The Fossil Hunter of Sydney Mines (17 page)

Something hit Grace in the shoulder, knocking her off balance. As she tumbled sideways, she saw Mai and Fred collapsing under a pile of earth.

They were all going to die!

Chapter
23

“DAD,” GRACE SAID. “THIS ONE'S NOT GOING TO COME OUT.”

“Patience, Grace.” He was crouched beside her on Battlemen's
Beach. Waves from Hurricane Ivan had beaten
the shore and cliffs all the previous day. Now, it was sunny
and calm. Barely a ripple broke the ocean surface in
the early morning sun.

Grace and her dad had been the first ones to the beach
when the tide went out, excited to see what treasures the
waves had wrenched from the cliffs.

Trying to keep her eagerness in check, Grace concen
trated on tapping gently but firmly on the large piece of
slate. The sigillaria tree bark fossil was perfect—or it
would be, if only she could get it out.

Her dad reached over and adjusted her grip. “Gently,
now,” he cautioned. “You don't want to split the fossil.”

Grace held up her hammer, defeated. “You'd better
do it!”

“No, Grace. I know you can do it. Keep going.”

“Like this?” Grace tapped lightly with the rock hammer.

“Exactly!” her dad cheered. “A light touch. You're doing
great. You're going to be a pro before you know it!”

Grace beamed with pride.

“Grace.”

She looked around. Who said that? “Dad, did you hear
something?”

He smiled down at her silently.

“Grace, wake up!”

Who was doing that? She wished they would stop.

Suddenly the fossil broke free in her hands. She held it
up in triumph. “I got it, Dad!”

But the sun and ocean had disappeared—her dad, too. Grace couldn't see anything. Her arm was throbbing and her mouth tasted like dirt. Someone was shaking her gently.

She slowly opened her eyes, only to squint them closed again.

“You're alive!” someone shouted, grabbing her and squeezing her.

“Ow!” she screamed. “My arm!”

“Oops, sorry.”

She opened her eyes again. Fred's face was inches from hers. He had a scratch down the side of his cheek and a thin trickle of blood was snaking a path through the soot on his face. His white teeth were a shocking contrast against the coal dust as he broke into a toothy grin.

“I thought you were…that you'd—” he broke off.

“I think I'm okay,” she said. “But I hurt my arm. Help me up?”

Grace reached with her uninjured arm to grasp Fred's outstretched hand.

“Where's Mai?”

He didn't answer.

Fear clutched at Grace's stomach. Something was wrong. “Fred?” she said, afraid to look away from him.

Fred grimaced. “She's okay. Sort of.”

“What do you mean, ‘sort of'?” She stood up gingerly and stepped over the piles of rubble to a smoother spot on the ground. She heard a sniffle and her eyes swung wildly in the direction from where it came. Her eyes finally adjusted to the dark and she saw Mai sitting curled up against the wall in a corner.

Crouching down beside her, Grace wrapped her arm around Mai's shoulders. “Shhh…it's okay,” she whispered.

“Sorry, Grace,” Mai mumbled, rubbing her face. “I'm not brave like you are. I'm scared.”

You've got it all wrong, Mai,
Grace thought.
I'm not
brave at all.
She brushed the hair back from Mai's face and tucked it behind her ear. “Don't be sorry. This is my fault. I should never have asked you guys to come here.” Guilt clawed the inside of Grace's stomach as she looked at her two best friends' wide and terrified eyes.

“Don't worry. We're gonna get out of here,” she said, trying to sound upbeat. “How about a little help?” She pointed to her sore arm.

Mai seemed to perk up a bit as she went into nurse mode, wrapping Grace's arm in a sling from her first aid kit. As Mai cleaned Fred's cut, Grace prowled around the tunnel, looking for an exit. The opening they'd come down was totally blocked from the cave-in. She shone her light in the opposite direction. The tunnel was blocked on the other side, too, but it looked like there might be a gap at the top of the rubble.

Grimacing in pain, Grace carefully climbed the pile to see if they could get through the gap. If they were able to move some of the rocks, they might be able to squeeze through. Then they'd hopefully find the PA4 sinkhole farther down the tunnel and be able to get out that way.

Grace called for Mai and Fred to come help her move the rocks. Grace couldn't do much lifting with her arm in a sling, but she moved what rocks she could and shouted encouragement to Fred and Mai as they lifted away the heavier ones. They removed as much as they were able. But there was one big boulder in the way. It wouldn't budge—no matter how hard they tried.

“Oh, man,” Fred said after they'd been working for what seemed like hours. “It's a furnace in here. I need a sugar fix.” He climbed down, dug some chocolate bars from his backpack, and passed them around. “Anyone want a drink?”

Grace grabbed a can of pop and sighed as the warm soda trickled down the back of her parched throat. It tasted wonderful.

