Rory cursed himself silently inside for not thinking about that. It was stupid, short-sighted thinking on his part. Thinking that might just have killed them all.
"Now, I know you have weapons," Old Tuck said, "so why don't we make everything nice and safe and you toss them over here?"
As Rory, Chet, and Donna-Lou tossed their weapons over to the line of men, Old Tuck's eyes looked with delight on the wall of old crates behind the group, "Thank you for cooperating. And thank you for finding the treasure for us. Couldn't have done it without all your help, folks. Never would have found this place in a month of Sundays."
After tossing her weapon, Donna-Lou pulled Corry protectively behind her, "You old son of a–"
Old Tuck grinned fiendishly, "Oh don't worry. I don't need the boy anymore. In fact, I don't need any of you from this point on." He looked around at the enormous cavern, "This place will make a nice mausoleum for all of you–"
Chet took a threatening step toward Old Tuck.
Two of the men took a step forward, their Winchesters trained on Chet.
Chet stopped in his tracks, clenching his fists as he glared at Old Tuck.
Old Tuck sneered, "Just like your daddy and grand-daddy. All wind and no guts–"
Corry quickly moved around his mother before she could stop him and he tugged on Chet's sleeve, his voice low and urgent, "Don't let them take all the boxes in the other cave too, Chet. Don't let them. That belongs to us...." His voice trailed off quickly and he stopped tugging on Chet's sleeve.
Old Tuck's eyes went hard as he looked at Corry, "What's that, boy?"
Corry lowered his eyes and took a step back.
Donna-Lou putting her hands protectively on his shoulders.
Old Tuck stepped forward menacingly, "Speak up boy. What are you talking about? Other cave–?"
One of the gunmen spoke up, a cocky grin on his face, "The boy must mean that other tunnel on the right side when we came in,"
Old Tuck's face broke into an evil grin, "Ahhh, right. The other tunnel back there. We heard the faint echo of you folks talking when we first came in. Led us right down the tunnel to here."
Rory and Chet exchanged glances.
Old Tuck nodded his head gleefully as he backed up a couple of steps, pointing a gnarly finger at Corry. "Thank you, treasure boy. You helped us after all. Once we get all these crates of out of here, I'll make sure you're the last one to go...as a reward."
Donna-Lou stepped forward and put herself between Corry and Old Tuck.
Old Tuck gave her a dismissive grin. Then he turned to the men behind him and jerked his head to the junction of the two caves back behind them, "Let's go see what's on the other side." He looked back at the front wall of crates, "I knew there had to be more. We're gonna need a lot more to pay the bill." Old Tuck pointed to one of the men, "You stay here and guard our friends."
The gunman nodded.
Old Tuck turned his head to look at Rory and the others, "Anybody in here so much as twitches, put a bullet between their eyes. You hear me? Man, woman...or child."
The gunman nodded and grinned as he clutched the rifle to his chest.
Old Tuck's laugh was low and dry as he gave them all a last dismissive look. Then he turned and led the men away to secure the rest of the treasure.
Everybody stayed quiet as they watched Old Tuck and the eleven gunmen march away. They could still hear their feet shuffling and echoing as they disappeared around the curved rock wall.
Rory waited, trying to mentally count down to the time when they would be entering the right-hand cave. As he did, he gave some thought to getting further away from the entrance and the force of an explosion that could come through at any moment. He looked at the gunman, "Do you mind if we move away from these crates behind us? I'm afraid they might fall on the children." He gestured carefully off to the right, "If we can just move over there–"
The man pointed his rifle directly at Rory's head, "Don't even think of taking a step."
"Please," Donna-Lou pleaded.
The man grinned wickedly, "You're all going to die, lady, one way or another."
Emma began to sob.
Rory gestured off to the right again, "All we want to do is move over that way."
"Please," Donna-Lou asked again as she put her arm around the girl.
The man took a deep breath and let it out in a huff. But he backed up and waved the rifle for them to move away from the crates, "Do it slow."
They all complied, moved slowly away from the crates.
