by Galili Black
Heather’s eyes narrowed, “Are you folks really making a movie?”
Hez leaned over and looked at her intently. “The same people who tore down that mountain are planning on doing something even worse. We’re here to stop them.”
“What could be worse? It looks like a damn atom bomb hit it and the water ain’t fit to drink for miles around it.”
“Heather, the Sherman Coal Company is owned by the Edsell family. They bought up a lot of mountains in different locations and did the same thing. If we don’t stop them, they’ll turn the whole world into Harrow Mountain.”
“Can they do that?”
“If they get to use the energy that came down the way they see fit, then yes, they will be able,” Hez replied.
“But it’s a good thing, how can they use it for something bad?”
“They just have a talent for turning good things bad, like Harrow Mountain,” Richard said.
Heather got to her feet, “While you finish your meal, I’ll go make a call and see if Mrs. Malone will come and talk to you.”
“Thank you, Heather,” Hez said. She nodded and left them to look over the menus. When she came back, they ordered big breakfasts, with eggs, gravy and biscuits. Even Hez who had been on a health kick for years decided to go for a hearty southern meal while they had the chance. Ted had been scrolling through texts looking for information about the mountain while they talked to the waitress.
“I’m not having much luck. It’s like there’s a news blackout about it.” he said in exasperation, closing the laptop and taking a sip of his now lukewarm coffee.
“That’s not surprising. They have done a great job of doing these operations on the fast and sly. By the time, word gets out the deed is done and they go on to the next victim,” Richard said. “Samantha got me to give a donation to an organization that tries to put some light on them and others like them, a few years back. I gave money, but I never understood what it was all about until we drove out there. I’m sorry to say.”
Hez nodded, “I know what you mean. It never dawned on me how much damage they’ve done. It’s just background noise, you know mountain top mining what a shame, but when you get up close to it, you understand what a crime it truly is.”
“If we can’t get a good map of the mountain, we may just have to go over there and scout it out for ourselves,” Ted said.
“I saw just a few men, but they could have dozens more. They’ve probably got the latest military hardware, good body armor, the whole bit,” Hez said.
Heather brought them their food. After she had put it on the table and poured them more coffee, she said, “Mrs. Malone said she’d be glad to meet with you as soon as she can get over here.”
“That’s great, Heather, thank you so much,” Richard said with a smile.
“You all enjoy your meal,” she said and left them. It all tasted wonderful. In fact, they all thought it was the best food they’d eaten in ages. Even Ted who was used to Irena’s excellent cooking was impressed by the fare.
“I haven’t had homemade biscuits since my grandmother passed away,” Hez remarked .
“I never had any biscuits that tasted this good,” Richard said. “Sam’s a great mother, but not much for home cooking.” He looked at them both bewildered, “Please never tell her I said that.” The other men laughed.
“Irena is an excellent cook, but she’s taken lessons from some of the best chefs in the world, and of course we can afford the finest ingredients. All of that makes a difference, but I must agree these biscuits are amazing.” Ted said.
Richard became serious. “If this was a last meal, and maybe it’s bad luck to even say such a thing, but if it was, it wouldn’t be a bad one, would it?” They all exchanged a look.
Hez smiled and shook his head. “It’s like what young Heather said, it’s hard not to feel that everything will turn out fine, even though there’s no reason to think that it will. Is that an effect of the creation light, Professor or something else?”
“I think it’s the effect of good companions,” Ted said softly.
“You the fellows looking to go up to Harrow Mountain,” a voice interrupted their conversation. A tall woman stood in front of them. She had dark skin and very white hair pulled back in a braid. Richard thought she looked like an Indian, though from her name he had expected someone more Irish.
“You must be Mrs. Malone,” Ted said, getting up from the table.
She stuck out her hand, “Kate Malone.”
“I’m Ted Griffin, this is Richard Ewing and Hezekiah McCane,” he added, as the other men got to their feet as well.
“I didn’t realize Sweetwater was having a literary convention,” she said with a twinkle in her very dark eyes. She pulled up a chair and they sat back down.
“We’re not really here in a literary capacity,” Ted replied with a little smile.
“So what capacity would you be here in, Mr. Griffin? By the way, I’ve read many of your books, my husband was a proud Irishman and you’re quite the rage in his homeland.”
“Thank you for saying so, Mrs. Malone. It may be hard to describe what brings us to your picturesque little town.”
“It’s not as picturesque as it once was, quite the opposite if you’ve seen what they’ve done to Harrow Mountain.”
“We saw,” Hez said quietly.
“Then you know why we might be a little leery of strangers, after an obscenity like that got committed by people not exactly from around here.”
No one said anything for several moments, finally Ted said, “Heather said you plan to lead a brigade to the site.”
“A brigade? No just a few of my fellow townsfolk. I saw when that light came down how it went straight into what is left of Harrow. I think that means something, and I think we need to go see for ourselves.”
“The men who destroyed that mountain, the very same are camped out there. They’ve got armed security. I don’t think it would be safe for anyone to go out there now.”
