“Shit!” Chris yelled as he stopped and set Henry down.
Henry stared at the door and up at the ceiling. His lower lip began to tremble as he slowly lowered himself onto the floor.
Rita noticed Henry was shaking and knelt down beside him. When he looked up at her, the fear in his eyes broke her heart. Something terrible must have happened to him, she thought. She gently wrapped her arm over his shoulders and pulled him close against her chest. She felt him shaking with fear as she listened to his deep sobbing. This is my fault. She thought and gently rocked him in her arms.
*
Fala’s horse reared up as the mountain seemed to lurch into the air. She managed to hang on to the horn, but as the horse came down, its front legs slid over the edge of the trail, dragging her down the mountain.
Alex caught the movement in his peripheral vision and jerked his head around. “NOOOO!” he roared as he watched Fala and the horse toppled down the side of the mountain. He leapt off his horse and jumped over the edge, his boot heals sliding across the flat gray stone as he leaned back against the surface for balance.
Fala’s foot became trapped in the stirrup and the horse dragged her down the mountain as she struggled to get free. The horse suddenly bounced into the air and her foot slipped free. She turned to look back just as the horse flew over a cliff and disappeared.
“AHHHHH.” Fala groaned as she dug her fingers along the rock, desperate for something to grab before slipping over the edge.
As he continued sliding down the rock, Alex stared in numbed silence as Fala’s horse disappeared from sight. When Fala suddenly disappeared, his heart nearly stopped. “NOOOO!” He yelled as he continued sliding down the mountain.
As her torso slid over the edge, Fala’s right fingers suddenly dug into a crack in the rock. The searing pain in her knuckles from the sudden weight brought tears to her eyes, yet somehow she managed to hang on. When Halona’s smiling face flashed through her mind, she gritted her teeth, forcing all her willpower to the tips of her fingers as they began to lose strength. She knew it would only be a matter of seconds before she could no longer hang on.
When Alex noticed the flesh color on the edge of the cliff, he pressed his palms hard against the surface to slow down. He slid to a stop at the edge of the cliff, rolled over on his side, and reached out to grab the small set of fingers clinging to the edge of a small crack. When he saw the fingers began sliding lose, Alex lurched forward over the edge.
When Fala felt her fingers slipping, she knew she was going to die and whispered an Indian prayer for Halona.
Alex barely managed to grab Fala’s wrist as his chest stopped just before he went over the edge. “Reach up and grab my arm!” he yelled down at her.
When Fala felt a hand crushing her wrist, she turned to look up. Alex was staring down at her, his face a mask of desperation. She summoned all the strength she had and threw her free arm up toward Alex, but missed his arm by mere inches. She heard Alex groan under the added strain and knew she only had enough strength for one more try. She clenched her teeth as she swung her arm up toward Alex. Her fingers tightened around his wrist, squeezing it hard to hang on.
Alex’s other hand was all that was keeping him from sliding over the edge, but he could tell Fala was not going to be able to climb up on her own. If he released his other hand to help her, they would both slide over the edge. When her hand began to lose its grip, Alex knew he had no choice. He let go of the rock and reached down to grab Fala’s coat collar, barely getting a grip as he began to slide forward toward the edge of the cliff.
Alex suddenly felt his belt dig into his stomach as he stopped sliding. His only thought was to drag Fala up over the edge. As he pulled on her coat collar, the rest of her coat held tight to her body as he dragged her up to his shoulders. “Reach up and grab my belt!”
Fala stretched as far as she could, barely managing to slip her fingers around the thick leather strap near Alex’s stomach, then she hauled herself up over Alex’s hips. Only then did she notice Okana straining to hang on to Alex’s belt. Once her knees were over the edge, she rolled to one side and sat on her butt.
Alex felt himself being pulled back from the edge. Once back on solid ground, he rolled over and stared at Okana’s grim expression. “Thanks buddy.”
“I happened to be in the area.” Okana looked over at Fala. “Are you hurt?”
Fala held up her bleeding fingers. “I can’t feel my fingertips yet, but I’ll be all right.”
