Chapter 9

None of them had a lot to laugh about in the past two days, but when Doolin walked in the house, his little dog, Willie, was so happy to see him, they all laughed at his antics as he ran and jumped on all the furniture while running through all the rooms. When he’d tired himself out, he ran back to jump in Gina’s lap.

The next morning, James had to return to the courthouse in Rockwell Springs, but told them he’d be back before dark.

Coop, Carol, and Dave Hartman were going down to see Mr. Harker. He asked Donna to go with them. Tommy and Kelsie went with them too, he wanted to see Mr. Harker, then go get his spare keys to his car.

Coop and Carol took Mr. Harker over to the side to show him the pictures of the creatures. He was expecting the worst from what Coop had told him yesterday, but he wasn’t expecting what they showed him on the laptop. He wouldn’t even let his wife see them. Carol had to take Mrs. Harker over to the counter and take pictures of her as she waited on customers to keep her away.

Mr. and Mrs. Harker noticed Donna and her little girl, Gina, as they followed Coop all over the store, talking to people and showing the men the pictures of the creatures. They noticed the way Coop would put his arm around Donna’s shoulder as he introduced her to everyone. They noticed too, the way he would pick Gina up and carry her each time she reached up to him.

They smiled as they looked at one another, knowing the rumors of him being queer had once and for all been dispelled.

The plans were set and the word had been passed around that the community meeting was to be held at noon on Saturday, and the Halloween festival was to begin just before dark that evening.

Before they left, Tommy and Kelsie came running back into the store. They were laughing and holding hands openly in front of everyone as they talked to Mr. Harker. Kelsie’s dad had given her permission to be Tommy’s girlfriend. He even told them they could go back out to Doolin’s place and stay with their new friends. Tommy and Kelsie helped carry the boxes with the trail cameras packed inside, out to Coop’s vehicle.

“Coop, that boy reminds me so much of you at that age. I was always glad to see you with a girl, but you just seemed to be friends with them back then,” Mr. Harker told him, and slapped him on his back.

“Mr. Harker, I can see me being just like him too. I was like Tommy, always small for my age, and took after Dad and Granddad when I grew up. When I think back now, I wonder if that was why I was so shy around girls. They all seemed to just want to have me as a friend.”

“You and Donna sure do make a fine couple, Coop. She’s as tall as you. That little Gina loves you too, you know that, don’t you? What are you going to do when all this is over and you have to go back to St. Louis?”

“I haven’t made up my mind, Mr. Harker. Donna and I have talked about it some, but there’s so much going on, we don’t get a lot of time to ourselves.”

“Don’t let that one get away, Coop. Ma and me have decided that she would be a good woman that would stand beside you. You already know you can’t walk away from Gina now, don’t you?”

“Mr. Harker, you’re as bad as my dad,” Coop told him, and they both laughed.

“Just looking out for you, Coop. You always were one of my favorite boys when you came in here with your dad and Floyd. You know them old men need some grandkids now, don’t you?”

“Mr. Harker, if Donna and I have time to talk, I’ll tell her what you and Mrs. Harker have come up with. I’m not sure she can leave her job, and I sure can’t stay in Rockwell Springs and do my job.”

“I was thinking more along the lines of you staying up here and doing all your writing here local, Coop. If Donna wanted to still be a nurse, we sure could use one up here. I’m pretty tight with the county judge, and I’m sure I could get her on with the county as a nurse for Mt. Skinner since we don’t have a doctor up here.”

“Mr. Harker, you already have it all worked out, don’t you?” Coop had to laugh at him.

“Yes, and we’ve talked to Donna too. Coop, that girl is already in love with you, and she’s afraid you’ll leave and go back over to St. Louis.”

“Mr. Harker, I can tell you’ve been talking to my dad.”

“Well, he and I did have a few words in private about you the other day.”

“I still have some talking to do with Donna, but you and Mrs. Harker will be the first to know if we can work out the details.”

“Coop! Damn the details, Son. You know you’re falling for that girl. Go tell her what you want and tell her what we just talked about. You’ll never have another chance like this.”

“I’ll see you Saturday morning, Mr. Harker. We have a lot of plans to make and I have a lot of things to take care of.”

“Coop, you know me and Ma think of you like our own boy. We just want the best for you, and we’re so proud you’re back up here. We want you to stay, Coop, this mountain and this little town needs you.”

