by Mark Goodwin
Sarah said, “Courtney, we still have to hike up the hill from the creek to get to the cave. How are you going to get your poncho back on?”
Courtney let out a loud groan of disgust. “I wasn’t thinking. I just wanted to get that blood off of me. This day can’t get any worse.”
Everett grimaced as the words left her mouth. He wasn’t superstitious, but somehow, he knew she’d regret saying that. He looked through a spot of the passenger’s side windshield that wasn’t smashed. He peered over the cab of Elijah’s truck in front of them just in time to see the tiniest solitary flare falling to the ground in the distance. “I think it just got worse.”
Courtney leaned over the front seat. “Why?”
Everett spotted a second flame descending from the sky. “Look.” He pointed toward the distant ember. Even through the shattered windshield, it was easily identifiable as fire.
“Fire?” Courtney sounded exasperated. “It’s raining fire?”
Kevin huffed and shook his head. “Elijah better get a move on or this truck is going to turn into a Dutch oven.”
With each pass of the wiper blades, small bits of blood were pushed through the holes in the windshield. The wipers left only a brief moment of visibility to see through clear areas of the cracked glass before it was again glazed in blood.
Everett tensed up as a fist-sized flame landed on the hood of the truck. He watched as it burned for several seconds before going out. He looked up to see branches of a nearby tree ablaze. Small fires were burning at sporadic locations, out in the forest floor, on either side of the road.
Elijah tapped his brakes twice and proceeded very slowly.
Everett pointed out the road hazard as Elijah’s truck passed over it. “Major split down the center of the road. We better follow him and stay to the left.”
Kevin nodded. “I hope he picks up the pace or it’s not going to matter. We’ve still got to hike up the hill with all of this gear.”
“We’ve got gear in the cave. The important thing is that we get there alive.” Everett tried to focus on the road in between swipes of the windshield wiper blades.
Minutes later, they arrived at the creek. Elijah slowly drove his truck into the shallow creek.
Everett rolled down the window and called out to him. “I don’t think you’ll be able to drive back out of there.”
Elijah looked out his window to call back. “We’ll worry about being stuck in a creek if the truck survives the fire. But if the tires catch fire, the gas tank will blow.”
Everett lifted one eyebrow. “Stuck in a creek doesn’t sound so bad.”
Kevin looked at Everett. “Do you think we should stick this one in the creek also?”
Everett looked around. “I don’t see any other places to drive in. Access is blocked by trees in either direction.”
Keven pointed toward the water. “Ask Elijah to drive further up the creek if he can. We’ll pull in behind him.”
Everett made the request and Elijah complied.
Everett turned to Courtney. “You take my poncho. I’m going to be covered in blood anyway.”
“No, I can’t. I’m the idiot who ripped up my poncho.”
Everett pulled the trash bag over his head. “I insist. You and Sarah, just get the animals up to the cave, and we’ll worry about hauling the gear.”
Sarah looked at Kevin. “Is that okay with you?”
He smiled at her. “Yeah. Courtney, could you try to lead Elijah’s goats up the hill with you?”
“Sure. Thanks, guys.” Courtney slipped Everett’s trash bag over her head.
The trail which followed the creek was well lit by the multiple fires now burning around the forest. Smoke was beginning to fill the air. The sizzle of blood running down a nearby tree into a smoldering tuft of dried leaves sounded wicked.
Everett, Kevin, and Elijah helped the girls and the animals wade through the knee-high water and up onto the trail. The girls headed toward the cave, with the goats bleating and Danger whining in protest of being made to walk through the steady drizzle of blood and fire.
Kevin wiped the blood off of his forehead before it could run into his eyes. “If we could only move one item, I’d say it should be the ham radio.”
Everett nodded. “I’ve got it broken down into three boxes. Let’s get it up the hill and see what we’re dealing with in terms of fire. Then we can decide if we have time to haul another load.”
