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

by James M. Corkill

  “That would be nice, Wesley, but from what I saw in your refrigerator, I didn’t think you liked to cook.”

  “Actually I do, but I only did it for my wife. Now I’d like to cook something for you.”

  Jamie smiled. “Thanks, Wesley. Does that mean you’re thinking about getting a haircut?”

  “Don’t push your luck, Ms. Park Representative.”

  Jamie smiled. “I didn’t say you had to do it.”

  Wesley grinned. “Fair enough.”

  * * *

  Chapter 57

  THE ISLAND:

  Alex followed Henry and David into the spaceship and over to the odd-looking control pad. “So this is what controls the devices. What about the rest of the ship? You said it’s in good shape. Can it fly again?”

  “I am not sure yet, Alex. We have only begun to start up the various systems.”

  “It would be nice if we could fly this thing to Nevada.”

  *

  Once the rest of the crew was on the Mystic, Okana drove the motorboat back to the dock, then carried the ladder used for the submarine down into the crater and over to the side of the old ship. He leaned the ladder against the side next to the rusted hatch covers, and then went back to the spaceship and stepped inside. “Ready when you are, Alex.”

  Alex gave him a nod and followed him to the side of the rusted ship. He waited at the bottom of the while Okana climbed up and wedged the pry bar into the crack separating the two sides of the hatch covers. The screeching and popping of rusted hinges echoed in the crater, as one of the hatch covers slowly opened, and then the pry bar suddenly slammed down against one cover, as the other cover broke away, slid down the side of the ship, and splashed into the water. Okana leaned over the remaining cover to look inside, but the angle was too sharp, and the interior too dark, so he climbed down the ladder.

  When Okana stepped onto the beach, Alex grabbed the ladder and leaned it into the opening of the missing cover, then climbed up and stepped off the ladder into the cargo hold.

  Okana climbed up the ladder, stepped inside, and saw Alex kneeling on the deck next to a large pile of bones.

  Alex used a rib bone to separate the pile, and hooked it under something white. He eased it out of the tangled remnants of bones, and then stood and held it out toward Okana. “This is the captain’s hat Burk was wearing in the movie. These bones are human.”

  Okana moved closer and knelt down to grab a large femur bone, then stood and carried it back to the opening and into the sunlight for closer look. He turned and looked back at Alex. “I can see teeth marks scrapped into this leg bone. Someone ate this person.”

  “Colonel Dieter was the only skeleton in the cave, and it was still in one piece. I guess he became a cannibal.”

  Okana tossed the leg bone onto the pile. “I can’t really blame him. I think anyone desperate enough would do the same thing.”

  Alex felt something strange on the side of the rib bone and walked to the opening. In the sunlight, he could see a half-round notch in the side of the bone. “This person was shot.”

  Okana moved around the pile and used the toe of his shoe to separate the bones. “I don’t see any skulls.”

  “He probably threw them into the ocean. He might have felt guilty looking at the faces of the people he was about to eat.”

  “I wonder who managed to escape in the skiff in that movie we watched.”

  “Hard to say.”

  Okana moved back to the opening. “It stinks in here. I’ve seen enough.”

  Alex tossed the rib and hat onto the deck, and followed Okana down the ladder to the beach. “I found something in the cave when I was marooned here yesterday and I want to check out.”

  He turned and walked up the beach with Okana and entered the cave, then indicated the area of the rock wall where he had pried away the crumbling lava to expose the silver surface of the spaceship. Now that the exterior of the spaceship was transparent, he could see inside the lower section through the opening.

  It appeared to be a storage area beneath the engine room, and he saw the last of the four devices laying against the far wall, next to a large silver sphere, about six-feet in diameter with a mirrored surface.

  He looked over his shoulder at Okana. “We found the last device.” He told him, and then stepped through the opening in the rock and into the spaceship.

  Okana looked around the interior for a second before following him inside. “What’s that ball for?”

