“That’s great. What are we going to do now? Walk back down the mountain and call Kate. ‘Hi, Kate, it’s J.J. Yeah, I know you just dropped us off at the city limits at great personal risk, but do you think you could come back and pick us up? I guess the welcome mat has been pulled out from beneath our feet. My brother-in-law miscalculated the time. Kinda like showing up at a party after it’s over.”
“J.J., stop it. You’re scaring Sophie.” Lila snapped.
“Look around. What do you want me to do?”
Mathis interjected. “Let’s stay calm and think for a minute.” A shiny, small object garnered his attention. He reached down, picked it up and recognized the carved bottom. “Lila, look…Dad’s telescope.”
“Why is it out here?” Lila asked.
“It’s either a sign that he was standing out here looking for me, or he threw it away in anger that I disobeyed him and left the village.”
Lila sensed her brother’s anguish.
“If you hadn’t come back for us, you’d be inside those walls and safe.”
“That was my own choice to make. I’d do it again if given the chance.”
“We should have left last night,” said Lila.
“It would have been far too dangerous to travel at night. Something must have forced dad’s hand to close the tunnels earlier than I thought.”
A lone bird sat perched on a branch and stared down at him. The bird tilted his head from side to side, sizing him up.
“What are you looking at?” Mathis asked the bird. The bird took the hint and flew away up the mountain.
“I wonder how long the doors have been closed?” J.J. asked.
“Does it matter? Five minutes or five hours, the door is sealed,” snapped Lila.
“We’re better off not knowing,” said Mathis. All he knew at that moment was that their best chance of survival was literally sealed in stone and the immediate future didn’t look too bright.
J.J. offered a suggestion to Mathis. “Couldn’t we stay in your house in the village? There’s a chance we could find extra food and at least there’s shelter.”
“It’s too dangerous. People are going to be heading out of Sanderell, looking for a place to stay. We can’t take that chance. Can you give me a minute to clear my head? Will you please do that?” begged Mathis.
His mind raced with ideas, but each twisted thought ran into the next and soon attempts at rational thought were a waste of time. I’m going to die right here? Is that what my fate is? he thought to himself. Had he brought his family here to die a few feet from salvation? Gale force winds assaulted the trees, forcing them to bend slightly towards Mathis, as if they were bowing to him for his gallant efforts.
Mathis regained his composure. “We need to go higher. I have a thought.”
J.J. bellowed with sarcasm, “I hope it has a better ending than the hike we just finished.”
They traveled upwards to the wondrous views from atop the mountain in the same place where his father had taken him and Buck many times before and one last time two weeks ago when they had argued.
The bird returned and squawked at the young man preparing to go higher up the mountain.
“You again? Have you come to mock me too?” he asked the bird. “You better be careful, don’t get too much closer or you’ll be my dinner tonight.”
Mathis gathered his belongings and encouraged the rest to do the same.
J.J. didn’t move. His legs were sprawled out and Sophie was lying on his lap, her legs on top of her weary father.
“You listen for once,” J.J. said, his voice dangerously even, as if forcing himself to stay calm. “I thought this whole thing was crazy, but I have a wife and a daughter. I wasn’t going to stay in Sanderell and let you destroy my life, but this is too much.”
Mathis tried to reduce the tension. “I understand your apprehension about coming here, I do. I wish we had arrived a bit sooner. Come on, follow me a little longer,” said Mathis.
J.J. stared in disbelief. “Doesn’t going higher limit our options? I mean, what’s up there?”
“Peace and quiet,” said Lila.
“That’s where our father went when he needed to think,” said Mathis.
J.J. looked up at the hill. “How much higher do you want to go? It’s going to get colder up there.”
Mathis looked at Lila, who seemed to know what he was considering. She nodded.
“I think we should go higher to dad’s favorite spot. It’ll be safer in the interim,” said Mathis.
Lila started walking before J.J. could offer any other objections.
CHAPTER 40
Mathis held Lila’s hand while they walked.
“Tell me, big sister, why the change of heart? You said it was for Sophie’s sake, but the scientist I know would have fought forever to prove she was correct in assuming this could be explained by science.”
Lila paused for a moment of reflection. “I’ve seen things in the last month that I never would have imagined. I can’t describe them within earshot of Sophie. I left Canamith for the path I chose. At least it was the correct path for me then. Look around the world now. I’m not the smartest person on the planet but I’m at a loss to offer any viable reason for this horrific loss of life. My peers don’t think there will be enough food for people to eat within sixty days. What’s the point of being right if Sophie is dead? I’m convinced that this can be explained in scientific terms, but while I do that, what is the risk to my family? I saw an orange tree picked clean by people in a minute. I saw an apple tree near Kate’s house covered with rotten apples. Worm holes everywhere. If I can’t explain how to save the food supply, then even if it is ‘Explainable’, as I’ve come to say, it doesn’t matter if I can’t be part of the solution to fix it. People are saying nature is killing us, but it’s the early stages of this crisis. Man began to panic and I’d say the bigger problem right now is Man versus Man, not Man versus Nature.”
