The Legacies of Salem in “Our Plasma Soaked Valentine’s in 1D”
Writer’s Note: This Story takes place in February 1998, the previous story took place at the end of December 1992. This story takes place five years and two months after the previous. Somethings may seem out of place or contradictory to established facts but every oddity or apparent continuity error will be explained over time.
Except this first part with the Miner which takes place back in 1973, for reasons.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
How long has he dug? Has it been hours? Or Days? In the dark, time passes different, buried alive under tons of rubble, it passes very different.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
He could not hear any other movement in the tunnel. No other miners seem to be trying to dig out, no more men screaming in pain, seems that only he was left, moving at least. Twenty-five others are not moving, but he pushes forward still.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
He knows there will be questions, but he simply did what must be done in order to survive. The same thing he will continue to do if he makes it out of here, survive.
Clang! Clang! Clank!
Light. Only a sliver, a pinhole, smaller than you would ever see if not for it being pitch black. But that’s all he needs to know he’s headed the right way and only time between him and freedom, well time and a few tons more of rock.
Clank! Clang! Clank!
The rock he will get through, the time he has, for now.
Clang! Clank! Clank!
He is limited only by air supply and room currently. But light means fresh air, at least fresher than hours (days?) old caved-in tunnel air.
Clank! Thunk! Clank!
Almost big enough opening to force his way out of, but not quite yet. He knows to spend the energy swinging the pick, using it for making the opening larger instead of trying to dig like an animal.
Thunk! Clank! Clank!
Only a few more swings. Step one was get air. If that runs out he dies, he knows that. Next step will be get water, only have seventy two hours max before no water means no life.
Thunk! Thud! Thunk!
Few more swings, then he finds water, plenty of preserved meat in here that isn’t going anywhere. Survive, that is the only goal, they can ask the questions, but he is going to make sure there is someone left to ask them of.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
With that final swing, the lone miner busted through the caved-in walls of the tunnel into a larger cave system. Coughing and stretching as he gathers as much of the fresh air as he can into his lungs. Never has fire in his chest felt so good. If it didn’t hurt so much he would swear it was killing him it hurt so much.
Fwaa! Fwaa! Fwaa!
The breathes were so deep they hurt his balls, this told him how close he was to not making it out of that cave-in, much like many others had not.
Fwaa! Fwaa! Fwaa!
The Miner had began to gather himself, amazed that despite the cave-in the lower level was still powered up, though the lights were flickering a decent bit, most likely a loose connection from the walls falling in. But more importantly than that, in the near silence of the cave, he could hear water. Running water, in this cave somewhere. God is good he thought.
God is good indeed.
“God is a fucking asshole.”
Tina hated this job. Hell as of late Tina hated this town, the people in it, the sun, fuck lately Tina hated everything.
“True but he is a talented artist at least.” Ashley commented as she hung the picture of a sunrise on the wall of the store. Standing back to first check it for level, then admire her handy work.
“We live in fucking Salem Ash, no one here knows what that thing is, they likely to think we worship some Lovecraftian Monster with that thing on the wall.”
“Like Celine Dion?”
“I do not even know what the hell that means Ash.”
“Me either, but you know what Tina?”
“Shut the fuck up Ash.”
“But my heart..” Ash grasped at her chest, as if she was having a heart attack.
“My heart…” she groped herself smiled and nodded a knowing nod at Tina before continuing her heart attack like behavior.
“My heart…”Ash appeared to become weak, before bursting back to life with “Will GO ON!!!”
“I was wrong Ash.”
“About what?”
“God isn’t an asshole, you are.”
Tina walked back towards the back office as Ash returned to counting down the register, pausing only after she knew Ash had turned her back to tilt the picture ever so slightly, out of spite. Not that Tina had any spite towards Ash really. In many ways, she was the only one with whom she didn’t have a serious issue with right now. Her sis….half sister Nancy, well she had made her choice, and it had nearly destroyed them all. Kincade, well he had basically became a ghost since then. Tina understood that Nancy had hurt all of them, but Kincade cutting them off, it had hurt too, and that was on him, not them. And if Kincade was a ghost, then TJ was a mythical figure only whispered about by old men around too many open beers. She had not seen him in weeks, and as far as she knew, no one else had either. At this point she didn’t know if she had lost just her sis….half sister, or her half sister and her best friend all at once.
As Tina walked into the office, she looked up at the TV for WTNN News update.
“This is Romeo Savini live on scene at the Valentine Mine her in Salem Bluffs. Just hours ago the police shut it down after discovering twenty-four bodies in the mine. No word on cause of death, only that foul play is suspected and that they would have further details at a news conference tomorrow morning at eleven am. This has been Romeo Savini for WTNN news.”
“Ash…I think we need to gather The Legacies.” Tina yelled out into the void of the store.
“What? What is going on?” Ash asked as she stumbled through the office doorway. Tina’s only response was to point to the TV were the ticker repeated the headline, twenty-four dead, believed murdered at the Valentine’s Mine.
“Holy shit, twenty-four people. That is basically an entire shift in the mines.”
“Yeah someone did that and walked out to continue their work later. I think it might be something for The Legacies to look into. So can you contact everyone?”
“Do you want me to use the Legacy symbol?”
“What the hell are you talking bout, use the fucking phone. Think we need to get the band back together again.”
“Ok, but why did you pose like that and stare off into the foreground when you said it?”
“For effect, Ash, for effect.”
