Tales of the Vuduri_Year Five Read online

  “The map,” Helen said. “The people that sent them to the stars. They buried a can, a canister that holds the disease. The map shows exactly where it’s stored. It’s buried beside a figure eight. You have to stop them. If the Ark Lords get there first, it is the end of everyone.”

  Jack looked at the map. The place where the disease was kept was eight hundred miles to the west, past the Great Lakes.

  “When, Mom?” Jack asked. “When are they going there?”

  “In three weeks,” Helen said, gasping for air. “You have to go now. And you have to stop them.”

  “Three weeks?” Jack said. “Eight hundred miles? Even with our best horses, we might be able to make fifty or sixty miles a day. That’ll take us two weeks or more.”

  “That’s why you have to go now,” she said. “You have to be ready.”

  “I can’t leave you, Mom,” Jack said. “I just found you.”

  His mother sagged. “Jackie, I know this is hard. But I’m not going to make it through the night. I’ve spent years collecting those papers, putting up with their brutality. If you don’t do this, it means it was all for nothing.”

  More tears fell from Jack’s eyes. He bent over and kissed his mother on her blazing hot forehead.

  Helen told the truth. She was dead by the next morning. After a proper burial, Jack steeled himself and assembled his band of fighters. He selected fifty of his best men and the best horses. They packed supplies for the long trek west. Along with their primitive weapons, they packed their last two functioning laser rifles that they had managed to capture from the Ark Lords they had killed. To maximize their horses’ endurance, they traveled at night, starting out as the sun was setting, always guiding them west. When the sun came up in the morning, they let the horses rest.

  They made good time. The band of freedom fighters rounded the tip of Lake Michigan in only twelve days. From there, they headed northwest. Warily, they traveled the final fifty miles during the day. They finally reached the destination indicated on the map that was given to Jack by his mother. Ahead of them lay buildings in various stages of decay. One, however, stood almost 20 stories tall. It was built out of concrete and still looked sturdy, even though most of the windows were blown out.

  Helen did not die in vain. Her information was crucial to Jack's success. Of course, now we know that the Ark Lords were headed to Batavia, IL, the home of Wilson Hall and the Tevatron.

  Entry 5-005: January 5, 2017

  Discovering Their Armory

  Every guerilla conflict starts out the same way. You have two forces, the invaders, heavily armed with superior weapons and manpower and the rebels, outgunned, forced to hide in the woods and make lightning strikes with surprise being their only weapon. However, over time, as the guerilla forces capture the enemy's own weapons, eventually the forces become balanced out and ultimately, the rebels drive the spasmed occupying force out because the rebels are fighting for their homeland and the invaders are simply there fighting for a paycheck. This is the pattern that was followed by Jack Henry's ragtag army.

  What they stumbled across within the bowels of the Tevatron changed the course of the entire war. They found a weapons store hidden within a hollowed out gas cylinder deep underground. This is what it looked like:

  Over the next few days, I'll play out its discovery for you. Some of the parts are even a little bit funny. You'll see.

  Entry 5-006: January 6, 2017

  The Armory 1 of 7

  Yesterday, I showed you a picture of what the Erklirte armory looked like. It was buried deep underground, underneath the Tevatron. Here is the "true" story of the freedom fighters that stumbled across this weapons cache and how it was able to turn the course of the revolution against the Ark Lords:

  Illuminated by the burning torches, the interior of the building appeared somewhat eerie. Jack could see in its day that it must have been rather elegant. However, that was before the Great Dying. Now it was just dirty, dusty and disheveled. They found a stairwell and followed it down two flights until they came to a sub-basement.

  The hallway was cylindrical, nearly 30 feet in diameter. The only flat part was the concrete floor. It stretched in both directions. Jack checked his drawing and pointed to his right.

  “That way,” he said. The group followed him forward. In some places, the ceiling was rounded. In other places it was flat. All around them lay metal boxes with dials, knobs, wires and thick cables. There were many places where huge columns made of a shiny material began at the floor and poked up through the ceiling. Nothing here made any sense. Jack didn’t want to take the time to study the artifacts. Minutes passed as the group slowly advanced. They soon came to a juncture with the hallway splitting off into three narrower tunnels.

  “Which way?” Red asked.

  “That way,” Jack said, pointing to his left. “It’s at the end of that hallway.”

  They entered the tunnel which was perhaps twenty feet in diameter. Jack looked up and noted there were red and blue boxes, not made of metal, but some other material, lining the walls. They passed more cabinets, tubes and other kinds of strange machinery. Looming ahead of them, on the left, was a giant white cylinder with rounded ends. It was lying on its side, propped up on stilts. There was a small set of steps leading up to a door mounted on the side of the tank. Sticking out from the center of the door was a large metal ring.

  “What’s that?” Red asked, pointing to the tank on stilts.

  Jack walked up and held his torch close the writing on the side. Suddenly, he shouted, “Everybody get back! Quick.”

  The men obeyed and hurried away from the imposing structure.

  “What is it, Jack?” Red asked.

  Jack pointed the writing on the side. “Look,” he said, holding his torch up high. “It says, ‘Danger. Propane. No smoking or open flame’.”

