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9:48 P.M. MONTANA STATE COLLEGE:
Marcia looks up from the electron microscope monitor. “This is incredible. As near as I can tell, these particles from the ampule are a form of microorganism, but unlike anything I’ve ever seen.”
“Could they be some type of enzyme?” Christa asks. “Similar to what I helped develop for the oil companies to consume raw crude oil?”
“Nothing I’m familiar with, but it’s an interesting observation. What if these organisms consume the crude oil and become a crystal like the one you found in the tanker?”
“Only one way to find out,” says Christa.
“I agree,” Marcia, tells her. “The problem is, I don’t have any crude oil to experiment with.”
Christa turns to Alex. “I’ll take the ampoule to my facility in Valdez. I’m sure Bull can bring me some crude from one of the facilities on the Kenai Peninsula.”
Alex notices how red Christa’s eyes are. “All right. You all look exhausted, so why don’t we get some sleep. We’ll make arrangements in the morning.”
Both women nod agreement, and Marcia places the ampoule in a padded container and hands it to Christa.
David looks up at Alex. “I’m too excited to sleep. There’s an experiment I want to try, so I’ll stay a while longer.”
“We’ll be back in the morning.”
The three of them leave the building, and Marcia climbs into her old blue Cadillac while Alex and Christa climb into his Blazer and head to his ranch.
***
Barney is standing on the porch, and when he sees Alex, he leaps down the steps and lopes along the sidewalk, his tail wagging furiously.
“Hello, Barney,” Alex says as he kneels beside the huge animal and wraps his arms around the dog’s thick neck.
When Barney lays his head over Alex’s shoulder, Christa swears the dog is smiling, and does the same.
After a few moments, Alex stands and grabs his bag from the back seat and leads Christa up the sidewalk into the house. “I’m going to take a shower. Make yourself at home.” Alex tells her as he walks down the hall to his bedroom.
Christa opens a bottle of wine and pours a glass, walks to the large window above the sink to look at the view, and wonders what happened on the tanker. She thought she might not see him again. At least, alive anyway.
She turns from the window when she hears footsteps moving in her direction, then Alex walks into the living room and sits at the counter. She smiles and lowers herself onto a stool across from him and they sit in silence for a few moments while sipping the wine.
Christa’s curiosity becomes aroused. “I met Judy yesterday. She helped me settle in. She seems like a nice girl.”
Alex smiles. “Yes, she is. A little rough around the edges, but she’s a big help around here.”
“She gave me the impression you two are. Well, I mean.”
“A couple?” Alex shakes his head no. “I’ve taken her to dinner a few times for taking care of Barney for me, but there’s nothing serious between us, if that’s what you want to know.”
Christa feels both relieved and upset at the same time. Relieved by what Alex just said and upset with herself for being so obvious.
When the wine is gone, Alex stands. “Well, I think we both could use some sleep.”
Christa follows Alex down the hallway. When they reach the bedroom doors, he stops and turns to her. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
As he starts to turn, Christa suddenly grabs his neck and pulls down with gentle pressure until he bends over slightly. She stands on her tiptoes and kisses him gently on the lips. She feels his arms slowly wrap around her back, but he suddenly stops and gently pushes her away. She looks at him curiously. “What’s wrong?”
Alex sighs and looks at different parts of the wall as he tries to figure out how to tell her what he feels. Suddenly, the door chimes sound, interrupting his thoughts. The chimes sound again, then again. He turns and heads to the door, and Christa follows.
The door suddenly opens and Judy steps in. “You’re back!” she says and puts her arms out to hug him. She sees Christa standing behind him and gives Alex a passionate kiss. Alex doesn’t respond, but she doesn’t care. She wants Christa to see he is hers.
It’s all Christa can do not to show the seething jealousy she feels. When Judy stops kissing Alex and looks at her with a smug grin, she forces a smile.
Alex notices the women exchange glances. “What brings you by this late at night?” he asks, trying to ease the situation.
Judy turns to him. “I didn’t know you were back, and I came over to see if Christa saw the news tonight.”
Alex and Christa exchange uneasy glances, both wondering what happened since they left the College, and Alex answers. “We haven’t. What’s going on?”
“Some of the oil wells are going dry.”
“Where?”
“California, Texas, and Oklahoma. Do you know what’s going on?”
“It’s very complicated.” Alex grabs the remote control for the television and switches stations to the headline news broadcast, and they all listen to the female announcer:
‘We have reports some the offshore oil wells have suddenly gone dry with no explanation how or why. Our correspondents in the Middle East report OPEC has called a special meeting and are in contact with our representatives at the White House, but there is no official word yet why. Reliable sources say there is a similar crisis with the OPEC oil wells.’
