“How thick is that door?” Alex asked.
“It’s two feet of hardened steel, Mister Cave. Even ten pounds of C-4 wouldn’t blow a hole in it. There is just no way we can get inside to your device.”
Alex and Bruce exchanged looks, and then Bruce looked at George. “Let’s go back to the theatre. Alex has another idea.”
Everyone turned and ran back down the tunnel. When they reached the helicopter, one of Rick’s men was waiting nearby in a brown and green SUV, so Rick walked over to talk to him.
“What’s going on?”
“We just found out they are evacuating Yellowstone Park. After what that Cave person told us, the rest of the guys left the area. All the other vehicles are gone, so I came to get you. We should leave, too.”
Rick walked over to the others standing outside the helicopter and repeated what he was told. “I’m leaving too. Good luck.”
When Rick turned to leave, Alex, Bruce, and George climbed into the helicopter. A few minutes later, George brought the aircraft up over the rim of the mountain range and headed back to Stillwater. Alex called Okana and Spencer to let them know they couldn’t get inside, and would meet them at the theatre.
As they approached the theatre parking lot, they saw a large white pickup with oversize tires parked next to Bruce’s patrol car. Once they set down on the asphalt, Okana and Spencer walked over to greet them.
“I’ve got everything we need in my truck, Alex.” Spencer informed him.
Alex noticed George had left the engine of the helicopter running and was climbing up to the engine cover. “Can you fly us to the ventilation shaft?”
“I’d like to help you, Alex, but there is something going on with the engine. Can you hear the ticking sound?”
Alex listened for a moment. “You’re right.” He looked at Bruce. “Are you coming with us?”
Bruce shook his head. “My place is here. I have a lot of scared people counting on me. I’ll see you when you get back. Good luck, for all our sakes.” He climbed into his patrol car and drove back into town.
Alex and Okana followed Spencer over to his monster truck and climbed up into the cab, and then Spencer drove out of the parking lot.
* * *
Chapter 14
OKANA RANCH:
While Halona was outside playing, Fala sat down at the kitchen table with Judith. “Why don’t you pack some clothes and stay with me until this is over.”
“I don’t want to leave my home, Fala. Okana said he and Alex would stop the earthquakes.”
Fala knew Okana had not told Judith the extent of what was happening, but she was hesitant to explain all the details. Should Alex and Okana fail, perhaps the ranch would be far enough away from Yellowstone to escape the blast from an eruption. “All right. Let’s make sure all the flashlights have fresh batteries in case we lose power, okay?”
Judith stood from the table. “Richard keeps everything in the basement.”
Fala stood and noticed the tears forming in Judith’s eyes. “I’ll take care of it. Would you mind making me some coffee?”
Judith regained her composure. “Oh, of course. I didn’t realize the pot was empty. I’ll have it ready by the time you get back.”
When Judith turned and went to the counter, Fala stepped out onto the back porch. She smiled when she saw Halona chasing a calico cat around the barn. Her smile slipped away when she thought about the possibility of Yellowstone erupting. For now, all she could do was hope Alex and Okana succeed in stopping it from happening.
*
VENTILATION TUNNEL:
Once they turned off the asphalt, Alex and Okana were tossed around in the cab as Spencer drove over virgin terrain and through several small ditches.
From a distance they could see the shadowed entrance of the ventilation shaft, about two hundred feet up the steep side of the gray mountains. Below it was a narrow pyramid of a darker gray stone, but on either side, the vertical gray rock appeared to be smooth.
Twenty minutes later, Spencer parked at the base of the mountain and everyone climbed out. Directly below the ventilation shaft was the pyramid they had seen from the air. It consisted of large boulders loosely packed together.
“We’ll have to haul everything up to the entrance at the top.” Spencer told them.
Alex tried not to sound condescending, but he did not need to be responsible for Spencer’s life right now. “I think you should let Okana and me do this, Spencer.”
“I’m in better shape than I look, Alex. Besides, do either of you have any experience with explosives?”
