The Alex Cave Series. Books 1, 2, & 3.: Box set

by James M. Corkill

  “What? Why the ladies room?”

  “Have you ever seen the floor of the men’s room? That many germs could kill a person.”

  Jamie grinned and lightly shook her head. “I’m just glad you’re all right. How did you get the dam open? Larry and I both tried to move the wheel and it wouldn’t budge.”

  “You have to step on the release lever at the bottom. Otherwise it’s locked in place.”

  “I knew it was you when we heard the dam was open. Is the water level dropping?”

  “Not enough. It just about killed me turning that wheel and I couldn’t get it open all the way. Give me a hand letting more water out before it’s too late.”

  They walked into the building and Wesley pointed at the base of the wheel. “That’s the release lever. I’ll hold it down and pull on this side, you push up on the other.”

  Wesley stepped on the lever and heard the thud, then pulled on the wheel, with Jamie pushing it was much less painful. The chains and gears started to loosen with the repetition, and soon the dam was all the way open. He released the latch and let go of the wheel.

  Jamie let go and looked up at Wesley. “How did you know about the release lever?”

  “I read about it on the internet a few years ago. Pretty amazing design for 1906. They used the weight of the concrete block to seal the dam. They could bring it up to whatever height they needed for the right amount of outflow.”

  “Speaking of which, we’d better go down the mountain and check on the flooding.”

  “What about your family and the Caves? Did they get the warning?”

  “I called Jessica and left a message to warn them about the flooding, but I don’t know if she got it in time.”

  Wesley hurried out of building. “Let’s go. I made a promise to look after Derek and his family, and I intend to keep it.”

  Jamie pulled the door closed as she left the building and climbed into the SUV. “We should stop at the station on the way and let Larry know what’s going on.”

  “Do you have any water in here? I didn’t have any when I walked out of the campground. It was a long hike up here to the dam.”

  “Sorry, I don’t. I’m just surprised you even made it this far with your ribs and all.”

  “It’s nice to see you again, Jamie. How’s my Hummer? I already lost my hat. I don’t want to lose that Hummer, too.”

  Jamie stared at him. “Really, Wesley? With all that’s happening, you’re worried about your Hummer?”

  “That’s right. I won’t be happy until I get my snow cat back, either.”

  Jamie shook her head as she drove down the mountain. “I’d better find out if my sister found Derek.” She reached into her pocket, felt two phones, and brought them out. “I almost forget. I grabbed your phone this morning.” She held it out to him.

  Wesley took the phone and stared at her. “You stayed at my cabin?”

  “I hope you don’t mind. I didn’t want to go all the way home. I was hoping that by some miracle you would show up.”

  Wesley stared through the windshield for a moment, and then dialed Derek’s satellite phone. Jamie pressed the speed dial number for her sister.

  * * *

  Chapter 51

  THE ICE SHEET:

  Alex stared across the empty expanse of ice, to where the island had disappeared. My friends are dead, he thought. The mission is a failure, and I’m alone on a thousand mile sheet of ice. It’s as if something is deliberately blocking my every attempt to shut down the devices.

  The cold seeped through the thin protection of his jeans and he was losing the feeling in his legs. He pushed up from the deck and stepped out onto the ice, then felt the weight of the satellite phone in his coat pocket. He had forgotten about it, when he brought it out and turned on the power, the signal was erratic, the GPS was not working. He was five-miles out from the island before he got a signal last time, so he had a long walk ahead to get the signal back.

  He looked back at the boat and knew it was pointed at the island, and remembered seeing the Mystic through the left rear window before the ice rose up. He slowly turned in a circle, searching for some sort of landmark, but the ice disappeared over the horizon in all directions. He began walking in the direction of the Mystic, using the boat as a point of reference. Hopefully, he would get a signal before he lost sight of it. If not, he might walk in a circle and never get a signal. He glanced over his shoulder at the boat, and quickened his pace across the ice.

