[MacsChick]

Trapped Part Three
Rated: PG

Using their climbing equipment and securing it to the walls of the shaft, Pete and MacGyver felt confident that they could attempt to scale the walls of the mine shaft in a similar fashion to how they would scale the face of a mountain, the wooden planks on the sides serving well as decent footholds. Still, it was all to no avail, their efforts in vain and useless. MacGyver’s badly fractured leg hampered their efforts and made their progress slow and difficult, Pete careful to avoid risking further injury to his friend by jarring the leg accidentally on the sides of the shaft as they climbed, shouldering most of the burden and doing most of the climbing, pulling MacGyver’s incapacitated body with him, a feat that was not easy for a man unused to physically demanding activities.

“This is…no use, Mac,” Pete said, panting heavily from their futile exertions, his body trembling and dizzy, overcome with weakness and fatigue, all his available energy reserves spent. “We’re…getting nowhere. There is just no way we are ever going to get out of this shaft.”

MacGyver looked up at the hole of blue sky at the surface, still several feet away from them, taunting and teasing them with the promise of freedom, freedom that would not be easily reached or attained. His face was drawn in a grimace of pain, still suffering from the constant stabbing pain of his broken leg, the few pain-relievers he had in his first aid kit already consumed and doing little to alleviate his torment and misery, the jagged fragments of bone digging mercilessly into his sensitive nerve fibers like sharp knives.

“Well, you just may be right about that, Pete,” he said, his voice hoarse and strained. “Maybe we can’t get out of here—at least that is, together.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re going to have to…get out of here without me.”

Pete’s eyes widened. “What? Are you talking about leaving you here? No way, that is absolutely out of the question! I can’t do that to you! I won’t!”

“Pete, I’m holding you back, slowing you down. The best thing you can do for me now is get out of here and bring back some help.”

“I can’t do it. I can’t stand the thought of leaving you alone here in this dismal, desolate place.”

“I know. I’m not too fond of the idea, either, but it’s the only way. If you leave me here, if we separate and double our efforts, our chances of survival and being rescued sooner increase.”

Pete sighed. He looked around the dark depths of the mine shaft, and at the promising hole of light at the surface, tantalizing them with the prospect of eventual freedom from the abyss that surrounded and imprisoned them. Once again he felt a damp chill cover and cling to his body, causing him to shiver violently.

“It’s so cold in here,” he said, wrapping his arms around himself. “The thought of leaving you here, alone in the dark…I can’t bear it…”

“I’ll be fine,” MacGyver said. “I still have enough supplies to sustain me, and my sleeping bag for warmth. I should be all right for several days.”

“Days? Mac, what if I can’t find anyone to help us? What then?”

“Then at least you know you tried,” MacGyver said, smiling faintly at him through his weakness and pain.

Pete looked at the pleading earnestness in his friend’s eyes. “You really want me to do this, don’t you? You want me to leave you behind,” he said sadly. “Mac, I can’t…” he choked back tears. “I just can’t…”

“You have to,” MacGyver said, reaching out and squeezing Pete’s hand. “You have to do this for me. It’s our only chance of ever getting out of here. Look, I know it’s hard, but sometimes you have to make the tough choices. I trust you. I know you can do this. You’re much stronger than you give yourself credit for. You already set my broken bone even though it was unpleasant for you and you didn’t want to do it, right? But you did it anyway because you knew that it would ultimately benefit me. Well, the same thing applies here. I know you don’t want to leave me alone down here, and I don’t want you to, either, but it’s the only way for you to help me.”

“I can’t…”

“Yes you can! You’ve already proved that you can, that you’re far more capable than you realize. I’ve seen you climb, Pete. You’re like a wildcat.”

Pete chuckled and smiled slightly. “More like a giant, lumbering, grumpy, clumsy oaf of a bear,” he said.

MacGyver smiled in return. “You can do this. I know you can,” he said. “But you have to go now. The longer we delay the longer it will take to get rescued. I need you to go now. Climb out of here. I’ll watch the ropes to make sure you don’t fall.”

“But where do I go if I get out of here? I don’t even know where to begin to look for help.”

