Chapter 9: Oh Crap! It's Happening Again!

As Christmas approached, I got an opportunity to fill in for holiday relief at the yard and I took it. A few days work would pay for my gifts and I wanted to get something special for Shelly. I knew I could consult Mom, so I wasn't worried that I would choose something inappropriate.

I decided to take one of my free Saturday mornings and head downtown to do my shopping. I avoided the big shopping centres because that's where everyone went. I was more interested in the specialty shops. One of the best places for that type of shopping was the "old town", the original site of the city over a hundred years ago. I didn't bother taking my truck and battling the traffic, looking for an overpriced place to park. I took rapid transit and wore comfortable sneakers for walking about.

I grabbed a Bratwurst on a bun and a soda from a street vendor as a lunch on the go. As I got near the end of the strip where all the specialty shops were, I heard a deep, rumbling sound and stopped, wondering what it was. It wasn't a vehicle and it wasn't a piece of equipment, but a few seconds later, I knew what it was. A hole opened up in the roadway right in front of me. It made a frightening, noisy, crashing sound like an underground explosion as the pavement and parts of the sidewalk fell into a huge cavern. A delivery truck on the other side of the street had one of its back wheels hanging over the edge of the cavity. It was another sink hole, and this one was big. There was very little traffic at this end of the roadway, so I hoped that anyone coming along would see it in time and stop.

Once I gathered my wits, I ran into a nearby hardware store and yelled at the clerk behind the counter.

"Call the police. There's a huge sinkhole in front of your store. Call them right away."

It took the guy a couple of seconds to register my instructions, and I'm not sure he believed me, but he picked up the phone and I assumed he was making the call. I ran outside to see if anyone or anything had fallen into the hole. So far nothing, but I could see running water in the bottom the pit, at least eight feet below the level of the street.

I was about to go back to the hardware store and call into the yard when I heard a car coming around the corner from Alexander Street at what seemed to be a reckless speed. This wasn't good. Whoever was behind the wheel was going way too fast, sink hole or no sink hole. I stepped off the sidewalk and tried to wave it down and warn him, but it kept on coming, causing me to jump back off the road. I could see what was going to happen and I couldn't do a thing about it.

The driver must have seen the hole at the last second and attempted to swerve around it, but he had no chance to avoid it. He was going too fast and skidded sideways into the hole. There was a horrific crash as the car first hit the side of the hole, then dropped to the bottom. It ended up on its side, with the front, or what was left of it, pointing upward. I could see steam rising from the wreck; probably the hot exhaust hitting the cold water. I also noticed the water seemed to be higher than it was a few moments ago.

I couldn't jump down into the hole, it was too deep. I looked around in desperation and saw an aluminium extension ladder displayed at the front of the hardware store. I ran to the door and grabbed the ladder, yelling to the now stunned clerk that I'd pay for it later. I carried the unit to the hole and looked for a place to set it. I had to undo some rope that was holding the two sections from sliding, but then was able to extend the ladder to about twelve feet, enough to reach the bottom and have a safe angle to climb down.

By this time, the clerk had come running out of the store, hollering "stop thief" until he saw the hole, then me.

"Come here," I yelled to him. "Hold this end steady. There are people in that car and we've got to get them out of there."

Luckily, he'd calmed down and saw what I was trying to do. As I climbed down the ladder slowly, I asked him if he'd called the police and he assured me he had. I noticed a crowd of people had gathered around the hole to see what was going on. I yelled to warn them to get back because there was no guarantee the sides wouldn't give way under their weight. Just before I got to the bottom, a chunk of pavement and some dirt broke free and crashed down into the water just a couple of feet from me. I no longer needed to warn the spectators. That was all they had to see to move back.

The bottom of the hole was very uneven and slippery in spots. The water was rising steadily now and moving around was awkward. I was pretty sure I was standing on some water or gas lines, so I was extra careful as I made my way toward the car. I looked into the passenger side front door and saw a man slumped over the steering wheel. I reached for his outstretched hand and checked. I couldn't find a pulse.

I looked in the back seat and saw the form of another man and a woman. Neither was moving, but I thought I heard a moan and I stepped back carefully to see if I could open the rear door. In this case luck was with me, and with some extra effort, I was able to wedge the door open.

It was the woman I'd heard moan, and I checked her pulse. It was rapid, but I didn't think dangerously so. I reached for the man and checked his pulse. It was there, but it was slow. He was unconscious and unlikely to be able to help me get him out of there. First things first, I had to get the woman out.