  *

  THE ISLAND:

  Okana walked down the gangway, to the beach, and over to his friends, standing outside the spaceship. “Any luck with the shutdown program? We could sure use it right now.”

  “I think we have found the problem.” Henry informed him. “The ship crashed because the control system failed due to some sort of interference. Every electronic system on this ship failed at the same instant. Whatever caused the interference has stopped, and David and I were just about to begin the startup procedure.”

  “You mean it still works?”

  “Possibly. We will not know until we start each system.”

  Lisa stepped up to Okana, a pleading question in her eyes. “Did you see Alex before the ocean froze? He could be trapped out on the ice and all alone.”

  Okana slowly shook his head. “The only boat was the Mystic on the horizon.”

  Henry turned and started walking back into the ship. “We need to hurry, David. Come, come.”

  Mike shoved his hand into his pocket and brought out his flashlight. “No sense waiting out here.” He turned and walked into the ship.

  Lisa could see the deep concern in Okana’s eyes. “You said Alex has a way of getting out of difficult situations. It must work, because we managed to find him in a thousand-miles of ocean.”

  “You’re right. We’ll find him again.”

  Lisa spun around and they followed the others into the spaceship.

  In the center of the circular room, four high-backed padded chairs were spaced facing out from a central station. Henry stepped between two chairs and indicated for everyone to look at the flat surface of the square structure in the center. They did, and saw four small circular shaped depressions in the surface.

  Henry held another crystal out for them to see. “When we entered our first spaceship in nineteen-forty-eight, there were small remnants of these crystals in each of the depressions. We did not know what they were at first, but over years of testing they kept getting smaller and we realized they were the power source. We had no idea what they were made of or how to get more.”

  With a sense of reverence, Henry slowly placed the new crystal into an empty depression. It immediately turned light blue and began to glow, and then the ceiling shimmered for a few seconds before becoming transparent. Suddenly, the interior was brightly illuminated by the sun and they could see the volcanic rock around most of the exterior walls from inside the spaceship.

  Henry smiled and clasped his hands together. “We are one step closer to shutting down the devices.”

  Okana smiled with the others, and then turned and went outside to do some exploring. He stared at the narrow tornado swirling up from the tip of the device and walked over to find out how powerful the wind would be up close. When he was within five-feet, the suction began to pull at his coat, dragging him closer and he could not back up. The wind pulled harder the closer he was pulled to the tornado. “Oh, shit!”

  He felt his belt tighten as he was yanked backward, onto the ground below the tornado, and he rolled away and stood up.

  Bett had watched him walk toward the device and saw that he was in trouble. “That wasn’t real smart, Okana. For a minute there I thought you were a goner.”

  He turned around and smiled at Bett. “I was getting a little worried myself.”

  “What’s in the cave?”

  “I saw a skeleton just inside. The owner was wearing an old German Officers uniform. It must be Dieter’s relative.”

  *
<
br />   Henry and David walked over to an odd-looking control console that appeared to have been smashed against the floor. “I don’t recognize it, Doc.”

  “I do not recognize it, either, David. This must be the control for the devices. Lewis said it would be on this ship and none of the others.”

  David knelt down next to the two-foot-long by two-foot-wide oval cylinder. When he set it up straight, the back cover fell onto the floor. He looked inside and then looked up at Henry. “The optical cables are still attached to the floor and it has power, Doc.” He looked closer at the interior, and noticed one of the tiny optical cables was dark, not neon blue, like the other cables. “I think I found the problem.”

  He pinched the tiny end between his fingers, and shoved it into the only empty hole on the connection board. It turned blue like the others, but when he let go, it fell out and went dark.

  He looked up at Henry. “The tip of this cable has broken off inside the connector. If I hold it in place everything works, but I received a slight electrical tingle before it shut down. We need something to hold it in place. Something nonconductive.” He stood and looked around the interior of the spaceship. “I don’t see anything in here that could work.” He looked over at Rita. “I don’t suppose you have any electrical tape in your pocket.”

