Chapter 20
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Mace woke in the morning to Jasper standing in the doorway of his tent. “You city people gonna sleep all day?”
Mace rubbed his eyes. “Not even light out yet.”
The old man looked up at the sky. “If you come now, I'll give you a personal tour of the cave. Will have to do it by battery lantern.”
Mace sat up. “Let me get the others.”
The old man shook his head. “Nope. Just you and me. You people were kind to me last night and I want to show something to you, but not everyone.”
Mace stood, dropping a blanket as he attempted to shake off a chill. “Cold this morning.”
The old man laughed. “This ain't cold. Wait 'til just after Christmas. When we hit zero, you'll be saying it's cold.”
He followed the old man to the gift shop, where two battery lanterns were retrieved. They walked to the ramp that led down into the cave.
“Watch your step. Can be a little slick in the morning.”
“Must have been fascinating growing up here as a kid.”
“Had its perks. My favorite days were the middle of winter when we didn't have visitors. I would sneak over here after school and go exploring with my friend Billy.”
Jasper stopped and shook his head. “Billy, he was a hoot. We brought girls in here, had our own little hideaway. Had some good times.”
“Billy still around?”
“Nope. Lord took him nearly forty years ago. He got drunk one evening and decided he was gonna ride a bull around the pasture at his daddy's farm. That was a mean old bull, and I guess Billy thought he was meaner. Anyway, it was standing by a fence, he jumped on its back. It bucked once, throwing him onto a little rock outcropping on the ground next to him. Broke his back.”
Mace grimaced. “Wow. Tough way to go.”
“Not what killed him. It was the goring he took after reaching over and slapping that bull on the leg. Doc's said he would have recovered from the fall. That bull tore into him something fierce. Just glad I wasn't there when it happened or I would have jumped that fence and probably been dead too.”
“Even tougher way to go. I lost a good friend over in the Middle East. Kid came out of a room I had just checked and shot him in the face. I got out of the service shortly after.”
Jasper stopped. “I ran the scenarios through my head for months about why I wasn't there, and if I had been what I would have done. There are just things in this world that you can't control and you have to accept. We all live and we all die.”
He began to walk again, shuffling his feet. “Doesn't take much effort to postpone that death if you have a desire to live. Losing Billy was hard, as was your friend to you I'm sure, but living, that's something else. There is just so much to see and do. So many interesting people to meet.”
“You love giving tours of this place, don't you.”
“The people are what give this cave life. They're what gives me life. Without the people it's just a big hole in the ground, with bats. I'd still be giving tours if I didn't wear out so fast.”
They walked into the area of the cave known as the Chapel Room. It was huge. It was easy to see how it had held so many soldiers during the civil war. Mace followed the old man as they walked back through twists and turns. A short climb took them down another passage, where again they ventured off on several splits.
When they reached the destination Jasper had in mind, he walked into a small room and turned to face Mace. “This is it, mine and Billy's place. That slab was his, this was mine.”
The old man sat down on the carved out rock, looking around the room. “Haven't been in here since Billy died. Just couldn't make myself do it. I passed that entrance once, but couldn't make myself look in.”
Mace smiled as he sat on Billy's bunk. “Glad you showed it to me. Wish I had somewhere like this to come when thinking about Harry. I've got no desire to go back to the Middle East.”
“Wanna see what we used to do to the girls when we brought them back here?”
“Not particularly.”
Jasper flipped off the lantern. It was the blackest black that Mace's eyes had ever been witness to.
“You scared?”
“Getting there.”
“You bring a girl back here and turn out the light, she'd let you grab just about anything you wanted just to get herself back out of here. Of course, you try that now and you get arrested. Back then you either got lucky or got slapped. I got one of each. Not that I'm some pervert or anything, we was just dumb kids fooling around. Word about it got out quick and we never had dates that came in here again.”
”You can turn that light on again anytime you like.”
Jasper laughed. “You worried I'm gonna grope you?”
“I wasn't until now.”
Jasper chuckled. The bright light flashed in his eyes.
After a moment of getting used to it, the old man stood. “Come on, Missy, let's get you out of here.”
Jasper stopped at the hidden room's entrance, grabbing onto Mace's arm. “Thanks for coming back here with me. It's something I haven't been able to get myself to do. I appreciate the company.”
As they walked, Mace said, “When I told you yesterday about this place being our destination for a reason, I was serious. I don't think power is coming back. And people aren't far from attacking one another over food.”
The old man stopped, shining the light in his eyes. “Tell you what: the lot of you can stay so long as the power is out. You can make yourself at home, in the cave if you like, but you can't be doing anything destructive. If the power comes back, I gotta make a living, you know.”
“How about this: we'll provide you with security and food so long as you give us free run of this place. We may move a few things around, but we'll be careful to preserve what was there.”
The old man again held the light up to his face again. “Deal. Just wanted to see it in your eyes. You can read a man's soul by looking deep in his eyes.”