The phone rings and Alex grabs it. “Martin?” he asks.
“No, it’s Bull. Have you heard?”
“I just found out. What about the oil wells up there?”
“Not yet.”
“Let me talk to him,” Christa interrupts.
“I’ll call you after I’ve talked to Martin,” Alex tells him. “Hang on a second.”
Christa grabs the phone. “Bull, it’s Christa. Do you have any crude left at all?”
“Yes. As a precaution, I have ten barrels hidden away where no one can get to them.”
“Put them under heavy guard and get them to my laboratory in Valdez. It’s very important that I have a supply of crude when I arrive.”
Bull hears the desperation in her voice. “Okay. It’ll take a full day, by the time I round up some guards and get them loaded onto trucks. How soon will you be here?”
“I’m not sure. I’ll have to catch a flight from here, but Alex says the schedules are erratic.”
“Okay. I’ll be waiting.”
Christa hangs up and looks at Alex. “Now the problem is getting to Valdez.”
Judy puts her hands on her hips and stares at Alex and Christa. “Will somebody tell me what the hell’s going on?”
Alex reaches over and takes her hand. “I need a big favor. Do you still have your airplane? Your Cessna?”
“Yes. It’s at the airport waiting for an annual tune up.”
“Could you fly Christa to Valdez for me?”
“That’s a long way, Alex. I’m not sure if I have the range. I can’t do anything until I talk to the mechanic in the morning.”
Alex stands, hurries to his den, and returns with an atlas and ruler. He opens the atlas to the North American continent, and using the scale at the top of the page, he moves the ruler to measure the distance. “Nearly fifteen-hundred miles.”
Judy shakes her head no. “Too far. I’ll have to stop somewhere along the way.”
Alex studies the map for a moment, gently tapping the ruler against the counter. He abruptly stops and points at Washington State. “The Naval Air Station on Whidbey Island. I remember hearing they have a flying club. I’ll make arrangements for you to land there and refuel.”
Judy stares at him for a moment. “Not until you tell me what’s going on.”
Alex sighs and is about to explain when the phone rings again. He snatches it up and sees Martin’s image. “How bad is it?”
“It’s turning into a nightmare, Alex. Everyone’s running scared because no one knows how or why this is happening, except us.”
“We’re onto something here. I’m trying to get Christa back to Valdez to make sure, but we suspect the ampoule contains some type of enzyme that turns the crude oil into the crystals.”
“Pickowski said there were thousands of those ampoules passed out!”
“Exactly.”
“Is there a way to reverse what’s happening?”
“We won’t know until Christa can experiment with some crude oil and the enzymes. There is still some crude in Alaska. My friend from All Alaska is going to get it from Cook Inlet to Valdez.” Alex hears a beep on the phone, indicating he has a call waiting, but ignores it temporarily. “Also, we need arrangements for a private plane to refuel at the Navy base on Whidbey Island in Washington State.”
“No problem.”
“Thanks, Martin. Any word of Menno Simons?”
“He was seen in northern Utah, and then he crossed into Idaho. We lost him near a town called Orofino. We’re still searching.”
“All right, I’ll call you later.” Alex presses the clear button to retrieve the next caller. “Hello?”
“Alex, its Marcia. I’ve been listening to the news. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“No, we’ve had a change of plans. We just finished arranging for Christa to fly to Valdez, Alaska. I’ll be taking her and Judy to the airport in the morning.”
“Okay. Stop by the College on the way. I’ll give her the computer disks with all our information. She’ll need it for her experiments.”
“All right, we’ll meet you there.” Alex hangs up and looks at the women. “Okay. Let’s try to get some sleep.”
As Christa and Alex start walking down the hall, Judy grabs his arm. “I need to talk to you for a minute.”
Christa stops and turns to listen.
Judy smirks at the little woman. “In private.”
Christa doesn’t like leaving Judy alone with Alex, but has no choice. “All right. I’ll see you in the morning.” She walks into her bedroom, closing the door.
Alex looks at Judy. “What is it?”
“Where am I supposed to sleep?”
“I thought you were going home.” He indicates the couch. “I’ll get you some blankets.”
Judy smirks at him. “Not if you want me to fly that woman to Alaska.”
“What?”
“I’m sleeping with you, or no deal.”
“Judy, I can’t do that. Not now.”
Judy folds her arms across her chest and looks him in the eyes. “That’s the deal.”
