Mine 61

Okay here it is again folks, this time edited by walkingliberty to who I owe a great deal of gratitude for coming to my rescue by straightening out the grammar and catching all those little things I missed.

As for grammar, in the dialog between characters is it written in the colloquial dialect of Ontario, Canada. To quote Cromagnonman "No-one that I know speaks grammatically correct English with perfect syntax. So I write it as these people would speak it."

When I write I 'hear' what the characters would say, and write what I hear.

Copyright 2014

*

Cameron Grant hung up the phone softly cursing, "Bitch," describing his opinion of the woman at the other end of the call. Granted, the delays in the new project that had brought on the call where causing the project to run over budget, but anyone who knew about mining should be aware that new methods invariably run into snags.

He had written a treatise on the geophysics of the project for them. He had painstakingly explained that applying theoretical science to actual rocks would necessitate some modifications. He explained to them that the salt bed itself was not homogeneous throughout, then had explained that homogeneous throughout meant that that from foot to foot down the tunnel there could be changes in the structure of the salt bed.

Why they couldn't see the payoff of a sixty percent increase in salt extraction was worth it in the long run baffled him.

Now he was going to have to deal with the new head office pain face to face, as she had told him she was coming in person in a week to inspect the project. What some bean counter from Cenozoic Mining's head office in Montreal would possibly get out of going underground was beyond him.

***

A week later he was summoned while inspecting the test area because the bitch had arrived, demanding he meet her at the man cage at mine level and escort her to the test site. It meant he had to stop the readings he was taking and waste a half hour being a taxi driver, not to mention the time wasted explaining yet again what he was doing. By the time he had secured his scientific instruments and reached the bottom of the shaft he was fuming. When he received the message that she would be another half hour, he was furious.

The shift boss, seeing him standing around waiting, asked if he was going back to the test site. When Cameron said that he would be as soon the head office person arrived, the shift boss asked if it would be too much trouble to drop off supplies to the miner's lunch room, which would only be a short detour on his way back to the test site.

The vehicle Cam was driving was a special built, four wheel drive type of diesel pickup truck. Instead of the usual thin steel the body was fabricated out of eighth inch thick plate. It was completely open with bench's down the side of the interior of the box so it could be used as a personnel carrier if need be. As there was plenty of cargo space between the benches it could handle the small load easily.

Cameron was on good terms with all the underground personnel. Knowing that staying that way meant he got excellent co-operation when he needed help, he was more than happy to take the supplies. If it irritated the head office bimbo at the same time it would be a bonus.

He had his back turned to the shaft when she finally arrived. His first notice was, "Ahem, are you Cameron Grant?"

"Yes and you must be W. Allison Thomas. What the hell took you so long? I'm running behind schedule on my instrument readings and we need to make a fifteen minute side trip before we get to the test area."

"Why?"

"I have supplies to drop off at the miner's lunch building."

"I have a plane to catch back to Montreal and don't have time. You'll just have to deliver that stuff when I leave."

In their brief interaction, the only physical thing he noticed about her was the cold, hard blue eyes and the harsh set of her mouth.

As they were driving Ms. Thomas decided she wanted to test Cameron's commitment to the project so she asked him to tell her about what he was doing.

"Haven't you read my reports?" he responded.

"I have but I want to hear it from you."

He muttered about bitches playing games then started, "As you know our current production tunneling method is to drive the forty five foot tunnels in a grid pattern leaving pillars of one hundred and eighty five feet to support the tunnel roof. This has caused the working faces to move farther and farther from the mine shafts."

As they approached a tunnel intersection where the cross tunnel was also used by traffic he paused his talk to turn off the headlights and concentrate on what he could see at the intersection. He then turned the lights on again.

He was about to continue to speak when she asked, "Why did you do that?"

"Production equipment has the right of way and the miners long ago learned that they could see the reflection of the headlights of cross traffic on the pillars if they killed their own lights saving the time of stopping at every intersection. The production trucks, that haul the salt from the working faces, are thirty five ton Cat off road dump trucks. With those beasts loose down here I like to make really sure nothing is coming.