“Remember that cabin we saw at the base of the trail?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, that could be a park ranger’s station of some kind, or someone’s habitation. You’ll need to retrace your steps and get back there. Maybe they have a phone or a radio, some way or someone we can contact from the outside.”

“But how? Mac, that’s miles away! We deviated from the trail, remember? We’re way off course, in the middle of nowhere! There are miles of rugged backcountry between us and the trail! I could get lost, and I might never be able to come back to find you again.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve been tracing our steps ever since we started our trek. I know where we are. I’ll draw up a detailed map so that you know where to go.” He looked up at Pete, noticing the fear and uncertainty in his eyes. He reached out and patted his shoulder. “It’ll be all right, I promise,” he said, smiling. He turned on his flashlight and pulled out a map of the area from his pack, marking it. When he was finished, he handed it to Pete. “Just follow the markings I’ve made on the map,” he said. “You should be able to find it.”

Pete studied the map as best as he could given the limited light source in the shaft and then carefully folded it, making sure it was stored securely in his pack for future reference. He looked at MacGyver with concern, noticing how wan and pale he looked, his face still creased in pain.

“Are you sure you’re going to be all right?” He asked. “I mean, down here, all alone…”

“Hey, just think of it this way…if I had come out here alone as I originally intended to do, I would be stuck down here alone anyway,” MacGyver said. “It’s just that my chances of getting out would be slimmer. Now I have you to rely on, you to trust to get me out of here. You can do it, Pete. Don’t for a moment doubt yourself. We’ll get out of here together. It’s just going to take some time, that’s all. We’ll both be fine.”

Pete nodded, regaining his strength, feeling more resolute. As much as he still hated the idea of leaving MacGyver alone at the bottom of the shaft, he knew it was for the best, that his friend knew what he was doing and that he should listen to him.

“I’m ready,” he said.

“Okay. Don’t worry if you slip—I’ll spot you.”

Before he began, Pete’s eyes once again welled up with tears. He embraced MacGyver tightly. “I’ll come back for you,” he said, patting and rubbing his back, not wanting to let him go, to abandon him to uncertainty of their fate.

“I know you will,” MacGyver said.

Releasing him at last, Pete wiped away his tears and turned to the task before him. “Here I go,” he said. “Wish me luck.”

“Watch yourself now. Go ahead easily and steadily. Don’t rush this. You can do it.”

Nodding again, Pete firmly gripped the climbing rope and began his shaky, unsteady ascent, slipping on several occasions but being saved by MacGyver’s expert guidance. It was a struggle and required some intense effort, but eventually he made it to the surface.

“I did it!” MacGyver heard him shout triumphantly. “I did it, Mac! I’m on the surface! Can you hear me down there?”

“Yeah, Pete!” MacGyver shouted as loudly as he could in response, his voice echoing around the walls of the shaft. “I can hear you! Now, go! You have the map I gave you, so just follow it, and it should take you back to the cabin.”

“All right. I’m on my way.” He peered down into the shaft, trying to see MacGyver. All he saw was complete darkness. “Are you sure you’re going to be all right?”

“I’ll be just fine, Pete. Now, please…go.”

Nodding, once again trying to stifle his tears, Pete began his journey to get help. He had forgotten how pleasant the surface was, taking it for granted, the temperature moderate, the forest lush and verdant, carpeted for acres in abundant foliage and variegated, colorful vegetation, like something out of a mythical paradise. He used the natural beauty to distract him, not from his purpose, but from imagining the unsettling, unhappy thoughts of the solitude MacGyver would endure without his comforting presence, trapped in the claustrophobic confinement of the shaft with nothing to ease the pain of his shattered leg, lost in the cold and the darkness. He was determined not to fail him, not to fail for either of them, hoping he could find the help they desperately needed before the mine shaft became MacGyver’s tomb.

To be continued…

[Sairalinde]

Yeah another chapter! Wow, I wouldnt let Mac talk me into going alone. I'd be chicken for the both of us. Great read, Macschick.

[ghostdoll]

Man, I agree Sairalinde. There's no way MacGyver would convince me to do that track on my oen. We'd die slowly and painfully.

Thanks for another exciting chapter, MacsChick. Can't wait to read the rest of this story!