Blood Harvest

by Michael Weinberger

  Steve grasped the clip on the front of his harness which halted his fall and slowly began to let rope slip through, thereby controlling his descent. He only had another twenty feet or so to go before hitting bottom and he was anxious to get his feet on the ground. With a deft swing of his arm, Steve removed the snake stick from his pack and dropped it down to the floor of the mineshaft. He aimed for the spot where he believed he would most likely place his feet first when he reached bottom. The stick landed with a soft crinkle on the plastic bags and immediately the sound of a snake’s rattle began to reverberate about the chamber. The first rattle was followed by another less intense rattle of a second snake seemingly coming from further in the chamber.

  The eerie sound didn’t startle or alarm Steve; he calmly looked in the direction of each of the two sounds. He switched from UV light to flashlight and was able to quickly locate the two snakes, which to his pleasant surprise were not directly beneath him. The snakes were actually about ten feet further inside the mine away from the vertical drop of the opening. Eyeing the snakes which were about three feet long and on opposite sides of the chamber from his landing spot, he realized they posed no initial threat to him as he continued his descent to the floor.

  Reaching the base, Steve’s feet gently sank into the soft refuse that yielded under his bodyweight as he finished his descent. Picking up the snake stick he noticed the opening dropped him into a circular clearing with an opening of a new, and this time horizontal, tunnel leading into the mine at a very gradual downward slope. Moving cautiously into the tunnel he approached the location of the first snake, which had coiled in a classical defensive position.

  Steve took a careful step forward toward the reptile when something crunched under his foot. The unexpected sound startled the viper and resulted in the animal’s rattle reverberating with greater speed and intensity. Without taking his eyes off the snake, Steve slowly lifted his guilty foot and retraced his steps in reverse to see what he had crunched. Using the high beam Steve glanced down to see his foot emerge from a partially exposed human ribcage. His shoelaces snagged on the now broken rib bones as he shook the remains from his foot.

  Moving the flashlight to a midway point between the snake and his current position he used the ambient light of the beam to illuminate additional partially clothed bones. The bones were clad in khaki shorts and what looked to be a cotton tank top. The skeleton was small, with no visible anatomical features indicating gender; however, a small backpack near the remains could provide one possible explanation.

  Conspiracy theories have been a popular fad within the general population ever since the release of the X-files. These days, people are more apt to believe a cover up is in place to hide the motivations of the ulterior motivated. In the case of silver mines, backpackers and other adventure seekers were renown for believing the warning signs were mere distractions to the fact that there were indeed large caches of silver still within the mines. The warnings and “rumors” of the mines being empty were therefore false, all a ploy on the part of those who owned the deeds to the mines to keep their silver safe. Truth be told, there was some silver left within the mines; the problem was the cost of excavating the metal was more than the metal was worth.

  Many tried their luck with the integrity of the mineshafts and most were fatal mistakes. The fall was always traumatic and usually fatal with death occurring from exposure, if not from the initial impact. The bones were not part of the usual modus operandi of his people, nor were the piles of trash at the bottom of the mineshaft opening. Was there any connection between the bones and whatever was happening at the nightclubs?

  The victim’s backpack was green canvas as opposed to the brightly colored nylon most packs had been over at least the last decade. There was no scent of decay in the dusty air and the bones did snap dryly when Steve stepped on them. Obviously the body had been down in the shaft for a long time. Reassuring himself the skeleton could not suddenly animate itself, while realistically a live rattlesnake could, Steve turned his attention to the nearest snake positioned directly in the path he needed to take to enter the tunnel in front of him.

  Steve moved forward and the snake’s rattle intensified and became more audible. He slowly closed the distance between them. Having recovered the snake stick, he now reached out to the middle rear of the animal. The snake recoiled into tighter spirals as the stick made contact with its scaly body. The snake didn’t try to strike out as Steve ever so gently looped the blunt hook around the viper’s body and lifted it up and off of the pathway. With slow and deliberate movements, Steve lifted the entire snake off of the ground and moved the animal behind him, setting the snake back on the ground. Evidently the snake realized the large mammal was not a predator and the rattle subsided to a mere hum. The animal slithered away from Steve and disappeared under the garbage bags where Steve had initially landed, about fifteen feet behind Steve’s current location.

  Suddenly, from deep within the chamber the sound of the second snake grew louder and more urgent than it had before. Steve moved deeper into the tunnel using his flashlight to illuminate the way, until he stopped short and held his position. It occurred to Steve he might not have been the cause of the second snake’s agitation since he was still a good forty feet away from the sound. Steve guessed that whatever agitated the animal might have a similar agitating effect on him so he drew his sidearm, aimed the beam further down the expanse and cautiously continued his advance.

  Breaking through the rhythmical rattle was another sound of something heavy landing on soiled earth. The impact was so forceful Steve could feel the vibration of the impact. A faint crunching sound was followed by the rattle falling quiet. The chamber went deathly silent. Fear slipped up the back of Steve’s spine, except this time it wasn’t claustrophobia or arachnophobia. This time the fear was of something much larger watching him just beyond the reach of the flashlight beam.

