I Am Chosen

Twilight

It had taken a fair amount of effort even with the two wheelbarrows but Hollis, Kacey and J.D. had navigated down through the sloping, stepped decline and staged their gear at the layer of quartz.

Dread and unease coiled in Kacey's gut. They all wore the vests and pants with quartz stuffed in the pockets, but would it be enough?

J.D. wasted no time. He plugged the masonry drill into their little 1600-watt portable generator and turned it on. Hollis held the light on the shining quartz while J.D. put the drill bit to its surface and began boring in. Kacey wanted to plug her ears, but she was holding a flashlight in her left hand, the Winchester in her right; shining the light down into the passage depths, waiting for some twisted parody of what had once been Rhonda or Crowe to make an appearance.

Kacey looked over her shoulder to gauge J.D.'s progress. A split had opened where he drilled, a widening crack running up and down from the where the bit whirled furiously and kicked out dust. Seemingly satisfied, J.D. backed the drill out, took a step about a foot away, and began drilling a second hole. Returning her attention to the earthen corridor, Kacey wished the light would penetrate further. She wondered if one of the Lord of the Flies' minions waited just outside the beam's reach.

She heard the drill motor cease. There was a clang of metal as J.D. retrieved two lengths of rebar from the wheelbarrow. The banging of the sledgehammer on the rebar followed, the hammer strikes echoing down the passage as J.D. struck again and again, driving the metal into the first hole, and then repeating the process for the second.

When he was finished, J.D. unspooled a few feet of copper wire and began winding it around the rebar. She was watching him over her shoulder again. He looked to her and smiled, sweat dripping off his brow despite the cold.

So far, so good, Kacey thought.

The arcane hymn of the Twilight Convocation had steadily increased in speed and volume until it reached a consistent, repeating rhythm.

Turning from the doorway, the man who had been Hanson noted that the faces of the Convocation were drawn; gaunt, their bodies diminishing by the second as the essence was drained from them. This was good. He noted also a minor trembling working its way up from the ground through the structure. This also was good. It was a sign.

The Dreamer was stirring.

Kacey's left hand shot out to the stone wall as a deep, rumbling quake rolled through the corridor.

"Oh that can't be good," Hollis said.

He was right. Every instinct Kacey possessed was telling her to run. If the tunnel collapsed, they would all be buried alive, and there wouldn't be anyone coming to save them. No one knew they were here.

"We may not have much time," J.D. added. He was just finishing wrapping copper wire around the second rebar pole, from a second spool of wire. "Okay," he said when he had finished. "We need to go. Now, before this place comes down around our ears."

Kacey took deep breaths in an effort to calm her thundering pulse. Yes they needed to get moving but this was the part of the plan Kacey hated. Though it made sense... she would wait, sledgehammer ready, while J.D. and Hollis went down into the mines, to where the workers had stopped cutting. Kacey had no idea what waited for them in the depths, but she could only imagine that their enemy would make every effort to stop them.

J.D. took the two spools of wire and placed them side by side, holes aligned. Hollis shoved a rebar pole through, skewering both spools.

"Here," Kacey said, handing the rifle to J.D. He made no effort to take it. "You're keeping that," he said. She suddenly realized that this part of the plan, they hadn't discussed. She had just assumed one of them would take the rifle down with them.

"Like hell," Kacey said. "If Crowe and Rhonda are down there, the quartz won't protect you and this whole plan goes in the crapper."

"But if anything happened to you..." J.D. said and trailed off, looking away. Kacey's heart swelled. "Hey!" she said, drawing his attention. "I love you. Okay? I love you. We're family. Always. Now take the damned gun and go kill this thing."

J.D. hesitated a moment longer before grabbing the rifle. "I'll be back," he said. "Okay Ah-nuld," Kacey replied as J.D. slung the weapon. "We'll be back," Hollis said. "Fate willing." Kacey turned. The detective had pocketed his mag light and was holding the ends of the rebar, with the wire spools in the middle. As he walked backward the wire would unspool. J.D. would push the wheelbarrow with the additional spools and equipment.

Hollis stepped back until he was next to Kacey and leveled an intent gaze on her. "If this goes sideways, you get out as fast as you can, got it?"

"No," Kacey said. "I'm not going anywhere. We're all in this until the end." Hollis opened his mouth to protest but Kacey put her hand over it. Hollis sighed into her palm. She removed her hand and Hollis said "You're a stubborn ass."

"And you're a crotchety old goat turd," Kacey replied. Hollis smiled, and she smiled back. "Got your radio?" Hollis asked. Kacey nodded and grabbed the handheld from her back pocket. "Okay, we'll be in touch."

"Let's get moving," J.D. said. In his right hand he held a flashlight and the right handle of the wheelbarrow. He lifted with both hands and began rolling the barrow down the rough stone steps. Hollis walked behind him, unspooling the wire.

Kacey shined her light, watching them proceed down, down until they passed around a corner and out of sight.

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I'm sure that nothing terrible waits for them down there in the darkness and that everything will be okay. Still, you all should check in next week just to be sure.