“Just hang on while I stand up, okay? You should be able to reach Alex when I do it. Here we go.”
In one swift movement, Henry felt hurled into the air. He reached up and grabbed Alex’s hand, and was instantly hauled up over the edge into the tunnel. He rolled onto his back while he tried to stop shaking. “I am so glad to see you, Alex. Thank you for coming for me. I knew you would find me.”
“You’re welcome, Doc. Let me help you up so we can get out of the way. Okana can help the others get out.”
“Yes, of course.”
Once Henry and Alex moved past him in the tunnel, Okana looked down from the opening. “How far up can you reach, Chris?”
Chris stood on his toes and reached up for the opening. “That’s it.”
Okana lay prone and reached down. “You can make it if you jump, but you’re going to have to trust me.”
“What about Rita?”
“What about her?”
Rita’s anxiety suddenly soared. “You can’t just leave me, Okana.”
“Sure I can. You kidnapped my friend, Rita. You almost got him killed, and that I cannot forgive.” He looked down at Chris. You ready?”
Chris hesitated. “I’m not sure how I feel about this.”
“I don’t see that you have much choice. You’re welcome to stay where you are.”
Alex moved back to the opening. “What’s the hold up?”
Rita stared up at Alex. “He won’t help me out of here!” She grumbled.
Alex stared at her for a moment. “You know that you and your compatriot are going to be arrested for what you did to Henry.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. I realize that now. I’ll take my punishment. Just get me the hell out of here!”
“Where’s the other device, Rita.”
“I don’t know. Preston just said he’ll have it delivered here.” Alex just stared back. “Honest, Alex. I don’t know.”
Alex glanced at Okana, who shook his head no. “I know how you feel, but I’d prefer not to have her death on my conscience right now.”
Okana sighed. “Okay.” He turned back around to Chris. “All right. Hand her up.”
Alex turned and noticed Henry trying to walk down the tunnel, and quickly caught up with him. “Wait up, Doc. We should wait for the others first.”
“I cannot wait Alex. I must get out of here!”
Alex glanced over his shoulder at Okana, still reaching over the edge.
Suddenly the ground heaved up, tossing Alex and Henry off their feet onto the rock-strewn floor. As large rocks began slamming down into the tunnel, Alex spun back around. Huge boulders from the collapsing ceiling were hammering down on Okana, still lying face down on the ground.
Alex spun around, searching through the roiling dust until he saw Henry lying on the ground under a small pile of rubble. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Okana’s leg move, but he was torn between trying to save him, and saving Henry. “Damn!”
Alex spun back around, grabbed Okana’s foot, and began pulling with all his strength, desperately trying to drag him back from the opening, only to slip and fall on the loose rocks. He scrambled onto his feet and grabbed the leg again as more rock crashed down on Okana’s back, making it even harder.
The ground heaved up again, slamming Alex against the wall. Stars erupted in his vision as a searing pain raged in his head. He lost his balance, toppling backward onto piles of rock.
The shaking suddenly stopped, but when he managed to looked back, the ceiling above Okana collapsed, burying him alive. “NOOOOOO!” Alex roared in outrage.
He beat his fist against a boulder, chastising himself for caring about Rita. I should have just left her to die! If I had just ignored my damn conscience, Okana would have made it! “DAMN YOU RITA!”
*
Chris stared up helplessly as the dome crashed down, driving him backward off the rail. He caught a glimpse of Rita tumbling from the railing before his mind went blank.
The last thing Rita saw as she fell through the air was Okana’s arm protruding from the ceiling, and then everything blinked out.
* * *
Chapter 16
STILLWATER:
Arty sighed with relief when the last person stepped out the door. He grabbed the coffee pot and poured a cup for himself and the Sheriff, but before he could set it down, the floor began to shake and the windows began to rattle. “I guess Alex didn’t get it turned off.”