“Why would they be out there now?” she asked, “They’ve already plundered all the coal they could haul off in those over-sized dump trucks. What more do they want with it?”
“They want what you want.”
“Can they destroy that too?” she asked.
“You can imagine what men like that would do with any good thing.”
She thought about this for a moment. “I’ve called a gathering for early tomorrow morning. We’re going to go out there and find out what this thing really means.”
“What if we could tell you what it means, would that make any difference to you?”
She smiled, “I’ve read a few of your books too Mr. Ewing. I’m afraid I might think anything you tell me might be mixed up with the kind of fiction that you write.”
“I’d say Richard’s books are less fantastical than Ted’s,” Hez said with a smile.
“My books are well researched and scarcely fictional at all,” Ted said indignantly.
“Regardless, anyhow, the point is we know a little about what happened to the mountain, or what used to be a mountain,” Hez said.`
“Does it have something to do with pyramid power?” Heather asked and began to pour them fresh coffee.
“Why do you ask a question like that, honey?” Kate asked
“I just heard some of the men talking and they said they were told that the people who bought up the mountain said they knew the secrets of the pyramid builders.”
“That may not be as far out as it sounds. I realized when I gave the matter some thought that they had carved out the mountain over there in Kadistan on the inside to match the great pyramid at Giza. I came through in a box like the sarcophagus in the king’s chamber. The rose colored room with the chair was like the queen’s chamber. They even put me in a roughhewn underground chamber. It was exactly like the pyramid, on the inside anyway. I never saw what it looked like on the outside. It was dark when we left,” Hez said.
“That was how this whole busin
ess got started years ago. Once it was noticed the pyramids were laid out to match Orion’s belt, the race was on to see if we could find out more information that could unravel ancient secrets. At first the hope was that we could discover how they built the things. Secret probes were sent out about a decade ago to take pictures and see what could be learned about those stars and others nearby,” Ted said.
“The ancient Egyptians thought that the souls of the dead journey to Orion when they die.” Richard said.
“Yes, we thought that was a way of remembering the cosmic importance of that part of the sky. I found signs on ancient monuments in Ireland that pointed to it, and linked it back to our star. Some people think this means that the ancient civilizations in Egypt and Ireland were both influenced by an older civilization; but regardless, we began to get an idea that a cyclic burst of energy gets released every 10,000 years from the direction of Orion’s sword.”
“There were changes in the nebula in the center of Orion’s sword which signaled that the energy was coming due. I published my ideas regarding it, and was contacted by a group working at a site in the White Mountains, a northern portion of the Appalachians by the way. They said they wanted me on board for their research to get the energy properly manifested. I had my misgivings about them, but they insisted they were working for the benefit of humanity.”
“So that was the light we saw the other night?” Kate asked.
“My sister helped it along. I was supposed to bring it over to a site in the Ural Mountains to create a loop, but I couldn’t do it. Ellie ended up running it over the Appalachians and finally drove it down into Harrow. My guess is that something about the old exposed bedrock made it good for it.”
“And you say the same people who destroyed that mountain are involved in all of this cosmic rigmarole?” Kate asked.
“Oh yes,” Ted said. “Believe me, if there’s energy anywhere to be had, those people get involved. It’s been that way for ages.”
“But the kind of energy you’re talking about doesn’t sound like anything that could be used to run cars or light cities,” Kate said.
“We honestly don’t know what it will do. It seems to have some kind of psychological effect that creates a sense of well-being according to your friend Heather here.”
“It does seem to have that effect. You know how small towns are rife with ancient feuds, usually along family lines; well in the past day or two those rifts have been getting fixed. People who haven’t spoken to each other in decades seem to have forgotten all about their old grievances,” Kate replied.
“We thought it was going to change everything from the point of view of providing unlimited energy, but what you’re describing if it worked on a global scale could be a game changer of an even more significant kind,” Ted said.
“Mrs. Malone would you mind telling me what you saw when the light came through?” Hez asked.
“I was out on my front porch when I saw it. It came out of the north as a faint glow at first and then it began to look like a pink river of light, interspersed with little gold flecks. I thought I had never seen anything so beautiful. It continued to flow in soft, undulating waves for a few minutes and then I saw it rise up like a giant wave and slam right down to the torn out center of old Harrow. I almost went out there to investigate right then, but I decided to wait and get some other people to go with me. I think this thing is for everybody, not just for ones like me who happen to live close to the mountain.”
“It should be, but the men out there won’t share it. We have to find a way to get them out of there,” Hez said.
“How do you plan to do that?”
“We haven’t got it all worked out.”
She looked at him for a long moment, “You brought weapons, but those won’t do you any good. Because they’ll have bigger ones and better ones.”
“We have to try,” Hez said quietly.
Kate stood up. “I’m taking some people out there early tomorrow morning. You’re welcome to come along, but leave your guns in your truck. We have to try to speak to them and work this out.”