“Thanks, Mr. Harker. Just let up a little bit so I can think it all out. I like your idea of living here and writing my articles and stories. I may even write a book about all this.”

“Now you’re talking, Coop. I know you’ll have a few chapters about Harker’s Store in there. See you on Saturday. Ma and me will help with Gina so you and Donna can join in all the fun.”

“See you then, Mr. Harker,” Coop said, and walked away, shaking his head.

He knew what he wanted, and he knew he had try and figure it all out for himself, his way.

When they walked out to leave, Coop pulled Donna aside and stood looking at her, face to face. She was scared of the stern, somber look on his face before he smiled.

“Donna, when we get back, I need to talk to you. That is if you’re ready to talk about what both of us are thinking.”

“I’m ready, Coop. I’ve been trying to stay out of the way with all of this crazy stuff going on up here. Whatever you decide, I’ll abide by your decision.”

“When we talk, Donna, I want your opinion. If we’re ever going to work out the details, we both have to tell our feelings.”

“Thanks, Coop,” was all she said with a smile. They turned back to see Carol, Dave, Kelsie, and Tommy in his Cherokee waiting for them.

When they returned to Doolin’s place, the first thing they did was start planning where to set the game cameras. They had thirty two now, and they were sure with that many, they could get an idea where the heaviest traffic was among the creatures.

They knew for sure, they wanted to set two cameras back across the old wooden bridge. They knew there were four of the creatures over there the night Jerry and Lois came through there. They felt positive there had been three there the night the poachers were killed. With that many in one area, they needed to have cameras set up.

“Doolin, do you know of any place over that way big enough to hide as many as fifteen to twenty of those creatures?” Coop asked.

“There’s that old sinkhole that came in the ground years ago, when the valley was flooded to make the reservoir. That’s about the only place over there I can think of.”

“That was about the time those varmints started showing up around here too, wasn’t it?” Floyd said.

“Yep. You reckon they were living underground all that time and when the water came up in the valley, it ran them out of hiding?”

“Could be. Coop, you need to get them cameras set around that old sinkhole. I showed you where it was years ago.”

“If I remember my directions correctly, that hole isn’t but a mile and a half or so across the ridge from town. Is that right?”

“Yep, right down from that old ranger’s station up there. We sure need to stop them things from setting their sights on our little town. Them town folks would be easy pickings if they ever set foot down there,” Doolin told them.

“Jerry, if you and Tommy will help me, we’ll take my Cherokee back over there and set up three cameras. We can go up to the old ranger’s station and start your car while we’re there. On the way back, we can swing by the campgrounds and get Tommy’s car and take the old back road home,” Coop told them.

“Sure, I’ll help anyway I can. That’s a good way to get that all taken care of. I’ve never set up one of those cameras though, you’ll have to show me how,” Jerry told him.

“Kelsie and I read the little booklet on them; I think I can set them up. We’ll need batteries for all of them too. Uh, can Kelsie go with us, Coop?” Tommy asked.

“We have the batteries covered. Mr. Harker ordered a gross when he ordered the cameras. They each take four ‘C’ batteries, and we have thirty two cameras total. We should even have some extras; we just put new batteries in the first eight Carol brought,” Coop said, and looked back at Tommy.

“Tommy, go in there and get Kelsie; she’ll be lost without you.” Coop told him, and smiled when he ran to the door.

Carol, Dave, and Don were planning to drive back down the mountain to Old Sawmill Road and set up cameras. This was near where the Reylands had their accident, and just about a mile across the mountain pass from the big sinkhole Doolin had remembered.

On their way around the campgrounds to the old wooden bridge, Jerry started talking about the creatures.

“Coop, you’ve seen these things as much as anyone, have you ever heard them make a sound?” he asked.

“No more than a grunt. I didn’t think about that until you mentioned it. Tommy, did you and Kelsie hear them make a sound with their mouths?”

“Only the grunting sound when they were scared of the water. Even then, it wasn’t loud,” Tommy said.

“That’s odd that something that big doesn’t make a sound. I wonder how they communicate with each other,” Jerry said.

“When you were shining your lights in their faces, did you see their eyes in the dark?” Coop asked.

“No, I didn’t. I’m wondering now if they’ve lived underground all this time, and the reason they only come out at night is because the light hurts their eyes,” Jerry said, as they passed the campground and drove across the long dam.

