Them-2 - Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen – Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA

“Oh my God!” Tappy exclaimed, as the dark canvas tarp was pulled from the dead carcass of the giant ant. “It’s beautiful!”
Kayle glanced sideways at Huck. She could not understand how something so ugly and terrifying could be beautiful. Not only that, it smelled to high heaven.
The dead creature was hauled from the woods and loaded onto the back of a pickup truck. A heavy tarp was thrown over the monster so the sight of it would not frighten the local residents as it was transported through town to Tappy’s lab.
“Solenopsis invicta,” Tappy muttered. She walked around and around the dead creature pointing out different parts and muttering to herself. She was completely engrossed. Doctor Gallagher joined her and they continued their inspection with ooh’s and aahs’ as they pointed to different body parts and discussed them in scientific gibberish. The two scientists were practically salivating over their finds.
“Excuse me.” Huck cut into their conversation. “I know this may be the discovery of the century for you, but, we need to know if more of these creatures are still out there?”
Tappy looked at him as if he was an unruly student then glanced at Eoin. “But of course,” she replied. “This is a princess. It may be one of hundreds, possibly thousands by now.”
An alarm went off in Huck’s head. Thousands? There were thousands of these things out there in the wild? “Do you know what you just said?” he asked.
Tappy returned his stare with blank curiosity.
“Do you know what it took to kill this beast?” Huck continued. “Four people have already died, possibly more.”
“You’re right,” Tappy blinked. “The original queen, or possibly queens, are still out there and they are steadily producing more workers and foragers and sentries. This princess may be one of hundreds that just completed her nuptial flight.” She halted with a look of sudden fear covering her face. “It may be too late,” she whispered.
“Too late for what?” Huck asked.
Eoin pointed at the carcass of the dead ant. “These creatures may be capable of flying for hundreds of miles, even thousands if they make it to the jet stream. They could spread around the globe in no time.”
“And each queen is capable of producing thousands, even millions of others,” Tappy added.
“Millions of these things!” Kayle blurted.
“After they’ve spread, to sustain their growth they will have only one reliable food source,” Tappy noted. She did not have to tell them what that food source would be, the look on her face told it all.
“We’ve got to tell the government and the press,” Huck stated. “It will take the military to get rid of these things and the people must be told so they know the possible danger they face.”
“Won’t a general news release create panic?” Kayle asked. “I know if I was an unarmed citizen and these beasties were roaming around, I’d probably poop in my panties.”
“The only other alternative is to allow innocent lives to be lost because they were not told of the danger they faced,” Tappy interjected. “With foreknowledge of the dangers, perhaps they can at least gather together in protective groups until the military or police can assist them.”
“Will you prepare me a list of the dangers these creatures pose along with photos of this one?” Huck asked. “I need to get it to the military and Homeland Security as fast as possible.”
“Think they’ll believe you?” Horse had a skeptical look on his face.
“We need to get the authorities in this area involved immediately,” Eoin stated. “If these local nests have reproduced in accordance with the accepted pattern, the first challenge will be right here in this town. The population is in eminent danger.”
“Where’s Caitlin?” Kayle quickly demanded.
“She’s with Jacob at Tappy’s home.” Eoin held up the keys to their rental car.
“Take your M16 with you and bring them back here!” Huck yelled as Kayle ran from the lab. He nodded to Horse to accompany her. “If you’ll get that data and those photos I need, I’ll send them through FBI channels,” he continued, addressing the two scientists. “In the meantime I need to get over to the station and talk with Sheriff Mitchell.”
Huck found the Sheriff in his office talking with Chief Deputy Matlock and the surviving Game Warden. He looked up angrily as Huck invited himself into the conversation. “These two telling the truth?” he demanded, glancing at a digital camera in his hand.
“Go look at the body of the dead Game Warden,” Huck stated. “The carcass of the giant ant is in Doctor Schmitt’s lab.” Huck told them of his conversation with the two scientists and of his intent to forward that data to Homeland Security and the military. Sheriff Mitchell suddenly looked older than his sixty odd years. It was as if he aged twenty years in twenty seconds. He sat heavily down in his worn desk chair, his breath getting deeper and deeper.