Elijah squeegeed blood off his face with his finger. “Yes. Let’s do that. The fire is very spread out, for now. It’s not so hot that it is a major danger just yet.”
Everett pulled the plastic bins containing the ham radio components, handing one to each of his companions. He took his box and started up the hill. “Our biggest concern is the smoke. If we come back down, maybe we should wear face masks.”
“I’ve got bandanas in my duffle.” Kevin stayed close behind Everett. “We can wet them in the creek.”
Everett kept moving up the hill. “The creek water is full of blood.”
“They’ll be bloody anyway by the time we reach the cave,” Kevin said.
The three men reached the cave opening and fed the boxes through to the girls who were waiting inside.
Elijah surveyed the fires around the forest. “It is getting worse, but the fires are still small. I agree with Kevin. We should wet the bandanas in the creek and use those for face masks.”
Everett peeked in the cave. “We’ll be right back.”
“Be safe!” Courtney called from inside.
They made their way down the hill to the trail which ran alongside the creek. Elijah looked at the bloody water flowing below them. “This bloodthirsty generation of sorcerers, necromancers, and vampires. It is blood they have thirsted for and it is blood that Jehovah has given them to drink.”
Everett looked all around. The trees, the leaves, and the rocks on the ground, everything was covered in blood. Fire continued to fall from the sky. Often times it would land in a puddle of blood and quickly be extinguished. In other instances, it would find just the right spot, on a dead tree branch or a pile of dried pine needles, and a flame would catch in the surrounding forest debris. From where he stood, he could easily count more than fifty individual small fires. Most, only the size of a small campfire, but a few were quickly growing beyond the size of a raging barn fire.
The three men hastily retrieved the bandanas and wet them in the creek to use as face masks. They gathered another load of their belongings from the trucks and headed back up the trail.
The fire and smoke were growing, but Everett felt they could make at least one more run. “I think we should try to pull off one more sortie.”
On the way back down the hill, Elijah pointed to a flame which had just fallen from the sky into a puddle of blood. The blaze quickly sputtered out into a fading vapor of steam and smoke. “As long as the blood is falling, we have some protection from the fire.”
Everett stopped walking for just a moment as he considered the old prophet’s words. He muttered to himself, “The blood, it’s protecting us from the fire. Just as the blood of Jesus has protected us from the eternal fire. Just as the blood smeared on the door posts of the Israelites protected them from the plagues in Egypt.” Up until this moment, Everett had thought the landscape of blood and fire to be hellish in its entirety. But now, he saw the blood in a whole new light. It protected them. Suddenly, it didn’t bother him so much.
The blood inhibited the spreading of the fire enough for the three men to collect all of their belongings from the two trucks. Everett breathed a sigh of relief once they safely reached the inside of the cave. “Hey!” He smiled at Courtney who had cleaned most of the blood off of herself.
“You’re safe!” She winked. “Don’t be mad if I don’t kiss you.”
He chuckled. “Please don’t. I feel about as gross as I’ve ever felt.”
She looked at him with compassion. “We managed to get fairly clean with just one gallon of wa
ter each. We left our bloody clothes wrapped up in the trash bags. We’ll wash them out in the creek after the fire burns over. How is that looking anyway?”
“It’s burning. Smoke is everywhere. We could barely breathe on that last trip. The blood kept the fire from spreading too fast, but now we’ve got several large areas, over an acre wide each, burning out of control. It won’t be long until the whole forest is one raging inferno.”
Sarah was nearby. “How long will it take to burn itself out?”
Kevin shrugged. “Maybe a day. No more than two. At least not for our immediate area. Of course, it all depends on how it spreads. If it’s raining fire all across the mountains, the whole thing could burn itself out in a couple days. If not, and it has to spread progressively, it could take weeks before all the smoke clears.”
