THE END - Book I - Of THE EVENT SERIES

by Marshall Huffman

  “What time is it?” he said, pulling his head back inside.

  “I've got 3:35.”

  “A.M. or P.M.?”

  “What? P.M. of course,” she replied like he had lost his mind.

  “Strange,” he said and stuck his head out of the hole again.

  He continued to remove rocks, one at a time until he could get his shoulders through the opening.

  “Okay, Rachel. I want you to go first in case it should happen to cave in again. Just get clear of the opening as quickly as you can. I’ll be right behind you,” he told her.

  “It’s so dark. What happened to the light?” she asked.

  “I don’t have a clue. Here,” he said handing her the glow stick, “Take this with you. I’ll be able to find you that way,” he told her.

  He helped her scramble out of the hole. It was no easy task. Finally she had to stand on his back to get enough leverage to pull herself out of the tomb they had been encased in. Randy pulled himself out a few seconds later.

  “Now what?” Rachel asked.

  “What indeed?” Randy said, sitting down and rubbing his head.

  “What could cause it to be so dark at 3:30 in the afternoon?” Rachel asked.

  “I guess a tornado. Maybe one went through this area while we were down here.

  “But that flash of light and the rumbling. What was all of that about?”

  “Hell, I don’t know Rachel. Maybe a bomb went off. Your guess is as good as mine.”

  “How are we going to get out of this place? We obviously can’t go back the way we came.”

  “Give me a second. I need to rest. I’ve been digging for hours and my head is killing me. Just let me rest a few minutes,” he said and leaned back.

  “No, Randy, you can’t sleep. You have a head injury. If you go to sleep you might not wake up. You need to keep going. We can rest later,” she pleaded with him.

  She was right and he knew it but he was just so damn tired.

  “Come on Randy. Get your butt up. We need to get out of here,” she said and kicked the bottom of his foot.

  “Okay, okay. I’m up,” he said, standing up with Rachel’s help.

  They spent the next twenty minutes exploring the surrounding area. The glow light was starting to dim. They only found one place that seemed to offer a way out. It meant they were going to have to climb up the piles of rocks and rubble that had come crashing down but it was their best hope of escape.

  “I wish we had another glow stick,” Randy said as they started climbing. The light from the last one was all but gone.

  “Everything was in our gear. Including our flashlights,” Rachel replied, panting as she climbed behind Randy.

  “Wait. My camera,” he said, “I put it in your fanny pack. You still have that don’t you?”

  “Sure, but what good is a camera going to do?” she asked.

  “Give it to me and I’ll show you,” he said.

  She handed the camera to him and he turned it on and waited for the flash ready light to glow. He aimed the camera up, toward where they were going and snapped a picture. The flashing light illuminated the cavern for a second before it went dark again.

  “How is that going to help?” Rachel asked again.

  Randy pressed the button on the back of the camera that showed him the picture he had just taken.

  “Look,” he said, holding it so she could see the image.

  “We can almost reach the top if we continue going in this direction. See here?” he said, pointing, “If we go just along this line we should be able to make it.”

  “How are we going to get that last ten feet or so to the top?” she asked.

  “I’m not sure yet but I have lots of time to think about it. Let’s just go as far as we can and see what happens.”

  “But what if we can’t get out?” she asked again.

  “Look Rachel. I don’t have all the answers yet. I’m just making this up as we go along. It’s either that or sit on our butts and hope someone rescues us. Frankly I don’t see that happening for a hell of a long time. Come on, we have to try it,” he said and started off again.

  The climb was slow and Rachel was having a hard time. Trying to climb in a wetsuit was not making it one bit easier. The sweat was chafing her with each step.

  “How you doing, Rachel?”

  “I’m beat. I wasn’t made for climbing,” she said, wiping the sweat from her face.

  “I’m not too big on it myself. Just take it easy. We aren’t in a hurry.”

  It was lighter now that they were closer to the top of where the dome once stood. The sky was still an angry mass of swirling gray clouds. It could have been a tornado, Randy thought, but if it was, it was one of the strangest skies he had ever seen. Having grown up in Kansas, he had seen his fair share of tornados.

  “Ready?” he asked after a few minutes.

  “Sure. Why not,” Rachel replied as she stood up and started to climb again.

  It took another hour before they got to the top of the rock fall. Randy had stopped and snapped pictures several times to make sure they were headed in the right direction. The underwater camera was turning out to be a lifesaving navigational instrument.

  “Okay, here we are,” Rachel said, breathing heavily.

  “It looks like we need to get another seven or eight feet higher. If you stood on my shoulders I might be able to get you high enough that you could grab hold of something and pull yourself out,” he said.

  “Oh sure. My great upper body strength will save the day. I don’t think so,” she said.

  “It’s worth a try. Once you grab hold of something, I’ll put my hands under your feet and shove.”

  “It will never work,” she insisted.

  “I know one thing for certain; it definitely won’t work if we don’t try. Come on, what have you got to lose?”

  “Besides my dignity?”

  Randy had to laugh. It was going to be a strain but it was the best shot they had.