“How big is that sinkhole, Coop?” Tommy asked.

“Last time I was there, it was about sixty or seventy feet across at the top, and I’d guess a hundred feet deep. It sloped down to a smaller size at the bottom, like a funnel; there’s an opening about ten to fifteen feet across at the bottom. Granddad told me he and Doolin threw some big rocks in it once and never heard them hit bottom.”

“I know this will sound horrible, but what would happen if we found out they do actually live underground and we took some fuel, like gasoline or diesel over there and poured down it? I mean a LOT of fuel.”

“I’m sure if the animal rights people ever heard us talking like this, they would have people out there protesting. We’ll talk to James, Dad, Doolin, and Granddad about that. The more I think about it, the more I want their opinion. If we did that and like you said, used a LOT of fuel, maybe mixing gas and diesel, we’d surely rid ourselves of a lot of them, if not all.”

They were on the county gravel road where the pickup went over the cliff and Coop pointed the place out to them. They couldn’t see down in the gorge, and didn’t know whether or not the pickup was still there.

“Right up here is where we had our second meeting with them the other night. We were coming down that slope over there and saw two of them here at the bridge. Then I turned back uphill to try and outrun them and there were two more behind us. That was when we first noticed them holding their hands up, fighting against the light,” Jerry told them.

“We came over here the other day when we left the boat dock, after we had the little tryst with that young one in the boat. That’s when we found the ATV, the rifle, night vision goggles, and the binoculars,” Coop told them.

“I’m sure you’ve been up to the old ranger’s station then, that’s where we left our car. I hope the beasts haven’t destroyed it.” Jerry said.

As they drove up the hill toward the ranger’s station, Coop pointed to where he, his dad, and James had found the second decapitated head.

“I see your car up there, Jerry. Looks like it’s still in good shape,” Tommy said, as they rounded a curve and drove up to the old, abandoned ranger’s station.

“I’ll pull around to where we can get my jumper cables on your battery. We’ll probably have to let it run and charge your battery before it will start,” Coop told them, as he pulled up close to the front of Jerry’s vehicle.

“Where’s the sinkhole from here, Coop?” Tommy asked.

“Right down the slope in front of where Jerry’s vehicle is parked. It’s a wonder the beasts didn’t tear the car up, if they smelled humans.”

“Let’s get the cables connected and let my vehicle charge your battery while we go set up these three cameras,” Coop told them, as he pulled his booster cables out of his gear bag in the rear of the Cherokee.

When they had Coop’s vehicle connected and charging Jerry’s dead battery, they walked down the slope to the sinkhole.

“Wow, that is a huge hole. Did this really happen when the water came up in the reservoir?” Tommy asked, as he peered over the edge of the huge sinkhole.

“It was discovered soon after the water filled the valley; the engineers who built the dam examined it. That was their verdict.”

“Coop, come over here and look at this. Here’s some odd looking marks in the soil,” Jerry said, as he knelt near the edge of the hole.

“This looks like something has slid down this slope, doesn’t it?” Coop said, as he knelt beside Jerry.

“Yes, and many times. This whole area is smooth and solid, as if compacted.”

“Come over here and look at these huge tree trunks on this side,” Tommy called to them, as he and Kelsie walked around the edge.

“I know what those marks are. Those are claw marks,” Jerry said, when he and Coop went around to look.

“I agree, let’s get two of these cameras set up a few yards away from this side. We’ll set the third back over there where the slope has been worn smooth. I’m thinking that may be the entrance, they just slide down rather than trying to climb back down these tree trunks,” Coop said.

“Coop, if we all agree to pour fuel down this hole, we need to be sure to either pull these trees out or burn them so they can’t escape,” Jerry said.

“Let’s get this done and get your vehicle out of here. We need to talk to the others about this. We’ll have to get James to agree to it.”

Jerry’s vehicle started right up when they returned. Coop followed him out and across the wooden bridge then back to the campgrounds.

Tommy unlocked his car and Coop followed him and Jerry back through the old back road to Doolin’s place, where they saw Floyd and Doolin sitting on the porch. Donna came out with Gina and met them at the steps.

Coop put his arm around her and took Gina to hold her on his arm. She grabbed him and kissed his cheek as she giggled and squirmed.

