by Goodwin,Mark
Sarah dropped her bucket next to the other spare buckets. “Roger that.”
Everett gave her a smile. She appeared determined to do her part, but didn’t seem to have anything to prove. He hoped that if he were in her position, that he’d have the wisdom to do the same, but knew that as a man, pride would more often cloud one’s judgement on such issues.
They traversed the slope, made more treacherous by the moisture from the melted snow. Everett was careful to check the firmness of the ground before shifting his weight with each successive step. He would use the trunks of saplings to hoist himself up when they were available and he could be sure that they’d support his weight.
The group reached a narrow ridge and outcropping of rocks which jetted out from beneath the earth. Elijah pointed to a small crevice between two jagged boulders. “That’s it.”
Everett looked at the tiny space. It was not what he’d pictured. “Where? That? It looks like a groundhog hole.”
“I’m not going in there! It looks like a snake pit!” Courtney vehemently voiced her opposition.
Kevin helped Sarah up by the hand to the narrow landing above the short cliff. “Doesn’t look like much of a cave.”
Elijah grinned. “That’s good. It makes it less likely to be discovered by others. But trust me, as soon as you get inside, it really opens up.” He pushed the ladder through the small opening, shined his flashlight inside and crawled through the hole. “Come, come.” Elijah’s voice came from inside.
Everett grunted his disapproval, laid the bucket on its side so it would clear the mossy tree roots at the top of the crevice, pushed it through and crawled in behind. Just inside, the floor dropped down two feet, immediately making the space larger. The floor of the cave continued to go lower at a more gradual decline until the area opened up into what looked like a room with a low ceiling which was about seven feet high. Everett crawled until he got to a place in the room where he could stand up. “Wow!” He shined his flashlight all around the space. The light glistened off the shiny smooth walls of the limestone cave. The formations along the edges of the room resembled tiny stone icicles.
Sarah was the next to crawl through the low opening. “This is amazing.”
Kevin and Courtney pushed through the other supplies then crawled through and joined the others.
Courtney shined her flashlight. “I don’t see any signs that other people have ever been in here.”
Elijah called for them to follow. “Come along. We’ve got a lot of stuff to move.” The old man led the way through what looked like a wide hallway with a low roof which slanted down and eventually hit the bottom of the cave. Everett and the others had to duck down as they traveled through the corridor until they came out into an open space with a high ceiling that looked to be nearly thirty feet tall at its highest point. “I call this room the cathedral.”
Everett looked all around. The room had a level floor, and a vast open space, comparable to a school gymnasium. “This is fantastic. Is this where we should stash our supplies?”
“No, up there.”
Everett looked over to the point where Elijah was shining his light. About ten feet up the wall of the cave was a ledge that seemed to go back only a few feet.
Elijah set his flashlight down and positioned his ladder up against the wall. “There is an opening that leads down another small crawl space then opens up to a chamber, roughly four feet high. It’s only about five feet wide, but it goes back about fifty yards. It will make a good storage area, and you can’t get to it without a ladder or something to get you up onto the ledge. Even if someone was to discover the cave, they’d be unlikely to find your supplies.”
“Yeah, I guess most people don’t go caving with a ladder. Except for you, of course.” Everett looked at the old man.
Elijah handed him the rope. “You climb up and lower the rope down. Then we’ll tie the buckets to the end and you can hoist up the supplies. Line them up along the ledge then I’ll come up and help you transport them down the crawl space to the chamber.”
Everett followed the instructions. “So how did you happen upon this place anyway?”
“Hiking, when I first moved here years back. I know there are lots of caves, so when I saw the opening, I assumed that’s what it was.”
Everett reached the top and lowered the rope down. “And when did you decide to bring a ladder here?”
Elijah tied the rope to the first bucket. “I’d explored the cave about three times. It doesn’t go very far until it’s not possible for a human to go further. I suppose I just got curious and wanted there to be more.”
“It certainly paid off for us. Thanks for finding it.” Courtney brought over the bucket she’d lugged up the hill and into the cave.
Once the buckets were up on the ledge, Elijah climbed the ladder and helped Everett move the buckets into the chamber which was just a few feet down the crawl space. Moving three buckets wasn’t too cumbersome of a task, but they still had many more at the bottom of the hill, and even more in the truck. Getting two truckloads of supplies up to the cave, through the corridor, up to the ledge, down the crawl space and in the storage chamber would be an all-day job.
Once the first three buckets were in position, they made their way back toward the entrance to complete the tedious chore, leaving the ladder and rope in place.
When they reached the inside of the cave entrance, Sarah said, “Since I can’t move buckets up the hill, why don’t I stay here and ferry the buckets from the entrance to the back wall of the cathedral. You guys just keep them coming and I’ll keep taking them to the back.”
Kevin shined his light around the cave. “I don’t know if it’s safe for you to be in here alone.”
She pushed him toward the opening. “I’m perfectly safe. Now let me be part of getting the supplies in position.”