When they emerged from the cave, the sun was just about to rise over the trees. Johnny and Jane were standing beside the RV. Tres was up at the road.
As they approached, Jane scowled. “You can't just run off like that. We had no idea where you two went. Tres looked down into that cave entrance and there were no lights.”
“Jasper just took me on a quick tour, that's all. We discussed our use of the cave. We have his permission to use these grounds and that cave so long as we respect it. And protect and feed him.”
Johnny yelled. “Hey, Tres!”
A voice came back from near the roadway. “Yeah?”
Johnny yelled again: “Come on down here for a sec! We've got some news!”
Tres hustled through a pack of trees and down a short leaf-covered hill before stopping in front of them. “What's up?”
Johnny gestured toward the cave entrance. “You got your cave. You win.”
“What do you mean?”
Mace replied, “We have full use of the property. All we have to do is keep Mr. Collins fed and secure.”
“Sweet! So we can go in the cave?”
“Just treat her nice. She's my life and livelihood.”
Tres looked off at the cave entrance. “Oh, you don't have to worry about that. This place is like a historical shrine to me. I can't wait to get in there. You giving tours?”
Jasper Collins rolled his eyes. “Sure. Just give me a couple minutes to evacuate my bladder. Getting old has its penalties.”
Minutes later, Tres and Vanessa followed Jasper toward the mouth of the cave.
Mace turned to Johnny. “I think our coming here is going to work out. The old man is good stock. Today we—“
The chopping sound of rotor blades could be heard echoing off the hills. Seconds later, Don Rogers' helicopter popped over a ridge, swept in, and settled in a nearby field. As the blades came to a stop, Cam jumped out, his father right behind.
After a short jog, Don
Rogers said, “Glad you made it. That weather front threw us for a loop. We had to go down to Roanoke and set down for a while. Was able to fuel up again, but we had to leave last night. Some kind of ruckus kicked up.”
Cam nodded. “We could see the muzzle flashes from gunfire. Half a dozen trucks busted through the main gate.”
“We think they were looking for either a plane or a helicopter, so we got out of there before they came our way. We spent the rest of the night in a big field about fifty miles south of here before a farmer chased us off. Thought he was gonna start shooting at us.”
“Glad you made it,” said Johnny. “We had another gun battle of our own coming through the mountains. More hijackers trying to rob people.”
Don shook his head. “It's like somebody let all the nuts out at once. Oh, and we took a ride up to Lewisburg and Fairlea. Looks like the exits off I-64 are blocked, as are the bridges and roads in and out of those towns. The locals seem to be taking charge in the smaller places. Didn't see a single police car in Roanoke. I'm sure they were there somewhere, but the roads were peppered with accidents. I-81 is a complete mess in and around the city. I would expect that we'll see a steady stream of cars heading out looking for food or shelter. Still no sign of National Guard being rolled out. When we passed the armory at Bedford yesterday, there was activity there, but it didn't look like they were ready to go anywhere.”
Johnny shook his head. “The insanity grows.”
Don looked around. “You just take the place over?”
Mace replied, “Better. We made a deal with the owner. We'll protect his property and feed him. In exchange, we have free rein to do what we want.”
Don gestured toward the roadway. “First thing you're gonna want to do is block off that entranceway. We need to do something to let people know this place is off limits.”
“My concern with that is if you block it off, and people are out looking for food, they will stop and ask. And I don't know about you, but if we get a bunch of families coming down the road just trying to feed their kids, it will be hard to turn them away. For me at least.”
Cam asked, “How's the girl doing?”
Jane pointed toward the RV. “Go in and ask her yourself.”
“I don't know her. What do I say?”
Jane laughed. “You say, ‘How are you feeling?’ Can you swim?
Cam replied, “Swim? Yes.”
“Well there you go. You both have something in common. Just go in and say hi. You aren't asking her on date, are you?”
Cam turned a slight shade of red. “No. Was just wondering.”
“Go in, get a soda from the fridge, ask how she's doing.”
Cam half smiled. “I can do that.”
As the teen disappeared up the steps of the RV, Jane turned to Johnny. “Were you like that back in high school?”
Johnny shook his head. “Not me.”
Jane looked at Mace. “At that age I was terrified up until my first girlfriend. After that I was OK.”
Don said, “Don't look at me. I was married right out of high school.”
Mace asked, “Any word from anyone of power or comms coming back up?”
Don shook his head. “I connected with another ham-head at the airport. He has a fifty foot antennae setup at his house. Said nothing was coming through.”
Johnny said, “So, what do we do this morning for securing this cave?”
Mace replied, “We have six or eight neighbors surrounding this place. I say we enlist their help in our cause. If we can make their homes the first line of defense, that gives us a buffer. And it gives them a secure place to fall back to. When Mr. Collins comes back out, we can quiz him on the neighbors. He's been here his whole life, he should know who they are.”
Mace turned to Don. “You flew up to Lewisburg and Fairlea. Other than roads being blocked, any signs of unrest?”