Everett, Kevin, and Elijah cleaned themselves up in much the same manner used by the girls. Not knowing how long they’d be stuck inside the cave, they were stingy with the use of water. The water left in the buckets after their cat baths was used by Sarah and Elijah to clean up Danger and the goats. Fortunately for Sox, Courtney had managed to keep him from getting blood anywhere on him. She’d kept the towel over him and kept his cage close to her body as she scurried up the trail to the cave.
No one was hungry, so they pulled out the sleeping bags and got ready for bed.
Everett was tired. The day had been both mentally and physically exhausting. He felt happy to be safe in the shelter of the great cavern and glad to see the day drawing to a close. The air inside the cave was crisp and clear, but he could still smell the faintest scent of the fiery forest infused with the aroma of seared blood. He shined his light toward the ceiling of the grand cavernous room they called the cathedral. A vague current of smoke flowed from the direction of the cave entrance to the upper-level corridor where they stored their supplies. Everett whispered to himself. “It looks like we have air flow coming in from outside. But I wonder where it’s going?” He was tired. Much too tired to be tracking down the terminal point of the air flow inside a cave. “I’ll keep an eye on it when I wake up from time to time. If the smoke gets bad, I’ll go close off the entrance, but it doesn’t seem to be a problem. For now, I’ve got to get some rest.”
CHAPTER 4
And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.
Revelation 8:8-9
Everett woke up to the soft massage of Sox who was purring while he pushed one paw against Everett’s head and then the other. Everett switched on his flashlight to find Sox lying across the top of the sleeping bag, with his tail and hind legs tucked inside. Sox seemed to enjoy the close company of humans more so in the winter than in the warmer months. With the constant fifty-four degrees inside the cave, he would be quite the snuggle bug during their stay.
“Good morning Sox.” Everett turned over and gave the feline a rough scratch beneath the chin. Everett emerged from the comfort of the sleeping bag and quickly put on his jacket. He tried to be quiet as he began climbing the ladder in search of some freeze-dried breakfast items. He found instant coffee and instant oatmeal. Neither would be good cold. He pulled several cans of Sterno and a folding stove out of one of the bins. “I don’t suppose we’ll ever need it more than we do now.”
Everett stuck everything in a small backpack and gently descended the ladder. Once he had the Sterno lit, he turned off his flashlight to conserve the batteries. Everett warmed water in a metal canteen cup which nestled onto the bottom of one of the canteens he’d found when he first moved to John Jones’ cabin.
Courtney was the next person to awaken. She layered on her clothing to stay warm and came to sit by Everett. “How did you sleep?” She whispered.
“Good. I was out like a light as soon as I closed my eyes.”
“You were tired.” Courtney sat with her body next to his to conserve warmth.
“And you?”
She nodded. “I slept okay. I dreamt about the blood and fire. It had me tossing and turning part of the night.”
The two of them quietly enjoyed a packet of oatmeal together and shared the cup of coffee. Soon the cavern was a buzz with flashlight beams reflecting off of the ceiling and walls.
Sarah came to sit next to Courtney and Everett. She was eating a granola bar. “Do you think the fire is still burning?”
“Yep.” Everett nodded.
“You sound confident about that. What makes you so sure?” She took another bite of her breakfast bar.
Everett directed the beam of his flashlight toward the ceiling which revealed the steady stream of smoke trailing across the room.
“Hmm.” Sarah finished chewing. “We’ve got air flow. Do you think it’s enough for us to build a fire inside here without burning up all of our oxygen?”
Everett shrugged. “I don’t know. Today probably wouldn’t be a good day to run an experiment.”
Kevin came to sit near the group. “I think we could get away with it, as long as we kept the fire small and burn it near the back wall. The air flow should act like a chimney and pull the smoke right out the corridor. But I agree with Everett. We don’t want to try it when we can’t leave the cave in the event that it doesn’t work out.”