“That’s blackmail.” Alex says coldly.
Judy shrugs. “Call it what you will.”
Alex glances down the hall, then looks at Judy. “All right.”
Judy smiles, grabs his arm, and leads him down the hall.
Christa lay in bed, listening. She hears the door to Alex’s bedroom close and is about to fall asleep when she hears Judy’s voice. Tears slide down her cheeks, and she rolls over and buries her face in the pillow to muffle her sobs.
***
In the morning, Christa is the first one up, unable to sleep much during the night. She puts on some coffee and sits at the counter, thinking, then the door to Alex’s room opens and Judy steps out.
Judy walks down the hall and smiles at Christa. “Sleep well?”
Christa ignores her tone and forces a smile. “Just fine.”
Alex steps into the hall, and when he looks at Christa, feels a deep sense of remorse. How can I explain this to her? His heart races when she looks at him for a second, then turns away. He sees her bags on the floor by the door and tries to think of something to say to her, but cannot think of anything appropriate. “We’d better get going.”
The trio doesn’t speak on the way, and when they arrive at the College, they find the laboratory deserted. A quick search discovers David asleep in the faculty lounge.
Alex gently shakes his shoulder and David opens his eyes. “Have you seen Marcia?”
“Yeah,” he says and rubs one eye with the back of his fist. “She woke me a while ago. Said to tell you she’ll be right back.” David closes his eyes and rolls onto his side. “Electricity,” he mumbles.
“What was that?” Alex asks.
“The crystal. It reacts to electricity,” he mumbles, and falls back asleep.
They walk back to the laboratory and Christa grabs the crystal off the counter, shoves it into one of her coat pockets, then places the box with the small ampoule into the other. The computer disks are lying there, and she tucks them into her purse.
A few moments later, they meet Marcia in the hallway. “I’m all set,” she tells them and smiles.
Alex stares at her. “All set for what?”
“I’m going with Christa to Valdez. They can do without me here for a while, and I’d like to help with the experiments. I put my bag in the back of your Blazer.”
“All right, let’s go.”
On the way to the parking lot, Alex introduces Marcia to Judy, and explains the situation and travel plans. The highway is nearly deserted, as well as the airport. Judy shows her private access pass to a guard at the gate and they drive through. They stop by the flight office to file a flight plan, and Alex follows Judy inside.
They find one person on duty, and Judy recognizes the FAA employee, Bob Fisher. “Where is everyone?” She asks.
Fisher remains seated behind the desk and shrugs. “The airport’s shut down so everyone went home.”
“Will I be able to take off?”
Fisher chuckles. “Sure, Judy, if you already have fuel. There isn’t an airport within a thousand miles that will give you any. Haven’t you heard? The government put a restriction on the sale of any kind of fuel. Hell, you can’t hardly buy gasoline anymore.”
“Is there anyone manning the control tower?” Judy asks.
“Nope.”
Judy files her flight plan, using Alex as a contact, and they return to the Blazer and drive to the hangars. Alex recognizes Judy’s Cessna and stops beside it.
As Alex helps Christa and Marcia into the airplane, a mechanic walks over from outside the hangar and stops to talk with Judy. Alex hears them arguing, and sees the mechanic wave his arms for a second before turning and walking away, then Judy comes back to the airplane.
“What was that all about?” Alex asks.
“He tried to ground me. He said my plane didn’t have the mandatory one-hundred hour tune-up and certification.” Judy shrugs. “It was running fine two weeks ago.”
A knot forms in Alex’s stomach as Judy enters the airplane. He closes the door behind her and steps back as the engines spin to life. After a few moments, Judy waves as the Cessna rolls forward to the taxiway. Alex stands next to his Blazer and watches the Cessna gain speed down the runway, then it climbs into the air. He gets into his car and heads back to the College.
***
IDAHO:
Marcia and Christa sit Cessna, talking about the what experiments to perform with the powder. Both abruptly stop when they hear one of the engines sputter. They sit in silence for a few moments, but the noise smooths out and they continue talking about what to do when they reach Valdez. Fifteen minutes later, they hear an engine sputter again, smooth out, then sputter erratically. Both women stand and move up behind Judy, who flips a switch on the console.
“What’s wrong?” Christa asks.
Judy doesn’t reply and keeps glancing out the left window at the engine. A thin streak of brown oil is blowing over the engine cowling. “Shit!” she swears and flips the switch to shut down the engine.
Marcia and Christa look at each other, seeing their fear reflected on each other’s faces.
“I’ll have to turn back!” Judy shouts over her shoulder. “Don’t worry. We can make it on one engine.”
