Apollo Project

by Brittany E Brinegar

  Before Robin answered, Dixie, shouted, “The store is on fire.”

  Chapter 29 – The Hive

  Reagan

  The cabin door burst open spilling Reagan and Scotty. He kicked the door closed and gasped for air. “I think we ran a 4.3. Where are the scouts when you need them?”

  With rage in her eyes, Kelly aimed her rifle at the closed door. “Who are you running from?” She reached for the door handle.

  Annabeth edged by her side wielding a fire poker. “Nate Campbell?”

  Reagan brushed them aside. “Don’t.” She struggled to catch her breath. “Bees.”

  “Eeee,” Kelly said in her best Lucy Riccardo impression.

  Annabeth stumbled away from the door, fear marring her face. She plopped on the floor and played with Mickey.

  Granddad eased forward on his cane. “You ran into those awful mutants?”

  “Apparently their source,” Scotty coughed.

  “Source?” Kelly did a double-take. “Meaning their hive?”

  “I guess.” Reagan rubbed the frosty window. “But I’m worried we led them straight to y’all.”

  Annabeth touched the faded stings on her arms. “They can’t get in, can they?”

  Kelly examined the cabin for a few beats. “We should be okay. Windows and doors are tightly sealed. The fireplace is the only possible entry point, but even bees on steroids hate fire.”

  Annabeth added another log for good measure.

  Meredith waddled from the couch. “Wait, this panic is over a few bees? What about the ranger, Junior’s killer? Or did you forget?”

  Reagan avoided his questions. “How’s Olivia?”

  “Distraught,” Meredith whispered. “Dawn is trying to comfort her but she is in shambles.”

  “Is the hunting party back?” Scotty asked after a glance around the cabin.

  “Not yet.” Kelly pulled a pad and pen from her fanny pack. “Now about those bees. I can build a device to extinguish their hive.”

  Granddad fingered his beard. “Is it the best use of our resources?”

  “Of course, it is,” Kelly said making notes. “We can’t go anywhere if those things are following us.”

  “Not with me, you mean,” Annabeth said. “I hate being such a nuisance.”

  “You’re not a nuisance, Ethel.” Reagan managed to draw a smile from her sister. “You’re allergic to bees, it’s not a weakness.”

  Kelly poked her shoulder. “You saved Jon from the cliff, remember?”

  Annabeth twirled a strand of red hair. “But if I wasn’t allergic to bees, we wouldn’t waste our time destroying the source.”

  “They’re too dangerous to ignore,” Reagan said. “Scotty and I pulled a Usain Bolt to escape. We can’t have the swarm following us.”

  “I say the ranger is more of a danger.” Meredith propped his elbow on the mantle.

  “And we have three of our people out there looking for him,” Reagan said. “In the meantime, we’re going to get rid of those bees.”

  “What’s the plan?” Granddad asked. “Even if we build something, how do we expect to get it to the hive.”

  “We outran them pretty well. I didn’t get stung more than a few times,” Scotty said. “If y’all build something, I’ll take it to the hive.”

  “This is ridiculous.” Meredith plopped on the couch.

  Annabeth leaned closer to Reagan. “Olivia hasn’t moved or said a word. She’s staring at the wall with a blank look on her face. I’m not sure if she can even walk right now.”

  Reagan twisted her neck. “Alright, one problem at a time. First, we get rid of the bees. Preferably before Travis Wayne, Jon, and Jasper return.”

  “I’ll get to work,” Kelly said. “Come on Tucker. I have a few ideas.”

  Reagan rubbed the sleeve of her shirt against the frosted window. The swarm of bees hovering outside grew with each passing moment. Kelly and Granddad hustled to prepare the weapons. Shoving two mason jars of diesel in her backpack, Kelly tilted to Reagan. “Are we ready?”

  “Scotty and I can handle this,” Reagan said reaching for the pack.

  “I’m as capable as you, Reagan. And four years older I might add.” Kelly stroked her ponytail. “What I mean is I’m coming along to execute my plan. This is a three-person job and we are the most qualified.”

  Scotty twirled the device Kelly handed him. “What did you say this fire puffer thingamabob was called.”

  “A bellow,” Annabeth answered. “What did you think it was called?”

