Dinosaur Lake (29 page)

Henry kept expecting to hear about a monster attacking a heavily populated area any second. It gave him a sick sense of urgency that wouldn’t be quieted.

Perhaps that was one of the reasons, after they left Greer and before they went into town that Henry spoke to Justin about watching over Ann if something were to happen to him. Somewhere deep in his mind, though he didn’t want to admit it, he was preparing in case he didn’t survive the underwater caves.

He told Justin where the camcorder was that Ann had been looking for and he made Justin promise to get it to her. Ann had risked her life looking for it in the first place and Henry could understand why. That video or pictures from the video of the creature, later when it was over, would fetch quite a sum of money. Not only would it save the Klamath Falls Journal, and Ann’s job, but it’d help her, moneywise, if something happened to him. He worried about her. If he were dead she wouldn’t be allowed to stay in the cabin; there was only a small life insurance policy through his job and they had little savings. The reality of living middleclass these days.

Justin had looked at him oddly when he’d talked about such things, but he’d agreed to do as asked. “Anything for you and Ann,” he’d promised. “Whatever you want me to do, I’ll do.”

As they drove through the park towards the exit, Justin remarked on the growing mist everywhere. “I imagine the lake’s completely covered in it. Bet, if we drive down there right now, we couldn’t even see Phantom Ship or Wizard Island. It’s eerie. Gives me the creeps.”

“Worst I’ve ever seen it. And this early in the day,” Henry commented. “The mist will get worse as evening and lower temperatures come in.” The fog had curled up around their car, an invisible entity that made them feel as if they were driving through a cloud. They couldn’t see the road. Could hardly see the trees looming above them. Just a strip of asphalt winding ahead of their headlights.

“I haven’t had time in the last few days to take any readings, so it’s more of a general observation, but temperatures under the lake must still be rising.” Justin looked out over the swirling cloud. “And the rock below the caldera might still be shifting from the earthquakes. That means more lava coming up to the surface and heating the water. This mist is the result.”

“If it keeps up,” Henry snorted. “When we reopen the park, we’ll have to advertise the lake as the amazing boiling lake. Cook your eggs in it for lunch! Hang your coffee thermos over the edge of your boat’s side, and keep it warm. Jump in the water and take a hot bath!”

Justin chuckled.

So did Henry. It felt good after all the terror and sadness of the last two days.

Talking about hot baths reminded Henry of the homeless camp. He wondered how they were doing in town where they’d been relocated. If George were alive he would have known, would have cared enough to seek them out and make sure they were all right. Henry made a mental note to ask Ann to check up on them in the next couple of days. It might help take her mind off George’s death, helping those he used to help.

Leaving the park, after a particularly long silence, Henry slid his eyes across to his passenger and smiled. In the front seat, against the foggy window, Justin had fallen asleep.

Henry didn’t have the heart to wake him though they had so much more to discuss about Justin’s recent fact-finding trip. But, Henry thought tiredly, it could wait until later. Let the young man get a small nap. He seemed to need it.

His foot pushed harder on the accelerator pedal. As the afternoon’s shadows slipped in around him with the mist, he was aware they weren’t alone.
It
was out there somewhere in the lake or the woods, and Henry felt like a painted target rumbling along in his borrowed car.

As the Deep Rover before it, Jim Francis’s friends brought the Big Rover down to Cleetwood Dock on a flatbed truck. It impressed Henry that Francis was able to secure another vehicle after what had happened to the last one.

The submersibles were worth a fortune, and after Lassen’s death and the Deep Rover’s destruction, Francis’s benefactor had been cautious. He hadn’t wanted to lend out the Big Rover. But Francis, in the end, had talked it out of him. It’d helped that the man was one of Francis’s good friends and had known Lassen, too.

“Since the massacre at Ranger Headquarters and the leveling of Rim Village, the word there’s some mysterious predator stalking the park is out of the bag,” was the first thing Francis relayed to Henry when he met him and the others on the dock that morning.

“It was all over the news last night and this morning. You’re going to be plagued from now on with television crews and newspaper reporters from all over, swarming into the park hoping to get a look at the
monster from the lake
. Danger or no danger. It’ll be crazy.”

“Damn, just what we need. Trespassers and gawkers. Well, we’ll just have to keep them out, that’s all.”

“Good luck,” Francis muttered. “I saw the curious gathering at the park’s main entrance as I brought the Rover in. They’re a pack of wild animals, let me tell you. They were all over me with questions and camcorders in my face.”

Henry was relieved Francis was more himself since his return. He also seemed extremely determined to find what they were looking for and to deal with it.

The Big Rover was a different sort of craft than the smaller Rover had been. Francis confessed right off that it was an experimental model designed for much more than research. “It’s brand new off the assembly line and bigger, sleeker, than the first Rover. It’s also diesel-fueled, entirely computer controlled, and built for speed, with strong retractable jointed arms and claws for picking up objects. It can outrun anything in the water and resist any attack, its hull is that strong. It’s made to defend itself, with limited missile ability, if need be.

