Page 62 of Trapped with the Covert Ops Soldier

“A dozen or more, but that’s just an estimate, since the men who caused the cave-in were digging illegally. No one knew who it was. They blasted their way into the mountain and managed to cave-in one of the main shafts of the original coal mine. Several people working there were killed as well as every one of the illegal miners.

But, the mining company cleaned things up and the mining continued. There were several natural springs around the foot of the mine, and no one thought to question where all the water was coming from. The spring water gathered together to form Bandit Creek farther downstream than it does now.”

Smitty swore. “I think I know where this is going.”

“The town of Lost Lake was built close to the mine entrance so the miners didn’t have to travel far, and with all those springs, the water supply was excellent and very clean.”

“Survivors think that more than one group of illegal miners were digging tunnels that converged with the main mine shaft. Blasting had weakened the integrity of the rock strata inside the mountain. People reported increased incidences of rock falls, cave-ins, and water flooding the main shaft, but the mining company refused to stop mining. They knew the illegal miners wouldn’t stop, so they weren’t going to either.

It was nearly dinner time, and most of the company’s miners were putting down their tools and making their way out of the mine when an illegal crew blasted a hole through the rock, releasing a torrent of water. Not a spring or stream, but a massive amount of water that widened the hole they’d made until an entire raging river began filling the mine. It washed the miners trying to get out back down to the bottom. It filled every shaft, all of them, drowning anyone that was in them. The force of the water broke through something under the ground under the town. Causing a catastrophic sinkhole that swallowed the entire town and created the current lake.”

“How many died?”

“Two thousand, eight hundred and fifty-three from the town. No one knows the total from inside the mountain, but at least several hundred more.”

“So, the likelihood of finding a convenient way out through this hole is fucking small.”

She stared at the hole. No sound came from it, not even the murmur of running water, but the air was fresh and it came out in a steady stream. “There’s a flow of air,” she said taking in another lungful. “Are you willing to wait for Virgil to come back and shoot us?”

“There’s that,” Smitty said with a grim line to his mouth. “Fine, let’s have a look. As you pointed out, at least the air smells clean in there.”

“We’ll just be careful and go slow.”

“How much battery power does your phone have?” he asked.

She checked it and winced. “Thirty-four percent.”

“Someone dug this out, maybe they left a light source or two in there.”

Abby crouched next to the opening and shone her phone’s flashlight into the darkness. At first all she saw was rock, then as she slid the beam of light down the shaft, several lumps resolved themselves into something other than boulders.

“Hold the light steady,” Smitty asked, then he bent over and made his way to what looked like a bunch of stuff covered in canvas. He pulled the canvas aside to reveal digging tools, axes, shovels, and old-fashioned oil lamps. He grabbed one of the lamps and came back toward Abby. Out of a pants pocket, he pulled a container of matches out, struck one, and lit the lamp.

Its glow was strong and bright.

“Let’s get you a lamp too, so you can save your phone’s battery,” Smitty said.

She nodded and shut down the flashlight app, then turned her phone off completely and tucked it into a pocket. Smitty got another lamp lit and handed it to her.

“There’s chalk, so we’re going to take some to mark our trail.”

“Okay.”

“The air doesn’t feel too humid, so I don’t think the water ever reached this area.” Smitty lifted his lamp and peered down the shaft. The walls of the passageway were obviously chipped out of the rock, leaving behind rough edges of stone. The shaft itself narrowed a bit more as they walked tentatively forward, until they both had to turn sideways to continue.

Claustrophobia had never been an issue for Abby, but she’d also never been inside a mountain that had already swallowed up an entire town and crews of miners all at once. Every brush against the sharp edges of stone reminded her of the danger of this place.

They walked for several feet before the passageway suddenly widened into a large cave. She and Smitty stood at the point of transition, held their lamps out and tried to see the edges of the space. The feeble light from their lamps faded to black before meeting any walls or a ceiling.

The floor of the cave looked quite different from the shaft they’d walked through. No evidence of tools or blasting used to create the space. Only the smooth stone of water-polished rock.

“There was water running through here at some point,” she said to Smitty in a low tone, the invisible weight of the mountain above them compressing her voice.

A breeze brushed by her face, as if conjured by her words. It left the impression of fingers across her skin and she couldn’t suppress the shiver that ran down her body.

“It looks safe enough,” Smitty said. “There’s no obvious moisture here now. Water could have been running through this place hundreds or even thousands of years ago.” He glanced back at the tunnel they’d just come through. “The only way anyone would know to dig this out was if they found this big cave and figured out that it was close enough to the edge of the mountain to make it worth creating.”

“Someone familiar with the mine and maybe the geology of the mountain.”

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