Chapter
Eighteen
“Jake? Alyssa?” A man had approached our table and was standing there looking down at us. He was in his thirties, plain jeans and a black T-shirt and tennis shoes. He looked clean-cut, freshly shaven and ready for anything.
Jacob stood up. “I’m Jake Hill,” he said, holding out his hand.
Shaking hands the man said, “What is the password Sanctuary gave you?”
Jacob turned his back to the newcomer, turned his head to face over his left shoulder and said, “Right field wheat stalk.”
The man nodded and seemed to relax. “Thank you. My name is Mark. I know it sounds silly, but we always have to make sure, so we do words plus body movement to make it hard to guess.” He looked at all of us. “Are you all ready?”
“Uh, yes,” Jacob looked back at me. I nodded.
“Okay, I’ll meet you out back by your car in five minutes,” said the man. Turning around, he left.
“Well, this is happening fast. That’s a good thing, I think,” Jacob grabbed the check. “I’ll go pay. Everyone finish up and hit the bathroom if you have to. But hurry.” He left to go pay.
I quickly ate the rest of my pie and turned to Luke. He had eaten faster than anyone. His mouth was smeared with chocolate. I smiled.
“Come on, Sweetie, let’s get you cleaned up,” I said, taking his hand and standing up. “Everyone else, come on, we’ve got to hurry.”
Everyone finished up their last bites and followed us to the restrooms. After we’d washed up, we went to meet Jacob at the front. Then we left as a group and walked around back.
“I really don’t know what to expect,” said Jacob, “but I think we’ll be in Winnipeg by nightfall.”
“Moving forward is a good thing,” Caitlyn said.
“We’ll be ready for anything,” said DeAndre.
Walking with them, I remained silent. I held on to Luke’s hand tightly. Part of me was excited, and part of me was nervous. A tunnel under the ground that goes for miles? It sounded like it could be dangerous. I would feel better after I had weaponed up.
The man was waiting beside our van, next to an old blue sedan with Canadian plates.
“Are you Canadian?” I asked.
“Yes, this whole operation is a joint venture of Americans and Canucks, but most of us who actually smuggle the people through are Canadians,” he said.
I studied this man. He seemed calm and determined, like he would be good in a fight.
“You’re coming through with us?” Jacob asked.
“Yes, I will be the one to lead you through,” he said, his voice clipped and matter-of-fact. “Do you have weapons?”
“Yes, firearms and knives,” said Jacob.
“Good. You may need them,” he said.
I didn’t need to ask him what he meant. We already knew. The world had become a place where you had to expect the unexpected. You never knew when an attack would come. And for us, it could come from zombie or government. I opened up the back and loaded up with my shotgun and bowie knife. The others donned their weapons as well. I grabbed my backpack and picked up Luke and strapped him into his car seat.
“Are we going to fight again, Mama?” Luke asked.
“We may have to, Sweetie,” I said. “But don’t you
worry;
we are all going to protect you. We will not let anything bad happen to you.” I put my backpack behind the front seat and got in. Everyone was getting into their seats with their weapons and backpacks, too. We were ready.
The man came to my driver’s side window and spoke to us, “We are going to the tunnel entrance. It’s about three miles east of here. It is a three-and-a-half-mile tunnel, dug out of the earth, and it leads to the town of Emerson, right across the border in Manitoba. There I will hand you off to another operative, who will escort you to Sanctuary, in Winnipeg.”
Mark looked at Luke. “We’ve had a number of hiccups because of small children. He looks like he’s pretty big, but it would be best to have two people assigned to him, and have a tether on one of you and the boy. That way there is a line of last defense, in case things get hairy.”
He looked toward the back at Risa and Jonathan. “They should be okay, but it is very important that you stick together. The key is to move fast. Yes, it’s enclosed, but that doesn’t mean it is safe. Three and a half miles is a long way to walk in the dark. There are some small lights in the beginning, but most of it is pitch dark. Even with your flashlights, it will be like walking a highway at twilight in the middle of nowhere. We can’t and don’t patrol the tunnel. Anything could be in there, including zombies. Be ready for anything.”
