Tarizon: Desert Swarm

by William Manchee

  Chapter 19

  Cocoon

  Over the next few weeks Park Ranger Randy Perkins supervised the construction of improvements in and around the Bat Mountain Uplift, as it has now been officially titled, to accommodate tourists and the press who wanted to visit the site.

  Reverend Little’s pilgrims set up a semi-permanent camp on the ridge above the site to monitor the growth of the uplift and to conduct daily services. The park service provided rangers for the site itself and the Sheriff’s office provided a deputy on duty on the ridge to keep order among the pilgrims.

  Everything seemed to be going well until Molly Munson, the curator at the Death Valley Museum, asked Randy to bring her some samples of the strange crystalline stone from the site for an exhibit she was putting together for the museum. Randy wasn’t crazy about the task as he knew the stone was nearly indestructible, but he had gone out on a few dates with Molly and wanted to continue the relationship, so he reluctantly agreed.

  Expecting a difficult time of it, he brought a hacksaw and a sledge hammer to accomplish the task. He started with the hacksaw but before he’d made much progress the blade broke and he nearly cut off a finger.

  “Ouch! Damn it,” he moaned sticking his finger in his mouth to sooth the pain. Annoyed by this development he picked up the sledge hammer and began hitting a portion of the wall angrily until he’d managed to break off a rock about the size of a baseball. He wondered if that would be enough but knew in his heart it wouldn’t be, so he continued to work until he had a half dozen samples of various sizes.

  As he was gathering his things to leave he was astonished to see the area of the wall that he’d just destroyed starting to mend itself. Mesmerized by what was happening before his very eyes, he didn’t notice the crystal strands that were winding over his shoes and around his ankles. When he decided to run to his car to get a camera to record this astonishing development, he fell hard on his face.

  “What the hell!,” he moaned as he tasted blood from his broken nose. Immediately upon impact crystalline strands the size of thick fishing line began creeping over his wrists and neck while the ones on his feet spread quickly over his ankles. He tried frantically to get up, but the thin strands cut into his skin like razors causing him to scream in pain. “Help! Someone help me!”

  Unfortunately everyone had gone for the day except Deputy Mark Hanson and the pilgrims camped up on the ridge. Many heard the screams but only looked in that direction, curious but not curious enough to breach the security barriers put up by the Army. The crystal restraints dug deeper and deeper into Randy’s skin until veins were slit open and he began to bleed out. A half hour later word of the screams finally made it to Deputy Hanson and he went down to check it out. What he found made him gag.

  Randy was stretched out on his stomach in a pool of blood but there was no sign of what had caused him to bleed. He kneeled down and felt for a pulse. He thought he felt a faint one so he turned Randy over to do CPR, but his eyes were wide open and there was a look of horror on his face that made the deputy shudder. There was no question in the deputy’s mind that he was dead. He reported the grisly death to his dispatcher who in turn called Agents Pierce and Sanders of the FBI since they’d already been working on Colonel Martin’s murder. The two agents arrived an hour and a half later and just stared at the incredible sight in disbelief.

  “What in the hell happened here?” Agent Pierce asked.

  Deputy Lawson, who had arrived at about the same time as the two agents, replied, “Some of the Pilgrims reported to Deputy Hanson that they’d heard screaming, so he ran down to investigate. He found Randy just as you see him now. Then he called it in.”

  Agent Sanders shook her head. “This is unreal. I’ve never seen someone killed like this. It’s almost ritualistic.”

  “No man did this,” Reverend Little bellowed from behind them. “This was a demonstration of the wrath of God!”

  Everyone looked around at the reverend. Agent Sanders said, “You’re saying God killed Randy?”

  “Not himself, his protector.”

  Deputy Lawson turned around and shook his head. “What did Randy ever do to anger God?”

  The reverend pointed to the sledge hammer. “Look at that. He was trying to destroy God’s work. I warned him that God would punish those who tried to thwart His will.”

  “Nonsense,” Agent Pierce said. “Somebody had it in for Randy just like they did for Colonel Martin. But I must admit the killer is very creative in the manner he kills his victims.”

  “It’s obviously somebody who doesn’t want the government controlling this site,” Deputy Lawson observed. “And you’re the only one that I know that has a problem with it, Reverend.”

  Reverend Little smiled. “Nice try, Curt, but I’ve got an alibi. I was at my office in Shoshone when this happened and there are a half a dozen people who can verify that fact.”

  “Yes, but miraculously you were one of the first persons on the scene.”

  “Of course I was. I have friends down here. Someone came and got me the moment the word got out that Randy had been murdered.”

  “Nevertheless, we’re still going to need to interview you again,” Agent Pierce advised.

  “No problem. I have nothing to hide.”

  As they were talking the FBI Evidence Response Team rolled up and began securing the crime scene. Agent Pierce suggested they should move away from the body and let the team do its work. Special Agent Paula Roberts, the agent in charge of the ERT walked over to the group and shook her head.

  “What in the hell happened here?”

  Agent Pierce shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. The people on the ridge heard screams so they told Deputy Hanson about it and he came down to investigate. This is what he found.”

  “So, the perp staked his hands and legs in the ground and then choked him with a wire?” Agent Roberts asked.

  “That’s what it looks like but the blood pooling indicates the wires were tightened at the same time,” Agent Sanders said. “There must have been at least two perps and possibly as many as five. We’re looking at footprints but there are so many I don’t know if they will do us any good.”

  Reverend Little shook his head in frustration. “I’m telling you God commanded the walls to defend themselves from Randy’s attack and they obeyed His command.”

  “Right, so what are you saying?” Agent Sanders asked. “This so called cathedral is a living being and can respond to commands from God.”

  The reverend nodded vigorously. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. Isn’t it obvious?”

  Agent Sanders looked at Agent Pierce and rolled her eyes. “Like I said, case closed. It was an act of God.”

  Agent Roberts stifled a laugh and said, “Well, I’m going to get back to work. I’ll let you know if we find anything.”

  As he was leaving Deputy Hanson noticed one of the chunks of broken crystal that Randy Perkins had knocked out of the wall laying on the ground. He leaned over, picked it up, and gave it a long look. He was about to take it over to one of the ERT members to log in as evidence, but saw that they had several other pieces, so he struck it in his pocket as a souvenir.