The Hidden World by Graham Masterton Read Free Book Online Page B

rounded forehead and the long nose.
    She hit the ice with her fist, twice, but all she did was hurt her fingers.
    â€˜Help!’ she screamed, awkwardly climbing to her feet. ‘Here! Help! There’s somebody trapped under the ice!’
    At first nobody took any notice. A middle-aged couple glided past her and simply shrugged at each other. But then she skated over to a large brown-bearded man who was teaching two little children to balance on the ice.
    â€˜You have to help me! There’s somebody trapped under the ice!’
    â€˜What?’ he said. ‘Where?’
    He called his wife over to take care of the children, and then he came skating after her. Jessica took him to the place where she had fallen over and knelt down. ‘He was here! I saw his face! I heard him calling out for help!’
    Two or three more men gathered around. ‘What’s going on, Daniel?’
    â€˜Girl here says that somebody’s gotten themselves trapped under the ice.’
    â€˜I saw his face! I heard him calling for help!’
    The bearded man knelt on the ice next to her and started to clear it with the side of his glove. ‘Can’t see nothing.’
    â€˜He coulda floated further in.’
    â€˜There’s no current, though. He couldn’t have floated far.’
    â€˜He’ll be drowned by now, won’t he?’
    â€˜Not if there’s air between the ice and the water. That sometimes happens. He couldn’t have called out for help otherwise.’
    â€˜Where’d he fall in? There’s no holes in the ice anywhere.’
    â€˜That doesn’t matter, we’ll have to get him out. Jay – there’s an ax in the back of my truck.’
    â€˜I’ve got a snow shovel.’
    â€˜Me too.’
    â€˜We’ll have to clear everybody off the pond.’
    Five or six men ran off to their vehicles to bring shovels, tire irons and anything else they could use to break the ice, while several others shepherded everybody else up onto the banks.
    Jessica stood back while the bearded man swung his ax and chipped into the ice. He swung again and again, grunting with every swing. At last the ice let out a squeaking crack, and a large triangular lump was broken away. Now all of the men started banging and hacking at it, and within a few minutes a large jagged hole had been made, where there was nothing but chilly black water.
    The bearded man knelt at the edge of the ice and peered downward, shading his eyes. He even swished his arm in the water, to see if he could feel anything.
    â€˜Nothing so far. Let’s chop her back a bit … he could have floated toward the center.’
    They hacked away at the ice for almost twenty minutes, until cracks began to spread all across the pond and they had to retreat to the edge.
    â€˜I couldn’t see nothing at all,’ said the bearded man, sweating and shivering at the same time. ‘Are you sure there was somebody there?’
    â€˜I think we ought to call the Sheriff,’ said one of the men. ‘They need to send a diver down there.’
    â€˜I saw him,’ said Jessica. ‘I promise you, I saw him. He was calling out, “Help me, help me.”’
    Dianna’s mother came over; Epiphany had called her on her cellphone: ‘Jessica, are you all right?’
    â€˜I saw somebody under the ice, I promise.’
    â€˜That’s OK. Listen, come and sit in the car, you’re freezing.’
    â€˜You won’t take her away, ma’am, will you?’ said the bearded man. ‘The Sheriff’ll be wanting to talk to her.’
    The Sheriff called just before supper that evening. He was so tall that he had to duck his head when he came into the kitchen. He had a big blue chin and a large nose but tiny, glittering eyes like a raccoon.
    â€˜We dragged the pond from one end to the other, and all we found was a ’seventy-six Chevy pick-up and a whole tangle of lumber.