A sudden shudder and screech made her stop. The trailer seemed to be shifting. She turned to retrace her steps but the movement became worse.
Katie froze. Slowly, she reached into her pocket to call McGaven. She heard the cell phone ringing to her favorite rock tune just outside the trailer.
“Katie!” yelled McGaven from the front entrance.
“Stop!” she yelled to her partner. “It’s not safe.” She had time to berate herself later for stepping inside an old and unstable trailer on the edge of a ravine.
McGaven stayed at the front entrance, peering in. His hands were on what was left of the doorframe. “Walk to me slowly.”
“I can’t. Every time I move, it shifts.” Katie looked out the small back window and saw a mudslide that led directly to the flowing creek below.
McGaven’s face said it all: concern, horror, and helplessness. “You have to make your way to me.”
Katie shook her head. She could feel beneath her feet that it was extremely unstable and she had only minutes before the entire metal box would surrender.
It shifted again. This time, two of the cement blocks on the left gave way, making the trailer tilt to that side. Katie sucked in a breath, trying to catch her balance, but she fell, slamming her right shoulder.
“You okay?”
“I… think so.”
“Crawl toward me,” he said. “C’mon, I got you.”
Katie caught her breath and began to move toward her partner. The trailer made a loud screeching noise as the structure slowly began to move.
“No!” said McGaven. “Katie!”
Trailer #12 slowly began its fateful descent, teetering on the edge of the overhang.
McGaven dove inside and even with the downward momentum of the trailer, managed to reach Katie. She grabbed him and while the trailer slid backward down toward the creek, they held on to each other as tightly as they could.
Katie managed to utter, “Gav,” as McGaven held her in his arms with all his strength and they braced for impact.
FORTY
Monday 1105 hours
Katie and McGaven held on to each other for dear life. There was nothing else to hold on to. The trailer teetered as if trying to decide which way to go. It headed over the edge, which wasn’t a sheer straight-down drop. It had a little lift before hitting the water.
Katie felt her safety and her fate was down to whether the trailer held together or not. At least she wasn’t alone and was thankful that her partner and best friend, McGaven, was with her. He had been her guardian angel in so many moments, but she wondered if their luck had finally run out.
The ear-splitting scraping of the metal was the only sound she heard. Part of the side ripped away and she could feel the cold, rainy temperature envelop them.
There was a strange moment of quiet and the feeling of flying as the trailer carried them airborne. It felt freeing in an odd way. Katie didn’t see her life pass before her—it was just the opposite: everything abruptly stopped.
The trailer hit the stream with a splash. Amazingly, itstayed mostly together, but Katie couldn’t help thinking they were in a metal tomb. Her arm and head hurt, sending throbs throughout her body. She still clung to McGaven. Now they were soaking wet as the trailer bounced off the creek’s side, sending them to rattle around more.
“You okay?” said McGaven. He had said it several times, but the sound echoing from the metal made it difficult to hear. “C’mon,” he said, pulling Katie with him. “We’ve got to get out now!”
Katie’s voice seemed to have stuck in her throat, so she could only nod.
There was now a wide opening on the side, which was pointing upstream. McGaven’s strong arms practically carried Katie to the opening. Their ride bobbed and weaved, bouncing them every time the metal made contact with the banks. Sloshing mini waves affected their ability to jump out.
Katie looked out through the torn siding and saw the creek was running fairly fast, but they had no other choice. They were heading for a sharp turn that would tear the metal trailer apart with them inside.
“Go!” said McGaven.
Katie took a deep breath and jumped. She felt dizzy but when she hit the ice-cold water it shocked her into a crystal-clear vision of where they were. She slowly swam to the shore and finally felt the muddy bank beneath her. McGaven had followed a few seconds later and was downstream a little ways from her.
