Joe rose with a heavy yawn, swinging his legs over the side of the bed to rest his elbows on his knees, his chin in the palms of his hands. He looked into the mirror on the back of the closet door, staring himself directly in the eyes. This was the reflection of an exhausted man, one he no longer recognized. The face was worn, deep wrinkles about the eyes and mouth, hardly laugh lines. What a ridiculous thing to call wrinkles around the mouth for someone who has lost the will to smile—especially now in the presence of the coming morning, knowing that in less than an hour he might be heading out to his death. But he was still going. Despite the dread and uncertainty of what may or may not happen, he needed to go. This monster had done far more than spread chaos and death through his park. In a sick sort of way, it had given him a sense of purpose; a reason to get up and keep moving when all he wanted to do was lie down and sleep. He felt sick, feeling glad about such a horrific turn of events. It shouldn’t take the death of several people to get him to do his job.
Joe stood, no longer wanting to look himself in the face. This morning was going to be tough enough without having to deal with self-pity; a time to look beyond his own uselessness and get moving. If he had any hope of discovering the truth behind this, he would need all the daylight he could possibly get. Joe opened his closet and parted his shirts and pants, exposing a gun rack with three shotguns and one tranquilizer gun. This was going to take some thought. A creature such as this was something that had never been classified and was therefore worth preserving. But on the other hand, some things were better left undiscovered. Joe grabbed them all, loading his arms with weapons. He hurried out to his truck and laid them down on the back seat, leaving to return a moment later with extra ammunition, some flashlights and a camera with a flash attachment.
He got behind the wheel and headed north toward the Inn, suffering the consequences of a lack of sleep mixed with alcoholism. A powerful headache delivered sharp pain with every blink of his eyes. He wanted so badly to close them tight and have another drink, his hand subconsciously reaching into his coat for the flask, but he withdrew. Joe had to look beyond his own problems for the good of the park. He needed to stay sober if he was going to successfully climb down some hole and navigate without breaking his neck. Joe tapped his pocket with promises for a later sip, a small reward for a job well done.
Joe turned off the main highway and pulled into the parking lot, thankful to see Andy sitting on the bottom step. His demeanor was that of a tired man, one that hadn’t gotten a single wink of restful sleep.
“I’d be lying if I said I wish you hadn’t come back.” Andy stood, his hands shaking as he approached the truck. “You really sure this is such a good idea?”
“I told you.” Joe killed the engine and exited the car, opening the back door. He pulled out a shotgun and handed it to Andy. “There’s no one else.”
Andy reluctantly took it. “I shudder to think what we’re getting ourselves into.”
“Probably best not to think about it.” Joe pulled out a shotgun for himself and set it against the truck. He leaned back in and grabbed the tranquilizer gun, tucking it into his belt. He bet Andy was praying the gun would go off sending a dart into his thigh, anything to postpone this little trip. Joe put the rest of the ammunition for his shotgun and revolver, the tranquilizer darts as well, into his backpack. “Is Dale here?”
Andy followed Joe’s gaze across the parking lot to where Dale’s truck was parked by the cabins.
“No telling how long it’s been parked there. To be honest I wasn’t really paying attention to the road.”
“Okay...” Joe took a deep breath. “Let’s get this over with.”
Joe led the way, heading across the parking lot with his head down. He kept his focus on his feet, one after the other, nothing to worry about but his two feet. If he looked up and saw the woods, the vastness of them, he might find a reason ever so small to call this all off. But he didn’t want to postpone the inevitable, or to call in help. Although it might have been smarter to do so, he couldn’t risk more people being hurt or dying under his command. He’d been around too much death lately, far more than a park ranger should ever see.
Joe crossed the highway and began walking through the cabins, all of them deserted. What a bad season for the park. He took a moment to look into Dale’s truck, pressing his forehead to the glass; nothing in the backseat but a roadmap, some fast food bags, and a blanket. Joe figured he’d probably gotten a ride with one of his own men back to wherever they were staying.
“Did you happen to overhear where exactly this hole in the ground was?” Joe asked over his shoulder as he headed up the trail.