After they had only moved about twelve feet, the gunmen yelled, "Stop! No further."
Rory looked back at the pile of crates. Then he looked at the gunmen and pleaded, "Please. We need to get away farther. If you can back up closer to the entrance, that'll give us room enough to–"
"Fine! But no further," the gunmen said harshly. He carefully backed up ten feet, letting them move as well as he kept his rifle trained on the group. Then held a hand up, "That's it. No–"
BOOM!
A tremendous explosion ripped apart the rock wall at the entrance, the concussive force violently knocking everyone off their feet. Any screams were drowned out by the savage thunder-clap that shot through the cavern. A massive cloud of black smoke and gritty material shot through the air. Jagged splinters of rock ripped through clothing and embedded themselves into the pyramid of old wooden crates.
Chapter 51
RORY MACK STEELE OPENED HIS EYES. He was lying on his back and there was a ringing in his ears. Where was he? The light at his waist was pointed straight up and all he could see was dust. It hung like a smoky mist in the air and he could taste it on his tongue. His hand went to his waist and he looked down. Why was he wearing a flashlight at all? He saw bloody cuts on his hands. And there were bloody rips through his shirt sleeves. He sat up quickly and grabbed his head as the world went for a spin. What had happened? He struggled to remember. Then he heard a low cough that echoed behind him. Turning his head, he saw a woman struggling to sit up.
Donna-Lou's voice was low and husky as she called out, "Corry? Emma?" Her voice echoed but there was no reply.
It all came flooding back to Rory. The explosion and the others. He looked around and his heart beat harder when he didn't see anyone else. Then he turned to look the other way and saw the kids. Corry and Emma had been flung back to the wall of crates by the explosion. But they weren't moving. He rolled over and began crawling on his hands and knees towards them. He emitted a low cry of pain as sharp shards of rock bit into the flesh of his hands and knees. Struggling to his feet, he shuffled to the kids, "They're here, Donna-Lou," he said. His own voice was raspy from the dense air in the cavern. Reaching the two forms, he knelt down and pulled on Corry's sleeve to get him sitting up, "Corry, you okay?"
The youngster opened his eyes slowly and nodded his head. "Where's my mom...and Emma...?"
Rory shuffled around to the little girl as Donna-Lou reached her son and hugged him.
Emma was limp as Rory sat her up and cradled her in his right arm, pushing her hair away from her face, "Emma? Emma? Are you okay?"
The young girl opened her eyes and swallowed. It took a few moments for her eyes to focus.
"She seems to be okay," Rory said.
"Chet? Where's Chet?" Donna-Lou asked in a panic. "Chet," she called out.
Chet Calhoun suddenly sat up just a few feet away, pieces of rubble falling away from his body, "What? What happened?" He looked around for a few moments in bewilderment. "Oh...right." He squeezed his eyes shut tightly and shook his head gently. Then he opened his eyes and looked around again, "Everyone okay?"
"Yeah. We all look good," Rory said as he looked around at the others.
"Except for that gunman that Old Tuck left to guard us," Chet said as he got his feet. He pointed towards the area where the entrance had been only moments before. A boot was all that was visible of the gunmen, now buried under a ton of exploded rock. Chet walked slowly over to Donna-Lou and the
kids and helped them to their feet.
Rory left them and walked to the former entrance area, surveying the damage. He climbed the pile of rubble, looking for a way out over the top, searching for any slight opening, but there was nothing. He stopped his search and carefully moved back down to the cave floor, "It looks like the way we came in is totally blocked. It would take a mining scoop or a bulldozer to move all this rubble."
"I'm sorry," Corry said in a subdued voice. "If I hadn't said anything...."
"No, you did great," Chet said. "In fact, I'm proud of you," he said as he gave Corry a hug.
"He's right," Rory said. "That was some fast thinking. They would have...well...you did great like Chet said."
"But how do we get out?" Donna-Lou asked.
"I said it was great, not perfect," Rory said as he looked at Donna-Lou.