  “Come on Rachel. We have been through too much over the years to be concerned about dignity. How many times have you wiped the snot from my nose after a dive?” he said.

  “That’s not the same thing. Getting my butt up high enough to climb out of here is definitely not going to be easy. I have no real arm strength.”

  “Let’s give it a try and go from there, okay?”

  “What the hell, it will be good for a laugh if nothing else. I swear if I shove you three inches in the ground you had better not complain or tell anyone,” she replied coming up to where he was standing.

  “I promise,” he said and laughed again.

  Randy stooped down and Rachel placed a foot on his shoulder. He strained but was determined not to let out a sound.

  “Okay, grab my hand and get your other foot on my other shoulder,” he said.

  She rocked slightly and then stepped on his other shoulder. She grabbed hold of the wall as Randy started to stand up. He finally got her high enough where she could feel the top.

  “Put me down. It isn’t going to work,” Rachel said, “I can’t pull myself out of here. I couldn’t find anything to grab hold of.”

  Randy tried one more time before giving in. He stooped back down and Rachel climbed off his shoulders.

  “So close,” Randy said.

  “Sure,” Rachel replied, knowing it wasn’t close at all.

  “Let me rest and we will try it again.”

  “No way. I don’t have enough strength to get over the top of the ledge. We are going to have to try something else,” she said.

  “I’m open to suggestions.”

  “You stand on my shoulders,” she replied.

  “What? You can’t lift me. That’s silly,” he shot back.

  “I can. I may have weak arms but I have strong legs. Let’s just try. What have you got to loose accept your dignity,” she teased.

  “It won’t work.”

  “That’s what I said to you earlier. Try it.”r />
  “Alright, but I’m going on record as saying it will never work,” Randy insisted.

  “On record? Is someone here I don’t know about?”

  “I’m just saying…”

  “Yeah, yeah. Come on.”

  Rachel squatted down like Randy had done previously and he placed first one foot and then the other on her shoulders. She slowly started to stand up. He was within inches of reaching the opening.

  “God, I’m so close,” he shouted down at her.

  “Hold on,” she said through clinched teeth, “Put your foot on my hand.”

  He took his right foot and placed it in her hand. She strained but was able to shove him a few more inches. He reached out and groped around the opening and found the root of a tree. He grabbed on to it and pulled. His weight started to lessen on Rachel and she was able to shove his foot a few inches more. Randy found a good purchase on the root and began to pull himself out of the hole. Slowly, inch by inch he was climbing out of the cavern.

  Lying exhausted he yelled back, “I’m out. I made it.”

  “Great. What’s going on out there?”

  “Wait a minute. I gotta get my breath.”

  He lay panting for several seconds before he rolled over on his back and sat up. It was very dark in every direction but he could see that the landscape wasn’t right. He wasn’t sure what he was really seeing. Nothing made sense to him. He stood up and looked all around. Nothing was right. No leaves were on the trees, shrubs or plants. The vegetation had simply disappeared.

  He edged back over to the hole and yelled down, “It’s too weird. I don’t know what I’m even seeing. I’m going to get some help to get you out. Just sit tight. I’ll be back as quickly as I can.”

  “Hurry. It was bad enough down here before but with you gone it’s a hundred times worse. Get me out of here as fast as you can.”

  “I’ll be back just as soon as I can. Hang tight, I promise to hurry.”

  “Please,” she shouted as he took off jogging.

  With no sun or landmarks he had no idea which direction he was really going. He looked up at the sky but could see nothing except swirling clouds.

  “What the hell happened?” he wondered as he stopped and scraped an arrow in the dirt to point the way back to the cavern where Rachel was waiting. He would stop every few yards and scrape a marker. It was the only way he was ever going to be able to make his way back.

  He walked for twenty minutes before he came across the first road. A car was off to one side of the road with the driver’s door open. Randy walked up to it and looked inside. There was nothing inside except for a large blob of some sort of melted material. It looked like something had melted right on the seat where the driver had been sitting. He could see a ring, a man’s watch and a belt buckle. It seemed so odd.

  Randy reached out and touched the glob. He yelled and pulled his hand back immediately. The tip of his finger was black and felt like it was on fire. Acid. It had to be acid or something like it. He rubbed his finger and the top layer of skin came off. He rubbed his hand on his wet suit and it started smoking and a small hole burned through. Whatever it was, he knew better than to touch it again.

  He carefully looked back in the car and saw the keys were still in the ignition. If he could figure a way to get the goop off the seat he could take the car to get help. He looked up and down the road, trying to decide what to do next.

  Finally he made up his mind and started out. He needed to get help if he was ever going to get Rachel out of the cavern.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Death Valley

  The heat was oppressive. Actually, the whole situation was almost more than she could take. Kim DeLaine wiped the tears from her eyes again. Her face was caked with dirt and her hair matted down from sweating.

  What had started as an adventure was turning into a nightmare. She had always been headstrong and believed in her ability to overcome all obstacles. She was determined to get from one side of Death Valley to the other with just water, the food she could carry, GPS, and a map.

