The Hole

14

Janet was still arguing with the sheriff when the sun came up.

“I’m telling you,” she said. “The CDC needs to hear this. If what Charlie says is true, then the mines must be the source of what is going on here.”

“And I’m telling you,” Bill replied. “I’m not letting anyone else run around out there. Ellen Simmons ain’t come back, and I doubt we’ll see her anytime soon. Or will you argue with me on that score too?”

They stood in the doorway of The Roadside. The parking lot lights still blazed, but as the sky lightened so too did their impact lessen. That had Janet worried, but there was no sign of any further attacks. She was about to remonstrate with Bill when a car alarm sounded somewhere to their left, followed by the telltale buzz in her ears and at her jaw.

The hum had returned.

“Get everybody ready,” the sheriff said, wiping a drop of blood from his nostril onto his sleeve. “We might have to move out fast.”

A tree fell over a hundred yards away along the road, then another slightly closer. The car alarm cut off abruptly and a puff of smoke and dust rose in the air from that direction. The hum dissipated, the vibration faded, and everything went suddenly quiet again. Janet and Bill stared out at the view for more than a minute, expecting further collapses, but it appeared that it was over again, for now. Bill leaned forward. She thought he was going to kiss her, but instead he used the sleeve of his shirt to wipe fresh blood away from her top lip.

I hadn’t even noticed I was bleeding.

“That was too close,” Janet said.

The sheriff looked along the road to the left, then back at Janet.

“That’s something we can agree on. I was of a mind to sit it out and wait for the CDC to find us. But now I’m thinking we can’t afford the time. I say we head back to the Western Road and take our chances again at the barricade.”

Janet watched the smoke plume dissipate. If the collapse had been a hundred yards closer, there was more than a good chance that the bar, and all of the people in it, would already be gone.

“I think you’re right,” she replied. “I’d feel better to be on the move; at least it would feel like we were doing something, rather than just waiting to be swallowed up. And at least in daylight we’ve got more chance of avoiding the collapses.”

Bill nodded, and ran a hand across her cheek.

“Chin up,” he said. “It’s time to tell the troops the bad news.”

They went back inside the bar. Janet called Fred and the girl through from the kitchen. Both of them looked pale and tired, but they said nothing as they joined the others, many of whom were now struggling up out of sleep.

When everyone was awake, the sheriff called for quiet.

“We plan on heading out,” he said. “We need to get you folks to safety, and we’re hoping the CDC will be more amenable now that they’ve had a chance to monitor the situation and get the lay of the land. I’m guessing somebody apart from the infantry we met last night will be in charge by now and they might at least listen to reason. But I ain’t no dictator, and I don’t want to lead you where you don’t want to go, so I’ll do what you all want.”

Janet spoke up.

“I’m with the sheriff. Some of you need treatment I can’t give you here. And there’s a new hole formed just down the road. It’s not safe to stay.”

That statement brought a chorus of raised voices, but Janet was relieved to hear little dissent with the view that they should leave the bar.

“A show of hands then,” the sheriff said. “Who wants to try our luck at the Western Road?”

There were only two dissenters, neither of whom was willing to stay behind on their own. Janet started to get them all moving when the sheriff called for silence again.

“Listen. I hear something.”

Janet heard it too, a distant rumble that vibrated through the floor to be felt underfoot.

“It’s back,” someone shouted. “It heard us plotting.”

They almost had a panic on their hands.

“Shut up and listen,” Bill shouted, but they weren’t in the mood to pay him any heed.

“We’re going to get all ate up,” someone shouted. People screamed, while others made a dash for the door. The sheriff took out his pistol and fired a shot into the ceiling. That got their attention quickly enough. The whole bar went quiet.

“I said, listen,” Bill shouted.

The rumble resolved itself into the sound of heavy engines, getting closer fast.

“It’s Ellen,” somebody shouted. “The old bitch actually did it. We’re saved.”

The sheriff went back to the main door and looked out. Janet peered over his shoulder. A small convoy of military vehicles drove into the parking lot. Several of the trucks were mounted with heavy artillery.