“And, as you can see, it’s a dull black, no shiny surfaces to attract the leviathan, with large portal windows circling the top, and is also equipped with underwater lights, television and cameras. It seats four people.”

“Only four, huh?” Henry studied the machine as it was lowered from the truck into the water. The men who’d brought it were anxious to unload it and get away from the lake. He didn’t blame them a bit. If he could, he’d run away, too.

Patterson posed the top question on everyone’s mind. “Which four of us are going on its maiden voyage?”

Henry had decided on who should go the day before but until that moment hadn’t talked about it. “I’m going. Greer, as my second-in-command. Maltin, because he’s the dinosaur expert, and, of course, we’ll need Francis to operate it.

“The rest of my men will remain behind to keep people out of the park and keep things running, with Patterson in charge. He’ll have my permission to alert the National Guard or the army if the creature reappears and heads for any park exit.”

No one was surprised at the choices. Patterson was openly relieved he wasn’t going below as did most of the other rangers. After what had happened to the Deep Rover none of them wanted to play Sea Hunt in the lake.

“I’ve been in helicopters and on boats of various kinds,” Greer admitted. “No submarines, though. And I’m eager for the coming adventure.”

“I haven’t, either.” Henry patted the man on the back. “So it’ll be a new experience for both of us.”

“The three of us, you mean?” Justin interjected. “I’ve never been on one, either. And I don’t like closed in spaces. I’m sort of…claustrophobic.”

Henry eyed the young scientist. “You don’t like water and you hate caves. Now you’re telling us you’re afraid of tight places? You
sure
you want to come along, Maltin?”

Justin straightened up to his tallest height, his gaze steady. “You need me. I think I know the creature we’re going after better than any of you. So I’m coming.” But to Henry, with that unruly blond hair of his and round spectacles, he still seemed an innocent teenager.

Henry nodded, looking out over the lake in the early morning mist. Where was
it
now, he thought?
Where was it?

The rain had not materialized, but the air was wet with moisture and made everything feel clammy. The clouds had blocked the sun’s light, making it look more like early evening than morning.

Greer was busy checking out the Big Rover. He’d been intrigued from the first second he’d laid eyes on the contraption, asking questions of Francis on how it was operated and controlled. He’d started making conversation to bring Francis out of his lethargy brought on by Lassen’s death. But once he’d got the man talking about his work and now the Big Rover, Francis had opened up. He’d even begun to smile again.

Once the Rover was in the water, Francis gave Greer, Justin and Henry a guided tour of its interior. Henry wanted to know everything about the control panel and what switches and dials ran what. Francis was happy to oblige.

“This doesn’t look anything like the other one,” Greer said to Jim Francis once they’d lowered themselves into the craft. “It’s got so many windows.”

“The two Rovers are light years apart, and yes, there’s a reason for all the window area, Greer. It’s so you can see more outside.”

“With the sneakiness of our quarry, we’re going to need that.”

To Henry the Deep Rover had brought to mind a large suited-up space alien with a bubble head. Its basic design hadn’t been very appealing. But the Big Rover looked more like a true submarine should. It reminded him of a very large, sleek ebony shark. Which might or might not be a good thing.

“You men ready for a trial run? I’ve been dying to try this baby out.” Francis looked at them one at a time.

“I’m ready,” Henry replied.

“Let’s do it.” Greer tipped a finger forward.

Justin gulped, but bobbed his head yes.

Henry marveled at the advanced technology and the maneuverability of the Big Rover once they were submerged. He tried a hand at piloting and caught on quickly as Francis explained the running sequence. Then Greer tried his hand at the wheel. Henry and Greer pestered Francis with questions about the machine and the pilot seemed happy to answer them.

“It wouldn’t be such a bad idea,” Francis proposed, “if you and Greer had a rough idea of how to handle this baby.” In case, Henry thought, something happened to its pilot?

Justin didn’t seem interested in driving lessons. He was more obsessed with the view from the windows and the smallness of the enclosure. His eyes never left the water beyond the glass, his fingers never stopped tapping nervously on one surface or another.

Francis took extra care explaining how the sub ran to Henry and Greer, though.

“There…that red toggle switch there, Shore…easy…easy…now you can accelerate. That’s right, that pedal. You want to try reverse?”

“Sure. Which switch is that?”

Francis showed him as the Big Rover cleanly sped through the water. Suddenly the sub came to an abrupt stop and backtracked so quickly, Justin fell out of his seat.

“You seem to have a knack for it, Chief Ranger. You’re a natural.”

Greer chuckled. Justin buckled himself in like he should have done. Henry tried again. The ride was smoother the second time.