  “An air puffer fire starter thingamabob,” Scotty hesitated. “I don’t know. Not like we ever needed them in Texas.”

  Reagan pulled Jon’s Glock from the waistband of her jeans and passed it to Granddad. “We’ll be back soon. Keep an eye on things.”

  “Put on your gloves Scotty.” Kelly snapped like a teacher focusing a distracted student.

  Scotty dropped his borrowed gloves on the coffee table. “I’ll be fine.”

  “It’s for the bees, tough guy. You don’t want any exposed skin.” Kelly tugged the fishnet clipped to her floppy hat. “Ready?”

  “Your getup is goofy,” Granddad hollered.

  Kelly rolled her eyes. “We’re not going to the cotillion, old man. It’s an improvised bee suit.”

  “Be careful,” Annabeth said retreating from the door.

  Scotty patted Mickey’s head before telling him to stay. “Y’all too,” he said nodding toward the Caribou Crew.

  Reagan tugged Nate Campbell’s radio from her pack and covertly handed it to Granddad. “Give this to Travis Wayne when they return. No one else.”

  “Duh.” Granddad didn’t question where it came from but no doubt would when they returned.

  The three beekeepers scrambled outside the cabin and the door slammed behind them. Reagan lit her gasoline-soaked torch as Kelly used the bellow to direct smoke at the massive swarm. Scotty led the way with Reagan’s rifle and hauled a large can of diesel. The trek lingered as they herded the bees like ranchers driving cattle.

  “Are we close to the source?” Kelly jiggled her arms a little while later. “Who knew a bellow was such a good work out?”

  “The lake’s close and their hive shouldn’t be far,” Scotty said.

  “Shouldn’t be?” Kelly echoed.

  “Slight confession.” Reagan parted the fishing net. “We didn’t see the bee’s hive, we only heard about it.”

  Kelly stopped in her tracks. “Meaning?”

  As soon as the smoke stopped, the bees intensified. Reagan handed Kelly the torch and pumped the bellow. “Scotty and I tracked Nate Campbell here.”

  “What?”

  “We had him cornered when he started talking about the bees and leading us to their source,” Scotty said. “I called his bluff until the pterodactyls distracted us. The ranger vanished during the confusion.”

  “Not before we snagged his radio,” Reagan said.

  “We don’t know where the source is or even if it’s real?” Kelly threw her head. “Good job, Jack. You probably led us right to the Others.”

  Scotty skimmed the trees. “I don’t think the ranger was lying. He was pretty smug.”

  “Are we here to take care of the bees or find Nate Campbell?”

  Reagan adjusted the fishnet veil. “Two birds.”

  Kelly held a hand to her forehead. “Alright let me concentrate. I might be able to narrow this down.”

  “The bees or the ranger?” Scotty asked.

  “The bees.” Kelly’s eyes lifted to the green sky. “Most beehives are in either hollowed-out trees, caves, or rock cavities. These bees are gigantic, so we’re probably looking for a large hive.”

  “If that’s the case, a cave is probably our best bet,” Scotty said. “Are there any caves nearby?”

  “We hid in one when the lightning hit,” Kelly said.

  “Hours from here.” Reagan closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. “One of the first times Annabeth and I went c
amping with Granddad he organized a treasure hunt. We must have crawled through every cave.”

  Scotty swiveled. “Remember any of them?”

  With a hand on her hip, Reagan circled and studied the area. “Not really, but it can’t be far.”

  “This feels like guesswork,” Kelly said. “We can’t be sure Nate Campbell was even telling the truth.”

  “Hey, kind of weird.” Scotty pointed to the swarm. Their buzzing stopped and they swerved in the opposite direction. “Think the mothership’s calling them home?”

  “Follow the swarm,” Kelly said leading the charge.

  “Don’t run,” Reagan warned. “You have the extra jars of diesel in your pack.”

  “Oh yeah,” Kelly said slowing her pace.

  After only a few minutes of chasing the swarm, they stumbled into the cave. Darkness swallowed the bees.

  “After you,” Scotty said sweeping his hands.

  Kelly pointed her torch inside the cave. The flame danced on the wall as they entered. “Watch your step. We don’t know where the hive could be.”