I carefully grasped the woman's shoulder and pulled her toward me, catching her before she fell out of the car. Thank goodness she wasn't some big heavyset person. I carefully cradled her in my arms and tried to work my way over to the ladder. I immediately knew I was going to lose my footing and fall, due to the slippery pipes and bottom. My only option was to put the woman over my shoulder and use the wrecked car to steady me and keep me from falling.

In the meantime, the water was still rising and it was cold. It was almost up to my knees and making my ability to move that much more difficult. I used the fireman's carry to get us to the base of the ladder and looked up to see someone else was now holding the ladder steady for me. I began the slow, step-by-step climb up the rungs, careful that my soaked and muddy sneakers didn't slip on the lightly treaded rungs.

It seemed like forever before I got close to the top. I'd been so preoccupied with my burden that I didn't hear the sirens or other vehicles arriving. As I looked up and saw the top of the ladder, I recognized a uniformed police officer was holding the ladder and another person in a fire department jacket reaching down to help me. My legs were killing me with pain from both the load and the tension of making sure I didn't slip. Suddenly, I felt the weight of the woman lifted slowly off my shoulder, and I could breathe a sigh of relief. The officer offered me his hand and pulled me up the last couple of rungs and I was out of the hole.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, my feet are cold as ice. There's another two guys in the car. I think the driver is dead. I couldn't find a pulse. The other guy in the back seat is alive but unconscious."

"Okay, the fire rescue guys will go get them. Did you see any sign of guns?"

"Guns? What guns? I didn't see anything but the people. They weren't holding guns that I could see."

"Okay, why don't you head over to the ambulance and get checked out. You look pretty stressed."

"What's with the guns?"

"Those two men robbed a jewellery store a few blocks from here and then hijacked this lady's car, taking her hostage. They were armed, one of them with an automatic pistol. Nasty stuff. You saved the right person," he said with a smile. "Now, head for the ambulance and they'll help you get dried off and warm."

I nodded okay and squished my way over toward the ambulance closest to me. When I got there, a middle-aged red-headed woman looked at me and said, "Not you again." Then she started to laugh. "Don't you know enough to stay out of trouble?"

She was obviously having fun at my expense, so I just ignored her and started to take my shoes off. My hands were shaking so badly that she pushed them away, took a pair of scissors from her belt and cut the laces. She pulled the shoes off my feet, and then the socks.

"Those shoes are history, Mr. Dunlop. Let me wash your feet in warm water and then you can put these socks on."

"Thanks," I said as she handed me a new pair of heavy duty work socks. "How do you know my name?"

"You don't remember me, do you," she grinned. "I was at the works yard after that truck blew up. My partner and I took that wounded fellow off to the hospital. I know you got him away from that fire and spent a long time on mouth-to-mouth with him. You don't forget untrained people who do what you did. So tell me, how did you get yourself involved in this mess?"

"Innocent bystander. Damn sink hole just opened up right in front of my eyes. Scary as hell. Anyway, I was about to call the yard to get them to get a works crew out right away when this car came speeding around the corner and ended up in the hole. Now they tell me they were involved in an armed robbery with a hostage. The woman I took out of the car was the hostage. By the way, how is she?"

"Too early to tell, but they think she'll make it," she said as she dried my feet. "If there are any problems, they are internal. There was no loss of blood I'm told."

"Good. I hope she makes a full recovery. I'd hate to think I nearly froze my feet off in vain."

"Put those socks on ... it's Ian, isn't it?" I nodded my yes. "I'll be back in a few minutes," she said, walking away from the ambulance carrying my ruined sneakers with her.

True to her word, she was back in five minutes with a new pair of rubber boots. "These should fit. You owe the hardware guy twelve bucks. You should be able to salvage those pants if you wash them fairly soon."

"Thank you. I don't know your name."

"Rita McKinnon. Looks like you're going to get your name in the paper again, Ian," she smiled. "You just can't help yourself, can you?"

"I guess not. I admit, it is becoming a disturbing habit."

I knew I wouldn't be going anywhere for a while. I walked over to the hardware store and thanked the clerk for calling 911 and letting me take the ladder. He said he could clean the ladder and no one would know it had been used. As far as the rubber boots were concerned, he said forget it. I'd risked my neck to save that woman and he wouldn't have the nerve to charge me for a pair of cheap rubber boots. I thanked him for his generosity and help and headed back outside.

I talked to the police for a half hour and they seemed satisfied that I was a reliable witness to what happened. By that time, our relief crew from the yard had arrived and I was on my way over to talk to the foreman.