“All I heard was it had taken them about fifteen minutes to walk back after he fell in. And that it was right off this here main trail.”
Joe figured this might be a wild goose chase after all. Without an exact location, it was nearly impossible to locate one little hole within three million acres of wilderness. Dale’s own man had disappeared while standing right beside him. The forest had a way of turning you around, tricking you with it similarities. One tree looks like another, then another, and pretty soon you’re lost. Joe could only hope this damn hole was off the trail. He kept his eye out, looking left to right and moving slowly, knowing how easy it would be to simply walk by it. But then Joe saw something, something that wasn’t part of nature; a bright yellow among the normal greens and browns.
“What the hell are you doing out here?” Dale asked, startled.
“We could ask you the same question.”
“Look, my man died from whatever happened to him down in this hole. Now I don’t know what hell could have done that to him, but whatever it is came from here.” Dale pointed down into the hole on his right. “Now I owe it to my men to find their killer. So don’t try and stop me.”
“I was just asking.”
“So what are you two doing here then?”
“Same as you.” Joe looked from the tree the rope was tied to and followed it down into the hole. “We’re going to fix this problem before it gets out of hand.”
“So you knew about this?” Dale looked at the shotguns in their hands. “You knew all along and you didn’t do anything?”
“What the hell are you talking about? I didn’t know shit, okay?” Joe set his rifle against the tree. “Look, I’m here same as you. This thing, whatever it may be, has killed its last person in my park. So if you’re willing, why don’t we do this together? I’d feel a whole lot better going down there with someone else.” Joe gave a nervous smile, taking hold of the rope.
“Wait.” Dale got to his knees and searched his bag. “Here, you’ll need one of these then.” Dale handed Joe a facemask. “One of my men said there was a lot of smoke down there.”
“Thanks.” Joe slipped the mask over his face and looked at Andy. “Don’t leave. I might need you to get help.”
Andy nodded. “Just don’t take too long.”
Joe smiled, gripping the rope tightly as he rappelled into the darkness. Two things instantly came to him; how dark it had gotten and how very cold, as if he were lowering himself into an icebox. He slid down the rope slowly, careful not to burn his hands or let go and drop to some unknown distance. The last thing in the world he wanted was to fall and break his ankle. He let out a sigh of relief as his feet hit the ground. Joe pulled a flashlight from his belt and turned it on, pushing back the darkness a few feet.
“Okay, I’m on the ground.” Joe yelled up, stepping aside as Dale’s feet came into view.
“It’s so damn cold down here.” Dale let go of the rope and rubbed his arms, shivering. He turned on his flashlight. “My God, it’s so big.”
They moved their flashlights from left to right, seeing no end to this cavern. Dale pulled some duct tape from his bag and taped the flashlight to the barrel of his shotgun. He tossed the tape to Joe so he could do the same. With their weapons loaded and their lights pointed ahead of them, they began their search.
29
T
his was an all-time first; someone waking her up in the wee hours of the morning. Kelly sat up, startled by the early morning knock at her door. She first rolled onto her side and looked at her roommate’s bed, remembering she hadn’t come home last night. Hopefully the knock was Sonia after another long night keeping Stew company; and not about another missing employee. Maybe she’d gotten into an argument with him and decided to come home, but that couldn’t be true. Sonia had a key and wouldn’t need to knock. Besides, she’d probably never been up this early in all her life.
“Who is it?” Kelly’s voice was heavy with sleep, her eyes barely open.
“It’s Gretchen Urban, manager of the Inn. May I speak with you please?”
“Oh no,” Kelly said to herself, looking over at her friend’s empty bed with dread in her heart. She’d gone missing, just like the others. Why else would a snooty bitch like Gretchen come calling at her door so bloody early? She didn’t want to answer. Maybe if she were to lay her head back down and close her eyes, she could open them to find there was no one at the door; just a bad dream.
“Hello?” Gretchen was impatient, knocking hard.
“Coming.” Kelly rolled her bare feet over the side of the bed, grimacing at the coldness of the floor. She grabbed her pajama pants and slipped them on before hurrying across the floor to open the door.
