Less Effort Road, Chapter 1, A Cellar to Cry For

On a nice late August afternoon, John and Laralyn pick up their split wood order. On the way home, they decide to take the short cut on their property, an old dirt road they named, Less Effort Road. Along the way, they encounter a long muddy spot from recent thunderstorms. Logan backs up, and goes into the woods to drive around the muddy obstacle. Without warning, they land up in a large hole several feet below the surface.

The pick up truck is an extended cab with an extension platform, large tool lock box, and pull out ramps. This time of year, late August, they buy split wood, and carefully stack it in the chain link wood enclosure they put up themselves.
The pick up is quiet now. No wind. No birds singing.
"No signal! Please scream." Laralyn whispers, "I'm too weak."
"There's nobody to hear us." John replies, "Wait until we feel or hear a vehicle."
"Two battery chargers and the truck should be enough juice to a few days."
"There's only tools, flashlights, duct tape, and first aid kid under the back seat. The crackers from last winter probably disintegrated by now."
"Crackers don't matter with groceries on the back seat."
"True, for now." John takes a breath and yawns, "I need to rest a bit before doing anything physical. I'm exhausted."
"Every muscle I have aches horrible."
"Otherwise, you check out all right. The coma didn't do any damage as far as I can tell."
"Passed out!?" Laralyn sits up straight.
"You were out for several hours. Scared me bad." John replies without looking her in the eye.
"That can't be. When a person passes out, they lose their bodily functions. My draws are clean."
"Nothing to clean up. I did clean the cut on your arm and cheek. There's a few containers of wipes in the truck since the pandemic. And, paper towels and water. "
"Thank you."
"For better or worse, sickness and health."
"How long do you think we've been down here?"
"We drove here yesterday around seven, makes this day one mid to late morning."
"What else aren't you telling me? I hear an edge in your voice. Search parties will be looking for us. You know how your sister worries. If not state search and rescue, then family and friends. This road would be first. Something's wrong. It has to be the big mud puddle we went around. We went off the main road farther than it looked."
"I agree. I'm sure we were expected at Betty's birthday last night. A no show is big time alarms. Ella helped me wrap the present. Even if she had to search alone during a tornado watch, she'd be out here."
"If we get out through the tool box, then what chance is there to make a ladder to the top using the wood?"
"If we stack the wood like log cabin, then it might be stable enough to try. Too bad we have short cuts."
"Have you been able to see how far down we are?"
"It's morning. I can barely hear birds." John hands a candy bar to Laralyn, "I think we can make a pole to stick up to the top with an orange flag on it and the roadside Help sign. The problem is I don't want to keep the sunroof open. It could let in bugs and snakes doing that."
"What were you doing when I was out? That must have been horrible for you wondering if you'd be stuck in here with a dead body."
"I prayed constantly, and talked to you. They say a person under can still hear people. Do you remember any dreams?"
"I remember nothing. I did though, have a sense of hearing your voice when I woke up from what I thought was a nap. Tell me, if we remove the screws on the latch where the lock is, then won't that open the box?"
"Done, removed them first. The problem is the wood on top of the box. The tool box has to be free so we can push our way through the side where the trash bin is. From there, we should be able to pull wood through, and toss it out my window. At least I hope so."
"Have you tried to send up an antenna to get a signal? And what if we smashed the windshield to get out?"
"No smashing. If ladder building fails, then we need the locked safety of this truck. Before I stopped bleeding I sent up the fishing poles with wire and duct tape I always keep in the back.  Taped to my side mirror. Still no signal"
"Oh, I see that now that you point it out. The lack of light in here is giving me the creeps. You're right about the safety. Sorry, I wasn' t thinking. Wait! Is that thunder?" Laralyn tries to roll down her window and stops. "Nope, I might not get it back up."
"I think it might be a truck! My window works fine. You door must be dented."
In the distance they can hear a man calling their name.
They roll down their windows far enough to yell out. Shortly, a man is knocking on the sunroof.
"We got you. Scoot over to the passenger's side. We're opening the driver side door."
Above ground, John and Laralyn hug and thank everyone.
"Why are you so far off the road?" the Capitan Yue asks, "If I hadn't seen your tracks over there, we would have missed you until the dogs came through."
"We were driving around the big muddy patch in the road."
"Muddy? The road is near dry from the main road to your field." Capitan Yue picks up his gear, "A rope needs to be put around this hole. Looks like an abandoned cellar. Over there are lilac bushes and irises. Probably planted when a house was here. You have to look for signs like that in these old woods."

Would going around a muddy spot in the old dirt road take them that far into the woods that they'd not be seen from the road. How thick are those woods? And where did the mud go?

Next ... Where did that pit come from? Yue and John investigate.