Alex and Okana exchanged knowing looks. “As a matter of fact, we do. It would be a shame to come back and find the truck covered with boulders. I just think you should stay with the truck just in case you need to get it out of the way in a hurry.”
Spencer reluctantly agreed. “Just make sure you come back in one piece, okay?”
“We’ll do our best.” Alex answered.
Okana climbed up into the bed of the truck and handed down a pick, a shovel, and a satchel filled with dynamite and blasting caps. He held up a separate backpack. “What’s in here, Spencer?”
“Flashlights, water, and a first aid kit.”
Okana handed it down to Alex, and then jumped out of the truck. “We’ll see you soon, Spencer.”
“Hang on a minute.” Spencer climbed into the cab, grabbed a portable radio from the glove compartment, and held it out to Okana. “I’ll be listening in my truck. Keep me informed of what’s going on, will you?”
Okana clipped the radio onto his belt. “I will.” He reached down and grabbed the satchel and pick, while Alex slipped the backpack over his shoulders and grabbed the shovel. “I’ll call you when we get ready to set off the explosives.”
When they turned and began climbing up the rocks, Spencer leaned back against his truck and watched their ascent. When they reached the top two hundred feet above him, he waved back at Okana standing at the opening of the ventilation shaft. A second later, Okana disappeared inside the mountain.
The first fifty-feet of the five-foot diameter horizontal tunnel were clear, but then the beams of their flashlights revealed a lot of rubble and a few large rocks ahead.
“These are recent,” said Alex. “I’d say it was during the earthquake earlier.”
“I just hope this whole tunnel doesn’t collapse when we set off the explosives.”
Alex stopped walking. “We should see what Spencer gave us to work with.”
Okana opened the zipper on the satchel, while Alex pointed his flashlight inside for him. “It’s dynamite, all right. Six sticks with long detonation cords.” He studied the writing on the plastic tag attached to a time delay actuator. “We only have a ten minute delay. I hope it’s enough time to get back to the entrance.” He closed the satchel and gave Alex a nod. “Onward.”
After fifteen minutes of carefully memorizing the most hazardous areas for their return, the way was blocked by a gray concrete wall sealing the end of the tunnel.
Okana moved the beam of his flashlight around the outside edges where the rock was fastened to the concrete. “The facility has to be on the other side, Alex, but without knowing how thick the wall is, it’s hard to determine how much explosive to use.”
“Knowing the government and secret facilities, I’d say very thick. We only have one shot at this, Okana. I say we use all of it. I just hope there is nobody on the other side.”
Okana studied the outside edges where the concrete extended past the end of the tunnel. “We’re in luck. The earthquake created a gap between the rock and the concrete. We can use it like a shaped charge.”
Okana inserted the sticks of dynamite in several locations around the gap, and then slid the ends of the detonation cords into holes in the timer. “All set. Ready when you are.”
Alex looked at his wristwatch. “Go.”
Okana pressed the button and set the timer on the ground. “Let’s go.”
Alex did not
even look at his watch until they stepped out of the tunnel. “Eleven seconds left.”
They moved to both sides of the opening, and Okana keyed the portable radio. “Fire in the hole, Spencer.”
*
STILLWATER:
Arty could not remember a time when so many people had crowded into his restaurant. They all wanted information about the earthquakes, but he didn’t know what to tell them. The conversations stopped when Rose turned up the volume on the radio.
“Yellowstone National Park is being evacuated because of an increase in seismic activity. We have an unconfirmed report there is a possibility of a major eruption.”
Suddenly the room was filled with raised voices. Questions were being thrown at Arty, as if he knew the answers. “I don’t know what to tell you,” Arty hollered in frustration to be heard over the voices. “I don’t know any more than you do.”
Arty was greatly relieved when the bell on the door chimed and Bruce walked in. “Oh thank goodness you’re here, Sheriff. Everybody wants to know what’s going on and I don’t know what to tell them.”