“That means, big sister, that perhaps not everything can be explained by science. You found another rationale to keep your daughter alive,” said Mathis.
“What rationale are you referring to?”
“Faith.”
“Faith? You must be kidding.”
“What else could it have been but the belief, or faith, that coming here was the proper thing to do? You may not want to admit it, but in the end, when all appeared lost, where did you turn? Was it your science books? No. You found a possible answer to your problem in faith. I wish Dad were here to see this. The big shot scientist comes full circle and heads home because she has faith that this mountain could have saved her. He would have loved that. You have had an epiphany. You have enough smarts in that head of yours to know when to try and take a new approach to a problem.” Mathis grinned. “I think coming here was the right approach.”
“You make some interesting points, little brother. Dad raised you well. He’d be proud of you. Perhaps when I’m not completely exhausted and frustrated by our situation, we’ll have a nice debate about those ideas of yours.”
They walked until they reached the mesa were Rex had taken his sons to the old path that his grandfather had helped built many years ago. Mathis would have blown right passed it, but he remembered the wildflowers and the big leaves on the tree that marked the spot.
J.J. didn’t look or sound too pleased. “Mathis, exactly how much higher are you planning on going?
“It’s too high, Mommy! I don’t like being this high,” said Sophie.
Lila and J.J. paid no attention to Sophie’s comments. This was not the time or place to deal with her acrophobia.
Mathis hesitated at the path in front of him. He looked left, paused, then turned to the right. “Here, this way,” he said, and led the way down the narrow path.
Lila had no recollection of this path, but kept quiet and grasped J.J.’s hand in a reassuring gesture that he should play along for the moment.
They came to the clearing where Mathis had stopped with Rex i
n his previous visit.
“Let’s stop here to rest.”
“What’s special about here?” asked Lila.
“I’m not sure, but Dad liked it.” Mathis unloaded his heavy pack and it landed on the ground with a thud. J.J. did the same with his duffel bag, and the four of them sat there. Mathis was resting his head on the same rock that Rex had leaned on many times before.
Miles away and barely visible, small fires burned in Sanderell. J.J. turned Sophie in the opposite direction to keep her from asking questions about the smoke and the fires.
Occasionally, explosions could be heard from the city in the distance. The sounds were a grim reminder of why Lila had brought her family to this point.
“Let’s set up camp here tonight. I’ll get a few things from my house and we’ll see what the morning brings,” said Mathis.
“It better bring a plan to get us to safety,” declared J.J.
CHAPTER 41
Mathis rose first the next morning and put out the burning embers of the firepot. He surveyed Lila with a wry smile and asked her one simple question. “Lila, you up?”
Lila nodded, but didn’t speak.
Mathis’s voice was filled with excitement for the first time since he had seen Lila at Kate’s house. “What was the one thing that Dad said over and over again?”
“Are you kidding?” Lila replied, her voice struggling to find its morning tone. She cleared her throat and thought of Dr. Massey and how he used to start sentences by clearing his throat. It was a sound and a habit that greatly annoyed her. She missed it. She did not know if he was even alive.
“I don’t think I’m in the mood to talk about Dad right now.”
“Lila, I’m serious. What did he say?”
“’Always have a Plan B.’ This is not new information, dear brother.”
J.J. looked at her with disdain. “Do you mind filling me in on your little family sayings? How does that help us now?”
Mathis approached J.J. and said, “I think I found our Plan B.”
“What?” Lila jumped up.
“Look where my head was resting. What do you see?” Mathis asked.
Lila moved closer to the spot. She turned to her brother and said in a low tone, “I don’t see anything. Can you please tell us what’s going on?”
“I had a thought. We know one thing about dad. He always had a Plan B. We know that. He brought us here all the time. Why? To have us listen to the birds or see the trees? I don’t think so. I’m guessing there was a profound reason. You were gone, but one of the last times I was here with Buck, dad told us about the original entrance to the tunnels.”
“An original entrance? He never told me about that,” said Lila.
Mathis explained.
“I’m sitting against that rock, right? The same one dad used to sit at when he was telling Buck and me about his ‘Plan B’. Over and over again. J.J., you can’t imagine how sick and tired we were of hearing that phrase.”
“Yeah, but what does that have to do with—”
“Listen for a second, will you? I’m sitting there and I look straight ahead and what do I see?”
J.J. contributed another stream of sarcasm. “Aha! You see four magical coats that will let us walk through stone! Hurrah, we’re saved!”
“J.J., stop it,” Lila snapped.
Mathis walked back to the rock. “Lila, come over here. Sit here.” “Mathis, I don’t understand. What’s the purpose of that?”
“Just do it! Please!” He gestured with his hands for Lila to sit in a specific location.
Lila reluctantly agreed.
“Perfect. Now look straight ahead. Tell me what you see?”
“I see a rock,” Lila said with exhaustion in her voice.
J.J. had his own reply for Mathis. “Hey, genius, there’s ten trillion tons of rocks around here. What’s so special about that one?”