  “I have no idea. This ship is different from the others.”

  Alex walked across the room and stopped next to the device on the floor. “These four devices were designed to operate together to clean the atmosphere. Once we retrieve the other two from the water, we can use this ship to let them do what they were intended to do, and clean up the mess we’ve made in our atmosphere.”

  “Hold on a minute, Alex. Haven’t they done enough damage?”

  “We’ll have to learn more about how they work first.”

  “Those things are pretty old, Alex. What if they don’t work as planned? It could make things worse.”

  “Henry and Lewis will figure it out.”

  Okana walked across to the silver ball and looked at his distorted reflection on the surface. He placed his hand on the smooth surface, and jumped back when the sphere moved. “This thing is really light weight, Alex. I barely touched it and it rolled along the wall.”

  Alex stepped closer to the silver sphere, and when he tapped the side with his knuckles, a hollow sound echoed from the inside. “I’ll have to ask Norton what this was used for.” He placed both hands on the silver surface to roll it away from the wall to see the other side and received a mild electrical shock, but thought it was just static electricity. “You’re right about being light weight. It must be hollow.”

  Okana noticed some strange looking clothing on the floor behind the sphere. “I think we’ve found the crew. One of them, anyway. Take a look.”

  Alex knelt down next to the mummified remains of a human body wearing a silver, one-piece suit. “There should have been four people on this spaceship. I wonder what happen to the other three.” He stood and looked at Okana. “I’d better call Donner and let him know what happened.” They stepped back into the cave and walked outside.

  Alex entered Donner’s number, and a moment later, he was transferred to his office. “We did it, Martin.” He explained the highlights of what took place. “We need some support out here. Those pirates had connections and I’m sure we aren’t the only ones who know about this island.”

  “I already have the Coast Guard on standby. Someone named Mason told them to stay away from the island. I’ll call them right away.”

  “What about military support?”

  “That will take a little more time, but I’ll make the call.”

  “One more thing. I need you to call the Canadian authorities and have Okana removed from their wanted list. It was self-defense and I don’t want him sitting in jail until the authorities figure out what happened.”

  “I’ll take care of it. Is he with you right now?”

  “Yes.”

  “Tell him to call home. His father had a fatal heart attack two days ago.”

  “Oh. All right. Thanks, Martin.”

  Alex pressed end and handed the phone to Okana.

  Okana entered the number for the phone at the family ranch in Stillwater, Wyoming, and his sister answered. She explained what had happened, and asked him to come home as soon as possible.

  When Okana finished talking, he hung up and looked at Alex. “I need to get home, but I don’t want to leave you without any backup.”

  “Rita can handle herself and I’ve got Josh, David, and Mike to help. Let’s get back to the ship and have Bett take you to the airport in Seward.”

  Okana hesitated. “That’s not much help, Alex.”

  “The sooner you leave, the sooner Bett can get back to increase my odds. Let’s go.”

  Alex and
Okana climbed into the motorboat and drove it back to the Mystic, and once they bumped against Mystic’s stern, Rita jumped in.

  “Can I get a ride back?”

  Alex nodded to Okana, who climbed out. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

  Okana walked across the deck and into the lounge, where he told Mike about his father. “I hate to impose on you, Mike.”

  “You saved this ship and our lives, Okana. It’s the least I can do.”

  Bett was listening and looked over at Josh. “Let’s get my baby ready to go. We need to get our friend back home.”

  Lisa stood staring out the window at the island. “Do you think the pirates will come back?”

  Mike moved up beside her, and considered the possibility. “Someone filed murder charges against Okana. Whoever that was, they must know the location of this island, or they wouldn’t know about the murder.”

  “I wonder if there are any charges against me. I shot that poor man.”

  He turned his head to look at her. “Poor man, Lisa? He was a pirate. Hell, all of them were going to kill you and everyone else. It was self-defense.”