“These men don’t negotiate; they just take what they want. You’ve seen what they did to the mountain. That pretty much sums up their approach to everything,” Hez said.
“That may be, but this power from on high, this amazing force your sister brought down could change their hearts too.”
“Mrs. Malone, I hope that you’re right, but I think it very likely that they will be utterly immune to its effects,” Ted said.
“We won’t know until we talk to them, and that’s what we’re going to try to do,” she said, gave each of them a nod in turn and departed.
“Do you think there’s any chance they’ll back down?” Richard asked after she left.
“No, but if she wants to try to talk to them, I don’t think we can stop her.”
“I think we should go with them,” Hez said. “If there’s a big enough crowd, we could blend in and that would give us a chance to get a better idea of what we’re up against.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“What about the guns?”
“We can leave them in the truck like she said. I don’t think they’ll do anything to a crowd of people.”
“It may not be that many.”
“Even a few dozen individuals would give them pause. I imagine they’re hoping to keep a low profile for the next few months. They’ll probably offer some kind of bland reassurances. If Edsell’s directly involved, he’ll probably try to buy them off. That won’t work on the Malone woman, but who knows about her neighbors?”
“She seems to think they’ve all been given some kind of new spiritual insight or some such thing,” Hez said.
“Well old habits die hard, and times have been hard the last few years. If they get sent off with reassurances of peace and prosperity, it would still work in our favor. We could come back on our own later and do whatever we have to do.”
“We can’t do anything until Mrs. Malone and the others finish their pow wow anyhow,” Richard remarked. The other men nodded.
“Okay then we’ll split up inside the group once we get to the site, but try to keep in sight of each other,” Hez said.
“Alright, I think you ought to wear some kind of head covering. Your red hair stands out and if Edsell is there, he might recognize you. I’ve got some sun glasses in the SUV that will provide some disguise as well,” Ted said.
“Okay, I’ll pick up a baseball cap around town.” Hez said. They got up. Ted paid the bill and left a generous tip for Heather on the table.
Chapter Nineteen
The sky was a sullen grey over the slag heap remains of Mount Harrow. A crowd was gathered around a group of grey camouflage tents on the eastern slope of the mountain. Several men in ordinary street clothes stood guard in front of the largest tent in the center. They were holding assault rifles, and their faces wore the impassive expressions of soldiers everywhere. Kate Malone was standing in front of the crowd. An eerie stillness filled the air.
“We want to speak to whoever is in charge of this operation,” she said firmly. The three men she had met in the café were somewhere in the crowd. She had spotted one of them, and assumed the others must be close by. It might be a good thing to have writers around. They could let the world know about whatever ensued. The situation warranted that kind of attention, she thought.
After several minutes, a man stepped out of the tent. He was wearing an expensive blue Italian suit. His shoes were shining, despite the gritty surroundings. She couldn’t help wondering how he could’ve gotten out of one of the vehicles parked nearby and kept his shoes so pristine. He raised his hands as though he was quieting the crowd, but no one was saying anything. “What can I do for you good people?” he asked, in a kind of nasal drawl.
“We want to know what came down to this mountain the other night,” Kate said without hesitating.
“I suppose you mean by that the light out of the sky is that right?�
� he asked.
“Yes, I saw it with my own eyes, and I know it means something important,” she said.
“You’re quite right. It means something important to everyone on this planet. The world is going to be changed by what you saw, Ms. … “?
“Malone.”
“Ms. Malone, yes you were right to come and find out about this wonderful thing that is going to happen.”
“What do you mean?” an older man asked. “Is it going to fix this God awful mess?” he asked, indicating the surroundings.
“None of this matters. Mountains are a dime a dozen.” This remark caused a few shouts of protest. “I’m talking about in the grand scheme of things,” Edsell added.
“It may not matter to you, but our drinking water ain’t no good anymore,” the old man said. This drew some angry shouts of agreement.
“Well, don’t worry; I’m going to show you something that will put such minor inconveniences in their proper perspective. What we have set up here is the wave of the future. I’m going to allow you to file into the tent set up over to my right and see what we’re accomplishing here.” This drew some discussion in the crowd.
“What are you going to show us?” Kate asked simply.
“Mrs. Malone, I’m so glad you asked. If I tell you I’m afraid you would think I was exaggerating. It sounds so incredible,” he drew in a deep breath and then a wide grin seemed to take up his whole face. It made her blood run cold, but she did not waiver in her gaze. “It’s the dream of the human race since the time we crawled out of the caves and stood looking at the stars. It’s the miracle of energy from those glorious orbs blending with the best that humans can create to bring about the most perfect cosmic beings.”
“So you got some alien children set up in those tents like a freak show?” the old man demanded.
This brought a glare from Edsell. “No, they’re not children yet. We have the perfectly engineered specimens, the very best humans can produce here to take advantage of the glorious light that you witnessed coming down. They will remain here until such time that they have absorbed enough of the cosmic energy to complete their enhancement from above.”
