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THE CABIN:
Jamie rolls over and Wesley’s familiar aroma escapes from the pillow. She smiles as she opens her eyes, but it slips away in disappointment when she discovers he’s not lying beside her. She sits up and rolls onto the edge of the bed, seeing 8:00 A.M. on the clock on the nightstand. Time to go.
After a quick stop at the bathroom, she grabs Wesley’s cellphone off the coffee table on her way to the kitchen, then grabs her coat off the chair on her way out of the cabin. She climbs into the Hummer, and a moment later, drives away.
***
RANGER STATION:
Larry’s SUV is at the station when she pulls into the parking lot. She hurries inside and sees him studying the wall map. “Anything from Wesley?”
“Sorry, no.”
Tears form in her eyes at the thought Wesley might be dead, but she fights hard to hold them back. There is still a chance he’s alive and she won’t give up hope until she sees his body. She knows he would want her to continue what they started and try to save the valley. “We should go check that logjam. It was getting close to collapsing yesterday.”
“I’ll have Frank mind the station while we’re gone in case Wesley shows up. We’ll take my truck.” He looks into the office and receives a nod from Frank. “Let’s get started.”
They walk out of the building and climb into the dark green SUV, then drive out of the parking lot.
“Wesley and I found the logjam in the same canyon where he was washed downstream, so he could still be in the area.”
“I doubt it. If he was capable of walking, he would probably continue downstream.”
Larry follows Jamie’s directions and parks his truck at the bottom of the ridge. They hike up to the crest, and Jamie looks down at the logjam. The water is now three-hundred-yards further up the canyon. “It’s getting worse, Larry.”
“Your description didn’t do it justice. I can see why you and Wesley are so worried.”
“Wesley said the old dam will fail when this much water breaks loose. He said we should open the gates and drain the reservoir before that happens.”
“That will flood the river all the way down to Mount Vernon.”
“He thinks it would do less damage than a complete failure. He said the lahar will not follow the river. It will take the original route down the mountain and destroy everything in the valley, starting with the high school.”
“He’s probably right. Okay. I’ll call Frank and let him know what we are about to do so he can warn the authorities downstream.”
Larry grabs the portable radio from the clip on his belt and explains to Frank what needs to be done as he and Jamie walk back down to the truck and drive down the mountain.
When they arrive at the concrete dam, it’s not what they expect to see. They climb out and stare at the torrent of churning water gushing from the overflowing spillway beside the dam.
“This is bad, Jamie. It means the river will be rising already. I’d better check in with Frank.” He calls the station and has to wait a moment before Frank answers.
“I’m here, Larry. What’s going on?”
“The river is already rising here, so it will be reaching the lower areas in a short time. Let them know down river.”
“I take it you got the dam open.”
“Not yet. When we do, it’s going to make an even bigger mess downstream.”
“I’ll call them right now. Over and out.”
Larry walks over to a ten-foot by twenty-foot gray concrete building and unlocks the rust coated steel door. “I don’t think anyone’s been in here for thirty years. I hope it still works.”
Jamie waits outside watching Larry enter the building. She smiles as he brushes the thick layers of spider webs from his head, arms, and chest. She takes a few steps inside and understands what Larry meant about not working.
Sunlight dulled by thick layers of grime on the two windows illuminates a six-foot, cast iron spoke wheel. Remnants of gloss black paint cling to flakes of rust on the floor, and a thick rusted chain is draped around a sprocket on the end of a four-inch iron shaft. The wheel is supported by a heavy cast-iron base with small areas of red paint still clinging to the deteriorating surface.
“When was this thing built, Larry?”
“That plaque outside says 1906. They did a lot of logging in this area back then and needed the water for a trough to float the logs down to the rail cars. I’ve seen pictures of men riding the logs like a roller coaster.”
Jamie suddenly remembers Wesley’s warning about the Cave Ranch. “Crap. I left Wesley’s cellphone in his Hummer. Ask Frank to look up the phone number for the Cave ranch. Wesley said it will flood if we opened the dam, so I need to warn them.”
She holds her phone in one hand and enters the number Frank reads to her over the radio, but no one answers, not even an answering machine. “No one’s home.”
“You mean no one is answering. I know Robert, and this early in the morning he’s working with his horses.”
“My sister goes to high school with his grandson. I’ll call her.”
When she presses the speed dial, she’s told to leave a message. “It’s me, Jessica. When you get this message, find Derek Cave and tell him the ranch will flood soon, and it will be bad. He needs to get his grandfather out of there right away. Call me when you can.”
Larry can tell Jamie is hesitant to open the dam. “We can’t wait just for him, Jamie. Too many other lives are at stake.”
“I know. I just wish there was another way to reach him. Okay, so what do we do? Just turn the wheel?”
“That’s right.” He grabs one side of the heavy wheel and pulls, but it doesn’t move.
Jamie studies the rusted letters around the face. “I can see two arrows, and you’re pulling the correct way for it to open. I’ll push from this side.”
When that doesn’t work, they try rocking it, but the wheel won’t budge. They continue to push and pull in both directions, but it doesn’t make any difference and they finally give up.
Jamie steps back and stares at the chain. “Do you have any grease in your truck?”
“We’d need a gallon of the stuff. We must be doing something wrong.”
“Or it’s just busted. Do you know how this thing works?”
“No, not really.” He hears a click from his portable radio.
“Larry? This is Frank. Come in.”
He grabs it out of the clip. “Yeah, go ahead.”
“I told the Tempest River Valley Sheriff’s Department what will happen and they’ll let everyone know.”
“Thanks.” Larry looks at the iron wheel, then at Jamie. “We might as well go back to the station. Maybe Wesley will show up. I’m sure he knows how to open this thing.”