Read The Legend of Buddy Hero (The Defenders Saga) for Free Online Page B

know,” I respond, my memories of the past nothing more than a hazy glimmer.  “Where are we?”
    “You're in the mines, pal, probably about a half-mile underground,” a second voice says.  “We got trapped down here during the earthquake the other night.  We were doing some late night work securing some of the older tunnels.  I was in charge of scheduling and, uh, I know I didn't schedule any Damons.”
    “Jeremy, leave the guy alone, you saw what happened to him when we first found him.”
    “Yeah,” Jeremy sounds agitated, “and I don't trust anything that can burst into flames and still be around to talk to me afterwards.”
    Had I really burst into flames?  Was that not a dream?
    I hear a loud rumbling and the movement of rocks coming from several feet away and the cave suddenly doesn't appear to be quite as dark.
    “Hey Frank, I think they got through to us!”  The excited voice of Jeremy moves along with a barely visible silhouette heading toward the site of the new noise.
     

 
    CHAPTER 4
     
    “...long awaited rescue of the ten miners, we have just received word that they have, in fact, made it through..”
     
    Buddy awoke in a white room hearing a beeping sound intermittently over the sound of the television.  He turned his head to the right and found a heart monitor with cables leading from it to his chest.  He heard movement coming from the left of him, turned his head, and saw Maggie, slumped over in a position that showed how she had fought sleep for as long as she could before finally giving in to the peace of slumber. 
    Just beyond where Maggie lay, he saw that he shared a room with another patient.  He tried sitting up to get a better look at his roommate, but the entire left side of his body erupted into sharp pains, keeping him from moving further.  He laid his head back just as he heard the door open.  A man in a long, white lab coat walked into the room and picked up the chart at the end of Buddy's bed.  He looked up from the chart and saw Buddy was awake.
    “Ah, good, you're awake,” the doctor said.  His voice startled Maggie and she sat up.  “How are you feeling?”
    “Like someone put my body into a vice-grip,” Buddy said with a dry throat.
    “Oh, Buddy, thank God you're okay!” Maggie said, getting out of the chair to stand beside him.
    “Your vitals are looking very promising, Mr. Jackson.  You're lucky.  We were certain you received a concussion, due to your unconscious state, but could find no sign of head trauma.  Of course, we did have to do a little bit of patch up work on those ribs of yours.  I have no doubt you'll be able to go home within a few hours.  But with those rib fractures you are going to have to take it easy for a while.”
    “You really had me worried there, Buddy!  I can't believe you made it out alive.”  Maggie held Buddy's hand. 
    “Don't worry about me, Mags, I'm actually feeling pretty good,” Buddy said, honestly feeling better than he had in a while.  Even the sharp pain in his side was beginning to subside.  “So, it wasn't a dream, huh?”
    “The whole thing with the-- no.”
    “Damn.  What happened to that guy I found?  Did he make it out alright?”
    Maggie looked over her shoulder at the man in the other bed.
    “He's stable,” the doctor said.  “He's lucky you found him when you did.  He doesn't appear to have any serious injuries, however, we will need to keep him here under observation for at least the next 24 hours.”
    “You were amazing, Buddy.  I don't think I've ever seen you like that.  The way you ran back there to save that man, it was, well, it was fantastic.  But if you ever do anything like that again. . .”  Maggie stopped herself mid-sentence.  Slowly, Maggie's smile returned, this time showing something Buddy didn't remember seeing before.  She looked proud. 
    “I'm going to have a nurse come in here and change those bandages for you,” the doctor said. “Your white blood cell