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‘Enough... It’s enough.’ A hole had opened up that was large enough for Megan to squeeze through. It would be tight, but she could make it.
Jaye glanced over his shoulder. ‘I think it’ll take a little more.’
He revved the engine, moving forward again, and the hole increased in size. Then the crack in the boulder widened and the whole of the top collapsed, the crisscross of ropes and the tarpaulin pulling the debris forward and away from the house.
Jaye climbed from the driver’s seat, calling for quiet. The only sound was that of the baby.
‘I’ll go...’
Jaye paused and then nodded. Handing her the flashlight, his hand brushed her arm, and she felt the tiny hairs at the back of her neck stand on end.
‘Just be careful.’
* * *
Jaye watched as Megan crawled across the shattered rubble that formed the lower part of the boulder. He knew that this was the right decision. There was no question that one of them had to go to give medical aid to the family trapped inside the house. He just wished that it could have been him.
But even if his hand hadn’t been injured, he wouldn’t have fitted through the hole. Jaye held his breath as Megan perched the flashlight at the mouth of the hole and reached in. Good. Someone inside must have been able to reach up to her and maybe she wouldn’t have to go down there.
A long moment of silence, with the whole village holding its breath. Then Megan drew back, a bundle of bright fabric in her arms. Passing the baby back to the man behind her, she turned again, steadying herself to reach back into the hole.
Jaye quickly checked the baby for any signs of bleeding. It was crying lustily, its airways quite obviously clear, and he allowed one of the older women to take it and rock it gently in her arms.
Then another excited gasp came from the knot of people as Megan slid back from the hole, a little boy of about four held tightly in her arms. Jaye thought he saw Megan brush a kiss against his cheek before she passed him back down the line.
The boy was covered in mud, the only part of his skin visible being the streaks on his cheeks from tears. He obediently showed Jaye a minor cut on his leg, and Jaye examined the wound quickly, asking the boy in Sinhalese if anything had fallen on him, and was he hurt anywhere else.
The boy shook his head, a silent, grey ghost in the sunshine. He seemed physically okay, and Jaye handed him over to his father for a tearful hug, before one of the women took charge, leading him away to sit on the steps of a nearby veranda.
‘The other child’s hurt. The mother’s not coming out without her.’ There was no need for Megan to tell him what she was going to do next.
‘We will bring them to you.’ It was the only promise he could give to a husband who had seen two of his children emerge relatively unscathed from the rubble of his home, and who was almost frantic with fear for his wife and third child. Jaye signalled to two of the other men, who held the man back, trying to keep him calm.
Jaye scrambled past the line of men to the mouth of the hole. Megan had already lowered her feet into the hole, and he braced his feet aga
inst the mud and rocks, winding his good arm around her waist.
‘Hold onto me...’ A flashlight had been passed down to the woman inside the house, but its beam was moving jerkily and no help in seeing what was down there. Megan wrapped her arms around his neck and he lowered her down.
‘Okay. I’ve got a foothold.’ Megan almost whispered the words against his cheek. ‘Let me go... Jaye, let me go now.’
If he lost her, he’d lose himself. The thought flashed through his mind and, despite all his instincts to keep a tight hold on her, he let her slide downwards, into the darkness.
He heard the sounds of movement and then the beam of the torch steadied. Six feet below him Jaye could see the mother, her sari soaked in blood, holding her child on her lap.
‘She won’t let go of her... Tell her I have to see her.’ Megan seemed to know he was there even though she hadn’t looked around.
He quickly translated the words into Sinhalese, adding the information that Megan was a nurse and that she could help. The woman loosened her grip on her daughter, allowing Megan to gently examine her.
‘Airways are clear... She’s breathing... There’s a bad cut on her leg, it may be broken. She’s lost a lot of blood.’
Jaye turned, signalling for the medical bag, which had been fetched and was ready behind him. He lowered it down to Megan and she unzipped it.
‘The dressing pads are on the left-hand side...’ Jaye knew that the next thing that Megan had to do was stem the bleeding.
‘Right. Got them. As soon as I can stop the bleeding, we need to get her out of here.’
‘Okay, we’re ready.’