As the magnitude of the shaking increased, brass frame pictures began jumping off the walls and shattering on the floor. A fracture opened up under the far wall, the glass window exploding as the wall was ripped apart. A section of the roof fell down, blocking the exit.
Bruce grabbed Arty by the arm, dragging him across the debris.
Arty jerked his arm free. “ROSE!” he hollered as he ran into the kitchen.
The shaking suddenly ceased, but small sections of the ceiling continued to fall. Arty found Rose hunkered down against the freezer. “Time to go, sweetie.”
Arty helped Rose up from the floor, tucking her head under his arm. “Here we go, just watch your step.”
He led Rose across the debris and guided her out through the shattered window. They stopped when they joined up with the Sheriff on the far side of the parking lot.
Arty slid his arm around Rose’s shoulder as they turned around to stare in numbed shock at what was left of their restaurant. Rose turned and buried her face against Arty’s chest and began to sob. He held her tight and whispered in her ear that everything would be okay, and then he looked over at Bruce with a questioning expression. “What should we do, Sheriff?”
Bruce was at a loss for words and shook his head. “I don’t know what to tell you, my friend. I guess we need to find a place to hunker down.”
“I’ll tell you what I’m gonna do, Sheriff. I’m going load my truck with whatever supplies I can find and get out of town. You said if Alex can do what he’s trying to do this will all be over, right?”
“I won’t lie to you, Arty. I don’t think he has a chance in hell of pulling it off. You go ahead and find some place safe. I have to stay here. I’m still responsible for the people in this town, and I can’t leave.”
They all turned when they heard a siren approach as Deputy Arnold Wilson stopped his patrol car.
Arnold jumped out and walked over. “What the hell is going on, Bruce?”
Bruce explained the situation to him. “Not really much we can do about it.”
“Wow. Who would think something like this could happen in our little town.” He whistled softly and pointed to the wide crack in the parking lot. “This is gonna to get bad, aint it sheriff?”
“I’m afraid so. I need you to drive around and check the extent of the damage.”
As Arnold walked away, Bruce turned back to Arty. “You and Rose better get going.”
When Arty and Rose turned and walked away, Bruce climbed into his patrol car drove down to the municipal building. The main structure was still standing, but all the windows had shattered and several large gray blocks of stone had rolled down the steps. One had demolished the obelisk in front of the parking lot.
He parked, leapt out of the patrol car, and ran up the steps, already dreading what he would see when he got inside. As he ran through the opening where the doors had been, Bruce stopped when he saw the front desk. The wall behind Helen had collapsed, crushing her against the desk under a pile of concrete blocks. One hand protruded from the rubble, still clutching the telephone.
He turned and looked down both hallways, now blocked by debris. His shoulders sagged when he realized there was nothing he could do. He turned and left the building.
*
VENTILATION SHAFT:
When the shaking subsided Alex stood, but he could not see any sign of Okana. He began pulling on the massive boulders, but after a several minutes when they wouldn’t budge, he stopped trying. Tears began clouding his vision and slowly rolled down his cheeks. “I
’m sorry, my friend.” He whispered.
“Alex? Are you there?”
Alex turned and looked down the tunnel. Through the dust, he saw Henry, still on the ground. “I’m here, Doc.” He hurried back to help Henry up. “We’d better get out of here. Can you walk?”
Henry took Alex’s hand and stood. “What happed to Okana and the others?”
“It’s just you and me now, Doc. We’d better hurry before we get trapped in here, too.”
Alex looked around for the backpack with the supplies, but it must have been buried under the debris. Hopefully, Spencer had more water and first aid supplies in his truck.
The going was slow as Alex and Henry made their way over the rocks and boulders to the entrance. When Alex looked down, his heart sank. Sections of Spencer’s truck protruded from beneath a pile of boulders at the bottom of the mountain.
He and Henry carefully made their way down through the debris. Once safely down, Alex searched for any sign of Spencer, but didn’t find any trace of him. He could only assume Spencer was somewhere beneath the boulders.
