Enlightenment [Book 2: SEKTOR V Trilogy]

Chapter 1: Danger Cave

Chapter 1: Danger Cave

"Whoa." I'm not sure I like these new machines. Still lightheaded, Stanley Dial managed to extricate himself from the chair and slid down to the cave floor in an attempt to regain his senses.

As he slowly acclimatized to his surroundings, he began to wonder. Based on the briefing before the Jump, he knew he was somewhere near the border of northern Utah and Nevada in a place called Danger Cave. Other than that, he was literally and figuratively shivering in the dark.

That can't be right. For starters, the Jump was set for noon and natural light should have been flooding the entrance. But it wasn't...

Confused, Stanley checked his watch which was synced with the time machine's chronometer during pre-Jump checkout. Craning his neck, he was able to confirm that both read 12:02 pm. The chair also had the date set at July 14, 2046, which was exactly 365 days into the future. As he looked down, Stanley could see the backlit thermometer on his utility belt displayed a reading of 38 degrees Fahrenheit. In July? What the heck is going on?

Stanley began crawling across the gravelly floor in the direction of the cave wall that was supposed to be opposite the time machine. He hoped—no, prayed—that he'd find the generator switch. After a moment of blind sensory exploration, he managed to locate it.

"Yes!" He flipped the switch with glee and immediately clamped his eyes shut.

It worked! He opened his eyes to a squint and stood up, looking around to assess his surroundings. "Not as big as I imagined but at least the deliveries got here," he said aloud. As he turned his gaze upward, he stood on his toes with his right arm extended in an unsuccessful attempt to touch the "ceiling", assuming that was the correct terminology for the top of a cave, he thought with a chuckle.

Wait...where are the Institute techs? They're supposed to be here to support me and Edward—

Jesus! Edward!

Stanley instantly entered panic mode. His eldest son would soon be joining him in this desolate hell-hole the scientists at Næsta Kynslóð had just sent him into. He rushed back to the chair that had brought him here and reached under it, desperately fumbling for the abort button.

He was too late. The weight of Edward's butt on the seat pressed onto Stanley's left hand.

Why didn't these idiots wait for the five-minute abort protocol? This was precisely why he insisted on going first!

"Hey, Dad!" Edward said with a big smile as he released the safety belt. "I made it!"

Stanley peered down at his watch and sighed. 12:08 pm. Closing his eyes, he let out a second exhale and shook his head in disgust. Risking my own neck is one thing...but this? Edward? Maria was right to object. I'm an idiot. These damn scientists always seem to get the best of me. No. Not this time. I'm done. We're done!

"Edward, buckle up. This is all wrong. We're sending you back...immediately. Get ready. I'm going to initiate the sequence."

"Whoa, Dad! What gives, I just got here." Edward jumped out of the seat so Stanley couldn't continue. "Wait, why is it so cold...and dark outside?"

"Exactly," responded Stanley. "This is not good, son. Those so-called scientists in Iceland messed up big time. I know they are pretty adept at slinging the crap around to convince people like us to do what they want, but this time it will cost us. And when us includes you, it's game over as far as I'm concerned. Let's get you back first and I will follow right—"

"No, Dad," Edward said, stopping Stanley in his tracks. "We're here on a mission. Clearly, their computer simulations missed something pretty damn big. We're here now and we owe it to them and us to explore our surroundings and, if possible, bring back data to help solve this mystery."

"Boy is it obvious that you're 16, son," Stanley responded. "First off, we owe those quacks absolutely ZERO. They're putting us both in real danger. What they deserve is a quick swift kick in the—"

"OK, Dad," Edward said, shutting him down again, "I get that you're upset and that you never wanted to do any of this. But you know what? I did and I still do. You can go back if you want, but I'm going to investigate our surroundings and bring back as much information as I can. That's my job and I see no reason to bail on that responsibility."

He grabbed a flashlight from one of the utility storage cases left in the cave and headed for the cave entrance some 25 feet away.

Responsibility? Stanley shook his head in resignation, caught up with him at the opening, and put his arm out, blocking Edward's advance.

"Before we jump out into the abyss, let's pause and have a look, shall we, son?" Stanley gestured for the flashlight, which Edward handed to him. After a deliberate 180-degree sweep from left to right, and not seeing much more than the desert floor and an occasional tumbleweed, they left the entrance of Danger Cave. Following the instructions from their briefing, they headed north toward the second cave.

Stanley couldn't help smiling as he walked with his son in the daytime night. Is this the same kid who two years ago would never take out the trash when he was supposed to? And now he's ready to save the world? Truth be told, Stanley liked the face his son was putting on, but he didn't like the reality that was staring at both of them. Obviously, things were not right and advancing science was pretty low on his totem pole at this point. For now, he'd play along but, sooner rather than later, this little trip had to end.

The darkness out here in the open was ominous. It was supposed to be in the middle of the day, and yet it appeared as black as a moonless midnight. The cloud cover had to extend deep into the atmosphere for it to be this dark at noon, but with the ground as hard as a rock beneath his feet there was no evidence of any rain or storm activity. It was as if the sun had no chance. Assuming the sun was still out there...

Within a few minutes, they'd arrived at the opening of Jukebox Cave, located a few hundred meters north of Danger Cave. The plan had been for Institute operatives to covertly stock this location with enough food, water, and other supplies for their planned one-week camp-out exploring the immediate, mostly desolate surroundings. In addition, and as an extra precautionary measure, two Næsta Kynslóð techs were supposed to be monitoring the time machine in Danger Cave when Edward and he arrived. For whatever reason, that aspect of the plan never materialized. On the positive side of the ledger, the food supplies were right where they were supposed to be.

The two walked deeper into the second cave. Stanley located the generator switch and flipped it. The cavern lit up.

Edward studied the containers along the wall, then pulled his finger across the surface of one of them. "Dad, come here. It looks like there's a greyish, light residue on everything."

"Hmm. Perhaps a volcano?" Stanley wiped his hand along a second box and felt the texture between his fingers. "That could help explain the cold temperatures, cloud cover, and this grey film."

"Are you sure?''

"Well, no, not exactly. It's not like I'm a real geologist or anything. But when you live, eat and breathe next to these people for as long as we have, you start to pick up on some of their geeky facts and trivia. Besides, as a kid, I remember learning about how big volcanoes could cause temperatures to drop. A lot. The biggest ones would also dump a layer of ash and soot. I think Mount Pinatubo and Mount St. Helens were like that last century. I'm happy you noticed this, Edward. I bet that's what's going on here. Although it's a bit weird that none of their computer models caught any of this, because it sure looks like it was a big eruption, whenever and wherever it happened."

Edward looked at something on his utility belt harness. "Actually, Dad, I don't think so..."

"What do you mean, son?" Stanley gave him a friendly punch on the shoulder, smiling. "Did you sneak off and get an earth science degree while I wasn't looking?"

"No... Take a look at the reading on your radiation sensor, Dad. It's showing 10Rad. According to the gauge, this is 20 times higher than we should be seeing."

Stanley's stomach sank. He wasn't smiling anymore.

"Nuclear winter... Edward, we need to get the hell out of here, now!"