Fatal Green

by The Brothers Washburn

  Martha nodded. Camm switched off the light, leaving them once more entirely in blackness.

  As soon as Camm turned off the light, the rumbling started again, followed by the shaking. Totally in the dark, the ground and rocks around them shook violently back and forth. They could only put their hands against the flexing walls and hope the tunnel did not collapse on them.

  This time they couldn’t see the dust, but they could feel and taste it. The walls screeched as granite ground on granite. They could be buried alive, and they wouldn’t see it coming.

  Camm felt like screaming. The gloom, the deep abyss, almost falling off a cliff, the swinging rope bridge and now earthquakes in the dark were all too much. She needed to release the tension and a scream seemed like a good way to do it. But she didn’t, and neither did Martha.

  At last, the shaking stopped, and then the rumbling. Camm scrambled to turn the light back on, but the flashlight had rolled away in the earthquake. Blindly, she slid her hands along the floor.

  “What’s up?” Martha asked, “Why haven’t you turned the light back on?”

  “The flashlight moved in the earthquake,” Camm said as she found it and switched it on. The light was dim, but a huge relief. At least they could see in their immediate vicinity.

  Camm rewrapped the rope tightly around the end of the stick and tied it in place. She pulled a BIC cigarette lighter from her backpack. “You still have matches in your backpack, right?”

  “Yes.” Martha pulled out a box of small wooden matches.

  Picking up a sharp, pointed rock, Camm broke a hole in the plastic cigarette lighter. She poured the few precious ounces of lighter fluid along the base loop of the rope on the stick. The fluid only moistened the bottom coil.

  Camm stood up swinging her backpack in place. She took the matches from Martha and lit a match. “Here goes nothin’.” She lit the bottom loop of rope. It sputtered for a moment, and then sprang to life. Camm grinned. “We go now by torchlight.”

  The light from the torch was yellow and not directional—it cast light in all directions. The flames licked at the roof of the cave, and thick, black smoke curled up from the small conflagration.

  Martha wrinkled her nose. “Smells like a party I attended at Yale one time.”

  Camm’s only comment was, “No comment.”

  They started out at a fast trot. Neither said it, but both knew the torch would not last long.

  The cave was now a long, tight tunnel. Since the floor was smooth and rounded, they made good time, even though they were running uphill.

  The torch gave good light for several minutes, then started to sputter. Pieces of burning rope fell to the ground. The stick itself burned a little, yet not for long.

  Their trot turned into a run as they tried to beat the failing light source. It was not to be. The last flaming embers of burning rope fell to the cave floor and went out.

  Martha sighed. “In the dark again! I am so tired of the pitch black. Just give me some light! If I had one wish, just a little light is all I would ask. Just a tiny light!”

  Camm couldn’t help grinning in the dark. “Your wish is granted.”

  She stepped aside, so Martha could see past her. “I see some light, just a little light.”

  Sure enough, there it was. A pinpoint of light, straight ahead.

  They had left in the late evening, yet they were seeing bright sunlight now. Had they walked all night? If they had gotten to this point in the night, there would have been no sunlight shining in to let them know how close they were to the end.

  Camm retrieved the flashlight. It was pitifully dim compared to the torchlight they had just enjoyed, but it would be enough. They would soon be back in the daylight.

  XIX

  “Look!” Cal pointed ahead, a big grin on his face.

  Mr. S stopped to gaze in the direction of Cal’s finger. Making their way back from Indian Joe’s, they were now less than a mile from the mansion. Cal waved his hand back and forth indicating a wide section of land covered in sagebrush and mesquite.

  “I’m getting my bearings in this alternate world. I think right here in front of us is where my high school would be, you know, if it were here in this world. Up there on that rise would be the football field.”

  He twisted to face the Argus Mountains. “Painted on that mountain back there, with the wide flat side, would be a big, white T, for Trona High School. Every year, as part of the Homecoming celebrations, the students organized an outing to whitewash the T. Actually, I think we got more paint on us, than we did on the T.”