If this is getting saved, I’m not sure I want any part of it.

It was a moot point anyway. There was no need to go looking for the CDC. The CDC had come to them.

The lead vehicle came to a halt and two men in HAZMAT suits got out, carrying a woman slumped between them. Fresh blood showed through a bandage round the person’s head, and she didn’t have to look up for Janet to recognize Ellen Simmons.

Janet tried to push past the sheriff, intent on going to the woman’s aid, but Bill stood in her way and refused to budge. He pointed at the two men.

“They’re carrying rifles across their backs. I ain’t about to let you get yourself shot.”

“Ellen needs help and…”

“And she’ll be here in ten seconds. She can wait that long, until we see the lay of the land,” he said. “Leave the talking to me.”

The two suited men brought the injured woman right up to the door of the bar before they stopped.

“She’ll be staying with you until we get the field camp set up,” the one on the left said. “And I’ll be taking your weapon, Sheriff.”

“Like hell you will,” Bill said. He reached for the pistol. Before he could finish the movement the two men in front of him had dropped Ellen Simmons to the ground and had weapons of their own in their hands. They had unslung and aimed the rifles so quickly that Janet had scarcely had time to register it.

“Don’t do anything stupid, Sheriff,” the one who had spoken previously said. “I’m not in the habit of killing civilians, and I’ve had about enough of it for one day.”

Janet put a hand on Bill’s arm.

“Do what they say. They’ve got a protocol, Bill. They’re just following orders.”

“That’s what the Nazis said,” the sheriff replied. He made a show of slowly taking his gun from the holster using only his fingertips, and dropped it at his feet.

Ellen Simmons tried to rise, stumbled, and fell. Bill crouched and caught her just before her head hit the ground. He helped her to her feet. She leaned against him. Her eyes rolled up to show only white, and she let out a pitiful moan.

“What did you do to her?” Bill said, anger clear in his voice.

“She’ll live,” the man in the HAZMAT suit said. He didn’t seem to care either way. “And that’s more than can be said for the three she had with her. She tried to drive through the barricade. She’s lucky I don’t just shoot her here and now and be done with it.”

“And who are you?” Bill asked.

“General Frinton,” the man said. “I’m the man in charge.”

Janet doubted that very much, but held her tongue.

The other man bent and retrieved Bill’s pistol, stowing it away in a deep pocket in his suit. Bill kept his attention focused on the general. The two men stared at each other for long seconds, and Janet felt tension build. Bill clenched and unclenched his fists. She saw the need to fight grow in him. She put a hand on his arm, he turned to look at her, and suddenly the tension dissipated as he managed a smile. He turned back to the general.

“So what happens now?” Bill asked.

“You sit tight. We’re setting up a field camp and we’ll get round to everybody in due course.”

“But the holes…”

“We can have choppers here in seconds if need be.”

That might not be quick enough.

“And what about the apparitions, the protoplasm?”

“We’ll talk about that later,” the man replied. Janet heard the skepticism in his voice. “For now, we’ve got a…”

“…protocol,” Bill answered sarcastically. “I know.”

“Stay inside until we call for you,” the general said, turning away. “My men have orders to shoot anyone who tries to leave. I think you know by now that they’ll have no qualms about doing so?”

Bill didn’t reply at first, and when he spoke, it was slowly and deliberately.

“You’re not going to kill any more of my people. I won’t let you.”

The general looked at first like he might reply angrily, then got control of himself.

“Just behave yourselves for a few hours more. This will all be over soon,” he said.

The two men backed away towards their vehicles.

“Did things just get better, or worse?” Janet asked.

Bill didn’t reply. He led them back into the bar and closed the door.

Ellen Simmons stood slumped against the wall, hands up to fend off the people crowded around her, all throwing questions, none waiting for an answer. Her face was white, her eyes red and wet. She’d been crying, and looked ready to start in again at any moment.

“Give us space,” Janet shouted. “She needs my help.”

