Page 45 of Coveted

The news made Vax’s gut clench. If they made a wrong move more of the tunnel could collapse, but he wouldn’t leave anyone trapped if there was a chance to save them.

“Does that have a heat scanner on it?”

He’d ordered better scanners than the ones they’d had when he worked the mines, but not all of them had been replaced yet.

“Yeah.”

The man held the scanner out toward him, and Vax took hold of the chunky yellow machine. It was larger than some of the other models, but that was because it had more features, and he hoped it would pay off.

Aiming the dome on the top toward the collapsed tunnel, he switched it to check for heat, cursing when the whole pile in front of him lit up. The mountains were full of tiny crystals that were too small to bother mining, and the boulders in front of him were studded with them, reflecting the heat of the people gathered behind him.

“It can’t penetrate.”

His hold on the machine tightened until he heard the casing creak as he wracked his brain. The space at the top of the pile caught his eye again.

The tunnel wasn’t much taller than he was. If he extended his arm above his head and jumped he could brush his fingers along ceiling, but the way the rocks had fallen left him a good distance from the highest point. If he could get the scanner to the hole hecould check beyond the tumble, but that would mean climbing over the rocks.

He strained his ears, but the voices of the men gathered behind him was distracting.

“Quiet.”

A hush fell over the group, though the breathing of those around him was harsh and loud in the silence, and the occasional cough broke through.

“Is anybody there? Is anyone trapped?”

He knew runners would be working through the camp to be sure everyone was accounted for, but if there was someone stuck beyond the collapse, time was too precious to wait.

Those around him held their breath, everyone listening for an answer. He couldn’t hear anything beyond the blockage, but silence didn’t mean there weren’t people in need.

Handing the scanner to the man he’d taken it from, Vax approached the pile of rock.

“Hold that, and hand it to me when I can reach the hole.”

He exchanged the smooth feel of the machine for the roughness of fractured stone. Loose rocks rolled beneath his boots, but he managed to make it to the opening with nothing more than a few scrapes.

“Okay.”

He extended his hand behind him, balanced on a broad boulder, with his other fingers clinging to the lip of rock preventing him from fitting beneath the ceiling.

The scanner was placed in his hand, and he aimed it into the opening, switching on the light. The glow behind him hadn’t penetrated the hole, and he cursed when he realized it didn’t go all the way through.

Shifting his perch, he reached into the depression, shoving the rock and gravel. Tiny bits cut into his fingers, but he ignored the sting. A rock the size of his head was lodged, but he clearedthe loose stone around it until his light shone through into open darkness, fresh smoke billowing from the opening to burn his eyes.

“Hello? Is anyone there?”

The stone above him groaned, stopping his heart as he blinked to clear the moisture caused by the smoke. He hadn’t stopped to grab a mask for himself, and it took all his effort not to cough when he sucked in a breath that burned his lungs, but his pulse picked up as quiet sounds echoed up to him.

Clicking on the heat scanner, he pointed the dome through the opening, angling downward as much as he could while still able to see the screen. It was blank at first, but when he tipped the machine a bit more the yellow and orange shape of a body appeared.

“We’ve got men trapped. Get the crusher.”

His call shook dust loose from the ceiling, and the men gathered in the tunnel kicked into gear. Boots pounded as some raced to get the machine that would help get through the larger rocks while others went to work with the tools they had on them, trying to clear the stone on the left side of the collapse. They had to be careful about what they moved, but the first step was to get everything already loose out of the way.

“We’re coming, just hang in there,” he called into the hole.

He started shoving more gravel along the top of the pile down behind him until a quiet cough and motion caught his attention. Jerking his gaze back through the opening, he moved the light until a small form shuffled into the beam.

Vax stared at the boy, doing a double take on the scanner that didn’t show the vertical body he could clearly see, only a prone form behind them.

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