apocalypsehowcomm | Event - Appalachia: Into the Pines

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Event - Appalachia: Into the Pines

Appalachia: Into the Pines

Footage plays on the television as a new story comes on, showing a series of sweeping vistas, intercut with clips of wolves that have clearly been filmed at some local wildlife sanctuary. "As far as anyone knows it, the last wolf to ever freely roam the Allegheny Mountains was slain in West Virginia in 1897. Daniel Stoffer Hamrick saw to the beast's passing, and the woods in our part of the world have gone quieter ever since. Appalachia does not forget its history, though. It buries it beneath coal and flyash, debts and white powder and pills. And the blood of people taken before their time, by the mines, by the mountain, by things we don't have names for, just hurt. But Appalachia does not forget.

"This is Cindy Parsons with Channel 5, Wolf News." Footage cuts to a newscaster standing outside a gated apartment complex with FYRE's logo emblazoned on it. "As we know, our beloved Wolf Pen is home to one of the biggest FYRE worker housing complexes in Wyoming County. It is a monument to the history of our town, and this week, we'll be on the lookout for visitors from all over the country, coming to see the grand re-opening of the historic Bluestone Mine as a museum."

Footage cuts to a nondescript businessman, identified by the news footage as Carl Watts, CEO of FYRE. He's smiling blandly as he stands at a podium and gestures to the entrance of the mining tunnel behind him. "The Wolf Pen community has been a partner to us for decades now, and we knew it was finally time to give something back to all y’all. We'll have our soft opening on Monday with a full Rumble Down Under party in the old mines scheduled for June 15th. We'll have a live bluegrass concert and anticipate a huge influx of tourists to the area to help out our neighbors itching for a few more pocketbooks to tend to." A wink.

The footage returns to Cindy. "FYRE has stated that this new museum will provide an educational tool and tourist attraction for those wanting to learn about West Virginia, Wolf Pen, and the hard-working men and women who have made this beautiful part of our nation their home. Time will tell. Time is always telling when it comes to the promises of people who have used our land and our bodies to line their pocketbooks. They fill our blood and our lungs with black tar and-"

Cindy cuts out and is replaced by in-studio anchors. "Thank you, Cindy!" a blonde woman says, smile just a little strained. "I think we're all looking forward to seeing the big opening by FYRE on Sunday and that rocking good party next month. It should be a gneiss one! Now to Tim with the weather. Tim?"

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"Of course, inspector. Thanks, Gina. You're a peach!"

Gina makes a vaguely irritated sound and goes back to her computer as the pair head out.

"I, uh... I hope everything was up to snuff in there, Mr. Hickey?" Jimmy flashes his ID Badge in front of the reader at the trailer.

"Now that, Jimmy, is confidential." Maybe. He's not sure. Hickey flashes his ID Badge as well, mimicking Jimmy's movements—though waiting until after Jimmy flashes his to flash his own. Weird reader. Not entirely sure how it works.

"Needless to say, if I'm displeased about how things are run, you'll know." And as they head into the mines, Hickey keeps an open watch, looking around to try and gather as much information as possible. Aside from the whole 'do your job' thing, this is actually the first time he's been in a mine like this...and he doubts it will be the last.

"R-right! Well, we don't want you displeased, sir, so I'll, uh... I'll show you all the best stuff! So, this is the entry to the mine. Have you ever been in one of these? It's my first."

The main tunnel for the mine is fairly spacious, but there are smaller tunnels leading off from it and the sound of equipment and people talking in distant echoes. Jimmy seems keen to keep them in the main tunnel and not venture off the beaten path.

The fact that Jimmy seems keen to keep on the main path means that Hickey absolutely wants to go off the main path. He pauses outside of one tunnel where he hears the sound of equipment and asks, "What's down that one?"

"Oh! That's, um... I think that's just one of the seams they're working on. The machinery's pretty loud and awful. Didn't think you'd want to deal with that. I was, um... I was going to show you the shaft going down into the deeper levels! For inspection?"