Continuing what I was saying, using the old system with its wastage we now have to drive three miles to get to the working face. When they started the mine the science of geophysics was in its infancy so they erred on the side of caution. In studying sedimentary rock beds we found that we could create a system where we could possibly drive three tunnels, and eighty foot wide one between two sixty footers with a twenty feet of pillar before needing a one eighty five pillar on the outside wall of the sixty footers."

There was a clanking sound causing her to interrupt in alarm asking, "What was that?"

Calmly Cam replied, "That was a rock bolt that snapped when it got stretched too far. Remind me to report it to the mine captain when we get back."

"What is a rock bolt?" she asked, reassured by his calm demeanor.

"The rock, as you should know, is sedimentary, that is it is in layers. It is always settling and the rock bolts, which are fourteen feet long, are put into place so we know when the roof has sagged to the point it may collapse. They then blast the dangerous area before it falls on its own."

At the following intersection they heard three more rock bolt clanks as he made a left turn and headed down a tunnel that at first seemed to have no cross tunnels. At what Ms. Thomas estimated to be twice the length of a normal pillar she saw openings to her left.

They drove past the first opening and entered the second.

"This is the eighty foot wide tunnel I told you about, as you can see there is far more product being extracted in this process than in the current method." Cameron stated in a supercilious tone. "That's nice, but your method has the miners working these faces once every two weeks whereas the current process has the turn over every second day."She responded sharply.

Exasperated Cameron replied, "That is because this is experimental. I need to take readings after the effects of the blasting at the face have past. I have no intention of risking the miners' lives going off half cocked. I've already discovered that the roof is more stable if the side tunnels are two blasts deeper than the center one."

Angrily she responded, "That's fine but your reputation is on the line if you don't get this into production soon." 'Mine too.' she silently thought.

He was just about to retort when they heard a loud boom followed by the sound of tons of rock crashing down. The ground beneath them started to shake causing Cameron to look back towards the mouth of the tunnel. He saw a cloud of dust moving across the opening, which worried him. He turned and looked up at the tunnel ceiling in time to hear a loud crack and see a large chunk of salt breaking loose from the wall beside them.

He grabbed Ms. Thomas' arm and roughly pulled her out of her seat and away from the vehicle. With his back turned to the vehicle he heard the crash of the salt landing. Then everything went dark. Even on the darkest night there is some ambient light but in a mine when the artificial lights are off there is nothing but pitch black darkness. Cameron turned on his cap lamp and took a quick survey of the damage. He was relieved to see the rock had crushed the front end, including the driver's seat but the back was untouched.

Ms. Thomas screamed, "GET ME BACK TO THE SURFACE!"

He was already stressed to the maximum and hearing her yell, he lost control of his temper.

"Oh shut the fuck up, we're stuck and no amount of yelling will change that. Why do you have to be such a fucking bitch?"

"Like I care what a misogynist asshole like you thinks of me." She snarled.

"Regardless we don't know what happened, we don't have a vehicle and the safety protocol is we remain where the location board says we were going so they can find us." He harshly responded.

Time passed with only the faint sound of the emergency siren being heard until she queried, "Methane?

Somewhat surprised that a head office bean counter would know to ask that question he civilly answered, "That's the only thing I can think of that would cause what we heard and felt. Even though we are dealing with sedimentary rock this mine is remarkably free of methane so it may have been one of the explosive caches, though I can't see that causing what we heard. A methane pressure build up also explains the rock bolts in that last intersection."

He paused, then, asked, "How did you know about methane?"

"I am a geologist. At least I was one until I decided there was more money to be made in management so I went back to school for an MBA."

While he still didn't like her, being a geologist did earn her some respect.

"How long do you think it will be before they come looking for us?"

Cameron thought for a bit, then answered, "It could be as little as twenty four hours or a long as three days."

"That long?" She asked dejectedly.