Donna-Lou nodded. "Still better than the alternative," she said and then she bent over, coughing.
Chet walked over and placed his hand on her back, patting it a few times, "You okay?"
Donna-Lou nodded and straightened up, holding her hand to her throat, "It's all this stupid dust." She coughed again and waved her hand in front of her face, trying to clear some of the dust away.
Chet waved his hand at the dust as well as he looked to Rory, "So, what do we do now?"
Rory looked at the pile of rubble, "I'm not sure. It's going to take a lot of digging before we can get out of here."
"Maybe somebody will come looking for the Range Rover," Donna-Lou offered in optimism.
Rory shook his head, "No. Remember what Old Tuck said. The dealership where I rented the vehicle is expecting the state troopers to look for us."
"And those troopers were members of the KGC," Chet added. "The dealership will probably just write the vehicle off through their insurance, figuring the state troopers just couldn't find us."
"And anyone else who does come looking will probably be Knights of the Golden Circle," Rory concluded.
"Oh great," muttered Donna-Lou.
Chet looked at the pile of rubble, "I guess we just have to try to dig our way out."
"Too bad we left the shovels out in the Range Rover," Donna-Lou said. "And all the food and water. I have an idea it's going to take a while."
Chet looked at the kids and then said in a low voice to Rory and Donna-Lou, "How long do you think we can hold out?"
Rory took a deep breath and did some thinking. Then he grimaced, "As Donna-Lou said, we have no food and water. The good news is we can go three weeks without food, so we have three weeks to dig ourselves out. But...we still have a big problem according to the Rule of Threes."
Donna-Lou's brow furrowed, "What's that?"
"As a rule of thumb," Rory said, "you can live 3 minutes without air, you can live 3 hours in a harsh environment without shelter and you can make it 3 weeks without food like I said. So yes, we might make it out. Except...we'll only last 3 days without water." He glanced at the pile of rubble, shaking his head, "Three days."
Donna-Lou and Chet looked very somber.
"But we have water," Emma interjected.
"Yeah," Corry said as he jerked a thumb over his shoulder, "we have a whole bunch of water back there, remember?"
Emma looked at Corry and made a face, "And maybe we'll have to eat bugs."
Donna-Lou held a finger up, "Nobody's eating bugs!"
"Maybe we'll find some squishy caterpillars," Corry said.
Donna-Lou made a face and her son let out a belly laugh. Then he suddenly began coughing violently.
Donna-Lou placed her hands on his shoulders as he bent over. "Do you need some water?" she asked her son.
Emma started to say something and then she coughed.
Rory watched the kids, feeling helpless. And then his blood ran cold. He whirled around, looking at the dust that hung heavily in the air throughout the large cavern. He found himself clearing his own throat. It felt like sandpaper. He took a few steps, looking at the cavern floor. He took his flashlight and looked off to the sides of the cavern. He turned in circles, shining the light around, searching.
Chet coughed as he stepped up beside Rory, "What's wrong? What do you see?"
"It's what I don't see," Rory said.
"What do you mean?"
The guano," Rory said as he took a few steps in another direction.
"The bat poop? What about it?"
"Where is it?" Rory asked. He pointed off to the side, "Remember how it was all piled up...?"
Chet looked at where Rory was pointing. He took his flashlight and shone it at another spot. "Yeah. Where is it?"
"It's in the air," Rory said. "The explosion and the subsequent shock wave pulverized all those tiny grains–"
Donna-Lou's eyes shot open in alarm, "We're breathing in bat poop?"
"That can't be good," Chet remarked.
Rory shook his head, "No it's not. It's not good at all. Fungus and mold spores grow in the bat droppings. At the very least, it could mean histoplasmosis...."
"Hist...? What is that?" Chet asked.
"It's a fungal infection that affects the lungs," Rory explained. "Also known as cave disease or cave fever–"
"It's treatable, right?" Donna-Lou asked. She looked like she was about to panic.
Rory looked at her, "If treated in time...."