Still nobody moved, not until Bill waded in and started shouting. Seconds later the space was clear. She led the woman to a corner table in the bar and Bill kept the rest away. The head wound was the first priority. Janet carefully unwound the sodden bandages. The scalp wound underneath looked nasty, but it had already coagulated, and after she cleaned it up, looked to have little chance of further bleeding if Ellen could be kept still for long enough.

“What happened, Ellen?” she asked.

The other woman didn’t answer. Her hands shook, and her lip trembled. She tried to speak, but nothing came out except a strangled moan.

“Charlie,” Janet shouted. “We could do with some hard liquor over here.”

Charlie took her at her word and arrived a minute later with two large measures of whiskey.

“It’s a mite early in the morning,” he said. “But my mother always said, a little of what you fancy does you the power of good.”

Ellen Simmons looked up and almost managed a smile.

“I knew your mother,” she said. “She whipped my ass for sassing her when I was no more than a slip of a girl. We could do with more like her with us here today.”

She took the whiskey and knocked it back in one smooth gulp. Then she burst into tears.

“I’m sorry, Janet. I really am. I got those others killed. It was all my fault.”

That was the only coherent sentence she uttered in the next five minutes. She drank most of Janet’s whiskey too, and then lapsed into heaving sobs as Janet applied a fresh bandage to the head wound. She didn’t look up when Janet patted her on the shoulder and left her to her grief. Several people started to move towards the older woman, as if intent on asking further questions.

“Leave her be,” Janet said, possibly more sharply than she’d intended to. “She needs to rest.”

To her surprise every one of them went back to their tables, leaving Ellen Simmons sobbing in the corner. After pausing to make sure they stayed where they’d retreated to, Janet joined the sheriff by the window. He didn’t take his gaze off the activity outside.

“What are they doing?” she asked.

He didn’t turn.

“What they said they would. Setting up a field camp. They’ve got all kinds of scientific kit, and the big trailer looks like a field lab to me. Ain’t seen a single one without a HAZMAT suit on—or one without a weapon. Whatever they think is happening, they think it’s still happening.”

I’m pretty sure I agree with them on that one.

Once again she saw the anger in the sheriff, the need for action.

It’s eating him up, being locked in here.

“They know what they’re doing, Bill,” she said softly.

“Killing my town, that’s what they’re doing,” Bill replied. She moved to stand by his side, and finally saw why he hadn’t turned. Tears streamed down his cheeks.

She reached up to brush them away but he gently stopped her.

“Don’t,” he said, quietly so only she would hear. “Don’t let them know,”

She nodded, and put her hand down.

“I feel useless,” Bill said. “Stuck in here while the town goes to hell outside. What kind of sheriff does that make me?”

She moved closer to him, nose to nose, and spoke in a whisper, making sure he would read the anger in her eyes.

“Don’t you dare,” Janet said. “Self-pity doesn’t fit you. You kept all these people alive last night. And we’re all looking to you for more of the same. If you dare to turn pussy on us now, I’ll kick your ass from here to California.”

That got her a smile.

It’s a start.

“So, man up, and get with the program, big guy,” she said. “These folks here are scared. And you’re the sheriff. It’s your job to get them out of this. What’s the plan?”

As she’d known it would, her barbs were enough to sting him into action. The sheriff looked her in the eye, kissed her full on the mouth, and turned to face the room.

“You all know who’s out there,” he said, loud enough for all to hear. “And you all know we ain’t got much time for feds in this neck of the woods. But Doc here says that they know what they’re doing, so we’ll let them do their job. But I want you all to be ready to move fast if we need to. If another collapse starts, I want to be able to get out of its way. Are you with me on that?”

Everyone seemed to agree, and the arrival of the CDC had calmed some of those who seemed a little anxious. But there were many that only managed blank stares, and some had even gone back to sleep.

Janet was reminded of film of disaster victims; blank stares, bandages, and a siege mentality.

And that’s just what we are now. Victims. Maybe later we’ll be survivors. But I’ve got a feeling there’s a way to go yet before then.