"Fraid so, Ms. Thomas. First they have to send all the miners to the surface to claim their tags to find out who's missing. Then they have to wait for a mine safety inspector to determine if it is safe to go back into the tunnels. Unfortunately, locally that person is me so they will have to bring in someone and as I recall the nearest one is in Sudbury. If we are lucky they will be able to just go around the blockage and drive right to us. But from the dust cloud I saw I think the explosion happened at the intersection where we turned to get in here. The good news is in all likelihood we are the only ones trapped although it's possible that whoever had the ignition source for the explosion is buried beneath the fall."

"In any event we will get out safe and sound and, thanks to you Ms Thomas, our time here wll be in relative comfort."

"What did you mean with that last remark?" she said defensively.

"Just stating a fact, no insult intended. Remember those supplies I was going to drop off? They are three five gallon jugs of water, a box of beef jerky, a box of potato chips and two large packages of toilet paper. I am particularly pleased with the latter as the can do double duty as pillows."

"Oh, yeah," She said without enthusiasm, adding, "As we will be spending at least the next day together, call me Allison."

"Speaking of comfort, I had better unload the truck and see if I can make a bed before the lights go." He said, heading towards the truck. Slightly panicked, she asked, "Are we going to lose the lights?"

"Yours should be fine for a long time but I've been using mine since early this morning so the charge should be getting low."

Cameron managed to unload the truck and detach the rear seat cushions just as the battery to his lamp died.

When he looked over at Allison. Seeing her lamp was not as bright as it should be, he quickly walked over to her and detached the light from her helmet. He then inspected the battery pack at her hip. He saw that the leg of the coveralls were wet and immediately undid her belt on which the battery was attached. He then asked in an urgent tone, "Allison how is your right leg feeling?"

"I landed on that side when you yanked me out of the truck and it was sore for a while, but now there's a burning sensation that seems to be getting worse. Why?"

The only answer she got was, "Fuck!" as he raced towards the water bottles. He took off his helmet and filled it with water and was racing back to her when her lamp died as well. He slowed then said, "Allison you need to take off the coveralls and your pants immediately!"

"What the fuck! It gets dark and you immediately turn into a fucking pervert, there is no fucking way I am going to take off my clothes..."

She stopped when she felt his hand touch her shoulder.

"Allison, listen to me. The batteries are lead acid and what you are feeling is the acid burning your skin. I have water to wash it off but you need to get the coveralls and pants off so I can do it." When what he was saying sunk in, she immediately complied. She started to feel the heat of a blush at the thought of standing in front of him with just her panties covering her lower half. She then laughed silently at herself when she realized he couldn't see a thing.

"Allison put your left hand in front of your crotch. I need to be touching you and I don't want to put my hand where it shouldn't be." She did as she was told and soon felt his hand on her forearm.

"Now move my hand to your right hip. I am right handed so I will need to be behind you. I will slide my left hand across your lower back until I'm in position."

She felt his hand slide across her back just barely touching the uppermost part of her buttocks. Allison shuttered a bit at the gentleness of his touch, then blushed again wondering if he could tell that she was wearing a thong.

Cameron spoke again in a reassuring, matter of fact tone of voice, saying, "I'm going to kneel down and wash your leg, Okay?"

"Okay."

Cameron dipped his hand in the water and splashed it against her leg. He then dipped the hand again and placed it on her thigh slowly caressing where he thought the acid might be. He continued dipping and moving his hand until he had covered most of her leg with his washing. His hand felt a long shapely well toned leg. The smooth soft feel of her skin as his hands slid up her leg was starting to arouse him. He decided that she might be very sexy under the right circumstances. He then remembered her attitude and silently cursed himself for being such an idiot.

Allison couldn't believe how erotic the touch of his hand was on her leg. The way his hand gently caressed her calf and thigh sent shivers down her spine. She began to wonder if maybe he wasn't such an asshole when he stood up and started talking again.

Resuming his instructions he said, "You are going to need something to wear. Normally it is a constant sixty seven degrees down here so you will get cold without something to cover your lower body, particularly with a damp leg. You can't put your jeans or coveralls back on because of the acid, so I am going to take my coveralls off for you to wear.