"If...treated in time? And we're stuck in here?" Donna-Lou whispered. Her face turned white as her son continued coughing.
Chapter 52
THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE SITUATION struck Rory, Chet, and Donna-Lou hard, as Corry and Emma bent over, coughing. The sound echoed off the walls of the dark cavern, basically their tomb for all intents and purposes.
Chet's voice filled with anguish as he went over to Emma to comfort her, "We definitely have to get out."
Donna-Lou gently rubbed Corry's back as he bent over, her face showing she was close to breaking down with the worry.
Rory took a few steps, turning slowly as he looked at the darkness around and above them, looking for a solution. Then a thought struck him. He shone his flashlight around, looking intently. There was something he couldn't see. After a few minutes more of looking, Rory stepped over to Corry, who was still bent over, the boy's breathing ragged.
Corry looked up when he heard Rory's footsteps, "Am...am I going to die?
"No," Rory said. "The coughing is just because of the dust–"
Emma cleared her throat and complained, "And the bat poop. Yuck."
"True," Rory said. "But it will take some time before you get infected. Corry, you said you and Emma found some water and a high, cascading waterfall somewhere?"
Corry cleared his throat as well, nodded and pointed past the pyramid of wooden crates, "It was way back there, behind all those other crates and barrels and stuff."
Rory moved past Donna-Lou and walked around the wall of wooden crates, where he stopped and shone his flashlight towards the back.
A moment later Donna-Lou, Chet, Corry, and Emma joined him. "What are you thinking?" Chet asked.
"I'm not sure," Rory said. "Just a thought." He began walking past the other wooden crates, barrels, and kegs.
Donna-Lou looked at Chet, "We should stay together and go with him. Right?"
Chet nodded. He looked at Emma and Corry, "Are you okay to walk?"
Corry and Emma nodded, each clearing their throats again, Emma coughing lightly again.
Rory flashed his flashlight back and forth, keeping an eye on his footing as well as looking for the water the kids had talked about. The air was thick with the dust and guano mixture here as well; cutting the distance their flashlights could shine. It also made breathing difficult and Rory coughed. He waved his hand through the air, trying to create some cleaner air to breathe as he walked. "Am I going in the right direction?" he called back.
"Yeah," Corry said and he broke into a fit of coughing, stopping for a moment and then nodding to his mother that he could keep going.
Rory kept walking further back
. The ceiling of rock dropped to a little over twenty feet overhead and then the cavern widening out into an immense, canopy of rock again, totally disappearing into the darkness overhead. The sound of falling water echoed from up ahead. Finally, Rory's light shone through the hazy air and reflected off a thin, clear surface of water one hundred yards away. "I see it," he called back. Then he waited for them to catch up and they continued forward as a tight group. The sound of falling water got louder. They reached the edge of the pool and stopped. Rory's voice was low as he flashed his flashlight off the surface of the water, "That is a lot larger than I expected."
"It's like a mini-lake," Donna-Lou said
"It really is," Chet said in astonishment. "It's a mini-lake in a cave."
Corry started coughing again.
Donna-Lou pulled her son close and wrapped her arms around him, "We have to do something, Chet."
"I know, I know," Chet said. "Any ideas, Rory?"
Rory wasn't really listening. He was turning in circles as he shone his light up into the high nooks and crannies in the dome of the immense cavern.
"What are you looking for?" Chet asked him.
"Bats," Rory said.
"Bats? But why...?"
"Because there weren't any on the other side. Corry...Emma...you both said you saw bats back here as well?"
Corry nodded as he pointed and looked up. "They were way up there. You could see their eyes. But I don't see them now...."
Emma started to talk and then coughed.
Chet put his arm around her, pulling her close.
Rory was looking towards the sounds of falling water and he spotted the source of the lake now, off to the left. Just as Corry and Emma had said, there were a series of cascading falls that started in the deep shadows hundreds of feet above them. The water tumbled and splashed its way down through craggy tiers of rock. Rory hustled around the edge of the mini-lake to get a closer look.
Knights of the Golden Circle Page 25