Hickey gives Jimmy a bit of a look. "D'you know what OSHA stands for?" Because he does, he just learned it this morning and repeated it under his breath for half an hour so he could remember!

"Occupational Health and Safety Administration. Not Occupational Health and Safety Administration But We'll Just Ignore That One Seam. Let's head down that way first and then we can go to the shaft."

"I-I, um! S-sorry, sir. Yes, sir. We can go down there, sir!"

Jimmy motions for Hickey to follow and ducks heading into the tunnel. This is significantly more constricting than the main tunnel, and as they continue to walk, Hickey will likely have a strange sense of feeling more and more worn out. It's very gradual, but over the next while, his limbs will start to feel heavier, each step more of an effort. There is a weight in these mines, and it seems to have chosen to place itself atop him.

"If you let me go ahead, I can make sure there's no danger, sir! I-I didn't bring, um... extra earplugs, and I wouldn't want your hearing to be damaged by the machine noises."

Well. This is not good. Hickey doesn't know much about mines but he does know that they shouldn't be doing this. The mine feels oppressive, heavy, like with every step more and more weight is being pressed on him. It feels like how he felt when he was hauling, dragging supplies and useless trinkets across the Arctic in the hope of reaching civilization.

He hates that feeling.

So he's more than happy to let Jimmy go ahead. Because for all his bluster and bullshit and trying to figure out what's going on here, Hickey is also a man with a fundamental strain of laziness in his core. If he can take a moment to rest and regain his strength, he's going to.

"Go right ahead," he says, with a nod at Jimmy. "I'll stay right here."

"Okay. It'll just be- Just a minute!" And off Jimmy scoots toward the echoing clank of machines. There are lights in this little tunnel, warm, somewhat dim things, but as Jimmy recedes, Hickey will find that those lights flicker, go out, plunging him into near total darkness. And as that happens, there's a voice beginning to sing softly, barely registering over the sound of metal.

It's a woman's voice, singing acapella, slow and sinister and very close to his ear.

"Where it's dark as a dungeon, damp as the dew
Danger is double, pleasures are few
Where the rain never falls, the sun never shines
It's dark as a dungeon way down in the mine..."

Hickey isn't scared of the dark. That being said, the sound of someone singing right next to his ear takes him completely by surprise.

So halfway through her song, he thrusts his elbow back, attempting to elbow whoever's singing in the gut (as he thinks there's actually a physical person there, singing, to begin with and this isn't a weird disembodied voice). At the same time, his other hand goes down to his coat pocket as he grabs the handle of his knife, ready to stab whatever the hell's playing stupid games if needed.

There's nothing to elbow. In fact, if he feels around, the tunnel seems to be gone. Or it's much bigger than what it was a moment ago. There is just an apparent void of darkness he now finds himself in. The voice is undeterred, continuing its song, just switching to his other ear, close and soft enough to be a lover now.

"Well, the midnight or the morning or the middle of day
Is the same to the miner digging away
Where the demons of death often come by surprise
One fall of the slate and you're... BURIED alive..."

He's tense. An animal cornered, a live wire ready to snap. That hand is on his knife and he is ready. Hickey knew that there would be bullshit down here. He just didn't know what kind.

"If I were you, I'd stop singing," he says, quiet anger in his voice. He's not moving, though. He doesn't know where the hell this mine leads. The chance that he would fall and break his neck is annoyingly high.

"Well, I hope when I'm gone and the ages shall roll
My body will blacken and turn into coal
Then I'll look from the door of my heavenly home
And pity the miner digging my bones"

The last part devolves into laughter that echoes all around him, then the feeling of a kiss brushes his cheek. "Come deeper, inspector. Where it's darker still."

And then it ends. The lights abruptly come on, and Hickey is in a cramped, low tunnel. Jimmy's just a few feet away, waving a hand.

