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Mayor Benaford was driving the county truck in the forest with a group of hunters and Doctor Carter, who was at his side. They parked in the campgrounds and got out of the truck with their guns and began their long walk into the dense part of the woods. They were on their way to meet up with John Henry, Mike Chambers, and the others who had entered one tunnel while others had entered another. Suddenly, as they walked, the ground shook. The men looked around to see what happened.
George Carter pointed toward town. “Look, Mayor! That is coming from town.”
“My God! What is it?”
“I have no idea,” said George.
“Come on, guys, we are going back into town to find out what is going on,” Mayor Benaford said.
“What about the tunnel?” Doctor Carter asked. He wanted to find one of these creatures and examine it for himself since he lost his last opportunity.
“That can wait; we have trouble in town.”
“I’m staying,” said one of the men, and then another.
Before any further conversation could take place, another explosion sounded, this time closer. The men instinctively hit the ground and covered their heads.
“My God! What is it, is it an earthquake?” Mayor Benaford asked.
“I don’t know,” said Doctor Carter. “Stay down and pray it doesn’t last long.”
They saw dirt and debris flying up in the air, trees toppling over, and just ahead of them the ground began to spread apart.
After the quaking stopped, the men stood up, covered with dirt. They tried brushing off as much of it as they could while they were coughing from the falling dust particles. They stood dumbfounded, not knowing what to do next.
Sheriff Monroe came running toward them, covered in dirt. None of the men could see, but dirt covered blood and two bullet holes in his shirt. He, like Malcolm, was an elder Caver with the power to heal himself. “Mayor, Mayor, it is the town, a major gas leak in town near the school.”
“What?” Mayor Benaford asked.
“It was a huge gas leak in town. I was on my way here to join your group when I heard it from Mike Chambers over the radio. He had gone back to get some explosives with John Henry so we could open the other end of the tunnel we found.”
“Are you sure it was Mike Chambers, Sheriff? We were told he was here waiting for us,” said Doctor Carter.
“I’m sure, Doc. We found the tunnel ages ago but couldn’t open the other side. John had charges he could use that would not collapse the tunnel when they went off. They went back to get them and called saying they smelled gas and were not sure they should use them. I told them to be careful and don’t set off any sparks. The radio went dead a little bit later. Damn fools – they could have been smoking.”
The Mayor shook his head in pity; he knew those boys were fools. “You’re probably right about those two, Sheriff. What do we do now?”
The Sheriff seized the opportunity. “Well, we are not going to find anything in all this mess. By the size of all those explosions, I would say that any tunnel we would have found would be covered by now. I am going into town to check on the school. There are underground pipelines all over the place, and if the school was hit, they are going to need all of us there. My truck is just down the hill; do any of you need a ride back into town?”
“No, Sheriff,” the Mayor declined, “I brought my truck. We will head on back and meet you at the school.” He withdrew a radio and switched it on, but it only blasted static.
“That won’t work for some time, Mayor,” said the Sheriff. “I will meet you all back in town.”
He turned and left. Walking slowly, he listened for the sounds of the men behind him. He was hoping they would quickly follow him. His cover story had gone over well and all trouble would end today for his people if they followed him.
The Mayor was ready to leave but Doctor Carter was not sure. For some reason there was something about the Sheriff that bothered him. “Look, Mayor, we are already here. I have a daughter at the school but I want to stay a bit longer. The shed John Henry talked about is right up ahead. Let’s just take a quick look before leaving.”
“All right, Doc, we might as well. Lead the way.”
Five minutes later the men were up the hill, but there was nothing to be seen except for flat land. Trees, grass, bushes and all were either lying flat on the dirt ground or altogether missing. The section of the woods they were viewing contained no buildings or anything else; it was just flat dirt.
From the static of the walkie-talkie, a voice suddenly sprung.
“Hello, please say again,” said the Mayor after he listened to the message.
“This is Sheriff Monroe. Part of the school has been leveled and students are missing. We need everyone back here to help with the search. The local store has been demolished and I smell gas fumes everywhere.”
“Ask him if he has seen my daughter,” said George.
“Sheriff, the doc wants to know if you have seen his girl.”
“All the students are outside and they are doing a head count. I will let you know if - ” The Sheriff’s voice crackled and then faded.
“Let’s get back, Mayor,” said George Carter, now concerned more with his daughter than the flat land he was looking at.
The men began their journey back to town through the thick air. As they walked, George Carter glanced to his right – and saw a figure approaching.
“Hold on a second,” said George to the men. They stopped and he went by himself toward the mysterious figure. As he got closer he saw that it was his daughter. “Allie? Allie, is that you?” He knew it was her but couldn’t believe it. George ran up to her. She was crying. “Cat, what’s the matter, baby? What in the world are you doing out here?”
Allie cried on her father’s shoulder. She was dirty and looked a mess. She couldn’t believe that her world was gone, killed by the very people her father accompanied. She mourned for her friends; mourned for Sara, mourned for Malcolm, mourned for Mrs. Taylor; and mourned for Bethany. She didn’t know him well but she cried for the Sheriff, and for the Cavers and vampires that had been shot and killed. She cried for those she had carried to safety, the children, her children, whom she would never see again. She clung to her father, knowing her world was gone and she was left alone with these monsters, the only true monsters of the town.
When finally she stopped crying, she gave her father the only explanation that sounded halfway reasonable in her mind.
“I left school early today and went to work, Bethany needed help and I said I would. Barlon Day Care Center was there. When the ground started shaking I was by the door and ran out. I thought it was an earthquake and that I should find a ditch and lay in it for safety. When it was over, the entire building was gone. I don’t know what happened to it or the people inside. It’s gone, Daddy, it’s gone!” And, hugging him, she began to cry again. Though her story was false, her tears and pain were not.
“Oh, Cat... you don’t go outside in an earthquake, honey, you do that for tornadoes. Don’t worry, Honey, we will find them. Come on, let’s get you home to your mother and then we will form search and rescue teams.”
George Carter led his daughter to the others. On the way down the hill to their truck, he explained her presence in the woods to them.
Chapter 31