She stood awkwardly by as her father talked to his friends and their families. The miners had been allowed to invite one family member to join them onsite for christmas day and her father had invited her. As much as she loved her Dad, she already regretted saying yes. She had nothing in common with her father let alone the strangers that surrounded her. And there were so many of them. Even if she closed her eyes the chatter pressed in on her, like a wave pressing down on her own personal bubble of space, increasing the air pressure 'til it was difficult to breath.

Her Dad was happy she came, but he was so involved in his conversation she knew he wouldn't notice if she slipped away. With a beer in his hand and a burger on his plate she had hours to fill before he came looking for her.

She walked out and into the oppressive heat of the midday sun. Looking around for shelter, she headed away from the bustle of other people and saught out a quiet place where she could read in peace. While she'd prefer the dry air and burning sun to the overwhelming cluster of people she'd left behind, she definitely couldn't stay outside for long.

A small demountable, a portable office of sorts, sits vacant and unsecured. The perfect place to escape. She finds herself a comfy chair and pulls a novel out of her bag. Curling up on the plush office chair, she submerges herself into the world within her favourite book.

Time passes quickly now that she's hidden, safe from the outside world. It takes a while for her to feel the tremors that shudder the ground under her feet. Racing outside she can see a plume of dust rising in the distance. A feeling of dread leaves her icy. She breaks into a run as she heads back towards the party. Back to her Dad. He's a safety officer, he'll be heading over to the disaster area. Hell, she was lost in literature for ages. He might be there already.

She bursts through the door unnoticed. The air itself is filled with unease as everyone talks at once, fretting and worrying about the accident. An old mineshaft had given way when some young locals took their four wheeler off road. People were trapped in an unmapped claim that's lain abandoned for the best part of a century, and all hands were required. Her Dad's already gone.

Knowing what's happened hasn't eased the dread. It fills her chest with ice as she has premonitions of disaster. She's drawn outside, eyes glued to the sky where the dust cloud has dissipated. Surrounded by people she stands alone as the tremors start again. Windows rattle and walls crack as the horizon turns dark. The rumble fades, leaving silence in it's wake as everyone stands, eyes glued to the dark cloud that is rising overhead.

Heart in her mouth she starts walking towards the gateway. "Dad. Daddy." A name she hasn't called him since she was 7, but it's wrenched from her lips, pulled from her very heart as the cold leaks away. She no longer feels the weight of ice as determination melts her fear. Her slow steps accelerate until she is running harder than she ever has. Running as though her lungs were going to burst. She doesn't feel the ground beneath her feet as she flies to get to her father.

She's not the only one. A group of family members are right behind her, running to their own loved ones. Management are trying to head them off, trying to stop them from entering the unstable rescue site, but they can't hold back or slow down the rescue vehicles. The drivers slow down, allowing people to jump in the back of utes, or cling to the running boards and roof racks as they speed towards their loved ones.

Arriving on scene, people race towards the trucks that are already set up as they search for their loved ones. There are yells and tears as find their family members safe and unharmed. She doesn't. She heads straight to the gaping wound that splits the Earth. Her Dad is down there, she already knows this. He's always the first to help, the first to start a task. He would have been right there when the second tremors collapsed the ancient tunnel. He would be one of the seven people that are now trapped beneath their feet.

With soft steps she drifts towards the rescue team, listening as they discuss strategy and percentages. Listening to them wasting sunlight while her father waits for rescue. Nobody notices as she wanders from one conversation to the next, as she looks over shoulders at maps, as she walks over to the supplies they've gathered and helps herself.

She takes some rope and a flask, a torch and a hard hat, anything that looks like it might come in handy. It's not until she walks up to a fire truck that anyone notices her in the restricted section. "Excuse me miss, you shouldn't be here." She ignores the S.E.S. officer and takes a fire axe from the side of the truck. "Uh,miss..?" She walks past him, hefting the axe over her shoulder. Several people start towards her as she approaches one of the smaller holes that run adjacent to the main shaft. She pushes her bag into the S.E.S. officers arms, "Hold my shit," then she jumps.