As Bruce looked around at all the familiar faces, the room suddenly went quiet, everybody staring at him expectantly.
“Why are we having all these earthquakes?” One man shouted.
“Listen folks, I know you’re all scared, but we have to remain calm. There is a chance the earthquakes are going to continue for a while, and there is a chance we could lose power. The best place for you to be is at home. Make sure you have plenty of fresh water, and gather all your flashlights and batteries, portable radios, and any food you can find. I think if we all stay calm, we can get through this. Now please folks, why don’t you all just head on home and I’ll try to keep you informed.”
“Is it true Yellowstone is going to erupt?” A woman asked.
“Who said anything about an eruption?”
“We just heard on the radio they are evacuating the park because of a possible eruption.”
“As far as I know it’s just a precaution because of the seismic activity. Now please. Just go home and be prepared to lose power.”
Bruce walked over to the counter near Arty. Everyone appeared to be confused about what to do, as they slowly walked out the door. “How are you holding up, my friend?”
Arty chuckled softly. “There hasn’t been this much excitement in this little town since Nathan Walters came back with the Congressional Medal of Honor. So what’s our plan, Sheriff?”
Bruce wasn’t sure how much he should tell him. “Alex thinks the earthquakes are being caused by something in the old mine.”
“I just knew it was them roughnecks.”
“He and Okana are trying to get inside to stop it. If they can pull it off, this will be over. If not, there isn’t really much we can do.”
“What can I do to help, sheriff? I was thinking about closing the restaurant, but I know people will keep coming in wanting information. Especially those at the far end of the county. I’m sure these earthquakes are scaring the hell out of them.”
“I’ll keep you company until everyone leaves.”
“Good. Let me pour you a cup of coffee.”
* * *
Chapter 15
COBRA:
Rita, Henry, and Chris sat in silence, each lost in their own thoughts about what might happen to them. Suddenly a huge concussion wave and a thunderous boom filled the lounge. They all flinched and bent over, covering their heads as the white acoustic tiles dropped from the ceiling, crashing onto their backs and arms.
When the tiles stopped falling, Henry reached over and grabbed Rita’s arm. “The earthquakes are getting worse!”
Chris stood from his chair. “That was no earthquake. It was an explosion. Let’s go in and see what happened.”
As they stepped out from the lounge, they were engulfed in a cloud of gray dust as they carefully made their way across the floor. As the dust slowly cleared, they saw the device had crashed onto the floor, now covered in shattered pieces of gray concrete.
“That should not have caused an explosion,” Henry informed them.
Rita looked up at the ceiling. “It didn’t. There’s a hole in the roof. Something up there must have exploded. Maybe a storage area.”
Chris shook his head. “I don’t know. That’s a strange place to store explosives.”
Henry felt his heart rate increase with a sense of hope. “Perhaps we can climb up to those rails and see if it is a way to get out.”
Chris looked up at the overhead. “I can get close, but we could never make it from the rail to the opening. It’s too far away.”
Henry grabbed Chris’s arm. “I don’t want to stay in here, Chris. Could you go up and make sure?”
“I can do that. Just step back in case any more debris falls down.”
Henry clasped his hands under his chin. “Thank you, my friend.”
Chris smiled and walked across to the silver ladder mounted to the wall. When Chris reached the top and stepped onto the rail, he was able to use the one-inch steel rods supporting the rails from the ceiling for balance. Unfortunately, they were spaced six-feet apart and he had to let go of one to grab the next one. He realized it would be very difficult for Henry to navigate.
He continued until he was directly below the opening, and stopped to look up. It was just as he thought. The opening was four feet above his outstretched arm.
“Is it a way out?” Henry hollered up at Chris.
Chris felt bad as he looked down at Henry. “It might be a short tunnel, but I don’t see any light. We can’t get into it anyway. It’s beyond our reach. I’m sorry, Henry.”
