Chapter 230 Rescue
Caroline hugged the tower, freed one hand, and waved at him. Leopold waved back at her.
They didn't say a word, but it spoke volumes.
He was telling her he'd arrived, asking her to wait for him.
Leopold's presence, just him standing there, made her feel secure.
But no one expected what happened next. The tower was violently struck by the flood and tilted again. A few shakes sent panic through everyone on the tower. They clung tightly to the tower like it was their last lifeline.
Maddox checked the water level again. In less than half an hour, it had risen another 7 feet.
"Water level's up," he said. "We can launch the boat now."
The rescue team agreed the plan would work. Several team members rushed to help Maddox unload the inflatable boat. Though Erica was a girl, she also helped carry the boat toward the river.
Maddox noticed and said, "We don't need you here. Get back in the truck."
Erica said, "Are you kidding? How can I just sit in the truck at a time like this?"
Maddox was at a loss for words. If it were Leopold trapped on that tower, he couldn't just sit and wait in the truck either.
The inflatable boat was put into the rushing river. Leopold was about to board when the rescue captain stopped him. "Let the professionals handle professional work. If you get on, that's one less trapped person we can bring back this trip. We need to save time."
Leopold stepped back. The rescue captain assigned two experienced team members who were strong swimmers to board, with Maddox piloting the boat.
But right after the boat started, Maddox spotted a problem.
The water level had risen, but floating debris in the water had become a safety hazard. Sure enough, they'd barely gone any distance when the motor got tangled up in something, and the boat instantly lost power.
Maddox frowned, his expression grave.
He tried restarting it several times, but the motor showed no signs of life.
The two team members understood the situation. They could only return to the riverbank, pulling out their radio to shout to people on shore, "Pull us back! The motor's broken."
The boat was pulled back to shore. Leopold asked, "What's going on?"
Maddox said with a guilty look, "The motor got tangled up in something. It's broken."
Leopold wiped the water from his face and looked at her in the darkness.
After receiving the distress call, the fire department came straight to Elmwood Bend after finishing their previous rescue mission.
After a quick briefing on the situation, firefighters began setting up lighting equipment to provide better visibility at the scene. Some were studying rescue plans based on the site conditions.
But the five people on the tower were showing different degrees of exhaustion from prolonged mental stress, and in the night, fatigue was making them drowsy.
Even Caroline's eyelids were fighting to stay open—a very dangerous sign.
If anyone dozed off for just a moment, they could easily fall from the tower into the water.
Caroline yawned, feeling tired and sleepy. Over the past period, she'd been checking for electricity theft every day, eating irregularly, walking tens of thousands of steps, and hadn't had proper rest in nearly a month. Her vision had gone black twice earlier. Thank goodness for that chocolate, or the consequences would have been unthinkable.
Perhaps heaven was watching over them—the heavy rain gradually lessened, and the flood began to recede with time. The water surface was noticeably calmer.
The fire department also brought good news: the upstream had stopped releasing water. Once the flood peak passed, they could seize this opportunity to conduct the rescue.
For now, they needed to wait and observe the water flow.
But the people on the tower were clearly exhausted, approaching their physical limits. Two of them were emotionally low. Ulysses kept encouraging his companions, urging them to hold on and wait for rescue.
Two more hours passed. The distance from shore to the tower shortened from three hundred feet to one hundred and fifty feet—right within range of the rope launcher. The firefighters decided to immediately use it for the rescue.
After three attempts at throwing the rope, firefighters finally got it onto the tower. Ulysses had the best stamina of the five and volunteered to tie the rope.
Just as Ulysses was about to climb down, the tower began to shake, scaring the other four.
Caroline quickly stopped him. "Ulysses, don't move. I'll do it."
Among the five people, she has the smallest build and the lightest weight, so her climbing has little impact on the tower.
Sure enough, as Caroline moved down, the tower didn't shake. After Caroline secured the rope, the main rope's other end was fixed to an excavator by firefighters. Then another secondary rope was thrown over, which Caroline also tied securely.
Firefighters began attaching pulleys, harnesses, life jackets, walkie-talkies, and other rescue supplies and equipment to the rope. People on shore started pulling the rope to send the supplies over.
After getting the walkie-talkie, they began putting on life jackets according to the firefighters' instructions.
Entering the tenth hour of rescue, when the team suggested Caroline evacuate first, she firmly signaled for the young maintenance worker to get on the rescue rope first—as the site supervisor, her duty was to ensure every team member evacuated safely, which meant she had to be the last to leave, even if it was a matter of life and death.
"Let Mark go first. Mark, get up there," Caroline ordered.
Ulysses was about to say something when Caroline immediately stopped him. "Ulysses, who's in charge?"
Ulysses said, "You are, of course."
"I am, so listen to me." Caroline's face was stern. "Mark, hurry up."
Mark's physical strength and mental endurance had reached their limit, but after Caroline's stern shout, he began putting the rope on himself.
He fumbled with it nervously, unable to get it on. With Ulysses's help, Mark became the first to sit on the rescue rope.
Caroline spoke into the walkie-talkie, "Ready. Pull the rope."
People on shore pulled the rope together, but Leopold, watching from the side, had his brow furrowed, staring intently at Caroline.
He hoped she would be the first rescued, but he also knew she definitely wouldn't be.
When Mark was pulled to the middle of the river, they discovered the rope was tied too loosely, causing him to drag in the water at the midpoint. After pulling Mark to shore, they readjusted the rope distance, moving the excavator back to tighten the rope.
Caroline called for the second colleague to get on the rope. After Ulysses helped tie the rope, the second colleague was also successfully pulled to shore.
When rescuing the third person, Caroline still gave way to her colleague. Ulysses could tell she planned to be rescued last.
Only the two of them were left on the tower. Ulysses watched their colleague being pulled to shore and said to Caroline, "You go next. I'll go last."
The rescue rope was pulled back. Caroline said in a tone that brooked no argument, "Just follow orders and get up there."
At that moment, the tower shook again, giving everyone on shore a cold sweat and making the two on the tower's hearts leap.
Ulysses said urgently, "It's your turn."
Caroline said sternly, "I'm the team leader. I need to ensure your safety. Go now, stop dragging your feet!"