The axe and rope take most of the punishment as she scrapes down the tunnel wall. The angle soon peters off, leaving her standing on the cave floor. The small tunnel has opened out to a large cavern. She takes out the torch and scans her surroundings, trying to orientate herself in the darkness. Unable to fathom any direction, she goes to the nearest wall and taps at the stone with the axe. Getting no reply and hearing no echo, she works her way around the rockface, tapping intermittently, waiting for any sign of life.

Finally she hears it. Her Dad knocks back. She knows it's him, she knows that knock and finishes the pattern. 'Shave and a haircut', the same as he's done since she was a child. Tears cut streaks through the dirt on her face as relief makes her legs momentarily weak. Pulling herself upright, she rubs at her face with one hand as she moves across the wall, looking for weakness in the rockface. Feeling along the wall, she finds what she's hoping to. A large boulder makes up most of it with smaller rocks and skree filling the gaps.

She lifts the axe and rams the butt into the boulder, then steps back to check for shift. She does this a couple of times before she's satisfied that nothings going to move. Praying that the people on the other side took the hint, she turns the axe and strikes at the wall. As the axe connects a song echoes through her mind. She slowly mouths the words, gradually getting louder as the axe keeps tempo. The music fills her head as she swings again, and again, and again. Her voice rings out as she inches her way to her father.

Her arms feel like lead and her chest burns from exertion, but still she sings. Her song giving her strength as her mind remains blinded to everything but her task. As the rubble falls away, the trapped people hear the scrape of her axe and, gradually, the cadence of her song starts to drift through. At first they can't determine the lyrics. They crouch against the far wall, straining to hear their rescuer. As the axe finally breaks through, her words finally sound out, clear and true.

It starts with a giggle from one, a snort from another. Soon they're all shaking with laughter as she works her way to them. "Is this for real?" "Of course. That's my daughter." Her Dad can't keep the pride out of his voice as he replies to his coworker.

The last of the debris falls away and she calls through to them ,"Hey! Are you coming or what?" Fear forgotten and still chuckling, the seven captives help each other out of the tiny cell they'd been trapped in. The dim illumination of their pocket lights pales in comparison to the high powered torch she holds aloft. The six of them look at their saviour for the first time, taking in her grungy Docs, her ripped flannel shirt, and her favourite tee; 'Don't call people dragons. Dragons have feelings too.' Her Dad wraps his arms around her, "Thank god." His relief is shortly replaced by anger as he realises where she is, and what she did. Grabbing her aching arms he shakes her, "What the hell were you thinking? Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?" She tries to reply but he's squeezing her so tightly she can't get the breath out, "I could have lost you! Thank god you're alright."

She awkwardly pats his back as she tries to extricate herself. The cavern felt so big when it was empty, now she's surrounded by people and they're all focused on her. Their cloying attention presses in on her as she holds the key to their freedom in her hands. Her father moves to take the axe, but her hands won't release. "Don't worry. I got it. Let's just go."

The small group follow her to the tunnel she had entered through. "Sooo, how are we getting up there?" One of the boys who'd initiated the calamity looks up at the opening before turning to the group, "Did you have a plan, or is this it." Taking her Dad by the hand, she walks as far into the tunnel as she can before she can no longer climb the incline. "Okay Daddy, lift me up." He smiles at her slip as he lifts her, helping her climb onto his shoulders. Using the wall for balance, she stands shrouded in darkness as she yells into the void, "Hey! Hey, you up there. You wanna throw us the rope." She listens intently while the rescue party above discuss what's best to do. "I said THROW US THE GODDAMN ROPE!"

In less than a minute a rope descends. "Okay, one at a time." The miners start climbing the rope. There's a smile on her face as she hears the cheers when each of them break the surface. One by one they leave. With each rescue she breaths a little easier, reclaiming a little more of her personal space. Soon it's just her and her father waiting for the rope to stope moving, the signal that the last person is clear. "You're up Babygirl!"

Taking the rope from him, she gets ready to climb... only to have it go slack in her hands. Her father puts his arm out and pushes them both out of the way as rocks tumble down the shaft. The last person up, the idiot with the big mouth, has knocked part of the tunnel loose, and now it's tumbling down and blocking the only escape.