  “I’ve never even fired a gun before, Mike.” She was silent for a moment. “I just remember opening my eyes and seeing that man on the floor and all the blood.”

  “I’m sorry that happened to you, Lisa.”

  “Can I get a ride back to the mainland with Bett? I just need to go home for a while.”

  “I understand. I’ll let her know. What about David? Does he know you’re leaving?”

  “Yes. He’s a nice guy, and we’ll try to get together when he’s finished with the spaceship.”

  *

  Alex dropped Rita off on the dock and drove back across to the Mystic. When he stepped onto the stern, he heard the helicopter’s engine start to whine, and went over to Okana and Lisa, who were waiting to get in with Bett. He gave Lisa a hug. “You’re very brave. Take care of yourself.” Lisa gave him a quick kiss on his cheek, before climbing into the helicopter.

  Alex turned to his best friend. “Let me know if there is anything I can do to help.”

  “Thanks, Alex.”

  Okana gave Alex a quick hug, and then climbed into the helicopter with Bett and Lisa. Once Alex moved into the ship, the helicopter took off and Bett flew them away from the island, toward the airport in Seward.

  *

  Rita pulled her red hair behind one ear and held it there as she bent over the device control panel and studied the various push pads. She stood and looked down at Henry. “Can you decipher what it says?”

  “Yes.” He indicated one of the touch pads. “This one is for the activation frequency of one hundred-eight-seven gigahertz, and this one is to turn it off, using three-hundred sixty-four gigahertz.”

  “Those sound like molecular resonance frequencies.”

  “That is correct, my dear. You are very astute.”

  “Does it say anything about what the other frequencies do?”

  “Those are the only frequencies required to operate the devices.”

  “Did you learn how the devices remove contaminates from the atmosphere?”

  “Not exactly. Only the theory. We did not even know about the devices until three days ago. We will learn more once we get them back to Nevada.”

  *

  CAVE RANCH:

  Kristy carried the satellite phone out onto the back porch. Everyone was gone, including the horses, so she walked down the steps and over to the barn. Jessica was sitting on a bale of hay, and she could hear Derek and her grandpa arguing in the tack room, where they stored the saddles. She sat next to Jessica. “What are they arguing about?”

  “Your uncle Alex. Something about Robert blaming him for your parents’ accident.”

  Kristy heard the strange phone ringing and pressed the green button. “Hello?”

  “Hi, Kristy. It’s Alex. Is everyone all right?”

  “Yeah, I was pretty scared, Uncle Alex. Derek saved us.”

  Alex sighed with relief. “That’s good news.”

  She stared at the tack room when she heard Derek and her grandpa yelling at each other. “Can you wait a minute?”

  “Sure.”

  Kristy stomped across to the open door and walked into the tack room. “Just stop it right now!” she yelled. “You’re acting like the kindergarten kids.” She held the phone out to Robert. “It’s Uncle Alex.”

  Robert hesitated, stared down at her wet hair and her determined expression, and then thought about almost losing her a short time ago, and how he felt about it being his fault. He slowly nodded at her and took the phone, then brought it up to his ear. “Alex, I, uh. I’d like you to stop by the ranch when you can. Listen, uh. I want to apologize. I had a hard time dealing with things, but, uh. I’d just like for you to come home to the ranch.”

  “I understand, Dad. Listen, I might be a little busy for a while, but I’ll come home once I’m finished. I’m just glad all of you are safe.”

  “Okay. Goodbye son.” He pressed the red button and smiled down at Kristy. “He said he’ll get here once he’s done.” When Kristy smiled and walked to him with her arms open, he knelt down and hugged her tightly. “Thank you, Kristy.”

  *

  Book 3. Red Energy

  Chapter 1

  THE ISLAND:

  Alex drove the Mystic’s motorboat back to the island to check on Henry, David, and Rita, but as he walked across the beach, he could not stop thinking about the mild electrical shock he had received when he had touched a large silver sphere in the cargo hold of the spaceship. For some odd reason, he felt a sense of Deja’vu, as though he had previously received the same shock from a similar silver ball.