Kevin kissed her on the cheek. “Okay, but stay alert.”
Everett climbed out of the cave. He had to squint his eyes. The bright light of the sun burned his eyes to the point of watering. As the others came out, they also had to allow for a period of adjustment before continuing down the hill to the trail. Finally, they finished moving the supplies at the bottom of the hill up to the cave entrance and fed them through the opening to Sarah.
After a short break to eat lunch, they worked out a new system. Kevin would move the buckets with the dolly to the bottom of the hill. Elijah, Courtney and Everett would move them up the hill, and Sarah would relocate the buckets from the cave opening to the back wall of the cathedral.
It took all day, but once the process started moving, they began moving faster and faster. Other than one bucket being dropped by Courtney, which had to be moved back up the hill a second time, the project was completed without incident, and not a moment too soon. By the time they’d returned to the trucks, with the ladder and rope, the sun was down and the last glints of daylight were fading.
Everett knew he would sleep well after such a physically demanding undertaking. As they got back into the vehicles, Everett said, “I suppose we can make another run tomorrow.”
Elijah held a finger in the air. “No. Tomorrow, we rest. We can finish moving the rest of the supplies when we return from DC.” He closed the door of his truck and led the way back to the road.
Everett followed Elijah back up the mountain then down to his house where he turned off. Everett gave a light honk and waved as he continued on down the road to the cabin. When they arrived, Kevin and Sarah pulled in the drive behind Everett and got out of the green truck.
Everett opened the door, lit a candle for light and toppled over on the couch. Elijah was right, he certainly needed a day of rest.
Courtney took her holster off and sat down next to Everett. “We put a pretty good dent in the supplies.”
Kevin sat down in the recliner which was now freed up by the buckets that had been relocated to the cave. “We’ll have the living room cleared up before you know it.”
Sarah sat on the
hearth and stirred the hot coals, putting in some tinder and blowing on it to get a flame. “So, I thought you guys weren’t going to DC. Elijah seems unconvinced by your decline to his invitation.”
Everett sighed. He was entirely too tired to think about going to DC to help Elijah confront the Antichrist. “I suppose we’re going. You two can just keep an eye out around here. We’ll help you move the rest of the supplies when we get back on Tuesday. I hope to be back Monday night.”
Kevin scratched his beard. “Would you want a little extra security?”
Everett sat up on the couch. “Are you offering your services?”
“Our services,” Sarah said.
Everett couldn’t quite imagine why they’d want to tag along. “Elijah is planning to crawl straight into a pit of vipers. I’m going because . . . I feel like God is telling me to go. I know it sounds weird, and trust me, I don’t usually talk like this.”
Courtney added, “If you’d have known us before the disappearances, you’d have never believed we’d be saying we hear from God. It’s kind of hard to explain.”
“We’re used to it,” Sarah replied.
Kevin stood up and walked over to where Sarah was. “But we wouldn’t mind coming along. I’d like to see what type of security setup they have for the perimeter, where the supplies are coming in, how hard it is to get in and out.”
“Oh, recon.” Everett looked at Kevin. “You should know, we don’t have any plan, and I don’t think Elijah does either.”
“But you think God is going to protect him. And you think God is going to get him in and out of DC, right?” Kevin sat on the hearth next to Sarah.
“Yeah, I guess so.” Everett gently nodded. He was confused. For people who weren’t willing to accept the free gift of salvation, they sure had a lot of faith in God.
“Then if you don’t mind, we’d like to come also,” Kevin said.
“It’s fine with me, but it’s Elijah’s decision.” Everett still couldn’t get his head around Kevin and Sarah wanting to go.
“Great. It will be a group outing.” Courtney stretched out her hands in dramatic fashion. “To the New Atlantis, a mystical land where nightmares come true.”
Sarah giggled. “It will be interesting to see what they’ve done to the place.”
Everett resumed his reclined position on the couch and fought to keep from falling asleep. He wanted to wash up and get something to eat before bed, but he just had to rest for a few more minutes.
Courtney woke him from his short nap half an hour later. They ate a quick meal of leftover stew and cornbread. Afterwards, Everett took a quick cat bath and went straight to bed. He was back to sleep within seconds of his head hitting the pillow.
CHAPTER 8
Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.
James 5:17 NKJV
Everett stretched out on the bed and ran his fingers through Courtney’s hair. She lay next to him on the bed, opened her eyes and smiled softly. As instructed by Elijah, Sunday morning was spent resting and recuperating from a tough week of getting Kevin and Sarah moved to the cabin and the previous day’s mission of taking supplies out to the cave.
Sox meowed and scratched the sheets at the foot of the bed. Courtney sat up and picked up the cat to pet him.
“I think he’s hungry,” Everett said. “As a matter of fact, I could use something to eat myself.”
“You relax; I’ll make breakfast this morning.” She put Sox down and got up.
“Wow. We should have got a cat a long time ago.”