“You need to call in every deputy you have,” Huck continued. “Keep them here at the station as a quick reaction force. If you have heavy rifles or any assault rifles make sure they’re armed with them or tell them to bring their hunting rifles from home. Pistol rounds bounce off these creatures. Call the mayor and get him involved and spread the word around town for people to barricade themselves in their homes. Get the city council to organize secure shelters with armed men. But most of all get the word out fast. I don’t care if you use squad cars with bull horns, the local radio station, or stand on the streets yelling, you must let the people know of the danger.”
“Start calling the deputies,” Sheriff Mitchell ordered Deputy Matlock. “I’ll call the mayor and chief of police.”
“Do you have any National Guard units here in Bowling Green?” Huck asked.
“We have Headquarters Company of the 2/123 Armor and the 2123 Transportation Company,” Deputy Matlock answered. “We don’t have any Army infantry or Marine Corps units that I know of.”
“As soon as you finish calling in the deputies, I recommend you call the governor and ask him to activate the National Guard,” Huck stated. “Give him my cell phone number and I’ll try to run interference for you.” He handed his card to Chief Mitchell. “I need to get back to the university so I can send the information to the federal authorities.”
“Are you sure about this?” Sheriff Mitchell looked up at Huck.
“If it turns out different, though I know it won’t, I’ll take the blame. I’d rather that than have the unnecessary deaths of hundreds of people on my conscience.”
By the time Huck drove back to the university, Kayle and Horse had returned with the two children. As he entered the lab, Huck spotted Colonel Grace standing with Tappy and Eoin. They were obviously discussing what information should be disseminated to the government. They looked up at him as he entered.
“Sheriff Mitchell bought the story.” Huck answered their unasked question. “He’s calling the mayor and gathering his forces now. I asked him to call the governor’s office but I doubt they’ll listen to him.”
“We have the data you need.” Tappy held up a computer disk. “Colonel Grace volunteered to help by getting the information to the military through inside channels.”
“Thanks.” Huck reached for the computer disk then walked over to another computer. “I’m sending this to FBI headquarters with copies to Homeland Security. I suggest you get on the Internet and send the data to every scientist and scientific outfit you know. The faster we get the information spread, the better off we’ll be.”
As soon as the information was received, Huck’s cell phone started ringing constantly. He briefly stated his position and information to each caller then politely hung up. The first argument came from FBI headquarters. They did not want to disseminate the information unless he could provide positive proof of the ant’s existence. He had to send them a cell phone video of the dead giant with Tappy pointing out several distinct features. The second call came from the Department of Homeland Security. They had the same request but still refused to act upon the information provided until they could organize a scientific committee and get White House approval.
He had better luck with the military. Not only did Colonel Grace stand behind him, but the senior officers Huck talked with knew him, or knew of his record of service with the Navy SEALs. They knew that a man of Huck’s caliber would not spread misinformation or rumors. Unfortunately, they had to go through the Secretary of Defense who decided to wait on the scientific committee being organized by the DHS. He did get a commitment from the commander of the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell. The general told him he’d have two battalions of light infantry sitting on green ramp ready to fly as soon as he got the word to go. He could have the infantry forces in Bowling Green within a few hours.
An hour later, Huck was still fielding calls from his never-ending cell phone. He finally snapped the lid shut and sat heavily down on one of the lab stools. He was exhausted and hungry. It was nearing three in the afternoon and he had eaten nothing all day.
“Any way we can bottle these creatures up inside their caves and destroy them before they surge out?” He directed his question to Tappy. “You know, flame throwers, poison gas, whatever?”