He reached into his front pocket and brought out his cellphone, and then realized he didn’t know the Sheriffs number. If he called the ranch to get the number, he would have to tell them Okana was killed during the rescue, something he would rather do in person. Suddenly he remembered seeing George’s telephone number on the side of the helicopter and punched in the numbers. After several rings, he finally answered.
“Who is this?”
“This is Alex Cave.”
“We’ve just had a major earthquake, Alex. What happened? I thought you guys were going to shut it down.”
“It can’t be stopped, George. It’s going to get worse. Okana and Spencer were killed during the rescue. My friend and I are stuck out here below the ventilation shaft. Any chance you could come and get us?”
“I can’t find the problem with the helicopter, so until I do I’m grounded. I’ll come and pick you up as soon as I can.”
“Thanks, George. We’ll be walking toward Stillwater.”
Alex put away the phone and looked at Henry. “We have a long walk ahead of us, Doc. Are you up to it?”
“I am sorry about all this, Alex.”
“It wasn’t your fault. Let’s get started.”
“You have a nasty cut on the side of your head, Alex. Are you sure you are all right?”
Alex tried to ignore his throbbing headache. “I’m Okay.” He turned and began walking across the desert in the direction of Stillwater, with Henry at his side.
*
STILLWATER:
Bruce climbed into his patrol car and drove out of the parking lot, and then took the first road headed south. He turned off the pavement onto a narrow dirt road, and stopped next to a collapsed wooden shed. Straight ahead, his home was just a pile of shattered memories. Except for the time when he was away in the Marine Corps, he had lived in the house all his life. He thought about climbing out and trying to scrounge through the rubble for pictures, but if what Alex had told him about the eruption was coming true, it really wouldn’t matter. He reigned in his emotions, backed out onto the road, and drove back toward town.
The rural section of town was laid out in one block, parallel roads, with one house on each block. He began driving up and down each street. Most of the houses were now just crumbled piles of colored pieces of wood and asphalt shingles. The one behind the restaurant where Arty and Rose had lived was still partially standing, as was the one belonging to Arnold at the outer edge of the development.
As he approached Arnold’s house, something looked out of place. When he was within ten feet, he realized what it was. He shoved the car into park and jumped out the door, and then ran over to Arnold lying on the sidewalk. He knelt down to feel for a pulse and saw the side of Arnold’s head had been caved in. When he noticed that Arnold’s revolver was gone, he jumped up to looked around, placing his hand on the butt of his own revolver. He slowly turned in a circle, but he did not see anyone. He looked down at Arnold one more time. “You were a good deputy, Arnold. Thanks.”
He climbed back into his patrol car and continued down the streets. When he had finished inspecting the rural area, he drove back onto the main street. Nothing of the red brick buildings was left standing. He slowly drove around the debris, searching both sides of the street for anyone still alive.
He stepped on the brakes when he heard a gunshot. Then another one, and two more. From the direction of the sound, they were coming from the parking lot in front of the municipal building.
He drove as fast as possible around the debris, and stopped when he saw two groups of people in the parking lot. They were all armed with rifles and pistols, shouting at each other from twenty feet apart. “This doesn’t look good.” He whispered.
He pulled over so his vehicle was between the two groups, and then he slowly climbed out. Now they were all staring at him and he wondered what would happen next. He studied the people in one group, and then did the same to the other. “James. Gary. Jennifer. What’s going on here?”
“It’s Gary and Jennifer, Sheriff. We’ve been scrounging around for anything useful and they want to take it from us.”
“That’s not true Sheriff,” Jennifer hollered. “We were here first.”
When James and Jennifer turned and glared at each other, he knew he had to do something. “I want you all to calm down. We can all survive if we work together.”
Suddenly, the two groups were looking past him, and Bruce spun around. It was the three Harrison brothers, all armed. “Oh, shit.” He mumbled.