  Red handed his torch to Jack and walked up the steps. “No danger,” he shouted back. “The door says break seal here after opening. It’s meant to be opened. They just reused this cylinder. I don’t know for what, though.”

  Jack set one torch on the ground and used the other to match the markings on his drawing to what he was seeing. Suddenly, his eyes grew wide.

  “Aha!” he shouted.

  “What?” Red asked.

  “It’s an armory!” Jack said excitedly. “You were right, Red. Guys, quick,” he said. “Open ‘er up.”

  Tomorrow, the Pandora’s Box is opened and Jack Henry's men are delighted with what they find.

  Entry 5-007: January 7, 2017

  The Armory 2 of 7

  The discovery of the Ark Lord’s armory deep beneath the Tevatron would eventually change the course of the entire war against the Erklirte. When the time came to attack, they'd be hit by their own weapons, something they'd never expect. This is how Jack Henry's ragtag army discovered the secret weapons cache and how they deduced the operation of the arms that they found there:

  Two men mounted the steps next to Red. It was quite a struggle to turn the wheel. After it would go no more, they pulled and pulled but they couldn’t open the large circular door.

  “Let me,” Red said. He pushed on the lever mounted next to the door and suddenly there was a hissing sound as air rushed into the chamber. Once the sound stopped, the heavy door opened easily although it was accompanied by the squeaks and groans of age.

  Panels mounted to the ceiling switched on, illuminating the chamber with a soft white light.

  “Look at that!” Red said pointing at the overhead lights. “What makes them light up?”

  The men who opened the door craned their necks to catch a glimpse of what Red was talking about. The rest of the men started inching forward.

  “Everybody stays back,” Jack commanded. “Let me and Red take a look first.” He set the other torch on the ground and mounted the steps. Together, the two men entered the chamber.

  Jack stared up at the lights for a minute. “I’m guessing those are skylights,” he said. “
Maybe there is a valve or shutter connected to the door.”

  The two men looked around the room. There were cabinets and shelves filled with crates and boxes and other paraphernalia. Many of the walls had racks attached with a bewildering number of devices hanging from hooks or resting on pegs. Surprisingly, there was very little dust on any of the surfaces.

  “There’s a sign here that says ‘Flashlights,’” Red said, pointing straight ahead. He pulled down one of the devices from the shelf. The object was a metallic tube with a flared end, capped off with a piece of glass. Red shook it up and down, then clicked a switch on its side several times.

  “I’m assuming this is some sort of portable light,” Red said, “since it’s called a flashlight. But I can’t figure out how to activate it.”

  Red set the tube down on the bench. Jack came over to where he was standing.

  “After all this time, they probably don’t work,” Jack said. “On the other hand, whatever makes the overhead lights go on, maybe the same thing applies.” He inspected the wall and shelving beneath it. One box was labeled Thorium Batteries. Jack bent over and pulled out the heavy box and placed it on the bench. He opened the carton and found it filled with little round canisters sealed in a thin, transparent wrap. He reached in and picked one out, unwrapping it. It was remarkably heavy for being so small. Jack stared at the flashlight, sitting on the bench.

  “I bet you I know how these work,” he said. He picked the flashlight up and after a quick examination, he unscrewed the narrow end. Once it was opened up, Jack could see that the inside was hollow. He inserted the small canister into the tube, tip-side down. It was a perfect fit. Seeing that there was room for more, he inserted two more canisters, also tip-side down. He screwed the end cap back on and suddenly, the flashlight lit up.

  Thorium batteries. Wouldn't they be neat? I wonder if they'd let you carry them on an airplane. Probably not. Tomorrow, the rebels discover some serious weapons.

  Entry 5-008: January 8, 2017

  The Armory 3 of 7

  The discovery of the Ark Lord’s armory deep beneath the Tevatron would eventually change the course of the entire war against the Erklirte. When the time came to attack, they'd be hit by their own weapons, something they'd never expect. This is how Jack Henry's ragtag army discovered the secret weapons cache and how they deduced the operation of the arms that they found there:

  “Wow!” Red said. “Torches with no flame. Amazing!” Jack’s lieutenant reached up and grabbed another one of the flashlights and quickly got it working as well.

  “These will come in real handy down here. We won’t need our torches at all.”

  “Yeah,” Jack replied. “That must be how the ceiling lights up. Let’s see what else they have in here.”

  Jack turned to his right and saw the far wall was a giant pegboard with a hundred or more identical items mounted there. He walked over to it and shined his flashlight on the placard mounted at the top. It read ‘M4 Carbines: Semi-automatic Rifles’.

  “These look too much like Ark Lords’ light sticks not to be weapons,” he called back to Red. He reached up and removed one of the rifles from the wall. Turning it carefully in his hands, he inspected the barrel, the stock and its underside. Mounted on the top was a compact telescope, very similar to his mother’s spyglass.

  “It has a trigger,” he said, pointing to a stud on the underside of the gun. “But what does it fire?” Jack pointed to the rectangular hole on the underside. “See if you can find something that fits in this space.”