Mathis ignored J.J.’s attitude and replied, “That one, J.J., is where Dad told me and Buck that the villagers had started working on a the main entrance to the tunnels years and years ago, but stopped and eventually built that entrance that you saw last night. I bet he never imagined that we’d be in this position, but think about how ironic it is, us sitting here in the same spot that Dad used to take me and Buck to and talk about another entrance.”
“Ironic…or fate?” asked Lila.
“Either, I don’t care right now. I want to get out of the elements before it’s too late.”
“Uh, Mathis, I’m not sure what you see,” said J.J., “but all I see is a big rock. Maybe it’s me, maybe if we get closer we’ll see a big red panic button that reads ‘press the button and the door will open!’”
“It won’t be that obvious. Remember, this is Canamith. Things were built to make it impossible for outsiders to know what’s going on.”
Mathis approached the rock with caution. Barely visible on the rock were five small imprints nearly worn away from the passage of time. He wiped away dirt from the grooves and raised his left index finger and placed it firmly into the first groove. He followed that by placing various fingers in different patterns. He must have tried thirty different configurations before he heard a magical sound.
Click.
They all heard it. Mathis backed away. As if on cue from the stage director, the front of the massive rock slid upwards into the top of the huge boulder.
“YES! YES! That’s your Plan B, Lila! Right here, baby, YES! That’s a serious Plan B if there ever was one!” shouted Mathis.
“Where does it go?” asked J.J.
Mathis grinned, and turned on his flashlight. “Why don’t we find out?”
CHAPTER 42
Inside the tunnels, the mood was somber. The village of 453 was ready to face the ultimate challenge of survival. There had been talk and preparations for this day for a millennium. Generations had come and gone and this was the particular group of people that fate had chosen to live within these walls for the next eight years. Status reports from all departments were on schedule and operating above minimum compliance standards.
Buck found Rex poring over status reports in the dining hall. Mathis’s note was stuffed in his shirt pocket.
“Dad, I’m sure he convinced Lila to come back. He’s persuasive. I know he can do it. What if they are waiting outside the tunnels right now trying to get in?”
Rex didn’t look up from his papers.
“What if a thousand military men are there instead? Are you willing to risk everything for that possibility?”
“No,” said Buck.
“You’re speculating on ‘what ifs’. You won’t have the luxury of ‘what if ’ as Chief Elder. You’ll have years of tough decisions. You must choose the safety of everyone over the needs of one person. Even if that person is me.”
“I know that.”
“I’ve learned it the hard way. There’s a chance that Mathis will survive. It’s a long shot. There’s no way for me to contact him, but perhaps he’ll figure it out.”
“Figure out what?”
“It’s pointless to explain. Let’s get back to work.” He had proven his worth as Chief Elder many times over. Now his problem was plowing ahead with living in the tunnels and dealing with the probable death of his daughter, her husband and child, and his youngest son, Mathis.
Rex put Mathis out of his head and gathered the population of the Village in the main hall. This large, rectangular room ran one hundred yards from end to end. At the far north entrance of the room there was an elevated platform that the Elders used to address the crowd. The people were anxious and shell-shocked by the reality of their situation. They wanted their leader to tell them everything was going to work out all right.
Long tables filled the room. The tedious work of carving the tables and chairs out of the stone was finished hundreds of years ago. That same design was featured in the individual family suites. Village rules had kept the population constant throughout the years, and this enabled the architects to build
the exact amount of rooms, chairs, tables, and dressers necessary to accommodate the citizens.
Rex gazed at the crowd of 453 people. Buck stood by him, soaking in every piece of advice he could.
“I’ve got to make sure these people stay calm,” said Rex. “We’ve talked about this forever, but actually living in here is not going to be easy. The people are going to take their cues from us. We’ve given everyone a few tasks to keep them busy for a day or two, but after that, the reality of our situation will be clear. No matter the difficulties we face, you and I must remain positive at all times. Is that clear?”
“Absolutely. Give them what they want,” said Buck.
Rex stood on the podium for a moment. He scanned the crowd and smiled as he saw the faces of his friends. His heart ached not knowing where Mathis was. He wondered about Lila too. He put his personal crisis aside. “I want to first thank you all for remaining resolute in your work. Your outstanding efforts and those of your ancestors made today possible. We owe a great deal of gratitude to those who came before us. Let’s take a moment of silence to honor them.” Rex bowed his head and thought of the people in his family that had sacrificed to make this day possible.
“Today begins a tragic time for mankind, but for us it is a culmination of the effort that preserved our heritage. What world will await us when we re-open the doors? Even the ancient scrolls do not predict the answer. During the eight years we remain in the safety of our shelter, we will study our books. We will learn, we will grow, our beautiful children will turn into young adolescents, and they in turn will become men and woman. Some of us may die here. There were times in my youth when I questioned if all this work was necessary. As I grew older, it was obvious that trouble lay ahead. Now, all these years later, I am proud to see us together. We remain grateful to the past, united in the present, and hopeful of the future.” Spontaneous applause greeted Rex. He had never been the recipient of such adoration during his reign as Chief Elder.
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