  Scotty blinked a few times as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. “Don’t bees make their hive in trees or at least hanging somewhere?”

  “Some do. Other’s use hollow tree trunks.” Kelly said.

  “Or the opening in a cave floor?” Reagan asked.

  “I guess so,” Kelly shrugged and tracked Reagan’s point. “Oh my gosh, it’s huge. I wish I had a camera. We could make it in Guinness with the size of the beehive.”

  “Do we have enough diesel?” Scotty asked as he began pouring his can.

  Kelly handed her torch to Reagan. “Which is why we brought extra.” She unzipped her pack and helped Scotty.

  Reagan stepped away from the flaming torch. “I have a question. Granted, I don’t know much about arson but if we put a match to all this diesel, in an enclosed cave don’t we run the risk of singeing off our eyebrows?”

  “Yikes, or worse.” Kelly bit the side of her lip. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

  “Y’all can go for cover and I’ll throw the match,” Scotty said. “I’ve got a good arm and I’m the fastest.”

  “And dumbest,” Kelly blurted.

  Scotty managed to fake a frown between his snicker. “Hey, not a very nice thing to say to the guy putting his eyebrows on the line.”

  “I mean it won’t matter how fast you run. With these fumes, you won’t get very far.”

  Reagan gave the torch in her right hand a “Lucy” face. “I’m getting the feeling I shouldn’t be holding this right now.” She escaped outside and returned with her unreliable flashlight.

  Scotty adjusted the rifle strapped to his back. “How are we supposed to ignite this?”

  Kelly shoved Scotty with surprising strength for her size. “You’re a genius.”

  “From the dumbest to genius in under a minute,” Scotty said grinning. “What exactly did I say?”

  Kelly pointed to the rifle. “We’ll shoot it.”

  “MythBusters proved the gas tank theory wrong. It only happens in the movies,” Scotty said.

  “Diesel’s flammable; that’s not a myth,” Reagan said.

  “We need to create a spark with the rifle.” Kelly snagged flint from her fanny pack. “This will do the trick.”

  “I’m a pretty good shot, but how are we going to hit a piece of flint front twenty yards away into a dark cave?” Reagan asked.

  “May the force Bee with us.” Kelly swatted away a stray bee.

  “With a little light, I can make the shot,” Scotty said.

  Reagan’s eyes glistened. “You think so, Skywalker?”

  “Yup.”

  “Oh, I have a glow stick,” Kelly said digging through her fanny pack.

  Reagan put her hands on her hips. “What don’t you have in there Marry Poppins?”

  “A working cellphone,” Kelly said without missing a beat.

  Scotty clapped. “Let’s do this.”

  Kelly broke the glow stick and situated it a few inches to the right of the flint. “I hope this works.”

  They exited the cave and hunkered behind some rocks at the entrance. “Can you see the glow stick?” Reagan asked.

  Scotty put his right eye on the scope. “I see it. Get ready.” He fired.

  “Looks like you missed, Skywalker,” Reagan said when there wasn’t an explosion.

  Scotty readjusted the rifle, let out a long breath, and pulled the trigger. Flames engulfed the cave as a spark ignited the diesel. “Even those buzzing roaches couldn’t survive this.”

  Reagan removed the fishnet from her hat. “Let’s head back to the cabin.”

  Chapter 30 – A Little Less Conversation

  Tom

  Barb scooted from the store. Campbell and Hibbert trailed carrying Gus. As Tom galloped the hill, Davidson and Genevieve emerged. Emerson shoved Hunter through the door and the entire group scampered away from the hot burning fire.

  Feeling the heat from twenty-five yards out, Tom surveyed the group – no burns or smoke damage. This time several of them made it out with supplies. The wind whipped as the clan made the hillside. “How did it start?” Tom asked.

  “I’m not sure, but perhaps lightning,” Hibbert said. “We finished with the child in time. He’s awake, but not lucid. We removed the bullet and the bleeding appeared minimal. Mr. Campbell said it was a miracle shot – it didn’t hit any arteries, organs or anything important. It is likely the child will be fine.”

  Tom locked his eyes on the ranger. “What’s your take, Campbell?”