After a little more instruction Francis declared, “Shore, if you ever consider giving up bossing around these rangers of yours give me a call. I’ll put you to work in one of these babies. Make you my new partner.” Henry had done well on his maiden voyage, as had Greer, and Francis agreed to teach him more when they had the time. Then Francis took over the controls.

“Thanks. I’ll remember that offer.” Henry watched Francis maneuver the sub. “After this little escapade of ours, I might need a new job. And I always wanted to live in Canada. I hear the hunting’s real good up there.”

For the brief time they’d taken turns piloting the sleek submersible their predicament hadn’t been the main topic. Their problems were set aside but not forgotten. Even Justin seemed to stop worrying about the monster lurking beyond the windows as they traded stories of old hunting trips and better times.

It was the break they needed.

“You heard right,” Francis said. “Sometimes my brothers, I have three, and I go out camping in the wilderness for weeks. We pack up tents, warm sleeping bags, and live off the land. Sometimes I go alone. Last year I ran into a herd of moose and followed them for days, observing. Magnificent animals. Dumb, though. And the country’s beautiful up there. No humans for as far as the eye can see, just forests and sky. Virgin territory.”

“As beautiful as this?” Henry waved his hand to include the lake and the land beyond it.

“Almost.” Francis grinned over the video screens in the sub’s cockpit. “Except the bears are worse up there than here. We grow them bigger and meaner because the winters are harsher.”

Greer gave Francis a doubting smile.

The sounds of the engines steady and strong were humming around them. Henry could feel the acceleration as the sub moved silently through the water.

“No winters are harsher than Oregon winters,” Henry stated. “We’re usually snowed in from September to May.”

“Well, then.” Francis chuckled. “We’d better catch this thing before September. I don’t think Big Boy here can cut through ice.”

“Why not? It appears capable of doing everything else.”

“Doesn’t make a difference anyway,” Justin put his two cents in. “This lake is never going to freeze again. The water’s too warm.”

Greer seemed to tolerate them and their chatter. The second part of the trial run, after he’d put his time in at driving, he was busy with his notebook and intent on the murky outer scenery through the portals as they slid through the water back towards the dock. But Henry knew it was just a façade he presented to the world. The night before Henry had caught a glimpse of the caring man he was underneath all the stone, but that hadn’t lasted long. Today the man was back to his old, professional self.

Though, in his own way, Greer was absorbed with the submersible and everything connected with their coming odyssey. And Henry was certain he was listening closely to everything Francis was saying; watching everything they were doing at the controls and most likely memorizing every move. Using that photographic memory of his, no doubt.

Justin, on the other hand, had disliked the submersible the minute they’d lowered themselves into its belly. Even if it was four times larger than the smaller Rover, it was still too cramped for Justin.

There was no place to go once you were in it, he complained. He hated contained spaces, hated the blackish water where you couldn’t see five feet ahead, and hated the very thought of exploring the underwater cave. But he still wanted to come along.

He sat slumped in his chair peering out the portals most of the short trip, lost in reverie. Not that he could see anything outside, he couldn’t. Oh, every once and a while a column of light-colored rock would loom up and then fade away, or a lone fish would slither by a portal. There wasn’t much of the wildlife left. Their enemy’s voracious appetite had seen to that.

They spent a couple of hours getting familiar with the submersible, scouring the lake’s bottom and the lower walls, seeking Lassen’s underwater cave until they found it, sensitive to the fact that every hour wasted brought them closer to outside intervention with their problem.

Yet they didn’t enter the cave and didn’t stick around longer than they had to, for fear the beast would show up, but made plans to return once they were fully prepared to enter and fight it.

Just the hours they’d been underwater had brought more people to the park. Greer, with his binoculars, sighted more illegal intruders, probably reporters, crawling around on the rim of the crater. Some Henry’s rangers sent packing; some were too quick and scurried away into the woods before they could catch them.

“
Stupid reporters, stupid tourists,
” Greer groused under his breath when he spotted them. “Going to get themselves
killed.
”

Henry couldn’t have agreed more. “So last night’s ten o’clock news has released the genie from the bottle?”

“Looks like it.”

But they were too busy after that to worry about the human trespassers. Their weapons had arrived and they made plans to submerge at dawn the following morning for the final time, not coming up until they’d taken care of their problem once and for all. They talked, packed and made plans.

There was no time to see Ann and Laura, no time to waste. But Henry stole a few minutes to write a last letter to his wife, full of the love he’d felt for her in their life together, and shorter letters for his daughter and granddaughter, and gave them to Patterson to deliver if they didn’t return.

The four men packed as if they were going on a hunting combination cave exploration trip with minimal supplies (because there wasn’t much room in the submersible) and climbing paraphernalia
–
and, of course, the new weapons.

Henry left detailed instructions with Patterson and his rangers. This was when he missed George the most. George would have been the man to take his place. He could always count on George. But since George was gone, Patterson would have to do.