"Um... Mr. Hickey? I was calling for you. Is everything okay?"

When the lights come back on, Hickey gives Jimmy a tense smile. He slowly takes his hand off his knife, still in his pocket, as he starts right back up with his bullshit.

"Had a moment of...vertigo, I suppose? Or was it claustrophobia. I'm fine now." And look at his smile! This is the smile of a man who's totally fine!

"Let's keep going. I want to go down to the heart of this operation."

Weird darkness voice wants him to go deeper? Hickey'll call that bluff.

"Oh! Um... okay? Did you want to see what's down here first? I had Bob pause the drilling so it's not so loud."

Get your shit together, Hickey. Stop being so rattled. You are pretending to be a competent investigator who knows what he's doing.

"Of course," he says, with a nod and a smile. "Lead the way, Jimmy."

Bob, as it turns out, doesn't have a lot to show Hickey. He's looking exhausted and kneels quietly next to his dormant machine as Jimmy points out the technical specifications and safety features. Probably the most notable thing here is the fact that Jimmy is all nervous energy while Bob is looking fairly dead inside, gazing into the middle distance.

Hickey nods and listens, pretending to listen as Bob talks about things that Hickey absolutely has no idea what they're about. When they finish the conversation, he gives Bob a nod and a, "Well, looks all good on my end," before turning back to Jimmy.

"You can head back up if you want. The space getting to you?"

"O-oh, oh, no, sir. I'd get in trouble with Mr. Boss if I just left y'all to wander around." There's a beat where he seems to realize something... like his accent slipping into something a little more southern before he course-corrects. "I'm okay! Really! I've gotta get used to the mines, you know? I'll be working down here a lot. It's just back this way."

Jimmy turns abruptly and ducks his head as he leads the way back to the main tunnel.

"Suit yourself," Hickey says, with a little shrug. He follows Jimmy out towards the main tunnel, keeping an eye on the kid all the while.

Jimmy stoops low until they reach the main tunnel. He seems to be wholly unaffected by whatever lethargy and misery is impacting the other miners (and Hickey, himself, to some extent). They pass a few heading out who just stare at the ground and trudge onward, in spite of the nervous greeting Jimmy throws their way.

"That's, uh... those were Pete and... Ralph, I think? They're really serious and professional. Everyone here is. We-we take work and safety seriously, so there isn't a lot of time for talking! Yeah, you've gotta be sure you're focused." His smile is just the side of too wide. "So, this is the elevator we use to send everyone down and bring them up in shifts." It's a large platform that seems like it's something out of Hickey's era in terms of the mechanical workings. "Don't worry if it creeks a little on the way down. Just-just old things get creaky, right? That's normal."

He beckons Hickey toward the lift.

Hickey frowns as he looks at the lift. "This thing looks like—" Like it's from my time. "—old as hell," he corrects himself, with only a mild hesitation. "This place is modern enough to have that security badge system but old-fashioned enough to have this hunk of junk?"

As he talks, Hickey makes his way to the lift. Hunk of junk or not, it's something he understands—or at least, is more familiar with than computers and security badges.

"Well, um! Don't fix what isn't broken, right? I'm sure it's all up to code. Uh..." Jimmy glances around the elevator as he punches the button and they start to descend. "I mean, that's what you're here for, right? Inspections!"

As they descend, Hickey will again hear the faint strains of that voice from before, humming the song, and the sense of exhaustion begins to grow.

That exhaustion is weighing on his shoulders in an almost physical manner. Idly, Hickey wonders what would happen if he passed out in the bottom of the mine.

They'll fight that battle when they get to it.

"How often do people use this elevator?" he asks, looking it over. "Cause yeah, I am here for inspections. So this is me, inspecting."

"Every day, sir! Um... there are probably six high-capacity runs every day. Up and down for each of the three shifts. And then there are little runs between for a lot fewer people, like this one. For us!"

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