NIGHTMARE COME TRUE by QUILLER RATED FRC

This short piece was inspired during the Tracy Island Writers Forum Brits get-together in Nottingham in summer of 2006. One of the group was from Wales, so you can blame her for this!

John stared at the console, his palms sweating. This was it - his worst nightmare come true. Tentatively he reached for the switch that connected him to Base.

"What have you got for us, John?" Jeff was businesslike as always.

"A bad case of subsidence, Father. A bus carrying a load of children has fallen down an old mine. The village is in a remote part of north Wales and the local rescue services have asked for our help."

"FAB, John. Scott's on his way. What's the location?"

John swallowed. "It's Lan... " he hesitated. "Clan..." the rest of the sentence was a mumble.

"Sorry, John, I didn't quite catch that."

John had a sudden inspiration. "It's Latitude 53 degrees, 10 minutes North, Longitude 4 degrees, 15 minutes West."

As John signed off he couldn't stop a small smile from playing across his face. Scott was always so sure of himself, in any situation. Let him deal with the authorities at Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwll-llantysiliogogogoch.