Judy gets through to Fisher on the radio and informs him she is returning, but as she banks the plane, the right engine sputters for a few moments before smoothing out.
Judy looks over her shoulder at the worried expressions of her passengers. “Better sit down and fasten your seat belts,” she tells them in a tense voice. “It might be a rough ride back.”
Marcia and Christa return to their seats, their adrenaline level rising with their sense of foreboding and fear. They fasten their seat belts and nervously glance at each other, the right engine, and the back of Judy’s head.
The right engine sputters, and the women feel their stomachs rise as the plane loses altitude. Christa sees the terror-stricken look on Marcia’s face and reaches over to give a reassuring squeeze to Marcia’s hand, but knows she probably has the same look herself. She tries to smile reassuringly, but can’t maintain it as the plane continues to drop.
The engine sputters while Judy stares through the forward and side windows, desperately looking for a clear area to land, but seeing only the tops of trees. There is some sort of clearing about three miles ahead and to the left, but she can’t tell how large it is. A glance at the falling altimeter tells her she doesn’t have much choice, and she banks to the left and lines up on the clearing.
The treetops seem to be rising up, as if to grab the fragile plane. Judy watches the clearing draw near and realizes it isn’t nearly large enough to land in, but she’s committed and has no other option. The thought of her passengers flashes through her mind as she concentrates on controlling the airplane. “I’m sorry,” she mumbles.
They are within one-hundred-feet of the small clearing when they feel a thump from a tree top against the bottom of the airplane, followed by several more thumps in rapid succession. At the last possible second, Judy lowers the landing gear and slides the throttle back as she pulls on the steering yoke. The airplane seems to drop from beneath them as they clear the trees, and everyone is forced against their seatbelts when the wheels pound into the ground.
The right wheel collapses under the wing, tossing everyone violently against the restraints. The wing digs into the ground, throwing the airplane into a flat spin. As the tail swings around, the left wheel collapses and the nose wheel acts like a rudder, causing the plane to slide tail first.
The momentum keeps the airplane bouncing backward, its belly sliding across the field. When the tail section reaches the trees on the opposite side, it miraculously slides between two massive trunks.
Everyone is suddenly hurled violently back into their seats as the wings are torn from the plane in a screech of tortured metal, before the plane slides to a stop among the trees.
Several minutes pass before anyone moves. The speed and intensity of the event leaves everyone in stunned shock.
Christa hears a moan beside her and turns to look at Marcia. The window beside Marcia’s head is shattered, and a small trickle of blood runs down her cheek and drips off the end of her chin. Christa looks forward and sees Judy’s head slumped over the steering yoke.
She fumbles to unlatch her seat belt, and using the seats for support, Christa moves across to Marcia and grabs her shoulder. “Marcia? Can you hear me?” Marcia’s eyes look dazed as she slowly opens them. “Marcia, it’s me, Christa. How bad are you hurt?”
Marcia slowly comes out of her foggy dream and sees someone leaning over her. The features are indistinct for a moment, then become more focused, and she recognizes Christa. “Umm,” she moans and reaches up to the side of her head. “Ah!” she winces and brings her hand back down.
“You have a nasty cut on your head,” Christa tells her. “Do you hurt anywhere else?”
“Ah, I don’t think so. Just my head.”
“All right, now just sit still while I check on Judy.”
Christa turns and grabs the back of the forward seats for support as she staggers up the aisle. She kneels next to Judy and looks her over carefully. The only apparent injury is a large red welt on her forehead, near the hairline. Christa grips Judy’s right wrist and feels a strong pulse.
“Judy? Can you hear me?” Judy doesn’t reply and Christa shakes her shoulder. “Judy! Wake up!” she shouts, but Judy doesn’t stir.
Christa tries to gather her thoughts. “First aid,” she says to herself. “There should be a first aid kit around here somewhere.” She looks all around the walls of the interior, but doesn’t see it. “Damn,” she mumbles, then a thought occurs to her, she kneels on the floor, and looks under the seats. “Yes!” she shouts elatedly and reaches under to release the latches holding the first aid kit.
She pulls it out, carries it back down the aisle, and sits next to Marcia. “How are you doing?”
“I’m fine. My head hurts, but otherwise, I think I’m okay.”
Christa grabs a few gauze pads. “Okay. I need to wipe away the blood for a better look.” Marcia winces in pain, but doesn’t utter a word. “It’s not real bad, and it looks like the bleeding has stopped.” She places a dry pad over the wound.
When Christa is through, Marcia holds it in place and looks at Judy. “How is she?”
