but it’s sort of a man’s issue, if you know what I mean, and I really need his help.”

  She nodded her head and smiled indulgently and said, “I understand. I’ll see what I can do. No promises though. Ok?”

  I told her I understood and she headed back inside.

  Not long after Mr Neals appeared and said, “What’s going on, mate?”

  I asked him if there was anywhere we could speak in private and he took me to his classroom. When we got there I said, “I’m really sorry for hassling you when you have so much to do but there was something I needed to talk to you about and it couldn’t wait.”

  He could see I had concern written all over my face and he said, “Come in, Dylan; shut the door. Is everything all right?”

  I told him it was but things might change if he couldn’t help me. He asked me to sit down and I walked across to a front desk and took a seat. Mr Neals pulled up his chair with the back of it facing me and then proceeded to mount it like a small horse. With his arms folded and resting on the top of the chair he said, “Now then, let’s hear what’s going on and see if we can get it sorted for you.”

  I told him I didn’t know where to start and that I had been asked by someone else to speak to him only on certain issues and sworn to secrecy on others. I went on to say that if the drilling continued in certain areas of the school grounds it may have devastating repercussions on some students. I held back telling him that I knew Paul was his friend. I believed he would begin to wonder where I got that information from and might even be offended that I knew so much about his private life.

  Mr Neals was now sporting a concerned look on his face and I assured him that everything was ok to this point. He calmed a little and said, “Has this got anything to do with the stories I’ve heard about a secret club that is constantly a thorn in Mr Gowdy’s side?”

  I replied without hesitation, “Do you really want to know the answer to that question?”

  Mr Neals’ lip turned up at the side as if he was contemplating his answer. He then replied, “Probably not. It could cause me more grief than I really want or need.”

  With that out the way I continued, “All I’m asking is that you trust me. I’ve never asked a favour of you before and I just hope you can help me this one time.” I stared at him with pleading eyes and he looked back at me with empathy.

  “Ok, I know I’m sticking my neck out here but how can I help?” he said in an almost indecisive manner.

  I knew I had placed him in a difficult position with my request but there was no other way. “Thanks Sir, you won’t regret this,” I said.

  He looked at me steely-eyed and replied, “I need to know what you’re asking of me firsthand. There is no way that I’m going to help if this will endanger anyone. Do you understand?”

  I immediately replied to subdue his concerns. “Yes Sir, I understand, and no Sir, it won’t, it can’t. In fact it’ll do quite the opposite. Here’s a map I’ve drawn up and honestly I’m still not sure if you can help. I know I’m talking in riddles but please be patient with me. I’m wondering if there is any way we can get the guy that is drilling around the school to stay outside these red zones.”

  I unfolded the map on the desk where I was sitting and turned it so it was facing Mr Neals.

  “There is something buried between the red lines that my friends and I hold precious. I know you don’t have the authority to tell the guy from the drilling company what to do, but is there any way you can help?” I pleaded.

  Without hesitation he replied, “I might have a little more pull than you give me credit for, Dylan,” he said leaning back and puffing his chest out like a proud rooster, with his hands now grasping either side of the chair’s backrest. “As a matter of fact, the guy you’re referring to from the drilling company actually owns it and is a very good friend of mine,” he said with a grin while raising his eyebrows as if to say, “What do you think of that?”

  I put on my very best surprised face and replied, “You’re kidding me! No way!”

  Mr Neals, now feeling quite proud of himself, said, “You’d be surprised who I know, son, and after the run in my friend Paul had with Mr Gowdy today we might have a chance of getting him to help us.”

  When Mr Neals had said the words “we” and “us” I knew he was on our side. I made sure he knew how grateful I was and said, “Thank you so much Sir. You don’t know what this means, not only to me but to others as well. If there’s anything, any time I can do something for you, just let me know.”

  He smiled and said, “Don’t get too excited, it hasn’t happened yet. But if it does my repayment will be good marks, Dylan; good marks to finish the year with...and they better be good.” His grin fell away and his brow ruffled as his eyebrows rose and he said, “But just remember this: I don’t want to know what you’re up to. I trust your judgement, Dylan, so don’t let me down.”

  “I won’t Sir.” I got up out of my seat and walked towards the door. On reaching the corridor I poked my head back in the room. “Thanks again Mr Neals. I really appreciate your trust in me,” I said.

  Still sitting on the chair as if he was contemplating what had just taken place he looked up and replied, “That’s all right. Let’s see how we go.
I’ll speak to you tomorrow.”

  I turned and walked quickly up the corridor and broke into a sprint as soon as I got outside. I was in a hurry to get back to the others, not just to tell them the news but to find out how Bungles was holding up.

  Mr Neals had worked late the previous night so he decided after our chat that he would knock off for the day. I found out later that he went straight around to Paul’s place to speak to him about what I’d asked for.

  Paul said, “That’s a bit of an odd request coming from you, isn’t it mate?” And Mr Neals told him he had his reasons but had promised someone that he would keep it secret. Paul was a good friend and told Mr Neals that he was only too happy to help him in any way he could. Mr Neals thanked him, but said he didn’t want Paul to get into trouble over this especially from Old Gowdy. Paul replied, “I don’t think he’ll be hassling me too much, especially after today’s run in. But if he does I’ll tell him that due to safe work practices he won’t be allowed near the drilling site. That’ll keep him at bay!”

  They both chuckled at the thought of Mr Gowdy’s face if that were to happen.

  “Thanks mate,” said Mr Neals.

  “Too easy,” replied Paul, as he plucked a couple of coldies from the fridge.

  17

  THE RESCUE

  I had done my job and found everything we needed and Gerry had taken Harry and Sean to help with the heavier equipment. As soon as they dropped it off Roo was gone in a flash down the tunnel and shifting debris like a man possessed. He had let us know that the collapse hadn’t been as bad as we first thought and stayed in radio contact throughout the day.

  After Gerry dropped Harry and Sean back at Benworden, she returned to the tunnel entrance. With Bungles and Roo missing from the boarding house we had to devise an elaborate plan to cover for them, and although the one we came up with was complicated it was the most plausible, provided everything fell into place.

  It all began with Brian pretending he was going to his room to rest before dinner. However, he actually went to Roo’s room to grab clothing and then to Bungles’ room to do the same. Once he had taken what he needed, he raced down the corridor to my room and took the elevator to Gerry’s where Carla was waiting for him. “Hurry up and get changed into Bungles’ gear so I can do my thing,” she said.