“Oh good.” Gretchen smiled, her face pale from exhaustion, but there was no happiness in her smile. Her eyes were bloodshot and heavy with woe. “I’m sorry to be coming by so early, but I’ve been ordered by the rangers to take a headcount of all employees and inform you of the six o’clock curfew that is now in effect. Anyone caught outside after dark will fall subject to termination of their contract.”
“Wow, sounds pretty serious.” Kelly gripped the doorframe and leaned forward. “Has something happened?”
“Oh no, everything’s fine. They just want to make sure that everyone is taking the proper precautions with the fire and all.” Gretchen’s smile never reached her eyes. “Is your roommate here?”
“No, she’s staying with a friend tonight. I just saw her last night.”
Gretchen checked Kelly’s name off the list on her clip board. She gave a single nod and moved on to the next cabin. Kelly watched her for a moment, knocking on the door, waking up the next employee to inform him of something she herself didn’t understand. Kelly quickly got dressed and left the cabin, going down the trail toward the dining room for some breakfast, but she stopped outside Janice’s cabin. It looked like every other cabin she’d passed on her way down the trail, but there was a darkness to it. She couldn’t resist the urge. Kelly stepped off the path and knocked on the door, waiting impatiently before knocking again, and receiving no answer.
It was quite obvious that Janice had not been home. The same pair of pants was folded on the bed, same pair of shoes waiting on the floor for someone to wear them. All her belongings were in exactly the same place they’d been the last time Kelly had pressed her face to the small window. It had been two days since anyone had seen her or Marco, making it official that they had gone missing. Kelly took a deep breath and continued on down the path, telling herself to keep the tears inside, not to lose it; nothing wrong had happened here, no evidence of foul play. As far as any of them had known, Doug and Rowena may have developed some kind of secret romance. They’d made love and gone off together…walking without her glasses? Maybe. It wasn’t completely impossible.
“Thank you,” Kelly said to a man as he held open the door to the dining room.
The line for breakfast was the longest she’d seen it in days; twelve people—eight boys and four girls, most of them restaurant staff. Sadly most of them would go in only to be told to leave, that there wasn’t enough business to sustain them today. Kelly wondered how much longer the park would be open. With the fire threatening their business and all, they couldn’t keep paying them for doing nothing. Then again this was a federal park, and who better to throw money away than the government? Kelly took a plate of scrambled eggs, some bacon and toast, setting them on her plastic tray. She turned and smiled, seeing Stew sitting at a table in the back of the room, all alone with his head down.
“Hey.” Kelly was cheerful, hoping to set the mood, but the look on Stew’s face told her the mood had already been set to shitty. “Are you okay?”
“No.” Stew wiped some eggs from his mouth with the back of his hand. “I just have this headache that won’t go away. Like the back of my head is going to blow off or something.”
“Did you take anything for it?” What Kelly had wanted to tell him was to lay off the sauce and maybe he wouldn’t have such painful headaches, but it wasn’t her place to say. She knew Stew was a very proud guy with a great heart, but it looked as if showing emotions was difficult for him. Booze may be his only means of comfort. “Where’s Sonia?”
“On her side, snoring very loudly.” Stew cracked a smile. “Sounds like a damn bear.”
“You don’t have to tell me.” Kelly felt better, using this polite conversation to distract her mind from the impending doom she felt for her friends. But it was always there, lingering like an ingrown hair you just can’t pull; irritating.
“Did Gretchen wake you up too?”
“Yes, just a few minutes ago. Kind of scary, huh?”
Stew nodded, closing his eyes. “Janice and Marco are missing,” Stew said matter-of-factly. He looked up from his breakfast and looked her right in the eyes, pleading with his deflated expression to be told he was wrong; that maybe they’d come back last night.
“I know. No one has heard from them since we last saw them by the cabins a few days ago.”
“What the hell is happening here?”
“Might be nothing. I mean, with the fire and all, maybe they just up and left?”
“Doubtful. Marco’s roommate said all his shit is still there. No one goes off and leaves all their stuff behind; not even a dumbass like Marco.”