  He continued up the beach to the cave and entered the cargo hold, and slowly held his palms out within an inch of the mirrored surface, hesitant touch it again. It wasn’t too bad the last time, he thought. When he placed both hands on the surface, he received a strong electrical shock. “Damn!”

  *

  Alex suddenly found himself standing outside the spaceship, completely unaware anything had happened except a slight sense of Deja’vu. He stepped into the control room of the alien craft and saw Henry. “Can she fly again, Doc?”

  Henry grinned. “This ship is in surprisingly good shape, Alex. I will not know until we replace the three depleted power crystals.”

  “I’ll call Director Donner and have them delivered to the military airport on Adak Island. Bett can go pick them up in the helicopter. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind.”

  Henry shook his head. “This ship is slightly different from the other two. David and I will need time to become familiar with this design if we are to fly it to Nevada.”

  Henry had a better idea. Lewis Norton was key to alien spaceship operations, having firsthand experience with a similar craft at Area 51. “Have Lewis bring the crystals to Adak. He will be able to determine the flight capability of this ship much faster than David or I can. I would prefer to have him fly us down to Nevada.”

  David grinned and lightly shook his head. “You know it’s going to be difficult convincing Lewis to leave Area 51, Doc. He was pretty shaken up when the spaceship he was flying crashed in the desert.”

  Alex knew David was correct about Lewis. “All right. I’ll go make my call. If the Director of National Security asks, I’m sure Lewis will break down and do it.”

  When Alex stepped outside of the spaceship, he noticed Okana standing in front of the cave and walked across the beach to join him.

  The crunching of gravel from someone walking in his direction drew Okana’s attention. “Hey, Alex, what did Henry say about the ship? Can it be salvaged?”

  Alex hesitated to answer. Why does it feel like I’ve done this before, he wondered. “Uh, yeah. He thinks it might still work. There’s another opening inside the cave I want to check out. It might be a way to get into the lower section of the spaceship. Let’s go inside.”

  When Alex found the opening in the side o
f the rock wall of the cave, he looked into the spaceship and saw the last of the four devices on the floor. He turned and grinned at Okana. “This must be the cargo hold. The last device is still inside.”

  After Alex stepped through the opening into the alien craft, he continued across the room and stopped next to a twenty-foot long by one-foot diameter cylinder. “These devices were designed to operate together to clean the atmosphere. Once we retrieve the other devices from the ocean, we can use this ship to let them do what they were intended to do, clean up the mess we’ve made in our atmosphere.”

  “Hold on a minute, Alex. Haven’t they done enough damage? The one in the water north of here nearly started a new ice age.”

  “We’ll have to learn more about how they work, first.”

  “Those things are pretty old, Alex. That spaceship has been buried in this volcano for one hundred and eighty million years.”

  “Henry and David will figure it out.”

  When Okana noticed a six-foot diameter silver ball on the other side of the room, he moved closer to see his distorted reflection on the mirror surface. “What’s this sphere for?”

  Alex felt a tingling sensation in his fingertips and looked down at his hands. What the hell is going on? He wondered. He looked up at Okana. “What? Oh. I have no idea. This ship is different from the others. I’ll have to ask Lewis about it.”

  When Alex noticed something silver on the other side of the sphere, he placed both hands on the surface to roll it out of the way. Suddenly his left wrist felt as though he had sprained it recently. “Damn!”

  “Are your all right, Alex?”

  The pain only lasted a fraction of a second, and then Alex looked around with a sense of Deja’vu. “I’m not sure.”

  With the sphere out of the way, Okana noticed something strange on the floor. “I think we’ve found the ship’s crew. One of them, anyway. Take a look.” When Alex didn’t respond, Okana looked over. Alex appeared to be off in another world. “Alex?”