Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 106839 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106839 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
This is the safe house. It’s also got a bunker in the basement, which we did take a good look at when we first got here, but it warranted a second look after we found our treasure in the old mine.
Turns out it wasn’t just a bunker. Because with a little sleuthing—and a ground-penetrating radar machine—we found that the tunnels under our property aren’t limited to just the old mine. With a little blasting and some concrete removal, we found an entrance. And I’m not talking some little hole in the wall. I’m talking a hallway with lights and everything. Course, we don’t know how to turn the lights on yet, but it’ll come. This hallway leads to another, which leads to another, and it goes on and on like this until finally, you find yourself standing in the middle of a six-lane highway that spreads out in four directions.
What’s going on in the old mine is a whole other kind of special because we found a room down there. An old room sealed up by a steel door. And inside this room was a panel of old computers as well as it’s own set of doors that lead other places.
Now, the prevailing wisdom is that the invention of the modern-day computer comes with a date that lands somewhere in the middle of the twentieth century. But that’s all lies. That’s just when they started telling people about modern-day computers, because they were invented much, much earlier and this little room of ours is proof. Because while they do look antique compared to what we have today, it only takes one second of operational time to realize they are, in fact, modern. Relatively speaking, of course.
And once Ryan got the power running, they came right to life, flashing all kinds of old-timey code and shit. But Nash, he’s somewhat of a nerd, so he’s been our tech guy for years now and was able to finagle his way into a menu—or what passed as one a hundred years ago. Nevertheless, he found the files inside that computer to be quite interesting. Top secret kind of interesting. In other words, information that should’ve been forgotten about a century back.
There’s so much information, it’s gonna take months to go through it. But there was something very useful that we could use immediately.
A map. A fuckin’ map of every single secret tunnel that the US government ever drilled. Which might be exaggerating things, but only just a touch.
It’s what Collin likes to call ‘comprehensive,’ one of his favorite words. This map shows tunnels under West Virginia. Tunnels under DC. Tunnels under Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey—pretty much tunnels all up and down the eastern seaboard.
All those secret passageways that no one’s supposed to know about and we stumbled into the OG documentation for every single square inch.
What are the odds?
It’s fate, Amon.
There are whole cities down there. And that was a century ago. I can’t even imagine what they’ve got going on now.
Jim Bob enters the church blowing words like notes comin’ out a trumpet. He’s complaining and giving orders as he walks up to us. “Do you know what this is gonna turn in to?” He’s looking at Collin, not me. “We’re gonna be the next Ruby Ridge!”
Collin nods and crosses his arms. “Maybe.”
“We’re gonna be the next goddamned Waco, Texas, and you’re gonna be the charismatic leader they take out with a sniper!”
Collin nods again. “Prolly.”
Jim Bob pulls a handkerchief out of his pocket and starts wiping his sweaty brow. “I dunno, Collin. This might be a tick too far.”
“It might,” Collin agrees. He’s not been looking at him thus far, but those unnatural eyes of his migrate over to meet Jim Bob’s. And I don’t care who you are, it’s unnerving, that stare. Jim Bob is a huge man, but even he juts his chin back a little at the attention. “But Jim Bob, we’ve got no choice. They took a child without permission, and this isn’t the first time they’ve tried this.”
Jim Bob and I both sigh at this, because now we’re picturing Collin killing that Blackberry Hill man twelve years ago.
“It cannot be tolerated.” Collin’s eyes are narrowed as he says these words. “And for what it’s worth, they can’t afford too many eyeballs on this place.”
“But what if we can’t go home?” Jim Bob’s voice is very quiet now. It’s nearly a whisper. “What if you go down there and they got something up their sleeve and we can’t ever go home again, Collin? What if this compound of yours is our prison?”
Collin is unconcerned and it comes out in his tone. “There are probably a thousand miles of tunnels under this country, Jim Bob. And we’ve got ourselves a map. We’re not gettin’ stuck, trust me on that. And if they try to Waco our asses, we’ll just escape out one of our many, many, many backdoors.”