  The park ranger dusted his hat against his leg and his gaze detached from the inferno. “I can’t be sure. We sewed him up and the biggest danger is infection.” He displayed his pack. “I have antibiotics in here along with some clean bandages and whatnot.”

  “We have to leave here and get to the airport.” Davidson gestured with his hands waving at a frantic pace. “We can’t be dragging dead weight.” All eyes landed on him along with silence. “We all know this to be the truth. The kid lost his parents and he’s catatonic. Unless he can walk, he stays behind. We leave him out here to fend for himself.”

  “I saw a wheelbarrow,” Dixie said. “By a barn. We can put him inside and I’ll push.”

  With Gus in the wheelbarrow and Emerson prodding Hunter, the rest of them set the pace toward the golf course, a more direct path to the airfield. An hour into the hike, Davidson pulled Tom aside. “All of you keep going. I want a word with my man Tom.”

  “What is it, Davidson?” Tom waited with impatience as Dixie and Genevieve guided the group. “We don’t have time for another one of your chats where you tell me you’re taking Barb away from me.”

  “I was merely shooting the breeze on that particular topic. I’m not sure why I say half the stuff I do. I need a word with you because I want to fill you in on some of the happenings while you were out.”

  “Go on.”

  Barb hung back as the group kept the pace. “What’s going on?”

  “Davidson is providing an update.”

  “Don’t let me stop you, William.”

  “Campbell doesn’t carry himself like a simple park ranger from the boonies. He knew what he was doing with the knife and how to surgically remove the bullet. He’s a smart guy. He knew more than Hibbs about medical stuff. And before the fire, I re-examined the man’s pack; the one we searched earlier. There’s a hidden compartment with a radio. It about half worked.”

  “Did you get anybody?”

  “I attempted to dial into the police or first responder frequency and relay an SOS message. Much to my disappointment, I heard nothing more than the hiss of lonely static,” Davidson said.

  “I’m holding onto the radio now,” Barb interjected. “I try it for five minutes every other hour, but I haven’t located a signal.”

  “My new mission is keeping a keen eye on this Campbell character.” Davidson circled his cane in the dirt. “Tell me how it went down out there. I notice
d you circumnavigated the golf course and way off the trail.”

  “The trail led to a hole they’re working on. Where the shooter had his last stand. Robin and I outgunned him.”

  “Despite him having the better weapon?”

  “He came close to hitting us. He had Robin in his sites when I distracted him. I managed to get a good spot and ended it.”

  “Who was he? Not the fat coach, right?”

  “No, it wasn’t Andy. It was one of Robin’s ATF guys, though not her partner. She thinks he went nuts when all this hit.”

  “You believe her?” Davidson leaned on his cane and glared.

  Barb sighed. “Tom is careful, William. But he’s not as paranoid as you.”

  “Let’s keep walking so they don’t get too far away.” Tom helped the injured Davidson climb the incline before he continued. “I don’t know if I believe her; let’s say I’m approaching her with some skepticism.”

  “Paranoia is what kept me a rich man, Tom. It’s served me well against my competitors in business and life. I don’t trust the ATF agent, the park ranger, the kid who ambushed us or even the old man. I have a feeling all of these people are leading us to somewhere they want us to go. The fires, the weather, it seems to be pushing us to a particular place.”

  “For what purpose? I don’t feel herded in any direction. We could go to the airfield or the train station. It’s our choice, we’re not being pushed.” Tom scratched his stubble. “We have a free will.”

  “If we get drawn away from the airfield by some kind of fire or freak snowstorm, maybe then you’ll come around to my way of thinking, Navy Man.”

  “Yeah, maybe I will Davidson. Let’s catch the group.”

  Barb interlocked her hands. “Let’s pledge to keep talking things out. The worst thing we can do is see something and try to figure it out alone. Is it safe to say none of us trust Robin or Nate completely, but they’ve come in handy for us?” Both nodded, so she kept going. “If the airfield doesn’t help, what’s the next step?”

  “Take shelter in one of the hangars and I lead a unit to the nearest town to get some help.” Tom zipped his eyes from Barb to Davidson and received a silent affirmation from each.

  “I want to mention one other item while we’re talking.” Barb motioned them to stop.