  Rita shook her head. “Isn’t that a little old fashion for a ship this advanced?”

  David nodded. “You’re right, but I left what I need on the Mystic. I didn’t know we’d get stranded.” He looked over at the entrance as Okana and Bett walked in, and then Bett turned around and faced the doorway. “Stop!” he yelled and hurried across the room.

  Bett turned and stared at David. “What’s the matter?”

  David held out his hand. “I need your gum.”

  Bett reached into her pocket to get the package of gum out for David.

  David shook his head. “No, I need the piece you’re chewing.”

  Bett gave him a quizzical stare, and then pulled the piece of gum from her mouth and dropped it into his hand.

  David went back to the control console, knelt down behind it, and then wrapped the gum around the end of the optical cable and pushed it into the hole, pressing the gum tight to the connection board. The interior systems lit up, and he stood and studied the illuminated touch pads on top. “Do you recognize any of these symbols, Doc?”

  Henry stared down at the controls for a moment and rubbed his chin, then reached down and held his finger above one of the touchpads. “I believe this is the one for deactivation.”

  “Okay. Push it and let’s see what happens.”

  “Hang on a second,” Okana asked, and stepped into the exit so he could see the device in the cave. “All right. Go ahead.”

  * * *

  Chapter 52

  CAVE RANCH:

  Jessica and Kristy stopped and stared at the water across the road, undecided about crossing the flowing water without knowing how deep it was.

  Kristy grabbed Jessica’s hand and looked up at her. “We can’t stay here, Jessica.”

  “I know we have to go across, but I’m a little scared.”

  “It can’t be that deep. I can see Derek’s motorcycle tracks in the dirt on the other side.”

  “Okay, let’s go for it.”

  Kristy heard music in her pocket. “I almost forgot.” She pulled the phone out, held it out to Jessica, and nearly lost her fingers when Jessica grabbed it from her hand.

  “It’s my sister!” She turned on the phone. “Jamie, I’m in big trouble. Where are you?”

  “Up on Baker. What’s wrong?”

  “I was trying to get to the Cave ranch with Kristy, but the river overflowed and we’re trapped. I’m getting really scared, Jamie.”

  “Can you get to the ranch?”

  “We were just about to try. What good would that do if the dam breaks?”

  “Wesley and I managed to get it open, but the water we released is roaring down the mountain, and it will flood the ranch very soon.”

  “It’s flooding already, and we’re trapped.”

  “Where is Derek?”

  “We saw fresh motorcycle tracks in the dirt on the other side of the water, so I think he’s already there.”

  “Jessica, Wesley is calling Derek right now.”

  “Okay. I’ll call you back when we get out of here.” She turned off her phone and slipped it into her front jean pocket as she looked down at Kristy. “They’re going to call Derek to come and get us.”

  Kristy looked back along the road. “The river water from the bridge is coming this way, Jessica.”

  Jessica turned around, and the road behind them was underwater. “We need to keep moving before the water gets too deep and we’re trapped. Are you ready?”

  Kristy nodded. “Yes, but don’t let go of my hand. I’m not as tall as you.”

  Jessica reached down and put her hand around Kristy’s. “I won’t let go. I promise.”

  Kristy smiled bravely, and they stepped forward into the water.

  The farther they walked, the deeper it became, and Jessica felt Kristy’s hand tighten on hers as they continued sloshing through the water. It was knee deep for her, and already up to Kristy’s waist. “Are you okay?”

  “How come the other side is getting farther away?”

  Jessica looked up and the motorcycle tracks were gone. “You’re right.” She stopped and looked behind them, and the road was completely underwater. “We need to move faster.”

  “Jessica, it’s up to my waist. I can’t go any faster.”

  “I know. It’s pushing harder against us, too. Ah, the trees! If we can make it to those fir trees, we can climb up out of the water. Let’s go.”

  The water started moving faster, driving against Kristy lower body. “Jessica, I’m slipping. I can barely touch the ground.”

