Page 100 of Hollow Valley
True to his word, Jordy led me down the boardwalk to the Cold Shore outpost in the harbor on the K’alii Canal the next morning.The mountains surrounding the town on either side held back the sun’s warmth until late morning, but the sky was bright blue above us.
I’d left Ripley behind in our room, since she’d been sleeping happily in the blankets.I had also left her with a big elk bone, in case she woke up hungry and bored.
“I don’t mind helping you, obviously,” Jordy said as we walked.“But I don’t want you to get your hopes up.”
“Getting my hopes up too high has honestly never really been a problem for me.”
“I get that,” he allowed.“And I’m still telling you that your hopes for Cold Shore might still be too high.”
“What are you talking about?”I asked.“Are they trying to find a cure for the lyssavirus or not?”
“They are,” he agreed, sounding reluctant.“But… just because the goal is noble doesn’t mean the people working there are.There’s a reason that I noped out when I was still a teenager.”
“Nothing’s ideal anymore,” I said.“I guess it’s never really been all that ideal to begin with, if I’m being honest.So we gotta work with what we have, warts and all.”
The outpost building for Cold Shore was stark and utilitarian, a squat arrangement of corrugated metal, sandbags, and reinforced timber planks that looked ready to repel anything from a marauding band to a harsh northern storm.It was flanked by battered watchtowers and flags emblazoned with a faded logo: a red droplet of blood over an icy blue globe.
As we neared, I caught the oily scent of machinery and the faint odor of something sickly sweet mixing with the salt air.
In the watchtower on the right, a man wearing indigo-fading-to-gray coveralls was working the guard station.He looked a bit younger than me, with an oblong face and pale skin with ruddy red cheeks.His hair was hidden underneath a black knit cap pulled down to his ears.
He'd been slouching against the pass-through window, staring vacantly into space, but he straightened up when he saw Jordy and I approaching.The nametag embroidered on his chest readQ.Stensrud.
“What do you want, Duvall?”He sneered at him.“You know we have orders not to deal with you anymore.”
“Good news, Stensrud, because I don’t want anything to do with you either,” Jordy replied.“But my friend here, she wants to be a part of the organization.”
Stensrud scowled in confusion when he looked over at me.“Why?”
“I wanna fight the good fight,” I answered, but Stensrud was unmoved and continued staring blankly.
“Come on, man,” Jordy said.“I know you always need an extra pair of hands.Can’t you call up Post Commander Rhodes and set up an ARK testing?”
“Commander Rhodes is dead,” Stensrud replied.“Dr.Leila Lund administers the ARK now, but she’s up at the main base in the Alaska Territory for the summer.”
“And no one else can do it?”Jordy asked, sounding in disbelief.
“Not since Commander Rhodes died,” Stensrud reiterated.
“Is there anyone I can talk to?”I pressed.“I want to help.Like I’ll volunteer to scrub floors.”
“Nobody’s allowed in through the gates without clearance,” Stensrud said.
“Well, how do I get clearance?”I asked, growing irritated.
“Post Commander Victor Garnett, Dr.Leila Lund, or Director-General Michael Haugen,” Stensrud recited the names flatly.“But Dr.Lund and the Director-General are both in Alaska.”
“Can I meet with Post Commander Garnett?”I asked.
“No one is allowed inside the outpost without clearance, unless they’re taking the ARK,” Stensrud clarified unhelpfully.
“Can the Commander come out and meet me?”I asked, doing my very best to mask my growing irritation.
“That’s unlikely, because the Commander rarely leaves the outpost,” Stensrud said.“Even then, he only leaves when absolutely necessary.”
“Okay, but Dr.Lund and the Director-General, they can give the ARK?”I asked.“When will they be back?”
“The Director Generalneverleaves the base in Alaska,” Jordy answered for him.“And I don’t mean like the Commander who rarely leaves.The Director General hasn’t stepped foot outside of the base since he first went in after the virus broke out.”