The trio remained seated as they waited for the adrenalin to flush out of their systems. Fala leaned forward and kissed Alex on the cheek. “Thank you.”
When Alex looked over the edge and saw the bloody body of the horse two hundred feet below, he leaned back and released a long sigh of relief as he looked back at Fala. “I’m sorry about your horse.”
Okana stood and reached down to help Alex and Fala up from the ground. “Let’s get back up to the horses before they leave without us.”
They carefully climbed back up the steep rock face and found the two horses staring down at them. Alex climbed onto his mare and reached down to help Fala up behind him once Okana was settled on his stallion, they continued down the mountain.
* * *
Chapter 11
THE RANCH:
Once they entered the barn, Fala left Alex and Okana to take care of the horses. Alex slid the saddle off his mare and set it on a rack just outside the tack room. “That earthquake was directly beneath us, Okana. There may not be any people at the facility, but something under that mountain is causing these seismic events.”
“You might want to talk to Spencer at the assayer’s office in Stillwater. He knows this area pretty well. His family has been the assayers since way back when they were mining in this area.”
“I noticed his sign when I drove into town this morning. I’ll make it my first stop.
As they headed back to the house, Alex brought out his cellphone. “I’ll call Martin and find out what they were doing in the facility.”
When Donner answered, Alex explained his suspicions about the earthquakes. When he told Donner about DAR leasing the facility, the line was quiet for a moment. “Martin?”
“We’ve just found out Rita is working for Steve Preston, the owner of the DAR Corporation. There’s a good chance they took the device and Doctor Heinz to that facility. I don’t know why they shut it down, but I’ll find out and give you a call.”
“Okay.” Alex hung up and explained everything to Okana. “If they do have Henry, I’m sure he’s scared right now. He has a problem with being underground.” Alex took a moment before deciding what to do. “I have to get him out of there. I’ll drive back to town and talk to the assayer. I’ll call you once I have a better idea what I need to do to get inside.”
Alex felt small fingers grab his hand and looked down.
Halona reached up for a hug from Alex. “Do you have to leave so soon?”
Alex knelt down to let Halona wrap hers arms around his neck. “I’ll see you again soon, okay?”
Halona let go and looked into Alex’s eyes. “You promise?”
Alex smiled. “I promise.” He stood and looked at Fala.
On an impulse, Fala reached out and wrapped her arms around Alex’s neck. Hugging him tightly, she whispered in his ear. “I feel a sense of foreboding, Alex. Be careful.”
Alex wrapped his arms around her waist. “I will.” He replied, then they let go and stepped back.
Okana held out his hand. “Let me know if you need any help, Alex.”
“I’ll keep you informed of what’s going on.” Alex walked down the steps and over to his SUV.
*
COBRA:
Once Henry had recovered from his anxiety, Rita stood and stepped in front of the keypad for the door. When she realized she didn’t even know the combination, she turned and gave Chris a pleading look.
“One, nine, seven, four, six.”
Rita tapped the number
s into the control pad and waited, but nothing happened. She turned back to Chris. “Are you sure?”
“That’s the number they gave me, but I’ve never tried it.”
Rita turned back to the control pad and jabbed her fingers against the buttons. When nothing happened, her clinched fist slammed against the adjacent wall. “Open, Damn it!”
Chris reached down to help Henry up off the floor. “Let’s go to the lounge.”
Henry felt his face flush with embarrassment. “I apologize for my childish behavior, Chris. It is a mental wound that will not heal.”
Chris smiled compassionately. “It scared the hell out of me too, Henry. Come on. Give me your hand.”
Henry reached up and took Chris’s hand, and was pulled onto his feet.
Rita followed them across the room into the lounge and sat at the table with Henry. “I’m really sorry about all this, Henry. I never intended to put you in danger.”
Henry stared at her for a long moment while he thought about what had happened below. “These devices will be the death of us all, Rita. As a species, we are too inept to deal with such advanced technology. I wish we would never have found these damned things.”