They were the town bad boys, and he had dealt with each one of them on several occasions. This is going to get tricky, he thought.
The bad boys were behind him, and a mob of people in front. He knew the three brothers only needed the slightest excuse to go on a rampage. The others were generally peaceful citizens. He realized for now his best course of action would be to confront the brothers.
Bruce slowly approached the three boys, careful not to bring his hand down near his revolver. “It seems we all have our problems today, boys. You’re going to have enough trouble as it is. Let’s just talk about this for a moment before somebody does something stupid.”
Suddenly, one of the brothers grinned, swung his shotgun up, and fired. Bruce leapt out of the way, as a volley of gunfire erupted between the brothers and the mob. As he lay on the ground, bullets were whizzing over his head. The gunfire only lasted a few moments, and then it was over.
Bruce glanced over at the brothers. Two were on the ground reeling in agony, but he could not see the third one. He turned and looked at the mob of people. Only two were still standing. Gary was cradling a bloody arm, and Jennifer, who was still pointing a shotgun in his direction.
He slowly stood up and put his hand on the butt of his revolver. “It’s all over, Jennifer. Lower the shotgun.”
“It was self-defense, sheriff!”
“I know, but could you lower the shotgun?”
“The whole town’s gone crazy!”
“I know. We can talk about it.”
Jennifer shook her head. “No way. I’m leaving this nightmare and . . .” A shot rang out and she was hurled backward, slamming onto the ground.
Bruce spun around and saw one of the brothers sitting up and pointing a rifle. “Oh, damn!”
It felt like a hammer hit his left shoulder and spun him around. He lost his balance and slammed onto the asphalt, the back of his head erupting in pain. He lay still for a moment, listening for any movement or noise. The only sound was a soft moan, so he sat up to look around. Two of the brothers lay in a bloody crumpled pile. He turned toward where he had last seen Jennifer, but nobody moved. He cringed as he put his hand against the hole in his left shoulder, grateful the bullet had passed through cleanly. He used his right arm and slowly pushed himself off the ground, and then placed his hand against the side of his patrol car to steady himself. He heard the moan again and looked in
Jennifer’s direction. It was Gary.
He walked over and looked down at the young man, and the ragged red hole on the left side of his chest told him all he needed to know. The boy was not going to make it. He looked around one more time, and then climbed into the patrol car. The third and oldest brother, Kurt, would not hesitate to kill anyone in his way, and he might go for the helicopter.
*
George was still on top of his baby and leaning over the engine when he heard gunfire. He stood to figure out where it had come from, and then two more shots rang out from some place in town. He realized he was in big trouble and closed the engine cowling, and then slid down off the helicopter. He jumped into the cockpit and began flipping switches trying to start the engine, but it would not turn over. “Come on, damn it!” he pleaded between clenched teeth.
He jumped out of the cockpit, desperately trying to think of the reason why the engines would not start, and then climbed on top again. With his head buried under the cowling, he discovered the problem. In his haste to get down, he had left one small cable unplugged.
George was about to plug it back in when he heard footsteps below him. When he raised his head above the cowling, a young man was pointing a shotgun at him.
“Fly me out of here!”
George stood. “I can’t. The engine won’t start.”
“You’re lying. I saw you land earlier.”
Some country folks are not very smart, he thought. “I’m not lying. Why else would I be working on it?”
“Just get on down here and start this thing up or I’ll blow a hole in your chest!”
George caught a flash of light out of the corner of his eye and looked over as the Sheriff’s patrol car pulled into the parking lot.
Bruce pulled up next to the helicopter with his car only three feet from the boy. He slowly climbed out and closed the door, and tried to be casual as he walked around the front. He leaned back against the hood, eye level with Kurt. He did not want to provoke the situation, and was careful to keep his hand away from his revolver.
The Alex Cave Series. Books 1, 2, & 3.: Box set Page 72