“I think she was knocked out. She doesn’t respond and has a bad bruise on her forehead. As soon as you’re up to it, we’ll get her out of the plane.”
“Fire,” says Marcia.
It takes a moment for the word to register. “What?”
“We have to get Judy out first. There could be a fire.”
Fear suddenly courses through her body, and Christa spins her head around, quickly looking through all the windows. “Not yet,” she manages to say, though her adrenaline level continues to rise. “I’ll get her out. You stay here and rest a moment.”
Christa hurries forward and releases Judy’s seat belts, grabbing her across the chest as she topples forward. She doesn’t have time to consider how hard it might be for a woman her size to drag a limp body from the plane. Her only thought is to get Judy out. Christa wraps her arms under Judy’s shoulders and pulls her from behind the steering yoke. Grunting with the effort, she drags her down the walkway. She gently lays Judy on the floor and tries to open the door of the plane, but it’s jammed.
She puts her shoulder against the door, shoving with all her weight, but it won’t budge. “Open, damn it!” she yells, grunting with pain each time her shoulder bounces off the unyielding metal.
She turns around, puts her back against a seat opposite the door, and kicks the metal with her foot, but the door holds fast. She brings both knees up against her chest. “AHHHHH,” she growls and puts every ounce of strength into her thrust. With a screech of grinding metal, the door bursts open.
Christa takes a few seconds to catch her breath, then grabs Judy under the arms and drags her to the opening. She jumps out and drags her through the doorway. Judy’s feet drop to the ground with a thud, and Christa thinks she hears Judy groan. She gently lays her down on the ground and climbs back into the airplane.
Marcia is already climbing out of her seat. “I’m okay. You’d better get Judy farther away from the plane.”
“You sure you can manage?”
“Yes. Just hurry.”
Christa looks around for a moment. The plane has stopped about one-hundred-feet into the trees at the edge of a small, grassy clearing. When she sees the ground littered with broken branches and toppled trees, she realizes she’ll have to carry Judy over the mess to the clearing. She remembers watching a documentary on firefighters rescuing victims. She straddles Judy’s legs, grabs her wrists, and pulls. Judy’s limp body bends in half at the waist, and Christa has to waddle back a few feet. She pulls on Judy’s wrists again, but only gets Judy’s butt a few inches off the ground before letting her plop back down.
“Damn!” Christa swears in frustration while taking a few deep breaths. “I can do it! I can do it!” she growls and grips Judy’s wrists as tight as she can. She pulls with all her might, leaning back for leverage, and Judy’s body slowly rises. Christa bends down to catch her, and staggers backward as Judy’s weight falls onto her shoulder. Grunting with the effort, Christa heads towards the clearing, barely keeping Judy balanced as she staggers over branches and tree trunks.
As Marcia moves toward the exit, she suddenly feels lightheaded. She clings to the chair backs for support as everything around her is spinning. She waits several moments before the sensation stops and takes two faltering steps forward. The dizziness returns full force, and she feels as though she’s looking down a long dark tunnel, the darkness closing in around her. She feels herself falling forward, but is helpless to stop it, then the dark tunnel collapses as she topples forward in front of the doorway.
Christa staggers into the clearing, her breath coming in deep gasps. She desperately wants Judy’s weight off her, but keeps going for what feels like hundreds of yards until she reaches the trees on the far side. She manages to get a few yards into the woods, then her legs give out and she and Judy tumble to the ground.
Christa lays there for several minutes, pinned to the ground from the waist up by Judy’s body. Her breath comes in ragged gasps, struggling to draw air into her lungs because of the weight, but she’s too exhausted to shove Judy off her chest.
Christa isn’t sure how long she lay there before she hears Judy moan. Judy’s face is turned toward her, and Christa watches Judy’s eyes slowly open. She looks dazed for a few moments and blinks several times.
Judy’s eyes slowly clear and she recognizes the face beneath her. “Christa? What are you doing down there?” Judy tries to push herself up, but her arms collapse. With Christa’s help, she manages to roll to the side. “What happened?”
“Shush!” Christa demands when she hears a man’s voice yelling orders. She turns her head toward the wrecked plane, and sees a dozen men running through the trees, pointing rifles at the fuselage. The man’s voice is clear and demanding, even across the clearing. Christa suddenly remembers Marcia. She starts to stand until she hears what the man yells next.
“Hold your fire!” the man’s voice barks. “I want prisoners!”
Not knowing what to do, but filled with a sense of dread, Christa stays down, placing a hand on Judy as a signal to do the same.