“Mmm….” Mai sighed in between mouthfuls of her chocolate bar. “Fred, I'll never tease you about your choco stash again.” She looked down at her sticky hand. Grace waited for the handy wipe to come out. Instead, Mai shrugged and continued eating.

Grace leaned against the wall and stared up at the mound of rocks. They had been working for a long time and it had barely made a difference. Not with that monster boulder still on top, anyway. And what if they did get through? What if the rest of the tunnel was blocked too? They could be stuck here forever. Shuddering, she wondered if someone would be examining her fossil bones in this very spot in a hundred million years.

Grace looked over at Fred and Mai. They were huddled together, whispering. A lump swelled in her throat. They had always come when she'd called, did whatever she'd said. She'd always had to be the boss. Some friend she was. She'd really done it this time.

Kchhhhh!!!!

“Come in, Grace,” her walkie-talkie squawked suddenly. “Grace, Mai, Fred! Where are you guys?”

Grace scrambled to her pack. “Jeeter, is that you?”

“Yeah,” he replied. “Where are you?”

“We're trapped. There was a cave-in. We're in big trouble here. Where are you?” Grace sputtered into her walkie-talkie.

“I'm at another sinkhole out here,” he said. “I thought it was the same one as before, but I think I missed it and went too far.”

“It must be the PA4!” Grace cried. “I think it's part of this same tunnel. Can you get in? Is it clear?”

“I'm in it already,” he said.

“Can you get to us?” she asked. Mai and Fred had jumped up and they all huddled around Grace's walkie-talkie.

“I'll try,” he said. “Hold tight.”

Grace closed her eyes and prayed.
Please, please,
please, let him find us
.

“Grace?” Fred whispered.

“What?”

“I have Jeeter's walkie-talkie, remember? Where did he get another one?”

Weird
, Grace thought.
More secrets.

“What difference does it make, as long as he gets us out of here?” Mai said.

“She's right,” Grace said. “Now's not the time for questions.”

They huddled together in the small circle of the flashlight. Dust swirled and curled in the beam like black smoke from a pipe. The minutes ticked by.

“Hey,” Jeeter called, finally.

Grace looked down at her walkie-talkie. The sound hadn't come from there—he was on the other side of the blockage!

“Are you guys all right?” he called again. “I'm gonna try and push through the rocks. Stay back.”

They could hear Jeeter grunting as he pushed against the large boulder at the top of the pile. Grace watched in anticipation.

Nothing happened.

Jeeter kept trying, but only a few small rocks tumbled down. They could hear his muffled curses and groans as he pushed.

It wasn't working.

“Jeeter, stop,” Grace finally said. “It's no use!”

“It's this big honker on top,” Jeeter muttered. “If I could just budge it a bit, I think it would roll right down.”

Staring up at the boulder, Grace tried to think. She had watched her dad around rocks her whole life. Sometimes at the shore, he would wedge a piece of driftwood under a heavy rock to move it out of the way. Could that work?

“Fred, see if there's any wood around,” she ordered. ”Maybe from an old rafter or something.”

“Wood?” he asked with a hint at his old joking self. “We can't have a bonfire now! I don't have marshmallows for s'mores.”

“Very funny,” Mai said. She turned to Grace. “There are some old planks stacked on the side here.” She pointed to the wall. “Will one of these work?”

“It might,” Grace said hopefully.

Grace instructed Fred and Mai where to wedge the plank, hoping she remembered it right. The top of the board was almost touching the ceiling. They were going to have to pull down on it instead of pushing from above like her dad normally did. “Okay, we'll have to work together,” she told Fred and Mai. “Jeeter, you push on the boulder from your side.”

“I hope the wood doesn't crack,” Mai said. “It's so old…”

“Keep your fingers crossed!” Fred said.

They got in position. “Ready!” Grace called out. “One, two, three, go!” She, Fred, and Mai pulled on the plank with all their might while Jeeter pushed from behind.

Grace felt the boulder move.
It was working!
She put all her weight into pulling the plank down, ignoring the burst of pain in her arm.

Suddenly the boulder dislodged from its place and started rolling toward them.

“Out of the way!” Grace cried.

Chapter
24

GRACE, MAI, AND FRED JUMPED OUT OF THE BOULDER'S PATH JUST
in time. It rumbled past them and crashed to the ground below.

“Let's get out of here!” Fred cried as he scrambled down the rock pile and returned with their packs. The three of them wiggled through the opening as fast as they could.

Jeeter helped them down the other side and they raced toward the PA4.

Grace's arm was throbbing, but it didn't matter. She was focused on getting out of the tunnel. No one wanted to get caught in another cave-in.

Finally, a faint glow of light appeared ahead of them. Grace saw Jeeter's rope hanging down from the side of the opening. They'd made it to the PA4!