Courtney whacked him with the pillow. “Shut up! I’ve made breakfast before.”
“Not since I’ve met you.” Everett took cover in case of another assault by the pillow.
Courtney just rolled her eyes and put her jeans on.
Everett watched her as she finished dressing. “Isn’t Sarah going to get mad about you abducting her cat? He’s slept up here every night since they moved to the cabin.”
Courtney pulled her hair back into a ponytail. “No. Cupcake is her pet. Sox belonged to the little girl that disappeared. I think Sarah said her name was Lacy.”
“Okay, then I guess it’s a good arrangement for everybody.” Everett reached out to give Sox a scratch.
“Do you think Elijah will let Kevin and Sarah come to DC?” she asked.
“I haven’t the foggiest idea.” Everett continued to scratch the purring feline.
“I suppose we should walk over to his house and ask after breakfast.”
“Okay. Plus, we never asked him what to bring.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know, guns, packs, water, food, maybe some coins.”
Courtney furrowed her brow. “Now you’re making me think about it too much. It’s going to make me want to back out.”
“By faith.” Everett winked.
She began climbing down the ladder. “Yeah, by faith.”
Everett and Courtney managed to accomplish very little else, besides eating, resting and stopping by Elijah’s for a few minutes Sunday afternoon. Despite doing nothing, the day flew by and it was soon time for bed.
Monday morning, Everett heard Elijah’s knock at the door downstairs. He stared at the contents of the safe before closing it. Elijah had been very vague when they’d asked what to bring the day before, but Courtney, Kevin, Sarah and himself had determined to bring the essentials for a worst-case-scenario. Everett brought his Sig pistol because it was easily concealed. He still had his CIA credentials. He doubted that they would do him any good at all if he were caught in DC with a weapon and no Mark, but it couldn’t hurt. They’d be driving in Ken’s Camaro, which was fast, had a trunk to conceal the long guns they’d be traveling with and couldn’t be directly connected to any of them if they had to ditch it. Packs were stowed in the back of the Camaro with three days of food for the entire team, in case they had to lay low for a while or travel back on foot. Everett opened the tube of one-ounce gold American eagle coins and dropped five in his pocket. Anyone who would be in the position to provide any type of black-market service they may need, such as hiding them in a safe house or giving them food or transportation, would recognize the value of the coins.
“Elijah’s here. It’s time to go.” Courtney called out from downstairs.
“I’m almost ready.” Everett closed the safe, spun the dial and looked toward heaven. “God, please keep us safe. I know I’m supposed to trust you, but I’m a little new at this, so please, be patient with me.”
Fifteen minutes later, they were in the car and on the road. Everett drove, Kevin rode in the passenger’s seat, Courtney, Sarah and Elijah rode in the back.
“How far is it to DC?” Sarah asked.
Everett glanced at the rearview. “Two hours if we were going straight in on I-66, but we’re cutting around from the north. It adds a half hour to the trip, but it reduces our odds of hitting a checkpoint before we get to the fence.”
“Do you have a place near the fence where we can stash the packs and rifles in case things go south?” Kevin asked.
Everett looked at the keys dangling from the ignition. “My old apartment is in Ashburn, which is right outside of the first fence, but everything in that area was looted, vandalized, and generally destroyed after the attacks in November. My building could have been burnt to the ground for all I know.”
“Is it out of the way?” Kevin turned toward Everett.
“No. We’ll go right by there since we’re taking the scenic route.” Everett adjusted his visor to shield his eyes from the bright morning sun.
“It’s worth a shot. We can keep our pistols with us, in case we have to shoot our way back.” Kevin turned to watch the passing countryside out the passenger’s side window.
“Sure.” Everett didn’t want to consider his odds of shooting his way out of DC, the hub of the new one-world government.
An hour
later, they drove by the first series of electronic road signs.
Kevin read them aloud. “Winchester Census, next exit. Follow signs to Shenandoah University.”
Sarah’s voice came from the back seat. “Should we drive by and have a look at the setup? It might be a good place to hit a supply truck.”
Everett gritted his teeth, but saw no point in objecting. If they were actually going to pull it off, Winchester was the perfect distance from the cabin. “Elijah, do you mind if we take a quick detour?”
“Please, do what you like. You’re driving and it’s your car. You certainly don’t need my permission.”
Everett wouldn’t have minded if the old man had opposed the suggestion. He was half-hoping for an excuse to skip driving by the GR facilities. “Well, it’s your mission, and it’s not really my car.”
“Thank you for your consideration, but I’m in no hurry. We’ll get there when we get there.”
Everett took the exit and followed the signs. The university was just off I-81. He turned onto the road and drove slowly past the area which was marked as a census station. There were several large up armored vehicles. He counted three near the census station, and three more near a large fenced-in enclosure where food was being distributed to a long line of people. The line snaked back and forth between poles with lengths of chain which were used as dividers. “Looks like a line in a theme park.”
“Yeah, Apocalypse Land.” Courtney scoffed.