“So what now?” Charlie asked. He poured himself another beer as he spoke, but Big Bill took it off him before he could start in on it and downed almost half of it in a single gulp.

“Now, you and I get some breakfast sorted out for these folks. It might be a long day, and a while before we get a square meal inside us. There’ll be plenty of time for drinking later.”

“Is that a promise?” Charlie said with a smile, but he gave the sheriff another salute, and followed as Janet and Bill went back through to the kitchen and checked out the contents of the store cupboards.

It was obvious they were not equipped for a long stay. The coffee at hand was enough for a couple of days, but by the time everyone had a breakfast the bread, milk and eggs would be mostly gone. The sheriff looked worried.

“I hope these CDC folks have a plan for feeding us, or moving us out, or both.”

They rustled up a rudimentary breakfast of eggs and the last of a chunk of baloney, with as much coffee and toast as they could muster, and fed everyone that felt like eating. To Janet’s dismay some of the folks didn’t leave their seats, just sat, staring listlessly into space.

They’re close to giving up. It’s just too much for them to handle.

After eating, some of the more mobile of the patients started to get agitated again.

“Come on, Bill. Do something,” one of them said.

And Ellen Simmons, despite her ordeal of the night before, seemed to be getting back her spunk.

“If you don’t get something moving, I will,” she said to the sheriff.

Bill didn’t answer, but Charlie laughed at her, which didn’t help matters any.

“Go right ahead, Ellen. You got three folks killed last night. Want to try for more this time?”

Janet was afraid that Ellen might indeed march out the door and start making demands of the CDC, but it was a scenario they didn’t have to worry about just yet, for before the woman could decide one way or the other, the CDC announced they were ready to begin.

It started with a knock on the door, so polite that Janet almost laughed out loud.

“Invite them in,” Charlie shouted. “We can make some lunch and have a nice chat.”

Bill answered the door. Two men, both of them carrying automatic rifles, stood outside.

“We’re ready for you in the main trailer,” one said. “One at a time, please.”

“And what if we’re not ready for you?” Bill asked. He got no reply, but both men tightened their grips on their weapons.

“We’re ready for you,” the other man said, his intent clear.

“And I don’t suppose you’re about to tell us what you’re ready for?” Bill asked.

“Just some simple tests. No one will come to any harm.”

Bill laughed in their faces.

“You ain’t been paying much attention, have you, boy?”

Janet saw the man’s grip tighten on his weapon.

This could get ugly.

She stepped forward to Bill’s side.

“I’ll go first,” she said.

Bill shook his head.

“You’re needed here,” Bill replied. “The wounded are looking to you…”

“Which is why I have to go first,” she said. “I need to show them there’s nothing to worry about.”

Bill wasn’t happy with her decision, but she knew he’d see the sense of it. And she had another reason for going first. She hoped she would be able to reason with the CDC scientific and medical staff, and get them to investigate the more outlandish of the previous night’s events.

As it turned out, she was only partially successful.

The two suited men escorted her the short distance across the parking area.

She saw three other suited figures inside the parked school bus, obviously taking samples and readings. She didn’t get a chance for a closer look as they led her into the largest trailer of the three that had come up the road. One of her guards motioned that she should get inside. She stepped up into what proved to a laboratory a modest town doctor could only dream of having access to. Even a cursory examination of the gleaming surfaces and the kit that sat on them told her that many millions of dollars had been spent just in this one trailer.

Another suited figure was inside waiting for her.

“Come and sit down, Doctor,” a soft female voice said. “This won’t take long.”

Janet couldn’t see much of the woman’s face through the visor, just blue eyes and a thin nose.

“And who might you be?”

“I’m Dr. Mullins. You’ve met the general, he’s in charge of the security side of things. I’ve been landed with making sense of the science.”

“I can help you there,” Janet started. “You need to check down in the mines and…”

Mullins put up a hand.

