Chapter 9

It was late on a Saturday morning in August when the main trunk sewer let go. The Higgins company was digging a utilities trench to be used to connect the new building with the utilities in the street. Although the trench paralleled the sewer line, it was several feet away from it. But it proved to be too close. Unbeknownst to anyone, the sewer was already near collapse before their work ever began. Although there was no frost in Los Angeles there was the constant pounding of motor vehicle traffic on the roadway above the sewer. While the pavement absorbed most of the movement and the subsoil much of the rest, over time the damage was done and the iron sewer pipe weakened. All it needed was one additional condition.

That condition was met when the Higgins trench was dug. Although four-by-ten shoring was used to support the trench, it could not possibly be as strong as the unbroken subsoil — and wasn't. While before the trench was dug, the compacted subsoil maintained the sewer's integrity with external pressure, with the trench dug the pressure was relieved and some movement became possible. It started as a small leak. The water soaked the dry subsoil and thus it could shift more easily. Slowly the leak became larger until that Saturday morning when the massive pipe let go.

Ken Carlson and a group of men were digging at the bottom of the trench. It was ten feet deep, four feet wide, and shored up on both walls with four-by-tens. The first hint of trouble came when one of the men slipped on mud — mud that should not have been there. There had been no rain and the subsoil they had been digging in was very dry.

Sensing a problem, Ken immediately ordered the crew out of the trench and went to find Tony Rossi. Rossi was already on his way over to find out what was going on, having seen the men scrambling up the two ladders to get out. When Ken explained what he had seen, Rossi went down the ladder to see for himself. He was bent over to get close enough to smell the dirt. Although he was not conscious of any odor, he had a sixth sense that told him there was one.

Suddenly, with a rush, some shoring timbers on the sewer side of the trench shifted inward. An instant later, there was a flow of sewer water into the trench that steadily increased in volume. As it rapidly filled the bottom of the trench and started rising up Tony's leg, Ken saw the man's right leg at an unnatural angle while his foot was trapped between two of the shifted timbers.

Already, with the shift of the timbers, the trench had narrowed from four feet down to less than two. It was Tony's shout for help that brought Kathy running over. In a few sentences Ken told her about Tony's trapped foot and probable broken leg. The man appeared to be unconscious. She was looking down into the trench and could see that the level of the putrid sewer water was already up to his chest.

Before Ken could do anything, she had stripped off her boots, all of her clothes, and climbed down the ladder, taking a rope end with her. Moving sideways, she found there was just enough room for her, but not nearly enough for any of the men. Quickly, she looped the line under Tony's armpits and tied a bowline. Calling up, she told the men above to maintain an even, but light, strain. Then she climbed part-way up the ladder and asked for a very sharp, strong knife. When she did, Ken was almost sickened at the sight of her body now covered up to her tits with stinking sewage.

When she was given a knife, she quickly tested the blade and found it was very sharp. It was a strong-bladed hunting knife — perfect for what she needed. Descending the ladder, she found the water was now up to her neck. She could feel all manner of sewage being washed against her body but ignored it.

Checking on Tony quickly, she found his head lolling forward and he was still unconscious. After filling her lungs with air, she quickly jack knifed her body and went down head-first to the bottom of the trench. She kept her eyes closed to try to protect them from the filth; since the water was the consistency of wet feces, there was nothing to be seen anyway. As carefully as possible, she felt her way down his leg and found the boot. Ken had been right: There was a chance that only the boot was trapped between the timbers. She eased the blade of the knife into the top of Tony's heavy work boot and started to cut as quickly as she could.

There were three reasons for her speed. First, she would quickly run out of air; second, Tony would soon drown if not quickly removed from the trench; and third, the most frightening reason of them all: Kathy knew, even if all the men did not, that the shoring would soon give way entirely under the onslaught of the rushing water. If it did, both she and Tony would be crushed. After completing one cut and with her lungs searing with pain, she shot to the surface. As carefully as she could she wiped her eyes and pulled back her hair before trying to open her eyes.