  Mr. S nodded. “That is why we brought you along, for your knowledge of both worlds.”

  He gave Cal a sad smile as if he felt guilty about coercing Cal into coming.

  Then, his smile broadened and lit up his eyes. Placing his hands on his hips, Mr. S majestically surveyed the surrounding desert as if it somehow all belonged to him.

  “This is a fascinating world indeed. I can see how the desert grows on you.”

  “Yeah, I miss it now that my family has moved away.” Cal nodded seriously. “I just wish Camm could have gotten a chance to see this world. You know, she was always a brain and knows everything about everything. She knows a lot about the Searles Valley in our world. I would have loved to hear her thoughts about this place.”

  Mr. S nodded supportively. “You know more than you realize, Cal, that’s why we brought you on this expedition, but Camm is an exceptional person too. She is one tough cookie and as smart as they come. I’m sure Granny is putting her to good use right now in Trona.”

  Mr. S turned to gaze back at T Mountain and stiffened. The longer he looked, the harder he stared. His stare remained fixed on something in the desert below the foothills. Squinting, he placed a hand to his forehead, shading his eyes. “What is that?”

  “What do you see?” Cal asked.

  “I’m not sure.”

  Mr. S removed a small pair of binoculars from a pocket in his backpack and took a long look through the glasses. “Well, I’ll be,” he muttered, his attention riveted to something in the distance.

  “What is it?” Cal turned to stare in that same direction.

  “Well, I’ll be,” Mr. S repeated.

  Shading his eyes and squinting against the bright sunlight, Cal could make out two forms, moving in the distance. It was people. Two people were walking through the desert, coming towards the mansion from the foothills.

  “People,” Cal stated in disbelief. “Where did people like us come from? They don’t look like Indians. Who are they? Can you see who they are?”

  Still staring through the binoculars, Mr. S repeated again, “Well, I’ll be.”

  “What? Why do you keep saying that? Who is it?”

  Mr. S turned to Cal and smiled a big smile. “Will wonders ever cease?”

  “Come on! What do you see? Who is it?”

  Mr. S didn’t answer, only handed Cal the binoculars.

  Cal pressed the binoculars to his eyes and peered at the distant figures. It was people all right, one taller than the other. “I see two women, walking our way. They’re covered in black dirt.”

  Taking down the binoculars, Cal stared in disbelief at Mr. S. “What’s going on?”

  Shaking his head in amazement, Mr. S grinned widely and chuckled. “I don’t know what to say, Cal, but it appears you can run, but you can’t hide. She’ll find you wherever you go!”

  “What do you mean? Why are you laughing?” Turning, Cal gazed through the binoculars.

  “Wait!” He exclaimed. “What? Wait . . . Is that . . . ? It can’t . . . I mean, no way . . . But I thought . . . ” He was totally incredulous and speaking gibberish.

  Staring blindly, he slowly handed the binoculars back to Mr. S.

  “No, I mean, how . . . ?” He couldn’t finish.

  Instead,
he dropped his backpack to the ground and spun toward the two people walking in the desert. Starting at a lope, Cal ran to meet them. The lope soon turned into a full-out run.

  * * *

  They were back in daylight. Camm spread her arms to catch the rays. How good the sun and clean air felt out here in the open. No walls, no ceiling, no cliffs, no freakin’ swinging rope bridges, no shaking rock walls and no dust in the air. Just out in the bright sunlight, breathing fresh air.

  Camm filled her lungs with wholesome air. “You know, Martha, there were a couple times in that cave when I thought for sure we weren’t going to make it. I don’t think I could have done it without your fearless determination.”

  Martha shook her head and laughed. “Well, I’m glad you waited until now to tell me. I was going totally on the strength of your courage. When in doubt, I just told myself that I needed to be as strong as you.”

  Both laughed until tears streamed down their cheeks.

  From the position of the sun, Camm decided it was mid-morning. If the time was the same in both worlds, which Camm knew wasn’t a given, they must have hiked all night through that cave.