  Who was it that said you can’t ever go home?

  Steve stared into the shadows while shifting the beam of the flashlight from right to left, up and down with no success of viewing whatever was in there with him. He felt very much like a blind person swinging a cane back and forth to find his way. Deciding it was too late to turn back, Steve moved forward, continuing to swing the flashlight back and forth, searching for any indication of life. Then he heard footsteps approaching from far down the shaft. Someone was coming and coming fast!

  “Alpha! It’s me! It’s Steven!” When no reply came Steve lifted his Glock and dropped to a shooter’s stance. He aimed with both the flashlight and the sidearm ready for whoever or whatever was about to make an appearance. Desperately, Steve swung the flashlight beam across the darkness in front of him trying to get a glimpse of movement. Everything went silent. No footsteps. No sound of the breeze. No rattles. No crickets, nothing. All sound just went dead.

  The sudden silence unnerved, but did not break Steve’s concentration on the tunnel ahead. He could feel the presence of eyes upon him. It wasn’t Alpha in the tunnel with him; Steve had a feeling of a multitude of presences in the darkness before him. The feeling was as real and as tangible as was the salty taste of sweat now copiously falling from his brow to his lips.

  Steve became aware of a faint shallow raspy sound, like quick short breaths and realized it was his own breathing. Fighting to control each breath his need for answers diminished as his instinct toward self-preservation kicked in. This was getting to be too much, and a deliberate and expedited retreat was now in order. Carefully, gingerly Steve took a slow step back. Barely a sound could be heard as he placed his left foot behind him.

  Deep, crunching footsteps began to move closer toward him. Damn! Steve thought. He should be able to see whoever was out there by now. To make matters worse, a distinct second set of footsteps now combined with the first. The footsteps picked up their pace as Steve took another step backward, frantically swinging the flashlight beam left and right. More footsteps, all sounding like they were running straight f
or him.

  Something should be visible by now! The beam of light extended thirty yards into the tunnel. A body part, a face, a shadow, something should be distinguishable. The footsteps were growing resoundingly loud; Steve realized all sounds were amplified by the stone walls of the mine making the persons heading his way sound far closer than they actually were. Still the flashlight beam revealed nothing of what was coming. He remembered the flashlight was part of a lantern that would illuminate everything around him in a blue all-encompassing glow. There would be no way anyone could approach without being seen in the lantern’s revealing aura.

  The sound of the footsteps was becoming deafeningly loud as he fumbled for the switch to change over from flashlight to lantern. His fingers searched without luck. Frustration and desperation overwhelmed Steve as he briefly took his eyes off of the tunnel before him and, using the peripheral glow of the flashlight beam, located the switch on the side of the lantern. Looking back up and into the tunnel Steve thought he could make out silhouettes of men running toward him as he pressed down on the switch.

  Instantly the entire area of the mine was washed in the glow of the blue light. Steve screamed with astonishment as he brought the pistol to bear on three men, all of whom skidded to a halt at the sight of the blue light and the man holding said light in one hand and a Glock 17 in the other. All three men were less than five feet away as they stared in disbelief at Steve, who realized he was equally disorientated at the sight of them. Seconds ticked by as everyone held their ground. Steve noticed a growing look of apprehension on the face of one of the three men.

  “Drop to the ground, NOW!” Steve hollered in his best cop voice.

  The reaction he received was completely unexpected. The man with the growing look of fear immediately covered his eyes and screamed in a wail of pain that bounced off the walls of the chamber. Another of the men dove to his friend and caught him as he crumpled to the ground.

  What the hell was this?

  The screaming man was flailing, convulsing and clawing at his face with frenzy. The second man tried to cover and control the man in his delirium. Steve suddenly panicked, realizing he was so enthralled by the strangeness of the two men on the ground he had forgotten about the third man.

  Raising his weapon to head level he turned and came eye to eye with the third man who was now aiming a particularly large caliber revolver between Steve’s eyes. The third man was saying something but the wailing of the man on the ground made whatever it was inaudible.

  His police training took over, “Police! Drop your weapon! Now!”

  The third man was now screaming something back at Steve.

  “Shut off that light!”

  Ignoring the seemingly inane request, Steve persisted.

  “Drop your weapon now or I will kill you!”

  “Turn it off!”

  “Drop it! I mean it!”

  “You’re already killing him!”

  Did he hear that right?

  “Put your weapon on the ground! And shut him up!”

  Both men were yelling at each other though neither was listening to the other. The third man was highly agitated and less concerned about the gun being pointed at him than he was for the light.

  “Turn off the goddamn light! You’re killing him!”

  Against all his training, Steve eyed the man on the ground who continued convulsing in pain. Blisters were forming on every exposed area of his skin.

  “Turn it off now or I’ll have to shoot it out!”

  Steve retorted, “I won’t shut anything off while you are pointing a gun at my head.”

  A moment passed with the only sound being the moans of the wrenching man on the ground and his friend trying to cover him.

  “All right, I’ll drop the gun and you switch that thing back to the high beam I saw earlier. Agreed?”

  “How do I know your friends aren’t armed?”