*
Alex and Okana turned their faces away from the roiling cloud of dust spewing out from the tunnel. It took several minutes until it began to dissipate and they could look inside, but the light from their flashlights could only illuminate ten feet further ahead.
Alex noticed the dust just hung in the air. “We may not have blasted our way through the concrete. I don’t see any air movement. Let’s find out what happened.”
Okana brought up the radio. “We’re going back inside, Spencer. See you in a few minutes.”
*
Henry lowered his head in defeat, his brief sense of hope now shattered like the concrete on the floor.
Rita noticed Henry’s dejection and started to reach out to him, but he suddenly stared at her. The look in his eyes was a warning to stay back. She lowered her arm as he turned away. She tried to rationalize her reason for kidnapping him, but her actions seemed so sinister in retrospect. He had not been much help anyway.
Chris was carefully making his way back to the ladder when he caught a flash of light in his peripheral vision. He spun back around and looked up at the opening. Flashes of white light appeared to be bouncing around the interior. He cocked his ear toward the opening when he heard a quiet voice, but it stopped. He strained to listen and could barely hear the sound of grinding rock, and then he heard a male voice say. “It worked!”
His heart rate increased and he yelled down at Rita and Henry. “I hear voices! Someone’s coming. It must be a tunnel.”
Rita and Henry stared up at Chris with expectant expressions. “Who is it?” Rita asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe the guards found a way in.”
A moment later, Henry heard a familiar voice and smiled. “It’s Alex! He has found me!” He stared up at the opening. “We are here, Alex!” he shouted. “We are here!”
Alex was almost to the opening when he turned his head and grinned at Okana. “I hear the Doc. He is here.”
Alex stepped to the edge of the opening and stared down at Henry’s smiling face. “Are you okay, Doc?”
Henry thought his heart would burst. “Oh, Alex. I am so glad to see you again.”
“You have to turn off the Device, Doc. It’s creating a lot of problems.”
“It is not the device, Alex. Whatever they were doing in this facility is causing the earthquakes.�
��
“I know. It’s a meteor they brought back from the moon. It’s the frequencies you’re using that activate it.”
Rita looked up at Alex, but ignored his glaring eyes. “That last earthquake happened without our help. It did it on its own.”
Alex held his rage in check. “Right. Let’s get you out of here, Doc.”
Chris was standing below on the railing, listening. He stepped away enough to look up at Alex. “Do you have any rope?”
Alex looked down at the stranger. “No, and who are you?”
“I’m Chris, one of the guards.”
“You’re part of this kidnapping?”
Chris felt his face flush. “For my part, I am, and I’m sorry. I didn’t really know Henry before now.”
“That’s a poor excuse for a kidnapping.”
“He is a friend, Alex.” Henry hollered.
Alex was less than convinced. These two were decidedly dangerous, and going to pay for their heinous crime if he had anything to say about it.
Alex looked down at Chris. “Can you give Henry a lift up to me?”
Chris felt a sense of relief and gave Alex a grateful smile. “You bet I can.” He turned and began working his way back to the ladder. “I’ll meet you at the top, Henry.” He hollered down.
Alex watched as Henry climbed the ladder, followed closely by Rita. Chris helped Henry keep his balance by grabbing the next rod and reaching back to take his hand to help him across. When they reached the area below the opening, Alex lay prone on the ground and reached down to grab Henry’s hand.
Chris grabbed the nearest rod for balance and stooped slightly to extend his knee. “Use my hand and climb onto my knee, Henry, and then up onto my shoulders.” He saw the hesitation in Henry’s eyes. “Come on, Henry. You can do it. You want to get out of here, don’t you?”
Desperate to get out this bomb shelter, Henry steeled himself for the task and grabbed Chris’s hand. He placed his other hand on Chris’s shoulder as he stood on his knee, but could not tell if it was himself shaking or Chris. He continued up onto his shoulders, using Chris’s strong arm for balance. “Now what do I do?”
The Alex Cave Series. Books 1, 2, & 3.: Box set Page 71