  Red shined his flashlight around the room. On the near wall, to Jack’s right, was a workbench with shelving underneath. Red walked over to it, stooped down and shined his flashlight beam into the shadows. The shelf under the workbench was filled with cartons labeled ‘Clips’. Red removed one and set the box on the bench. He opened the carton and pulled out one of the slightly curved metal cases. He held it up and saw one end was open. The clip itself was tightly filled with small cylindrical objects. He handed the clip to Jack.

  “See if that fits,” Red said.

  It only took Jack a few seconds to figure out where to insert the clip. As soon as he locked it in place, he heard a clicking sound as one of the small cylinders entered the upper chamber. He placed the rifle stock on his shoulder, closed one eye and peered through the scope. He had a sudden inspiration. He walked over to the doorway.

  “Everybody clear away,” he yelled. When he was satisfied that no one was in the line of fire, he aimed the gun out the door at one of the metal cabinets on the far side and tried squeezing the trigger. Nothing happened.

  Jack pulled the rifle back to inspect it more carefully and noted a small lever pointing to the word ‘Safe’. He rotated it so that it pointed to the word ‘Fire’. Once again, he peered through the eyepiece, aimed it across the tunnel and squeezed the trigger. This time, a loud bang emitted from the rifle. The recoil pushed his shoulder back slightly. He squeezed the trigger two more times in rapid succession then lowered the rifle.

  Did you feel it? The balance of power between the rebels and the Ark Lords has just shifted. Tomorrow, they start to load up the weapons.

  Entry 5-009: January 9, 2017

  The Armory 4 of 7

  The discovery of the Ark Lord’s armory deep beneath the Tevatron would eventually change the course of the entire war against the Erklirte. When the time came to attack, they'd be hit by their own weapons, something they'd never expect. This is how Jack Henry's ragtag army discovered the secret weapons cache and how they deduced the operation of the arms that they found there:

  Jack and Red looked at each other, grinning like fools. Jack re-engaged the safety then gently set the rifle down. The two men hurried out of the armory, down the steps and across the corridor. Red whistled at the size of the holes the rifle had made. He aimed his flashlight through one of them and saw that the projectile had traveled clean through to the concrete wall on the far side.

  “That is one hell of a weapon,” Red said, beaming.

  Jack’s smile disappeared and his expression became dour. He stood there silently, staring at the holes he had made.

  “What?” Red asked. “Don’t you think this is amazing? These fire sticks or whatever they’re called will give us the edge we need.”

  Jack said nothing.

  “Come on, Jack, what are you thinking?” Red asked.

  Jack shined his flashlight on the hole then on Red’s face. “It is a very powerful weapon,” Jack said. “But it’s forbidden technology. If we use it, doesn’t it make us as bad as they are? As bad as the ones who caused the Great Dying?”

  “We already use the light stick weapons that we capture. What’s the difference?”

  “The difference is they run out. They just make holes. These things? These fire sticks are beyond anything we have ever seen. They are evil incarnate.”

  “I’ll make it easy on you,” Red said. “Do you plan on ever using one of these against our own people?”

  “Of course not,” Jack said. “Only the Ark Lords.”

  “And after we defeat them, and we will,” Red said, “do you plan on keeping them?”

  “Why would I?” Jack asked. “They are nothing but death.”

  “Then there’s your answer. We use their own weapons against them. It’s only fitting. They provided them. After we defeat them, we’ll destroy all of the things we found here.”

  Jack thought about it for a minute. “You’re right, of course,” Jack said. “Louis, Sam, come with us,” he called out. “Leave your torches outside.”

  Jack and Red went back up into the armory.

  “Louis, you can use these flashlights,” Jack said, waving it around. “Red will teach you how to work them. Then I want you and the men take as many of these weapons and clips as you can carry topside. Take some of the boxes labeled Ammo, too. I don’t know what they are for but I’m assuming they’re related to the fire sticks. When you’re done, come back down.”

  Tomo
rrow, bayonets and Berettas. Pretty cool, huh?

  Entry 5-010: January 10, 2017

  The Armory 5 of 7

  The discovery of the Ark Lord’s armory deep beneath the Tevatron would eventually change the course of the entire war against the Erklirte. When the time came to attack, they'd be hit by their own weapons, something they'd never expect. This is how Jack Henry's ragtag army discovered the secret weapons cache and how they deduced the operation of the arms that they found there:

  Louis looked at the sheer number of rifles and cartons and said, “Hold on a sec.”

  He hurried down the steps then dashed up the corridor, only to return with a wheeled cart. Jack and Red stood aside as the men carried armloads of weapons and ammunition from the armory to the corridor, piling them high onto the cart.

  While they were busy doing that, Red wandered along the far wall, calling out what he saw. “The sign says Bayonets but they’re more like knives,” he said. “Radios, batteries.” He stepped to his left. “Here are some hunting knives.” He came to the end of the left side of the room. There were boxes and boxes stacked there.

  “Water, canned goods, food,” he said. “Jack, do we need any of this stuff?”

  Jack came over to join him and inspected the stores. “I don’t think so,” he said, finally.