  “Dammit! He’ll be dead before any of your trust issues can be resolved. Here!” The third man tossed the weapon in front of Steve’s feet.

  Not wanting to bank on this small victory, Steve replied. “Okay, move over to your two friends so I can keep all three of you in the flashlight beam.”

  The third man readily complied. Dropping to his knees by his fallen comrade he quickly removed his shirt exposing a corpse-like pale flesh that almost fluoresced in the ultraviolet illumination. The man ripped and wrapped his shirt around any remaining areas of his comrades exposed skin which, to Steve’s amazement, had begun to blacken and crack as if being severly burned.

  Turning back to face Steve, the man hissed, “Turn the lantern off!”

  Steve would have preferred to leave the light on, but he was in search of answers and not out to make enemies if he could help it. Reluctantly, he switched the lantern setting back to flashlight. The area instantly went black except for the intense ray of white light capturing the three individuals in its beam. The blistering man calmed and relaxed, but still moaned quietly from the pain of the injuries he had sustained.

  The third man never took his eyes off of Steve; he stared directly into the center of the flashlight beam. His eyes shone in bright orange circles like an animal’s eyes caught in the high beams of an approaching car.

  “We have to get him to the healers now!” the other man said urgently as he continued to tend to his friend.

  “I know. Calm down,” the man watching Steve said with measured control.

  “Calm down?!? You saw the burns! You know what that can mean for him!”

  “I saw them and I am well aware of the need!” He angrily responded.

  Steve and the man studied each other for the next few seconds, assessing their next move. Steve noticed a shift in the man’s expression for a fleeting instant before it was gone.

  When the man spoke again it was with a disconcerting confidence that unnerved Steve.

  “Nathan, get Samuel to his feet.”

  The man on the ground looked to his friend, “I don’t think he can stand, Jeremiah.”

  Purposefully the man turned his back to Steve and, with the help of the man he called “Nathan,” lifted the man named Samuel. With quick motion Jeremiah hoisted Samuel onto his shoulders in a fireman’s carry and took a couple steps back toward the depths of the mineshaft.

  “HELLO! Man with a gun over here!” Steve called out in a voice that belied his incredulity. Had they completely forgotten he was there?

  Steve warned, “You take one step out of the light and I start shooting!”

  Nathan immediately froze in his tracks, but Jeremiah continued moving.

  Calling back over his shoulder Jeremiah said, “C’mon Nathan, he isn’t going to shoot.”

  “Are you so sure?” Steve cocked the bolt action of his weapon. The sound of the weapon being made ready to fire echoed off the walls of the mine.

  Jeremiah turned back toward Steve, “Actually, what I meant was you aren’t going to be able to shoot. Alpha’s got you.”

  Then the man turned and proceeded further into the tunnel closely followed by Samuel.

  “Hey Freeze! No one’s going anywhere until…” Suddenly the name Alpha registered. Steve had been so preoccupied with the three men and the unusual scene he hadn’t grasped the significance of hearing Alpha’s name.

  “Oh crap, not again.” Steve felt an intense pain at the side of his neck and lightning seemed to erupt before his eyes. Then everything went black.

  Chapter 26

  The sounds and smells of his surroundings slowly began to register as Steve’s mind struggled to consciousness. Unfortunately, the more he became aware of himself the more he realized how much trouble he was in. He was lying on his side in a near fetal position, completely unable to see. He could feel something wrapped tightly around his head and covering his eyes. As he attempted to reach up to his face to remove the wrapping he discovered his hands were bound at the wrists, loosely connected to what felt like straps binding his feet at the ankles. Steve twisted and arch
ed his body until he was able to set himself in a seated position. He listened for any evidence of a presence in the area. The only noise was a slow drip of what sounded like water from a high elevation falling into a pool or puddle. Steve guessed he was still within the cave judging from the loudness of the drop as it hit the pool. The area felt like some kind of large cavern comprised of cold stone as opposed to the loose earth he’d experienced when initially descending into the mine.

  Steve had no idea how long he had been unconscious. His head and neck throbbed terribly as he tried to stretch himself out as far as his bonds would allow. Every movement or scuffle along the floor was amplified by the cave, threatening to announce his consciousness to his captors. He did everything he could to keep quiet but, realizing it was a losing battle, he redoubled his struggle to free himself from his bonds.

  The floor felt smooth like river rock and probably wouldn’t create enough friction to wear through the bindings. He tried to wriggle his hands to create some space, thinking he would use it to loosen the restraints, but the knots held fast. Dipping the side of his head to one shoulder, he even tried to push free of the blindfold. He had some success, but not enough to raise the wrap to the point where he could see. Steve abandoned this effort as he realized no light was coming in from the perimeter of the blindfold. He was in pitch blackness and would be unable to see regardless.

  The sound of multiple footsteps approaching resigned Steve to the fact that he would not be able to free himself in time for any kind of escape. He decided to conserve his strength which served as a morale booster and a tiny measure of optimism, considering that was pretty much all he could do anyway. Dwelling on his extreme helplessness certainly wasn’t going to be useful.