Having hit a curve when it fell, a large rock bounces and heads straight for her chest. Her father, unable to stop the collision, takes the brunt of the force instead. The rock hits his arm with a sickening 'CRACK'. In the limited light she can see his face grows pale as pain drains blood from his features. There is no way he can help dig them out, and he definitely can't climb. "I'm so sorry Sweetheart. I am so sorry." The look of defeat and guilt serve only to harden her resolve, "Don't worry, I got this."

She picks up the axe and chooses a spot. "Uh Dad. Can you go back into that little area? I'm kinda worried I might hit the wrong thing." "No. I won't let you do this. Just wait here. They'll come for us eventually." About to argue, she sees the uncompromising look on his face. "Fine, but I still think we should wait in there." They climb into the smaller cell and sit next to each other, backs to the wall. "So... ah, what do- um." She doesn't need the light to see the discomfort on his face, "it's okay Dad. You don't have to make small talk. I'm good right here." She presses against his side, head resting on his shoulder. She lets out a small sigh as his head rests atop hers, "you're a good kid, you know that?" She let's out a sleepy snort and they settle down to wait for rescue.

She waits until his snores fill the cave before she gets up, "sorry Dad, but if we wait down here for them to get their shit together we'll never get home." She climbs back out into the main cavern and looks around. She quickly finds what she's looking for, says a prayer to any deity that might be lurking in the dark tomb, then she raises her axe.

Once more the sound of metal on stone rings in her ears as the songs sounds in her head. Once more she raises her axe and her voice. Once more she lets the strength in the words fill her every sinew as she swings at a crack in a supporting wall. She hears her father call out but it's too late. Large stones and boulders fall from the roof, showering them both in dust and pebbles. Hoping those above felt the tremors and moved away, she swings again, then steps back and watches as the roof slowly folds down onto the ground.

What was once a mine shaft is now an open pit. As the S.E.S. climb down the incline, her father pushes free of the little pocket created by the walls of the little cell. Rescuers rush to get him free, restraining him as he pushes them away, intent on finding his little girl. Finally they sedate him and carry him from the remains of the catacombs where he'd almost been interred. Paramedics attend him while everyone else searches for her, hoping for the best, but fully expecting to find her remains.

As they navigate the rubble a voice calls out, "QUIET!" A hush falls over them as they strain their ears. Some place their hand to the ground, trying to feel vibrations. They move as silently as they can so they don't miss anything that could potentially signal her presence. It's then that the young S.E.S. officer raises his hand. Others turn to watch as he stands wide eyed, staring at the ground just meters from his feet. As they watch they can see a slight shudder. The vibration feels like the Earths own heartbeat, and it's not long before they can here it aswell.

The clash of steel and stone soon serves as punctuation to the song that slowly grows louder. They watch as a hole appears, growing larger as sand runs into the small gap. The hole soon spans a meter, big enough for a person to crawl through easily. The crowd collectively step back as something comes flying out. The axe! She has some how managed to throw the axe hard enough to get it through the hole, trailing the rope behind it.

A tug has the axe sliding back towards the hole causing the young officer to dive for it. Holding the axe firmly he can feel the tugs as she climbs the sheer walls of her prison. Though it's choked and croaky her voice can still be heard as she continues her song, singing strength into her limbs. It seems like a lifetime before she finally emerges, grabbing the hand he offers to assist the last short distance. Her voice finally dies as she collapses on the ground, her hand automatically closing around the shaft of the axe.

The crowd stand in silence as her breathing slows to normal. She finally sits up and, realising she's at the centre of all their attention, turns bright red. Climbing to her feet, she brings the axe with her. She turns to the officer who is still standing next to her and takes her bag that he has slung over his shoulder. She hands him the axe in it's place, "this is a good axe. Don't lose it." Walking over to the ambulance she climbs in next to her father. She looks at his sleeping face and let's out a sigh of contentment. Settling herself into the plush seat, she pulls the Pratchett novel from her Tolkien book-bag. Finally she can read in peace.