“We can’t act on anything you might tell us,” she said. “Your perceptions can’t be trusted in this kind of situation. As a doctor you know that?”

“But this is important…”

“And I’m sure you believe it. But last night we heard stories of Bigfoot, aliens, witches, ghosts, zombies, chupacabra and gremlins. All you’d be doing is adding another delusion to those we’ve already heard.”

The import of what had just been said hit Janet just as she was about to complain.

“Last night? You talked to other townspeople?”

“Some,” Mullins said. “We’ve managed to rescue a few people. They’ve all suffered some kind of breakdown, leaving them all with severe delusions. I suspect some kind of hallucinogen to be involved, given just how outlandish the stories seem.”

“Those stories have a hint of truth to them if you’d only…”

The doctor sighed.

“Please. Just let me do my job?”

Janet started to reply, then thought better of it, seeing the futility of even trying. She let the scientist get on with it. Over the next twenty minutes she gave blood, stool, skin, urine, and hair samples. Small patches of material were snipped off her clothes, soil was scraped from the soles of her shoes, and no notice whatsoever was taken of anything she had to say.

“Just promise me that you’ll keep an open mind,” she said to Mullins once all of the prodding, poking and jabbing was done.

“That’s also my job,” the scientist said. “Trust me, we’ll get to the bottom of this quickly. In the meantime, we’ll assess your wounded as they come in. We’ll quarantine any we think need more treatment than you can give them. Tell them not to worry. All of our equipment is state-of-the-art, and all of us have been trained specifically for situations like this.”

I doubt there have ever been any other situations like this one.

“And the collapses?” Janet asked. “How do they fit into these situations you’ve been trained for?”

Even through the protective visor, Janet saw the first flicker of worry in the scientist’s eyes.

“We have geologists looking into it,” she said. “They’re probably down there in one of the holes right now.”

Down there, and if I’m right, in mortal peril. But I’ll never get this woman to believe it. Not until she sees it for herself.

Janet decided to try a different tack.

“Would it be possible to see the quarantine area? If I see you’re looking after folks properly, it’ll make it easier for me to sell the idea on to those in the bar.”

Mullins nodded.

“I can see the sense in that,” she said. She turned her head inside her helmet and activated a comms device with her tongue.

They’ve got communications. So at least something is still working, somewhere.

She spoke too softly for Janet to hear, but the answer wasn’t long in coming.

“The general has given me the go-ahead,” the scientist said. “I’ll take you over there now. We’ll have to be quick… he gave me five minutes. But that should be more than enough time to put your mind at ease.”

It did anything but put her at ease. Mullins led them to a large field tent. The last time Janet had seen anything like it in size had been on a visit to a circus as a teenager. But there was little fun to be had here. Suited and hooded figures moved between rows of beds. There were over fifty patients, in varying degrees of mobility. Janet knew some of them to speak to, and recognized others by sight. But they all had one thing in common; the same blank stare that Janet knew all too well from the bar, the stare of victims.

She scanned the faces hopefully, but found none from the convoy that had been lost in the road collapse.

“Where are the rest?” she asked, scaring herself with the hitch in her voice and the tears that threatened to come. Seeing just how few had made it through the night finally made her realize the scale of what had unfolded. Her knees went weak and she staggered, having to use one of the camp beds to prevent her from falling.

Mullins was as her side immediately, and Janet heard both concern and fear in her voice.

She thinks I’ve been infected.

Janet managed to stand up, stiffened her back, and wiped the tears aside.

“Where are the rest?” she asked again, more insistent this time.

“This is all,” Mullins confirmed. “Apart from those of you in the bar, and the ones the general had stopped at the barricade.”

“Stopped? That’s a good word for it. Murdered is a better one.”

The scientist said nothing.

She disagrees with the general, on at least that point. That might be useful to keep in mind for later.

“Have you seen enough?” Mullins asked seconds later.

Janet nodded. The patients were being treated well enough. But she’d also seen the armed guards at all of the exits, and the tension in the men carrying the weapons.

There might be more folks getting stopped before the day is out.