When she broke the surface, Ken's heart was chilled seeing his beloved wife covered with the sewer effluent; moreover, Ken, too, realized the danger of the imminent collapse of the trench. Kathy was now an all-over shit brown. She gasped for breath and, as quickly as she could, refilled her lungs. As she did, she quickly told him what she planned.

Then she dove again and quickly made two more vertical cuts from the top of his boot down to the sole. Thinking it was now or never and ignoring any possible further damage to his leg, she grabbed him by the ankle and exerted superhuman effort to pull his foot free of the trapped boot. Just as she was about to give up, it popped loose. Shooting to the surface of the water — it was now nearly level with the surface of the ground — she yelled to the men to pull. After only two gasps of air, she dove again to try to prevent Tony's now fully-submerged body from hanging up on any obstruction as they lifted him out. Finally he was at the surface and Kathy was with him.

Ken reached out his hand and she took it, pulling herself out of the trench. Going to where the men were handling the rope, she told them how to get him out. With men holding him under each armpit, they lifted him clear. Just as he was on solid ground the rest of the shoring gave way with a thunderous crash. She ordered the crew as far away from the trench as possible as the earth between the trench and the sewer began to settle.

When they had Tony on his back, completely ignoring the kind of water he had swallowed, Kathy began to give him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. She did it exactly the way Judy had taught her, first clearing his mouth and getting his tongue clear. It seemed like she had been working for hours when Tony began to choke. Lifting his shoulders, she smacked him on his back.

When she did, he began to vomit up the rest of the sewage he had swallowed. Looking around, she didn't see any of the emergency medical technicians who should have been at the scene by then. Ken told her that the sewer collapse had apparently spread and screwed up a number of main streets. She just nodded quickly and asked for the big first aid kit. She thanked God that, as a part of her work, she had taken inventory and restocked the missing items. When she had inventoried the kit, fewer than one-third of the items that were supposed to be included were in it.

Ken opened it and she asked for an emergency leg splint. It was like an open-topped frame into which the leg could be placed. When taped, it held the leg in position for transport. Ken took it out but didn't know what Kathy intended to do. He found out in short order. Taking the sharp knife she still had in her hand, she slit Rossi's trouser leg from the cuff to his thigh and then cut it off completely.

Looking at his injured leg, she thanked God that it was not a compound fracture. If the broken bone had penetrated the skin, the chance of his surviving the resulting inevitable infection would have been remote. After telling Ken to stand by with the splint, she put her bare foot in Tony's crotch, held his ankle with both hands, and began to pull. Now, all of his muscle mass worked against him. It was clear that the bone ends were now overlapped with the natural muscle tension working to increase the amount of overlap.

After taking several deep breaths, Kathy began to pull on the ankle. Now Ken knew what she was doing and was utterly amazed as muscles in her legs and shoulders stood out from the strain. At first there was no reaction, but then, very slowly, her intense but steady pressure took effect. Her body was shaking from the strain, but she did not ease up. While she pulled, she kept a careful eye on the alignment of the foot to the body to try to ensure that the bones, when they did come together, would be in proper alignment.

Then she felt a click and could see Tony apparently relax even though he was still unconscious. "Now!" she yelled, and Ken slipped the frame into position and quickly taped the leg in place. Only then did Kathy let go.

When she did, her body began to shudder from the released strain. She just sat on the ground, unable to move. However, she called out, "If there's a hose handy, I would appreciate it if someone could hose Tony and me off."

One was quickly produced, and she told the men how to hose off Tony. She took the hose herself and tenderly washed his face and hair. Only when she was satisfied with Tony's condition did she allow it to be aimed at her. The first thing she did was just to duck her head and let the cold water run through her hair. While she was still sitting in the mud, the man directed the spray at her face, her neck, and then down her body. As the muck was washed off, it became increasingly clear what a magnificent body she had.

Finally, she took a deep breath and got unsteadily to her feet. Totally ignoring her nakedness, she used her fingers in the water stream to rinse her pubic patch, then bent over and asked that it be run in her hair again. This time she worked her fingers through her hair to try to get rid of the sewage that was trapped in it. Although Kathy did not know exactly what it was that was coming out of her hair, she had no wish to know either. Finally, she closed her eyes and asked the man holding the hose to concentrate on her face and ears.