Mark looked at his watch. “It’s a bit after noon now. We will head out to the tunnel and proceed immediately. For best results, this should go as military as it can. I will be in the lead, and at least one adult male should bring up the rear,” he nodded at Jacob and DeAndre. “Try to stay in a tight-knit group. If we get separated, it is very bad. Noises echo in the tunnel, and you can’t tell if someone is calling from in front of you or behind you.”
“Would it be better if we all tied ourselves together in a line?” I asked.
“Yes and no. We’ve had mixed success using that method. It’s great to use to keep together. On the other hand, if one of you falls and is lost to a zombie, you now have a dead weight holding the rest back from escaping. So it’s up to you.”
“I think it would be best to tether Luke to one of us and for the others to just stay in tight formation. We’re pretty good at that,” Jake said, looking back at the others. “We’ve had a lot of practice.” He smiled ruefully.
“All right then, let’s head out,” Mark said. “Follow my vehicle.” And with that he went and got into his car, started it up and pulled out of the parking lot.
We followed him, keeping him well in sight. After less than five minutes, he turned onto a dirt road that led northeast. It was smoothed out, but slightly rutted. I heard Jake make a sound.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing. I just want us all to come out of this alive and well,” he said.
“You and me both,” I said.
After a mile drive, Mark’s car turned into a ravine and proceeded under some trees before disappearing entirely. I steered into the same trees, and the branches scraped the sides of the van as we squeezed through. We came out into a cave. Mark was parking his car about twenty feet into it. We parked alongside him.
Unbuckling my seatbelt, I turned to the others. “Okay, people. I want everyone on alert, weapons at the ready,” I looked at Risa. “Still got my .33?” She nodded. “Good,” I looked at each of their faces in turn. “Expect the worst. Expect to have zombies jumping out at any moment. Let’s move at a fast walk, keep flashlights trained on the ground, and look out for your partner. Jake and Luke and me. Caitlyn and D. Risa and Jonathan. Make sure your partner is with you at all times. Do not get separated. And I want us to go through in a tight group. Nobody stray more than a couple of feet from the pack.” I nodded to them. “Let’s do this.”
We gathered next to the rear of the cave, which was a natural formation. Jacob had tied a ten-foot rope from Luke’s waist to mine, and I held Luke’s hand. If need be, I’d carry him, but I wanted to save my strength for the hike. Risa and Caitlyn were checking their guns, DeAndre was talking with Jonathan, and Jake was helping Luke on with his little backpack. We all had weapons, backpacks weighing at least twenty five pounds each, and Mag lights. We were ready.
Chapter
Nineteen
The cave was a natural formation and rose above us about fifteen feet, reaching back into the mountain a good fifty feet. The manmade tunnel began at the back of the cave.
Mark switched on his flashlight and pointed it into the tunnel, which sloped down at a ten-degree angle.
“Follow me,” he said, and walked into the tunnel.
Jacob followed Mark into the tunnel, and I took Luke’s hand and followed Jake. We all went in.
The tunnel was between 3 and 6 feet wide and about 10 feet tall. In some places, the tunnel was dug out of earth and had been reinforced with wood 4x4’s; in others, it seemed carved or blasted out of solid rock. And in yet other places it seemed like the tunnel was a natural formation in the earth. In a few places it went through natural cave formations and the trail wound along the edge of the larger tunnel. You could almost call these small caves, really. We encountered our first about a half-mile in. Mark stopped right inside the entrance and waited as we all emerged.
“This natural cave formation has a tendency to crumble, so watch out for rockslides,” he said. “Stay quiet, noise can bring a wall of rock down, too.”
He turned to walk, and we all followed him.
The farther we went into the earth, the colder it got. For the first quarter-mile we were walking slightly downhill, and I had no idea how far beneath the surface we were.
We left the larger natural tunnel, and once again the earth swallowed us up into the smaller passageway. At first, we could see Mark ahead of us, but as we walked further, he drew away from us, obviously used to the hike and eager for it to be over. But we felt safe and connected to him as long as we could see the light from his flashlight.
We were not yet to the halfway point, where Mark had told us we would stop for a five-minute rest, when I noticed Luke walking slower. He was getting tired.
“Jake, hold up. Luke is getting tired,” I said. Jacob stopped, and I handed him my flashlight. In a minute I had Luke on my back piggyback style, and we were walking again. It had been less than a minute, but as I looked ahead, Mark’s flashlight was so dim I wondered if my eyes were playing tricks on me.
