Benworden (15 page)

Bungles struggled to get himself out of the recliner and to his feet. Up above, the drilling had commenced and was about halfway to the cavity of the club rooms. Bungles had no idea what was going on; all he could think of was to get to the safe room. It was no longer ceiling dust falling but very large pieces of rock.

Bungles made it to the safe room and just as he got into the safety cage there was a cave-in. The drill had not yet penetrated the cavity. It had stopped just short, coming to a grinding halt after blowing a hydraulic hose, but the vibration had disturbed
a lower level of rock and it plummeted into the safe room.

Although Bungles had made it to the safety cage, he now found himself in a precarious position; it was pitch black and a huge boulder had landed on top of the cage crushing it to half its size. Although Bungles had followed the safety procedures perfectly, it was typical of his luck that no other room had been affected by the collapse except the one he had run to.

The only way Bungles could move was like someone imitating a duck, crouched and waddling. Unfortunately, the collapse had created rock walls on the front and back of the crushed cage which left only two other sides. On one was the safety locker which he still had access to and on the other was a boulder. This one boulder created all sorts of problems as it was jammed hard against the starter lever that was connected to the auxiliary generator hidden in the old shed above, and the boulder was preventing the lever from being plunged forward to start it up. This generator not only provided electricity for lighting but also drove the ventilation fans that brought air from above. Without power Bungles couldn't contact anyone with the emergency laptop in the safety locker.

Bungles felt his way to the side of the cage and found the lever for the generator. He reached through the bars and pushed and pushed the lever as hard as he could, to no avail. Bungles then felt around the lever with both hands through the cage. A sense of panic and despair washed over him; he had discovered the massive boulder behind the lever and knew if he couldn't get that lever to move it was the end for him. The one thing that all members were taught was clear and concise safety instructions.

Bungles knew he only had about 20 minutes of air left and he also knew if he panicked his air would run out quicker.

He kept repeating to himself, “Stay calm. Stay calm. You can figure this out.”

He remembered the things that were in the safety locker and felt his way around until he found the handle to the door. The safety locker had been designed so that it could be opened in almost any circumstances and Bungles knew where to find the secret latch at the bottom of the cabinet which allowed him to slide the door upwards in case of such an emergency.

He foraged around until he found what he had been looking for – a heavy duty torch – and once the torch was on he found food, water, a small bottle of oxygen, thick insulation tape, a crowbar and to his surprise Roo's basketball and pump. As usual, Roo must have hidden it in there when someone was coming as this was one of the rooms that he was not allowed to bring it into. Bungles began to calm down a little. He knew if he could see, he had a better chance of working out how to rid himself of the boulder.

It didn't take long for him to start to despair again, however, as he glanced at his watch and realised he was now down to ten minutes of air. He knew the canister of oxygen would probably buy him a little bit of extra time but he would use this as a last resort. The important thing was to get rid of the boulder, and if that didn't happen nothing else he did would matter.

Bungles worked his way back to the boulder to examine it more closely in the light. He noticed that the boulder had a small gap under it so he started digging with the crowbar to enlarge it. He finally got his crowbar under the boulder and tried to jemmy it out of the way but it wouldn't budge. He was now becoming desperate as he had burned up both energy and air and was starting to feel light-headed. In desperation Bungles grabbed Roo's basketball from the locker and taking
the hose and inflation pin from the pump, he proceeded to deflate the leather ball. Once it was as flat as he could make it he grabbed the tape and the bottle of oxygen and worked his way back over to the boulder and began to dig even deeper beneath it.

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.