  Jessica pulled her close. “Grab my belt.” She felt the pull on her waist. “That’s it. We’re almost there.” She gained a few more feet, and then she was nearly pulled down into the water when Kristy’s full weight yanked on her belt.

  “Jessica!” Kristy hollered and clung tightly to the belt when she lost her footing.

  “Just hang on. We’re almost there.”

  Jessica held her arms forward for balance as she dragged Kristy through the water. The water continued to rise, and small branches and leaves piled up against her waist. “Just a few more feet, Kristy.”

  Each agonizingly slow step was a battle to move forward. She kept shoving the branches and leaves away from her thighs as they created drag, trying to force her backward from the trees. She felt exhausted when she finally grabbed a large branch. “We did it!”

  Jessica pulled them closer to the trunk and twisted around so Kristy could start climbing. When the weight was gone, she grabbed a higher tree limb and pulled herself up until she could stand on it, and then reached down and pulled Kristy up to the next limb and stopped.

  She gave Kristy a shaky smile. “Wow. Okay. That was intense. How are you doing?”

  “I’m freezing.”

  “Yeah, me too. We’ll be okay now. We just have to wait for Derek to come and get us.”

  “Jessica? I’m glad you found me. I heard about the dam breaking and what will happen to the school.”

  “We’re not any safer here, Kristy.”

  “If my brother knows we’re here, he’ll come and get us. He won’t stop until he saves us.”

  *

  TRACK MEET:

  Arnie was having difficulty getting people to leave the school grounds. Most of the visitors gave him a hard time, saying he was afraid of losing to Darrington, and would not get up from the bleachers. Even the locals thought he was being paranoid and refused to leave. I should have taken Cave’s advice more seriously, he thought. I could have canceled the games before everyone arrived. He was pissed off with himself, and frustrated with the spectators.

  He had an idea and called the volunteer Fire Chief, Tyler Masterson. “Whe
re are you right now, Tyler?”

  “I’m in the bleachers, waiting for the games to start, Sheriff.”

  Arnie walked to the bottom of the bleachers and searched for Tyler among the dozens of faces sitting in rows across the benches, and when he saw Tyler stand up, he turned off the phone and waved him down onto the field.

  A few moments later, Tyler stopped in front of the sheriff. “What’s going on?”

  “You need to activate the fire alarms.”

  Tyler shook his head. “The alarms will be like forfeiting the games. We can beat Darrington this year, Sheriff. We can’t let them win by default.”

  “I know, but we have an emergency. There’s a chance the dam could break, and it will come straight down into this field. I’ve been trying to tell people to leave, but they won’t listen. If we set off the alarms, they’ll leave.”

  “Who told you about the dam?”

  “Larry Cobb, from up at the park.”

  “That dam has been there for over a hundred years, Sheriff. Are you sure about this?”

  “Patterson’s the one who told Larry about it, and I know what you’re thinking. He’s a crazy old hermit. But Robert Cave’s son, Alex, was here a few days ago, and he thinks it could happen, too. I would rather play it safe and get everyone out of the valley.”

  “All right, but if it doesn’t happen, it could ruin your chances for re-election.”

  “That’s the least of my worries right now. Just turn the alarms on so we can get these people out of here.” He could see the skepticism in Tyler’s eyes, but he nodded and walked toward the school buildings. I just hope this works, he thought.

  * * *

  Chapter 53

  MYSTIC:

  Joshua paced across the bridge, frustrated there was nothing he could do or see with the forty-foot wall of ice looming above the ship. He should call someone, he thought. But who do I know that’s important enough? Mike never brought people onboard, not even people from his company. Who would Alex call? Donner! The national security guy. What was his first name? M, something. Mitchel? No, ah. Martin! Yes!

  He reached over the edge of the console and grabbed the satellite phone, wondering how to get his number, and then entered the question into the computer terminal above the controls. He typed in various options, and the number appeared on the screen. He entered the numbers and held the phone against his ear, and a moment later a woman’s voice answered.