[center][img=http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d94/Malfoys_one_and_only_girl/Signatures/240x160Knox.jpg][img=http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d94/Malfoys_one_and_only_girl/Signatures/mark240x160.gif?t=1409111989][img=http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d94/Malfoys_one_and_only_girl/Signatures/240x160Ruby.gif?t=1408682776][/center]

“What the HELL were you thinking?!” Knox was just going off on Ruby with harsh whispers, as soon as he caught up to her…ducking and weaving to keep up in the cramped spaces. Fucking mine. Why had he come to the scene of the accident again?

"I was able to find Mr. Gold when you couldn't even hear him." Ruby harshly whispered back so that Mark wouldn't be able to overhear them. "I can help, but no one wants to give me a chance. I'm making my own chance."

"I don't care if you won't listen to me." Hopping over a large stone, Knox glance through the darkness...more rock walls, low rock ceiling, Ruby's back as she kept her steady pace, "But you heard the verdict, the firefighter had this situation. It's not too late to-"

There was a low rumbling sound and the walls of the mine shook a little, making tiny little pebbles and a large amount of rock dust fall from the ceiling and onto the three of them. Ruby covered her hand over her mouth and coughed a few times, but was otherwise okay.

Mark entered through the mine last, his facial expression seemingly frozen in that displeased frown. "What the hell were *both* of you thinking?!" He spat, looking between both Knox and Ruby. "I would have expected this behavior from [i]you[/i]," he began, directing his words at Ruby. "But from a trained security guard? Not only have you endangered yourselves, but now we've wasted precious times finding that boy. So both of you shut up!" He finished, sounding like a drill sergeant reprimanding two recruits. Without waiting for a response, he [i]clicked[/i] on his pocket flashlight before walking straight down the path, moving the light from side to side. 

With his disturbingly sharp and night perceptive eyes, Knox continued to scan the dark areas with ease, actively looking for the boy, "You have my apologies, I should have caught Ruby [i]before[/i] she took off." Maybe grabbed her arm and personally guided her behind barriers. Damn it. More rock, dust, and debris.

Ruby stubbornly rolled her eyes at the both of them and continued on at her own pace, taking the lead since it was much easier to navigate the small shaft with her thin frame.

"Mason?" Ruby called out and immediately regretted it. The vibrations of her voice carrying through the tunnels caused the walls to creak and groan, threatening to break the rotted wood frames that were intended to keep the walls from closing in. But it wasn't all in vain. 

There was a sound, far off but Ruby could identify as a dog bark and Ruby hurried forward until the mine tunnels split off into four different directions. Ruby didn't hesitate though, she already knew the way and went down the one that was the second to the right.

Hearing the dog bark as well, Knox recalled the mention of the animal being with the boy...now, if only the boy would return his own call, ever so quietly...seeing Ruby speed through, he caught up as best he could. More ducking, weaving, and pushing through some debris slowly or lightly, here or there. “Careful.” In a harsh whisper, it wasn't enough to deter Ruby. Knox watched her enter into a particular tunnel, and just about ripped his shirt on a piece of wood to follow the girl over there.

Mark, deciding to take a gamble on Ruby's 'ability', followed her wordlessly down the second path to the right, keeping his eyes alert for any sign of boy or dog in the mines. He pulled the front of his shirt up over his nose and mouth in case anything less than-savory were in the air. He, too, had to weave and turn sharply at various debris, but experienced far less trouble than Knox, given his shorter stature. 

He caught up to Ruby rather hastily, whispering, "Keep your voice down." As a warning. His narrow eyes looked at each wooden beam, paying close attention to the especially deteriorated ones. 

Ruby turned the corner, following the sound of the dog barking and then hastened her pace when she heard the noise of quiet sniffing. Nearly banging her head on the low ceiling in her haste, Ruby rushed forward, greeted almost immediately by the large dalmatian with his pink tongue lolling out in between licking her face and his front two paws on her chest.

Following closely behind them, Knox smacked the top of his head against the low ceiling, hissing in pain for a few seconds before refocusing on the task at hand.

"Pongo! I should have known you were the one causing problems here." Ruby said scratching the dog behind the ears, making a point to ignore Knox and allow Mark to tend to the boy while she checked the dog over for any injuries.

Rubbing his head, Knox's eyes flickered between staring at the rescue mission at hand...the boy...and Ruby's little friend, the dalmatian Pongo. Eventually, after a moment of internal deliberation, his professional side won out. The security guard spotted the boy, curled up, shaking in the corner.
Slowly, going over, Knox crouched (as best he could, in the confined space), "Hello. You're Mason, right?" Speaking calmly, and carefully, he didn't seem to notice the blood dripping from his mild head injury...as he continued. Holding a hand out to for the boy to shake, "My name is Knox, and all three of us came to--"

Mark looked perplexed as the boy seemed to only become [i]more[/i] fearful, shrinking back as much as he possibly could. Mark took this as a sign to try himself, and placed a firm hand on Knox's shoulder before approaching the boy himself. 