What I want you to do is move around behind me and pull the coveralls off my shoulders, then put your hands back on my shoulders so we don't lose touch."

She did as she was asked told and felt the passage of the cloth on her legs as the coveralls dropped to his feet. She kept her hands in contact with him as he knelt to pick up the garment.

"Now I am going to hold the coveralls in front of me. You work around to the front then lean back against my chest. Good, now lift your left leg and step into the opening. I'll keep the right leg bunched so the only opening is the left leg."

As Allison lifted her leg she lost her balance a bit. Reaching down to steady herself she felt Cameron's bare right thigh, and angrily started yelling, "I should have known you were a fucking pervert asshole! What were you going to do ram it into me when I bent over?"

She started to pull away, but Cameron grabbed her around the waist to prevent her from getting lost in the blackness.

She yelled, "Let me go asshole!" But Cameron shouted louder,""I'm wearing shorts you stupid bitch, that's why you felt my bare leg, which I assume is what set you off. But thank you, I was almost starting to believe there might be a person in there instead of the head office bitch I've come to know and hate."

Allison stopped struggling and reached back again only a little higher and sure enough she felt the cloth of a pair of shorts.

Still wound up, she asked in a belligerent tone, "How the fuck was I to know?"

After what seemed to Cameron like a five minute pause, she sighed and said, "I overreacted. You had plenty of opportunities to cop a feel when you were washing my leg but you didn't. I guess I'm still a little freaked by what's happened. Forgive me please."

Cameron, taken aback by her quick change of demeanor was silent for a bit, then said, "It's okay, this whole episode must be hard for you. I have an excellent spatial relations sense, so finish putting the coveralls on and I'll take us back to the cushions so we can sit down and talk."

Back at the cushions they sat down and Cameron once again started to talk, "There is one thing we need to work out before it becomes an emergency, the latrine. If you don't mind I have an idea that should work, would you like to hear it?"

"You're the expert, please go ahead." She replied.

"Thank you. Are you familiar with the kid's game Marco Polo?"

"I think so, that's where one child is blind folded and says Marco and the other has to respond Polo. She responded, Oh! I see what you're getting at. We use that if one of us gets disoriented."

"Exactly, there is about four feet of space between the wall and the damaged truck. We'll use that space as the latrine, that way we shouldn't get lost. From where we are now the truck is right over there." He said pointing.

She giggled, and said, "You'll have to show me again, I didn't see where you were pointing." They both laughed at his automatic response to giving directions. He said, "Stand up and take my hand."

They walked across the cushions to the far side, where he told her to put her heals against the cushions' edge then spread her legs.

"Back to being a pervert, eh?" she said teasingly, then immediately felt the heat of a blush and wondered what had possessed her to say such a thing.

Cameron didn't know what to think, so he decided to ignore the comment and continue his instructions.

"Now put your arms out straight with your hands in front of you. There, you are now pointing at the truck. The cushions are aligned parallel to the side of the truck so to get back you just repeat the process with your back to the truck. I'm going sleep on the side away from the truck so if you step on me you know you've gone in the wrong direction."

It was a feeble attempt a humor but when he heard her chuckle he was surprisingly pleased.

They sat in silence for a while.

Without a watch Cameron had no way of telling the time, but it seemed to him the silence lasted an hour though it could have only been ten minutes. Regardless it was plenty of time to think about the way he had treated W. Allison Thomas.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I should not have spoken to you the way I did. I'm not a misogynist. In fact I happen to like and respect most of the women I know. "

"Then why did you?"

With no end in sight he decided to tell her in the hope that maybe it would help continue to defuse the residual animosity between them.

"This project is very important to me. It is the first time I have been able to creatively apply what I know about geophysics. Up to this point I have been giving opinions on situations but have never tried to do something new and untested. Sorry, that wasn't a very good explanation but I don't really know how to explain it any better. That, and I reacted badly to the tone of your voice."