fastidious man who seemed uncomfortable
surrounded by so much dirt and disarray.
“I must admit I’m a little uncomfortable
with all this.”
“I imagine. I have a story to tell you and I
need you to listen to all of it. Afterward, I’ll answer all the
questions I can.” He looked around the barn. “I wish I could offer
you a chair or some refreshment, but what you see is all we have
for the moment.”
Ray set the lantern on a
wood packing crate near the center of the barn. On the side panels
of the crate were stenciled the words: John
Deere .
Devlin nodded. “What I am about to tell you
is classified. If you reveal or repeat any of this information, you
can be arrested and tried for treason. Is that clear?”
“Yes. We’ve had this discussion before.”
“So we have. So we have.” Devlin took a deep
breath. “Have you ever heard the old saying, ‘Truth is stranger
than fiction’?”
Ray nodded. He didn’t like the way this was
beginning.
“It’s true,” Devlin continued. “It’s more
true than even your fertile mind can imagine.”
The cavern was sixty-eight
degrees. Its temperature never varied
except in rooms and labs with equipment that shed heat. Despite the
relative coolness, Colin was sweating profusely. The exertion of
sliding his feet along the iron waste pipe, and knowing armed
guards were nearby, made him perspire as if he had run a mile in
August. But there were other problems, problems in his head. He
could feel them. They were there, like stray cats scratching at the
door of a house. They wanted in— all the
way in .
“Yea . . . though . . . I walk . . . through
the shadow . . .” he whispered, his words oozing around the small
flash light he held in his mouth. He had a little farther to go. He
had to hold on, hold on to the straps that held the pipe, and hold
on to his sanity. If he could get to the elevator shaft, he could
make his way to the roof of the cab by squeezing between the metal
rails upon which the elevator rode. From there he would have access
to the emergency ladder that hung inside the shaft just to the side
of the cab’s path. It would take every ounce of strength he had,
but he could then climb the ladder to the surface, and make egress
through an escape panel. The escape panel was there for the same
reason the ladder was. The elevator was the only way out of the
subterranean base. If it were to fail or be sabotaged, then base
personnel would need another way out. Only those who worked in the
base and carried the necessary high-level clearance, knew of the
emergency exit. Colin was one such person.
His head hurt, his brain blazed. They
pressed, and pressed and pressed. Tears ran in rivulets down his
face. He bit on the metal flashlight case so hard he thought his
teeth would shatter. Pausing at one of the straps he had to step
around, Colin leaned forward and pressed his head into the thin,
flat metal until he could feel it dig into his skin.
“Yea, though I walk . . . Leave me alone!
Please, please, leave me alone.”
Colin sobbed.
Ray blinked rapidly, as if by doing so he could make sense of what he
had just been told.
“I see you’re astonished,” Devlin said. He
hadn’t moved from his standing position since beginning the
account.
“I’m astonished,” Ray replied. He shook his
head. “I specialize in fiction. I’ve spent most of my life reading
it and writing it, but if I were to put on paper what you just told
me, no editor would publish it.”
“That’s not our goal. Just the opposite in
fact.”
“If I’ve heard you correctly, this Dr. Colin
Rind . . . Rend . . .”
“Rehnquist.”
“This Dr. Colin Rehnquist may have gone
crazy, fled the base and is planning to reveal a story about aliens
. . . extraterrestrials being held at some secret underground base.
Do I have it right?”
“Close. The aliens are
not held at the
base. They are there of their own freewill.”
Ray shook his head again. “You don’t need
me. Who
surrounded by so much dirt and disarray.
“I must admit I’m a little uncomfortable
with all this.”
“I imagine. I have a story to tell you and I
need you to listen to all of it. Afterward, I’ll answer all the
questions I can.” He looked around the barn. “I wish I could offer
you a chair or some refreshment, but what you see is all we have
for the moment.”
Ray set the lantern on a
wood packing crate near the center of the barn. On the side panels
of the crate were stenciled the words: John
Deere .
Devlin nodded. “What I am about to tell you
is classified. If you reveal or repeat any of this information, you
can be arrested and tried for treason. Is that clear?”
“Yes. We’ve had this discussion before.”
“So we have. So we have.” Devlin took a deep
breath. “Have you ever heard the old saying, ‘Truth is stranger
than fiction’?”
Ray nodded. He didn’t like the way this was
beginning.
“It’s true,” Devlin continued. “It’s more
true than even your fertile mind can imagine.”
The cavern was sixty-eight
degrees. Its temperature never varied
except in rooms and labs with equipment that shed heat. Despite the
relative coolness, Colin was sweating profusely. The exertion of
sliding his feet along the iron waste pipe, and knowing armed
guards were nearby, made him perspire as if he had run a mile in
August. But there were other problems, problems in his head. He
could feel them. They were there, like stray cats scratching at the
door of a house. They wanted in— all the
way in .
“Yea . . . though . . . I walk . . . through
the shadow . . .” he whispered, his words oozing around the small
flash light he held in his mouth. He had a little farther to go. He
had to hold on, hold on to the straps that held the pipe, and hold
on to his sanity. If he could get to the elevator shaft, he could
make his way to the roof of the cab by squeezing between the metal
rails upon which the elevator rode. From there he would have access
to the emergency ladder that hung inside the shaft just to the side
of the cab’s path. It would take every ounce of strength he had,
but he could then climb the ladder to the surface, and make egress
through an escape panel. The escape panel was there for the same
reason the ladder was. The elevator was the only way out of the
subterranean base. If it were to fail or be sabotaged, then base
personnel would need another way out. Only those who worked in the
base and carried the necessary high-level clearance, knew of the
emergency exit. Colin was one such person.
His head hurt, his brain blazed. They
pressed, and pressed and pressed. Tears ran in rivulets down his
face. He bit on the metal flashlight case so hard he thought his
teeth would shatter. Pausing at one of the straps he had to step
around, Colin leaned forward and pressed his head into the thin,
flat metal until he could feel it dig into his skin.
“Yea, though I walk . . . Leave me alone!
Please, please, leave me alone.”
Colin sobbed.
Ray blinked rapidly, as if by doing so he could make sense of what he
had just been told.
“I see you’re astonished,” Devlin said. He
hadn’t moved from his standing position since beginning the
account.
“I’m astonished,” Ray replied. He shook his
head. “I specialize in fiction. I’ve spent most of my life reading
it and writing it, but if I were to put on paper what you just told
me, no editor would publish it.”
“That’s not our goal. Just the opposite in
fact.”
“If I’ve heard you correctly, this Dr. Colin
Rind . . . Rend . . .”
“Rehnquist.”
“This Dr. Colin Rehnquist may have gone
crazy, fled the base and is planning to reveal a story about aliens
. . . extraterrestrials being held at some secret underground base.
Do I have it right?”
“Close. The aliens are
not held at the
base. They are there of their own freewill.”
Ray shook his head again. “You don’t need
me. Who
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