“Can you see him?” I asked Jake.
“I think so,” Jacob said. “Come on, let’s try to catch up.” And we all started trotting slowly, trying to close the gap between us and our guide.
Risa and Jonathan were right behind Jake and me, with Caitlyn behind them, and DeAndre bringing up the rear. Caitlyn and D stayed right up against us; they did not want to become separated from the group.
As we trotted to catch up to Mark, a bat flew overhead, then another. We had entered another natural tunnel-cave formation, and all of a sudden, dozens of the winged creatures were flying over us. They made a terrible racket, and we ducked and then finally crouched down, to let them pass.
Some of them flew erratically into us, hitting us in the face or torso. It seems there were too many in the tunnel to remain at the top. We all remained calm, but it was harrowing.
“Luke, put your head under my arm and hide your face, sweetie,” I said. “We have to let these things pass and I don’t want them bumping into your face.”
Luke nodded and tucked his face under my arm, and I put my arm around him. Looking up at the bats I said, “Wow. That is a lot of those critters.”
It must have taken a good ten minutes to let them pass. They were very loud; chirping, squeaking and squealing as they flapped overhead. At one point it was deafening and we put our hands over our ears. Luke squirmed further down into me, burying his face under my arm and trembling as the bats flew overhead, screeching.
They eventually all passed over our heads and disappeared the way we had come. Jacob motioned us to him and we all crouched in a rough circle.
“I think we lost Mark up ahead,” Jacob said. We groaned. “But we should be able to meet him soon. He has to have noticed we’re not behind him anymore. Let’s just push on ahead and make sure not to get lost. Stay close together. Grab each other’s clothing if you have to. Come on.” And with that, he rose and turned once again to walk forward.
We continued hiking, making it around the edge of this second medium-sized cavern, and then we got to the other side. There were two tunnels going out from this cave.
“Christ,” said Jacob, rubbing his face and peering into the near tunnel.
They both looked man-made, and we couldn’t tell which one Mark had taken.
“Mark!” Jacob called into the closer tunnel. No answer. I dipped my head into the second tunnel and called: “Mark!” The sound echoed on for quite some time. And then … I heard a sound come back.
“Do you think it’s just an echo?” I asked Jake. I had set Luke down and was taking a breather. My little boy was getting heavy.
“I’m not sure. There wasn’t an echo in the first one,” Jacob said.
I looked at the first one. Then I walked a few feet into the first tunnel and pointed my mag light downward.
“There’re footprints in this tunnel, they look new,” I said, coming back out.
Jake looked in the second tunnel. “I see footprints in this one too. Not sure if they’re fresh or not, though.”
“Let’s try down the first tunnel,” I said. “It’s better than just staying here.”
Jake nodded and picked Luke up. We walked into the first tunnel. Staying together, we hiked in about a hundred feet before the thing ended abruptly.
“Cave in,” said Jake, looking at the rocks and dirt piled up. “Looks like it was recent.”
“Well, I guess we go back and try the second tunnel,” I said.
We hiked back and were again standing in the cave where the two tunnels had diverged. We were wasting precious time.
And where was Mark?
I thought. This didn’t seem like good behavior for a smuggler, just leaving your charges stuck in the middle of the earth.
I took my water bottle out and gave Luke a swig, then drank deeply myself. Finishing it off, my head tilted back, I suddenly heard a very ominous yet familiar growling.
“Oh, heck no,” I said, bringing my head back up. It had sounded faint, but we all bunched up together protectively.
“Let’s go down the second tunnel, guys,” said DeAndre quietly. “I feel like a sitting duck out here.” He looked up. We couldn’t even see the top of the small cavern we were in. Not a good place to be right now.
“Yeah, let’s,” said Risa in a whisper. “Now.” As if to emphasize, she took several steps down the second tunnel and turned to look at us.
We didn’t hesitate. Jacob took the lead again, and we all began hiking down the second tunnel. This tunnel seemed very narrow, and we weren’t sure if we were going in the right direction, but behind us lay one blocked-off tunnel and one small cavern, complete with faint zombie noise. Going forward seemed like the best thing to do.