  Incredibly, they had emerged exactly at the same spot where they had gone in. The cave’s small entrance looked the same, except no dead body guarded the way. The rocks on the hillside looked the same, but it was not the same hillside. Camm could see differences.

  The valley below looked the same, with its white, dry lakebed. T Mountain loomed behind them, but without the big, white T. The mountains and the valley looked the same, but the town was missing. No roads, no high school, no chemical plant, no graveyard. Nothing man-made.

  Well not quite. Camm could see the mansion, sticking up all by itself, off in the distance. Not knowing what else to do, she and Martha walked in its direction, hoping to find the others.

  Martha kept trying to brush the dust off her clothes. “I am such a mess. I could sure use a shower. Didn’t you say that this world’s mansion had running water?”

  “Yes, but no showers, only tubs. I’m sure there is no bath soap or shampoo in this world.”

  “Well, the others must be using something. They’ve got be bathing or washing somehow.”

  Camm laughed. “Unless Lenny has convinced them all to go native, you know, hunter-gatherer. At least Lenny has an excuse for not washing in this world.”

  Martha rolled her eyes. “That’s why I’m here—to straighten Lenny out.”

  “Good luck! You’ll need it.”

  They had covered about half the distance to the mansion when Martha laid a hand on Camm’s arm. “Someone is coming, and he seems to be in a big hurry.”

  Camm followed Martha’s gaze. Someone raced toward them, kicking up a cloud of dust. Camm pressed her hand to her mouth. She knew that stride. She knew that long, lanky body. Her face burst into a huge smile. Throwing her backpack at Martha, she started off at a run to meet the welcoming committee.

  She ran to Cal and jumped into his arms. He held her tight and swung her in a circle, around and around until they almost fell over. Then, they just laughed and hugged.

  His shirt was stained with sweat and blood and splattered with smelly blue-green animal guts of some kind. She was covered in black dirt and stunk of decay. Her hair smelt like burnt hemp. Neither cared. Neither noticed.

  Camm gazed up at Cal. He smiled down at her. Then, they kissed—long and deep. He wasn’t just kissing her, and she wasn’t just kissing him. At last, they were kissing each other. Not a friend’s kiss. Not a kid’s kiss. A real kiss that had been years in the making. It was the best kiss ever. At least, so far.

  XX

  The fire in the huge fireplace spit and crackled, casting giant dancing shadows on the walls. The flickering light made the ugly, snarling rodents carved along the edges of the fireplace appear to twitch and jerk. They didn’t actually need a fire. The weather was very warm, but the firelight was cheery and brought comfort to Camm’s heart. Just being here with Cal felt like home to Camm no matter how alien the setting might otherwise be.

  Everyone was gathered in the main hall in front of the massive fireplace. Mr. S, Martha, Agents Allen and Kline, and the other two agents relaxed in chairs carried in from the dining room. Mr. C reclined on a bed piled with blankets and pillows brought down from a bedroom.

  Camm and Cal sat pressed close together, holding hands, atop blankets spread on the floor. Lenny also sat crossed-legged on the floor. Since the mansion had running water, everyone except Lenny had taken baths and now sported hair with the wet and wild look. The mansion had no water heater, but the water coming out of the faucet was never cold and was actually comfortable for washing.

  Lenny was scornful of baths and still went bare chested. To Camm and Martha’s chagrin, he insisted on wearing his breach cloth, rather than civilized clothing. The breach cloth was short, so it was obvious he had kept his tighty-whiteys, which as Camm had pointed out were no longer very white. Still, Martha was trying to work with Lenny and had only raised her eyebrows before commenting, “I am merely thankful for small favors, no matter what color they come in.”

  “What are your native friends working on outside?” Cal leaned toward Lenny. “They seem to be pretty attached to you. Like they’re worried we’re not going to take care of you or something. They keep peeking through the front door to check on you. How come they don’t come inside?”