"Hey..." He began, his voice turning...soft and warm as he squatted down to get on an eye-to-eye level. "My name's Mark, I'm a fireman here...my friends Ruby ,Knox," at this he motioned to his two companions respectively, "and I are here to take you back home." He finished, offering a small, but warm smile as he held out his own hand for the boy to take. 

Knox let Mark take over for him, and went to wipe what he thought was sweat...but on his glove, he could plainly see the red of blood. Muttering a curse under his breath, Knox turned away and tentatively touched the cut on the top of his head, a blank expression on his face. Getting into this mine was a big mistake on his part.

Mason stayed still, but his expression turned from outright fear to wary hesitation. 

"Don't be afraid." Mark said simply, his voice just barely above a whisper. Finally, the boy stood up and slowly approached, taking Mark's hand with a small smile, sniffing and wiping at his eyes. 

"Let's get you home now, shall we? I'm sure your parents are [i]very[/i] worried about you." Mark added, still keeping to his soft tone as he stood up fully, nodding to Ruby and Knox that it was time to go. 

Ruby smiled at both Mark and Mason, giving Pongo another quick scratch behind the ears as she eased his front paws off of her and walked ahead of the group, Pongo only more than eager to get out of the small, dark spaces. There was a faint, new kind of smell that tickled at her nose, something that made her suddenly realize she was hungry, but she pushed it to the back of her mind and followed the dog back out.
Holding his injury, Knox winced at the small amount of pain...and nodded at Mark through the darkness. Following the group out, albeit slowly due to his limiting height, Knox was more than happy to get out of this mine situation.

Mark was silent as he followed Ruby, flashlight in one hand, and Mason's hand in the other. He had to duck occasionally through the debris, but encountered little trouble - while Mason, being as small as he was, experienced no issue at all. 

Eventually, the small beam of light that came from the less-than-optimal entrance shone off the walls, Mark clicking off his flashlight and returning it to his pocket as they approached. 

Stopping just before the hole, Mark squatted down once more. "Alright, pal, you're gonna climb through this hole, alright? I'm gonna give you a boost on the count of '3', you ready?" The boy nodded hastily in response, the smile that seemed plastered on his face almost obscuring the fact he was trapped in the dark mine shaft just minutes before. 

The mine walls began to creak and groan again, a sudden rumbling sound coming before the ground began to shake unsteadily beneath their feet.
"Here we go: one, two, three!" With a slight grunt (due to the pain in his shoulder), Mark managed to boost the boy up until he could catch onto the opening and crawl out. 

Mark turned to look back at Ruby and Knox, "You two next." He said simply, his tone once again turning blunt and emotionless.
 
Blinking his eye, then wiping away the blood that threatened to drip down into it, "Ruby, come on, you next." Removing his over gloved hand from his still bleeding head injury, wiping the glove on the side of his shirt, "Come on, let the fireman help you."

Ruby watched as Pongo, on his own accord, bounded up to the ledge, eager to get into the light. She couldn't help but to smile, somehow able to relate the feeling of finally being free. She rested her hand on Mark's shoulder and allowed him to lift her up where she was able to exit the mines with ease, however once she stepped foot outside, the walls and floor began to shake violently once more.

To avoid a rock or two from falling on his head or shoulders, Knox moved closer to the mine's wall. There was a tug, and the security guard knew one of his sleeves was torn. "Just get on with it. Leave ahead of me, fireman, I've got--" With a sigh, he tried to unlatch the piece of fabric from a piece of wood.

Mark gave Knox one more passing glance; noting the steadily-decreasing condition of the mines. Though he felt the instinctive need to help the man, he also knew not to argue, and with a simple nod, climbed out of the mines. 

Wiping off as much sweat and blood from his face as he could, wiping his gloves on his trousers now...Knox pushed himself up over some rock and dirt, and stepped out into the sunlight once again. Blinding light, especially since his eyes had already adjusted to the lack of it, the security guard blinked then shut his eyes altogether.

Letting out a single groan of discomfort, he noticed the crowd of people gaping their way. It was peculiar, their expressions, but the shock was not entirely unfounded. Knox was sure he had a little blood on him, and...more importantly, was sure they were surprised that Mason was relatively unharmed. Heck, the security guard knew he looked a little more roughed up and injured than the boy they had actually went in to rescue.
Still, rescue mission accomplished...Ruby really was capable of taking care of herself...probably did better than either of the men...