“Not possible. First of all, we don’t know what cave system they’re in right now. It could be one or several different systems. Secondly, Mammoth Cave just north of here is the world's longest cave. More than 367 miles of passages have been mapped. Not only is the cave the longest in the world, but cave mappers believe the system will eventually prove to be 560 miles long, and Mammoth Cave is only one of many large cave systems in this area. Kentucky is home to another fourteen of the longest caves in the world. The Fisher Ridge cave system has been mapped to a length of 112 miles and twelve other Kentucky caves are on the World's list of longest caves. Once the ants get into these cave systems, and we have to assume that one or more of the new queens already have, it would be impossible to get rid of them. Even if we blocked the known entrances there are probably hundreds of other entrances we don’t know about, plus, ants this size could probably dig through miles of soil to escape.”
“What about this building?” Kayle glanced at the door to the room the children were in. “Are we safe here?”
“This building was built like a fortress,” Tappy nodded her head. “I doubt any of the creatures could break in.”
“What about food and water?” Huck asked.
“Not in this building. You’d have to walk across campus to the cafeteria.”
“Would you mind going with Horse to the closest grocery store and stock up on bottled water and non perishable food items?” Huck asked Kayle. “I think we should plan on staying here at least for the evening, if not longer.”
“I’ll go with you.” Eoin nodded at Kayle. “Let’s take the children and buy some fast food for everyone, then we can raid the market for what we need.”
“You think the ants will attack?” Tappy asked as they left.
“You’re the expert.” Huck smiled. “If they’ve multiplied as fast as you suggest they have, their food sources in the wild must be pretty slim by now. They’ll have to find another source of food. Do ants forage at night?”
“No, not normally. I don’t know about these prehistoric giants though. If they’re like their cousins they stay in the nest at night and move the eggs deeper to protect them from the cold.”
“The governor’s on the line for you.” Colonel Grace handed his cell phone to Huck. “He doesn’t sound like a happy camper.”
Two hours later the shoppers returned from the market. They carried box after box of canned food and bottled water from the SUV. The last load was several bags full of tacos. Huck tore into the fast food with relish and washed it down with refreshing water.
They still had no word from the government. The governor refused to call out the National Guard and the scientific committee had yet to meet since they were still arguing over what scientists to include on the committee. The sheriff had been trumped by the mayor who insisted that steps would be taken when the governor made a decision. Although the mayor ordered the sheriff to have his deputies’ stand down, he refused to do so unless ordered by the county Board of Supervisors. Government response was flowing at its normal slow pace.
Huck had asked the sheriff to allow a television crew to film the dead creature but the Board overruled him and ordered him to post deputies to prevent the crew from access to the university. They said it would create unnecessary panic.
Fifteen minutes after five in the afternoon, everything changed. Caitlin and Jacob, who had not been allowed in the lab where the giant ant’s body was, yelled from the other room that ants were attacking people at the mall. They rushed into the room to view a wide screen television that displayed a grisly scene. A female reporter was blabbering about giant ants while the camera panned around the area. She was almost hysterical and half of what she reported gibberish.
They watched as the camera continued to sweep from side to side. A swarm of giant ants was steadily moving through the shattered doors of a local mall. They left the entrance on a return trail carrying human body parts, packages of shredded boxes, even several parts that could be identified as dog bodies.
Cars in and around the camera van had been turned over and bloody red smears pooled on the dry asphalt. Several ants were in the process of ripping open a SUV. The occupants locked inside the vehicle were screaming in terror as the hideous mandibles made quick work of the thin metal body of the SUV. The camera moved away from the scene as the ants started pulling the screaming people from the SUV and chopping them into pieces.
The video suddenly stopped. All that could be heard was the screaming of the female reporter. The horrible screams and crunching sounds continued for a few minutes, then the television station switched over to an anchorman in the studio. His face was pale and his eyes were wide and glossy.
“I fear that we have lost the broadcast from our remote team,” he mumbled, reaching for a piece of paper handed to him from off camera. It didn’t take much imagination to figure out what happened to the reporter and cameraman. “I have just been advised that a state of emergency has been declared by the governor’s office. Everyone is to remain indoors. We do not know the extent of the emergency but the public is advised to stay inside, lock your doors, and await further instructions.”
Huck glanced at Kayle and slowly shook his head. They both knew what had just happened could have been prevented.