  She had heard the stories of brave men who had survived the hardships and she was determined that if they could do it, by God, she could do it as well. Everyone had tried to tell her how foolish it was. The dangers were everywhere, everything from snakes to motorcycle gangs that roamed the area from time to time but she would hear nothing of it. If others could do it, she could.

  “Look, you’re not going. It’s crazy. Not only that, it’s pointless. Who gives a damn if you do it or not?” her father had practically yelled at her in frustration.

  “It’s not pointless. Not to me. I can do this. Why are you so scared for me to try? Because I’m a girl?”

  “Don’t start that crap again. I wouldn’t want my son to do it if I had one. A boy, girl or anything in between would be stupid to try a stunt like this.”

  “Maybe so, but it’s something I need to prove to myself,” she said determinedly.

  “Kim, you're twenty-three years old so I can’t do anything to really stop you but I am asking you as your father, don’t do this. Don’t take a stupid risk like this just to prove you are as good as a man. In the end it will mean nothing. Nothing will change even if you succeed.”

  “That may be true but if I don’t do this I will always feel like I sold out.”

  “Sold out? To whom? Not to me. That’s a bunch of crap and you know it.”

  “Dad, I know you are trying to protect me, but like you said, I’m twenty-three and I am old enough to make my own decisions. I’ve been working on this for almost a year. I have my route all planned out and how long it will take me to get from one point to another. I will be in a place to get help every other day or so. They even have emergency call boxes now along the highways that run through the valley. I can always get to one of those if all else fails.”

  “If you can find one and aren’t too sick or injured to make it.”

  “I’ll make it. I’ll be fine. I’ll have GPS to help keep me on track. Nothing is going to happen,” she tried to reassure him.

  ****

  She spent the next two months making final preparations. She walked and ran for miles, building up her strength. She spent hours on the computer checking the details of Death Valley and reading everything she could lay her hands on. She knew that from April on it would be almost intolerable from a temperature standpoint. Once the temperatures started to rise they would remain well over 100 degrees for days on end.

  She decided that she would start her odyssey on March 15th. Her plan was to do most of her travel in the early evening and walk until the sun started to rise. She would then find a place to hold up and rest during the daylight hours and take off again at night. She had devised a route that would take her near the highways in case she couldn’t go on or really needed help.

  She was sure she could make the trip given all the information she had. Plus she had the latest light weight equipment and the GPS locator. After one final argument with her father, she set off.

  She drove through Nevada until she reached Las Vegas. She took route 160 to Pahrump, Nevada and then turned left onto Route 132 that took her to Furnace Creek.

  She had decided that this is where she would start her walk. She slept in her car during the day getting up just before dark. She slipped her back pack on, gathered her jacket and tied it around her waist. Taking a deep breath she headed out to cross Death Valley.

  The first two hours were uneventful as she trudged along at an even pace. Around midnight an unusual thing happened for that part of the country. It began to rain. Not just sprinkle but a cloud burst. Rain pelted down and was falling faster than the parched ground could absorb it. She had read about the potential flash floods caused by sudden torrential downbursts but they seldom ever took place during this time of the year.

  She stopped, trying to decide if she should turn around and go back or just keep on going. It was decided for her. Almost as abruptly as it started, it ended. Within minutes the
ground was sucking down the last of the water that was standing. She was wet but more determined than ever to keep on going. She started out once again.

  The rest of the night was without incident and she found a place to curl up under a large rock overhang. She poked around for several minutes to satisfy herself that nothing was living in the area she wanted to occupy. The sun was fully up by the time she settled in and placed a ring of mothballs around her sleeping area. She had been assured that mothballs were an excellent means of protection from snakes. She only hoped it was true. Several websites had mentioned the use of mothballs but none specifically mentioned rattlesnakes. She lay in the shade of the rock, trying to get to sleep but every skittering noise would cause her to sit up and look around. She decided that she would just sit there and watch what was going on around her until she fell asleep.

  On the fourth day of her journey, she crossed a major blacktop road and was able to get her exact bearings. She was almost perfectly where she had planned to be at this time. She felt fairly smug. She crossed the two lane highway and started off toward the west. It was strange to see a perfectly good highway with no one in sight. Not one car’s lights were visible in either direction. She continued her trek until the sun was coming up once more.

  She found a great cave to crawl into. She carefully checked it out before deciding it would be a good place to spend the day. It was cooler in the cave than it had been the three previous days under the rock formations. She again laid out the mothballs around her sleeping area. So far they had worked, at least as far she knew.

  She woke just as the sun was setting and rolled out of the cave. The sky was an incredible shade of pink and purple. It was staggeringly beautiful. She just stood and watched it change colors as the sun sank lower in the sky. Within minutes of the sun setting, the stars came out and helped to light up the desert with an unearthly glow. The moon was in the waxing phase and was one quarter full. It was the most amazing thing she had ever seen.

  She packed up her gear and slipped it on once more. Tomorrow she should come across an old abandoned mining town that still had water according to the survival source map she was using as a guide. She just hoped that it was current. She had enough water to last two more days at most. Tomorrow was one of her most important navigational waypoints. If she missed the mining town it could be as much as three more days before she reached the next water hole.