Penny and Sam took off down the narrow, dark tunnel that cut into the wall of the mine. They wanted to run, but the ground around the tracks was jagged and unpredictable, forcing them to walk.

And they walked silently. They hadn't spoken directly to one another in ages. As worried as Penny was about Abigail, it was still unbearably awkward.

She wanted to force herself to speak, but Sam beat her to it. He cleared his throat.

"Uhh," Sam started, stepping carefully over a mess of coal and gravel. "Can we go back to normal now? I mean, you and me?"

Penny sighed in relief and smiled, although half-heartedly in the circumstances. "I think that's an excellent idea." Knowing Sam, that was all that needed to be said. Their friendship would recover in no time at all.

The tunnel wound about randomly and sloped up and down. Penny was just starting to worry that this wasn't actually a way out when they found themselves suddenly on the east side of town, near the blacksmith.

"Finally," Sam said. "Can you get Harvey? I want to go back to the top and make sure the way in is clear; the cave-in could have hit the entrance, too."

Penny nodded and ran ahead while Sam took off at a sprint up the mountain.

They would need more help than just Harvey. Penny pounded on the door to Clint's shop.

"We're closed!" Clint shouted groggily, but Penny kept knocking. Finally he swung the door open, and froze when he saw the state of her. She realized she must be an absolute mess.

"A cave-in—in the mines," Penny stammered. "Abigail's trapped. On the second level." She wasn't very coherent, but he seemed to understand.

"Let me get some tools and rope; I'll meet you up there," Clint said.

Penny nodded and took off for Harvey's clinic. Luckily, he had an emergency bell, or she never would have been able to knock loud enough to wake him all the way upstairs. She explained the situation quickly, and told him what she knew about Abigail's leg.

"Pierre—Pierre and Caroline," Dr. Harvey said, brow creased. "You'll have to tell them."

Penny knew he was right, but it was the encounter she dreaded most. She pounded furiously on the door to the General Store.

Caroline was at the door first in her nightgown, and she seemed to know instinctively what was wrong. "Abigail! Where is Abigail?"

Penny did her best to calm her. "She's going to be alright, she's just stuck. She's conscious, we just need help to get to her."

Then Pierre came up behind her, and Caroline burst into tears and clung to him. Penny explained from the beginning, and watched fear and pain wash over Pierre's face. Penny's heart broke for them.

As soon as they could manage, Pierre and Caroline followed Dr. Harvey up the mountain, and Penny glanced about the dark town.

The Stardrop Saloon was nearby, and Gus had always been reliable in a pinch. She ran over and Emily opened the door almost immediately.

"Penny! What in the world is the matter!" She looked up and down in concern at Penny's disheveled state.

"Emily. Is Gus still up? We could use another set of hands. Yours too."

Emily called for Gus, and Penny explained what had happened for the fourth, no, fifth time.

Gus started moving toward his back room. "I've got flashlights and lanterns in case of an emergency. Don't worry, Penny, we'll get them all out."

Penny left them and headed over to the Mullner's house. Alex was always exercising, and they could use another strong set of hands to clear the way and carry Abigail out. But Penny hated to have to wake George and Evelyn, especially when it had to do with an accident in the mines.

Evelyn answered, and the look of concern in her eyes would have made Penny cry if she weren't running on adrenaline.

"Are you alright, dear?" she asked.

Penny nodded. "I need Alex's help, please, it's quite urgent." She put a hand on Evelyn's arm. "There's no need to tell Mr. Mullner. There was an accident in the mines, and we need extra hands."

Evelyn nodded and patted Penny's hand. She walked softly up to Alex's room to wake him, and sent him out to meet Penny.

"Trouble in the mines?" Alex asked. She nodded, and he bolted up the mountain.

Okay, that should be enough now. Penny followed as quickly as she could, legs burning. She hoped she'd been quick enough. She hoped they could get through the rubble. She hoped everyone was okay.

Elliott sat beside Abigail, supporting her shoulders with his left arm and leaning her head against his chest. He dabbed at her forehead gently with his handkerchief. Even in the cold cave air, she was sweating and her hair clung limply to her temples. The pained grimace on her face tore at Elliott's heart.

"We'll be out soon, just hold on a little longer. Just hold on," he said for the dozenth time. The scuffing sound of Sebastian and Maru moving rocks didn't seem to get any closer.

"I'm such an idiot," Abigail whispered.

"No, you're not." Elliott tucked her hair back as well as he could and stroked her head.

Abigail's face only contorted more, and tears began to well in her eyes. "I'm so selfish. I had a tantrum like a child and made everyone come down here."

"You couldn't have known this would happen, Abigail. No one could have known."

She turned her head and pressed her face into his body. Barely more than a breath, she said, "It hurts."

Elliott felt tears burn at his own eyes, but he didn't let himself make a sound. Instead he held her hand and said, "Squeeze as hard as it hurts." He'd seen a lifeguard say that to someone once.

She squeezed, but weakly.

"You can do better than that," Elliott said. "Just focus on my hand."

Abigail squeezed, this time with a considerable amount of force, and Elliott couldn't stop himself from wincing.

"Sorry," Abigail said, loosening her grip, but still holding his hand.

"Nothing to be sorry for," he said, rubbing her hand comfortingly with his thumb. "It is I who has underestimated you."