  The indigenous population had been gathering from all directions throughout the day and had set up an efficient little camp outside in front of the mansion. The young hunters in the tribe were continually bringing in all sorts of fresh meat for a feast.

  “Dude, they don’t dig the mansion. So like, they won’t come inside. In the past, some who went into the mansion never came out—they just disappeared. But, they dig us, man. Right now they’re cooking up a big feast to celebrate your coming.” Lenny shrugged. “Really, dude, they party a lot. They’re always celebrating something and fixing a big feast.”

  Camm listened with interest. “Are they superstitious about the mansion? They don’t seem surprised to see all us tall, white folk in here.”

  Lenny raised his right hand, palm forward, as if to swear in court. “Dude, they expect to see tall, white guys like us in the mansion. People like us are a big deal in their traditions and legends—white guys are like their superheroes. You gotta see their rock paintings—they’re in color, man. The paintings are way old and tell way cool stories. Like, giant green rats and monster rattlesnakes are only part of the weird stuff that happens around this freakin’ mansion. Believe me, they’ve seen way worse than that.”

  Camm noticed Agent Allen listening and smiled at her. Upon her arrival, Camm had been afraid Mr. C and Agent Allen, especially Agent Allen, would be extremely angry with her. To the contrary, Mr. C had laughed out loud, the first time anyone, except his brother, had ever seen him do that. Shaking Camm’s hand with unusual vigor, he had said, “There is no stopping this girl. We have certainly underestimated her. You know what they say? If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.”

  Another pleasant surprise came when Agent Allen had first walked up to Camm. Camm was sure she was going to yell at her. Instead, she had pulled her in for a big bear hug, very uncharacteristic for Agent Allen, especially since Camm was still covered with noxious cave grime. Agent Allen had whispered in Camm’s ear, “You told me you were going to come, and you did!”

  Everyone was starving, but Lenny said the big feast was almost ready. Everyone settled in the main hall to give status reports while they waited for the celebration outside to start. Misters S and C took turns peppering Camm and Martha with questions about how they transitioned over into the alternate world without using the clocks or the snake.

  At one point, Mister S pointed his finger, his brow furrowed. “If I understand correctly, you entered a cave, went straight through,” he hesitated a moment with his finger wavi
ng, “and then came out the same entrance, but all the mummified bodies were gone?”

  Camm tried to explain. “We followed Al Jr.’s directions. We did not turn around. We did not turn to the right or the left. We just went straight through the main tunnel, no deviation. It was the same entrance, except we entered the cave in our world and came out in this world.”

  He rubbed his chin. “Could you have gone in a big circle?”

  Martha answered. “I don’t think so. We watched for curves. It could have been a shallow, very large curve that we couldn’t detect, but I think we would have noticed when the tunnel reconnected with itself. It never did. It continued straight through.”

  Mr. C propped himself up on one elbow. “Did you notice any heat or unusual warmth in the cave as you hiked through?”

  “No . . .” Camm paused to think carefully before answering. “Wait, on the ledge, above the underground river, the air wasn’t exactly warm, but the rock wall we leaned against was very warm, almost hot, like it was heated from the inside.”

  Mr. C sent Mr. S a meaningful look, as if that was the answer he was expecting.

  Camm continued, “Was it lava or hot water heating the rock?”

  Shaking his head, Mr. C replied, “No, nothing like that.”

  His answer worried Camm for some reason she couldn’t quite put her finger on. “But it was something you were expecting. You know what caused the heat, don’t you?”

  “We have theories.”

  Cal looked askance at Mr. S. “I know about your theories. You think it was a very large deposit of almost pure plutonium in the rock. Right?”

  Cal turned to Camm. “Contrary to rumor, I’m not just a dumb jock. We studied this in high school chemistry. Plutonium gives off heat; I mean real heat you can actually feel.”

  Camm raised her eyebrows and smiled at him, impressed.

  Now, it was Martha’s turn to look worried. “Plutonium doesn’t occur in its pure form in such large concentrations in nature. It is only found in trace amounts.”