“There was a building smoldering in Lewisburg, but that could have been from anything. There are only three roads leading in here: straight down at Caldwell, 219 coming out of Ronceverte, and 219 coming up from Union. We have two bridges just south of here at Second Creek. There are other back routes, but those are the major ones.”
Jane crossed her arms. “Maybe Tres' idea of blowing up bridges wasn't so bad.”
Mace laughed. “OK, for the moment at least, we aren't blowing any bridges. We destroy public roads and we're begging for the National Guard or the Army to come take us out. Let's shelve that one until the situation starts to border the extreme.”
Mace walked Don around the perimeter of the new domain. When they returned, Jasper Collins was emerging from the cave, with Tres and Vanessa at his heels.
Jasper walked up the steps to his gift shop, opened the door, and proceeded in with Tres still behind him. Tres came out seconds later, joining them at the RV.
Johnny said, “He kick you out?”
“Said I was asking too many questions.”
Mace said, “Well, give the man a break. That's his second tour this morning, and I would bet he's a bit tired from it.”
“Completely worn out is more like it. He had to stop and sit half a dozen times on the way out.”
Mace began to walk toward the gift shop. “I'll check on him. Hope he's up for a few questions about his neighbors.”
The Ranger hopped up the steps and walked through the door. Jasper was in his chair and already fast asleep. Mace turned, quietly making his way back to the RV.
“Poor old guy is out.”
Johnny pointed at the trailer. “Why don't we look at emptying whatever we think we'll want to store in the cave. You can give Jane and me the short tour.”
Vanessa said to Jane, “It's actually a cool place. You'll like it in there. Once we got down that ramp, Mr. Collins seemed excited to talk about it. He's crotchety, but very funny.”
Johnny laughed. “I bet he's given that tour five thousand times.”
Mace gestured toward the property entrance. “Tres, go watch the road for us. Vanessa, have a check on Tonya. Might be good to get her out here in the fresh air and sunshine. You two, come with me. I'll show you around.”
Mace took the battery lantern from the counter in front of a sleeping Jasper. His tour lasted half an hour and was limited to the front rooms of the cave. Once back out in the daylight, he again checked in on their host. Jasper was staring at a shot of whiskey that sat on the counter in front of him.
Mace asked, “You OK?”
Jasper waved his hand. “I'll be fine.”
“Kind of early for a drink, don't you think?”
“It's not for me. It's for Billy. I never said goodbye to him. Thought this would be a good time.”
“I'll come back in a bit.”
“No. No. You got a question, go ahead and ask. Billy can wait. He ain't going anywhere.”
Mace leaned on the counter. “What do you know of your immediate neighbors?”
“What you want to know?”
“Are they approachable? Would they be interested in being a sort of perimeter watch if we provide a place for them to fall back to in case of trouble?”
The old man scratched his head in thought. “Let's see, we got three up here on the main road and three down the road behind 'em. One of the houses on the main road is empty and for rent. A trailer on this back road is the same. That leaves us with four. Three out of the four are elderly couples about my age.”
Jasper thought for few seconds. “The fella on the main road closest to the entrance doesn't much care for me. We used to have summer concerts and picnics out here and he got annoyed by the music. Other than that, I wouldn't hesitate to knock on any of their doors. Just be up front about what you are offering. I'm sure most of them will just want to be left alone.”
Jasper sat forward in his chair. “I really don't think you'll get much warning out of any of them. They might even be more of a burden than a help.”
“How you figure?”
“Well, Jack Altman has Parkinson’s. H
e don't move so well. His wife is barely able to drive him to the doctor now. The Bains rarely come out of their house anymore. In fact, you know, I think they might be down in Blacksburg with their daughter. They used to do that and come back about Thanksgiving.
“And Angus Parker and his wife Mildred, might be down in Florida by now. They go every winter. Not sure if they left yet or not. Might be too early. The grumpy one is David Davidson. He inherited from his parents about twenty years ago.”
“The riding pen out there, you have horses? They might come in handy if fuel gets short.”
“We've got one. Old Mag. She's just an old plow horse, mostly just use her for the kids to pet. I have a deal with several of the neighbors around here that manage the horse rentals and such on their own. We had six of our own at one point, but they were just too much to keep up.”
“I really don't like where the RV is right now. Would it bother you if I moved it down here? Along with our tents?”
Jasper shrugged. “Don't mind at all. You're in charge, do what you want.”
“I also want to move Johnny's SUV up to block the drive.”
“You're in charge of security, Mr. Hardy. Move what you want where you want.”
After a dozen related questions, Mace got to work screening the neighbors. All was as Jasper had said. The lone holdout was David Davidson. He was one of those people who had a constant scowl on his face. He wanted no part of whatever scheme the visitors had cooking. When Mace returned, the SUV was in the drive and the RV parked in the trees by the gift shop. Their tiny kingdom was slowly being secured.
HADRON Dark Matter Page 21