Chris had continued into the kitchen. When he returned, he set three cans of soda on the table and sat down.
Rita looked at Chris and then Henry. “What bothers me now is that the earthquake happened without us using the device. We’re not in control anymore.” When she saw the panicky look in Henry’s eyes, she reached over and squeezed his hand. “This facility appears to be handling the stress okay. I don’t expect it to collapse on us.”
Even mentioning the word collapse sent a shiver up Henry’s spine. “Surely someone will come looking for us.”
Chris suddenly stood from the table. “All the hardwired phone lines were removed for security reasons and we don’t have cell phone service because of the mountain, but we have Wi-Fi, remember?”
Chris hurried across the room and grabbed his laptop off the kitchen counter. Once he sat back down, he opened the cover and typed in his password. “I can’t get a signal. It must be because the door is closed. The transmitter and receiver unit is camouflaged out near the tree line.”
Henry suddenly remembered what Chris had told him about the security. “What about those roving guards, Chris? Surely they will notice the door is closed.”
Chris shook his head. “They never come down the tunnel unless we ask them to.” He looked at Rita. “When is Preston supposed to return?”
“Not until the other device arrives. I have no idea how long it will take before they get it here.”
Chris suddenly looked up at the ceiling. “Do you hear that?” When they shook their heads, he pointed at the ventilation duct. “The air conditioning shut down. It might have something to do with the door sealing us inside. Whatever they were doing in this facility, they didn’t want it to get out.”
Henry clasped his hands together in his lap to keep them from shaking. The haunting memory of being trapped in the bomb shelter would not go away.
*
THE CAVERNS:
Both Philip and Sarah felt a shudder in the floor, and then everything was still. Philip went through each room to check for damage, but didn’t see anything unusual.
When he returned to the reception room, the odor of sulfur seemed to hang in the air. Philip held his nose up trying to locate the source. When he stepped into the gift shop, Sarah looked at him and scrunched up her nose.
“What the hell is that stink, Philip?”
“That’s sulfur. I think it’s stronger in the reception room. I’ll try to find the source.”
The odor led him to the elevator door, so he inserted his key to go check it out. When the door opened, a thin cloud of steam roiled toward his face.
“What the hell?” He turned and hurried into the gift shop.
Sarah looked up from her magazine. “Did you find out what stinks?”
“I think so. Something is going on down below. Hand me the flashlight. I’m going down to check it out.”
“Didn’t you notice it earlier when you were down there with that guy?”
“No, but that was hours ago. Something must have happened since then. I’ll be right back.”
By the time Philip stepped into the elevator, the steam had dissipated, but he crinkled his nose at the remaining odor of sulfur and hot asphalt. As the cab started down, the humidity began to increase. When the door opened at the bottom, he stepped out into a sauna. “Crap!”
Philip cocked his head, his ear pointing toward the walkway. The faint whisper of hissing seemed to be coming from the tunnel, so he turned on the flashlight and headed toward the new cavern. Drops of perspiration dripped from his forehead, stinging his eyes. When he used the back of his hand to wipe it away, the liquid had an oily feeling.
By the time he reached the entrance to the cavern, his clothes stuck uncomfortably to his skin. The hissing was coming from inside the cavern, just as he thought, but he didn’t understand how it was possible. The cavern was nowhere near a heat source.
Philip was about to step inside when the hissing grew in intensity, slowly rising in pitch as if building up pressure. “Oh, crap!”
He turned and began running back up the tunnel, his wet clothes dragging against his skin and hindering his motions. The hissing in his ears grew louder, urging him to move faster, but he was already running as fast as he could.
The beam of his flashlight cut through the steam-laden air and he could see the elevator door directly ahead. “Shit!” he groaned when he realized the door had closed.
He slammed his shoulder against the door to stop his momentum and jabbed his finger against the button. “Come on! Open, damn it!”
He spun around, his back against the door as pressure built up against his eardrums. The stench of hot asphalt was nearly unbearable, as was the steadily increasing pressure in his ears.