"Can you tell me something?" Abigail asked.

"What would you like to hear?"

"Anything. Something to distract me. Tell me about your book, or why you write." She winced suddenly, and clung to him with both hands.

"Well...I'll do my best." Elliott tried to sound as calm as possible, as if this were a conversation in a coffee shop and not a collapsed mine shaft. "Sometimes I don't feel like writing is a choice. It feels like there are all these stories inside me that have to come out. They're not really mine; I'm just a vessel for them, a way for them to come into the light and meet the world."

Abigail shut her eyes, and seemed to relax a little. Elliott went on to discuss his book, and described everything in detail. He hadn't told anyone about it like this before, but that didn't matter now. He wasn't sure if she was really listening, but she did manage to ask a couple questions when the pain allowed.

Elliott wanted to take that pain away from her. He had only met her a few days ago, but she was so exciting; so full of zeal and life. To see her so weakened and beaten felt wrong. It ought to be him trapped beneath that rock, and her playing the valiant hero that she longed to be. Elliott was no hero, he merely wrote about them.

Finally, finally, he heard a crash behind them. Maru, Sebastian, and Sam hurried in. The light of their flashlights was a welcome sight, but now he could see just how pale Abigail had become.

Maru was by her side in a second. "Abigail? Can you hear me? Stay with me, girl." Abigail blinked at her weakly and mumbled something. She'd been responding to Elliott less and less.

Maru checked her pulse and felt her skin, then shined the flashlight down at Abigail's leg. She touched it lightly where she could reach, causing Abigail to flinch.

"Her heart rate is up...she probably has internal bleeding. I think—I think she's going into shock." Maru was saying it as much to herself as to anyone else. Sebastian and Sam looked on with terrified expressions.

"We need to lower her head," Maru said. "Here." She took Abigail's weight and Elliott extricated himself. They lowered Abigail flat on the ground.

Maru mumbled to herself, like she was trying to remember something. "Warm, she needs to be kept warm."

Elliott took off his jacket and threw it over Abigail, and after another second of standing in stunned silence, Sebastian tore off his own and handed it to him. Elliott draped it on top, tucking it up under her chin. Her skin felt clammier than before.

"Abigail?" Maru said. "I'm going to raise your free leg slightly, tell me if it hurts."

Abigail nodded.

"Keep holding her hand, Elliott. Reassure her." Maru went back to Abigail's untrapped leg and very slowly lifted it off the ground.

Elliott watched Abigail's face. She didn't react to the movement or show any sign of increased pain. He couldn't find any words to comfort her, but he stroked her forehead.

"Sam, come here, hold her leg up," Maru said. "We need to increase blood flow to her brain."

Sam broke from his trance and took Maru's place, supporting Abigail's raised leg steadily.

"Should we try to free her?" Elliott asked.

Maru rubbed her creased forehead and looked around at them. "We might have enough people, but, no, I want Harvey to be here. We should wait." Her voice sounded sure, but her body language was anxious.

After another agonizing wait, a voice echoed down the ladder from the floor above. "It's this way!" Penny was saying. Then the room filled with light and noise; it seemed like all of Pelican Town was there, armed with flashlights and lanterns and first aid kits.

Maru gave Dr. Harvey a rundown of the situation, and he took over, checking Abigail's symptoms and examining her pinned leg.

"You did, good, Maru, let's get her out of here," he said. Under Dr. Harvey's direction, most of the folks from town gathered around the boulder, while Elliott helped Sam, Maru, and Dr. Harvey with Abigail. On Harvey's count of three, they raised the boulder and slid Abigail out from underneath.

He heard the doctor say something about it being broken, but Elliott couldn't bear to look down at her leg. He just kept holding her hand and speaking to her in hushed tones as they prepared to carry her out.

With so many people, they were able to get Abigail out quickly, and before he knew it, they were all safely outside the mines and carrying Abigail on a stretcher to the clinic.

A small crowd had gathered in the center of town, unsure of what was going on. After bringing Abigail into the clinic and setting her down on a bed, everyone but Maru, Dr. Harvey, Caroline, and Pierre were shut outside.

Elliott leaned against the outer wall of the clinic. Someone tried to ask him some questions, but he didn't have it in him to answer. His hands...they kept trembling. That was all he could think.

"Sebastian! Sebastian!" Robin was calling out for her son. She embraced him and kissed his cheeks. "Where's Maru? Are you hurt?"

Sebastian pointed toward the clinic. "We're both fine. Maru's staying to help. She's fine, I promise."

Robin just kept squeezing her son, and they were soon joined by Demetrius, who embraced them both.

Meanwhile, Sam's mom was giving him an earful. Not yelling, but speaking in a low, direct tone that would have been truly frightening if she weren't speaking out of love.

"Penny!" Pam yelled, grabbing her daughter by the wrist. "I swear to Yoba you're going to be grounded for the rest of your life!"

"You can't ground me, mom, I'm not a child!" Penny said as she got dragged away.

"My ass!"

Unlike Jodi, Pam didn't care what the neighbors heard. "Do you know how worried you made me? You're an adult when I say you're an adult, do you hear?"

The crowd dissipated as the worried parents took their kids away.

Elliott found himself alone, and began the dark walk back to his cabin.