“How’d it go back over there at the sinkhole?” Doolin asked, as they sat on the porch with their feet hanging off.

“It was just as you said, Doolin. We saw marks where they’d been climbing up some old tree trunks that were on one side of the slope and saw what appeared to be where they slide down the slope into the hole on the other side. We have three cameras set up and should have some pictures if, in fact, that is where they hang their hats,” Coop told him.

“If we can be sure they’re down there in the daytime, we need to pour something down there and set it afire,” Floyd said.

“Jerry had the same idea, Granddad, like a mix of gasoline and diesel. We’ll get with James and see what he thinks. If we decide to do that, we’ll need lots of fuel, we sure don’t need to do it halfway,” Coop told them.

“That’s not going to be easy, with that old wooden bridge as rickety as it is. It won’t hold up a truck load of fuel, even if we could get one up here,” Doolin said.

“Any suggestions?” Coop asked.

“What if we used a helicopter with one of those water tanks on it?” Tommy suggested.

“That’s a good idea, but I don’t know where we’d get one of those,” Coop told him.

“What if we rounded up a lot of fifty-five gallon drums, filled them with fuel, and drove over there in pickups? We could haul five or six drums in each pickup, back up to the hole, and pour the fuel down in there,” Doolin suggested.

“Now we’re getting somewhere. Where can we get that many drums, Doolin?”

“There’s hundreds of them stacked up over at the old bulk oil plant behind Harker’s. We could get Mr. Harker to order a split load of gas and diesel and mix it like Jerry suggested,” Floyd told them.

“When James gets back, we need to hit him hard with this idea. He’s been easy to work with, and one of the few that’s ever tried to help solve this. The others have just blown it off and called it a hoax all these years,” Dave told them.

“What’s the capacity of one of those fuel delivery trucks, Doolin?” Jerry asked.

“The one that delivers to Harker’s holds four thousand gallons total, with different size compartments so they can haul diesel, kerosene, and more than one grade of gas, all at the same time.”

“WOW! If we had two thousand gallons of gasoline and two thousand gallons of diesel poured down that sinkhole, that would make a huge underground fire,” Tommy said.

Chief Deputy James Wetterman made it back to Doolin’s earlier than expected and the men had a meeting on Doolin’s front porch, with the women listening in.

After they told him of their findings at the sinkhole, he was ready to do whatever it took to wipe out the creatures.

“We’ll have to devise a way to safely ignite the fuel; that much gasoline would engulf a man if he was at the hole when it was lit,” he told them.

“All we’ll have to do is pour a trail of fuel from the hole back at least fifty yards, and when we drop the match, all hell will erupt down in the hole,” Don Cooper told them.

“How will we ever get that much fuel over there?” Jerry asked,

“We’ll enlist the help of every man up here who has a truck that will haul six to eight drums filled with fuel on each one. They’ll have to give up smoking on this run though,” Dave told them.

“James, we’re all waiting for your final OK,” Doolin said.

“I say let’s get a load of fuel ordered and get it pumped into those barrels. We can put the bungs in until we get backed up to the hole. Then we’ll just roll barrels down in there.”

“When are we going to make that bomb run?” Floyd asked.

“What if everyone loads their pickups with filled drums when we all meet Saturday, then we can hit that place at daylight on Sunday.”

“Sounds good to me. The men will need to remember not to smoke on the way home,” James said, and the others chuckled.

“James, I suggest we have three or four high powered rifles there, just in case one or more of them do makes it through the fire,” Coop suggested.

“Good idea, I’d hate to have one of those things come back out of there and us not armed well enough to take them down. I still have that .300 Mag Remington in my patrol car,” James said.

“You got any ammo for it?” Coop asked.

“I picked up two boxes down at Rockwell Springs today, just in case we needed that big rifle up here. I’ll call my deputies and have them meet the fuel truck so they can get the fuel pumped into the barrels. We’ll be able to load the barrels in the trucks right off that old concrete dock back there.”

While James was talking to the deputy in charge at the office, Coop was calling Mr. Harker to order the load of fuel. He told the store owner exactly what it was for and asked him to keep it quiet.

“Coop, I’ll be up at Doolin’s place before sunrise Sunday. I want to see this put to rest as bad as you do.”

“I was going to ask you if you’d like to join us when we meet tomorrow, Mr. Harker.”