He barely heard the ding of the bell as the door opened and he was thrown off his feet from the drop in pressure and was hurled backward against the wall of the cab. His skin felt on fire as he slid down the wall and curled into a ball on the floor. He tried to scream as his lungs were seared by the steam, and then everything went black.
*
When Sarah heard a hissing sound from the reception area, she slowly stood and crept across the floor to the elevator. When she leaned her head against the door, the hissing sound was rising in pitch. She could hear the cab rising toward the surface, but it seemed to be coming up very fast.
She flinched and jumped back as a thunderous boom hit the door and hissing steam rolled out from around the edges. When the bell dinged and the door opened, Sarah screamed when she saw Philip collapsed on the floor, his skin the color of a boiled lobster and covered in yellow blisters.
“Oh my god! Philip!”
Steam shot out from around the cab, scalding her face and arms. Scared out of her wits, Sarah ran from the building as steam began rushing out from the front doors. She ran for her car, only then realizing her keys were in her purse in the gift shop.
She had no spare key hidden under her car, so she ran over to Philip’s Park Ranger pickup and threw open the door. When she did not see a key in the ignition she yanked the visor down, but nothing dropped out. When she looked back at the building, it was nearly hidden in a cloud of steam. She realized her only option was to make it back to the main road and hope someone would find her. She turned and ran from the parking lot.
* * *
Chapter 12
STILLWATER:
Alex parked in front of an old red brick building with a sign that simply read, Spencer Patrick, Assayer. The front door was open, so he stepped through into a page out of history. Beautifully handcrafted oak cabinets covered the wall on the left, and a large matching bookcase covered the wall on the right. Straight ahead, the door of a vintage black vault hung open against the wall.
A black walnut desk occupied the center of the room an
d supported the legs of the bald man sleeping in the high back leather chair. Alex softly cleared his throat.
Spencer Patrick opened his eyes and blinked a few times, then fumbled in his pockets until he found his steel-rimmed glasses. A tall man with black hair was smiling down at him. “Sorry about that. I didn’t hear you come in. What can I do for you this morning?”
“I’m Alex Cave. I’m interested in an old gold mine north of here.”
Spencer smiled as he stood and shook Alex’s hand. “Spencer Patrick, but everyone just calls me Spencer. I heard you were in town for the funeral, Alex. You’re a geophysics instructor, if I remember correctly.”
“That’s right. I teach at the college in Bozeman.”
Spencer walked to one of the cabinets. “It’s interesting that you arrive just as these geological incidents are occurring.” He retrieved a large rolled up map from one of the shelves. “This is what you’re looking for.”
Spencer spread the faded gray paper across the desk, placing two small horse-head brass weights on either side to hold it open. Someone had meticulously drawn a mountain range in the shape of a horseshoe, with trees drawn in pencil on both sides of a road drawn down the middle of the valley. At the top right corner of the map, a neatly drawn compass indicated the open end of the horseshoe was north. The measurements showed the distance across the valley as two miles, and the length at three miles. Stillwater Mining Company was printed at the bottom of the paper.
Spencer gave Alex a conspiratorial grin when he looked up from the map. “You know what it is, don’t you?”
“Yes. It’s a caldera from an ancient volcano.”
“My thoughts exactly. I’m interested in geology, too. I’m just an amateur with no formal training, but when you grow up in a mining community you pick up a few things here and there.”
“If the mines are played out, what supports the town’s economy?”
“The ranchers, mostly. I pay for the community services myself.” Spencer noticed Alex’s puzzled expression. “My great grandfather found three significant ore deposits in the area and died a very rich man. He was a shrewd businessperson and set up trust funds for his blood descendants. My brother and I are the only ones left. Arty’s happy with running his restaurant, and I’m happy doing whatever I want, like searching for minerals. I’ve never been the materialistic type. I like this town, and I just want to help keep it going. They made me the Mayor, but I don’t do much politically. I’m just a figurehead. I let the people in the municipal building take care of running the town.”
The Alex Cave Series. Books 1, 2, & 3.: Box set Page 69