After breakfast, Everett climbed back up into the storage corridor to find the spool of wire they’d brought for an antenna. He unrolled the wire and affixed one end to the telescoping antenna he’d removed from the AM/FM radio. The other end, he attached to the radio. As Everett carried the antenna toward the opening of the cave, the scent of smoke and burnt blood grew stronger. He could feel the heat from the fires still burning outside. The momentary warmth was a welcome sensation. Everett positioned the antenna outside of the opening and returned to the cathedral.
“Still burning, I assume.” Elijah sat quietly sipping his tea and reading his Bible near the area with the low ceiling.
“Yes. Still burning.” Everett looked at Elijah’s old Bible. “Will we bother you if we check for some news updates?”
“Not at all.” Elijah closed the weathered old book and followed Everett over to where the others were waiting.
Everett clicked on the small radio and set the frequency to the local GR affiliate.
The reporter was relaying the latest announcement with a dramatic sense of urgency. “If you are just tuning in, we remind you that if you live along the east coast of the Americas, you must seek higher ground immediately! Cumbre Vieja, a volcano on the island of La Palma, began erupting early this morning. One hour ago, the entire western face of the mountain collapsed into the Atlantic Ocean. The earth and rock which slid into the ocean have triggered a mega tsunami. The initial wave of the tsunami is expected to strike the shores of North, Central, and South America in the next six to seven hours. The wave height may be as high as one hundred feet and inundation may be as much as ten miles inland.
“Venezuela, Guyana, and the Eastern Caribbean islands are expected to be the first to experience the massive wall of water which originated in the Canary Islands.”
“It’s a good day to be in a cave on top of a mountain,” Sarah said.
Everett nodded. “And a bad day for the beach.”
Kevin turned to Everett. “Ten miles of inundation. I don’t suppose that is a threat to New Atlantis.”
Courtney shook her head. “No. DC is fifty miles from the coast. However, a hundred-foot wave is bound to back up into the Potomac. They’ll get some serious flooding, but don’t count on Luz being swept out to sea.”
The reporter continued. “The Global Republic wishes to impress upon its citizens that the probability of surviving the tsunami in a coastal area is near zero. Minister of the Americas Richard Clay has issued a directive to the Global Republic Emergency Management Agency to begin setting up relief camps directly to the west of the I-95 co
rridor. He promises that anyone who can get west of the interstate will be provided with food, shelter, medical attention, and security. The GREMA relief camps will be set up in all major population centers. I know it is difficult to abandon your home and belongings, especially in this tumultuous age, but those things can be replaced.
“Minister Clay is asking global citizens to voluntarily restrict consumption of food rations as the already-fragile infrastructure is likely to be even more strained in the days and weeks following the tsunami. With Guayaquil, Ecuador having the only fully functioning seaport on the Pacific coast of the Americas, the continents will be severely troubled if major Atlantic seaports are taken offline. Repairs of the damage caused by the Great Quake on the port in Balboa, Panama are eighty- percent complete, but it is unclear what setbacks may be caused by the mega tsunami.
Initial reports are just coming in regarding the devastation caused by the island collapse of La Palma and the subsequent wave. All ships around the Canary Islands are thought to be lost. Likewise, all cargo vessels near Morocco’s Port of Casablanca were capsized and most all shipping containers in the yard were swept out to sea. Similar conditions are being reported in Tangier, Gibraltar, and Lisbon where wave heights exceeded 120 feet.
Courtney put her hand on Everett’s neck. “Two years ago, if you would have told me I’d be sitting in a cave, hiding out from blood and fire raining from the sky and saying, it could be worse, I’d have said you’re crazy.”
Everett kissed her on the head, but said nothing. He knew she was only trying to keep her emotional head above water by making light of the subject, but he couldn’t laugh this one off. The seriousness of the event hit him as he considered the tremendous loss of life along the coasts of Africa and Europe. He knew their Christian brothers and sisters in those regions had just met a terrible end. And the pain was only beginning. The loss of provisions in the ports, the destruction of critical infrastructure in the way of seaports and refineries meant that many more would die of starvation and want.