Hawk struggled to get all the equipment and supplies into the cave. He had told Sally he was going to the Settlement, and he had, but he had only stayed a few days. He had other plans for the time Sally was gone. Sally had said the cave had potential. They had discovered it almost 3 years ago when she fell into it during an attack by Deathclaws and it had quickly become apparent it was very unusual.
They had been using the cave as a base ever since and had brought in many amenities. It was now comfortable but it wasn't easy to haul items up and down the 30' of rope ladder that formed the only way into the cave, even with the winch system Hawk had devised for lowering and raising packs and objects. Hawk wanted to surprise her when she returned from Baton Rouge.
It hadn't been easy to persuade the Elder to rent the cutter to him but it was going to make the job a lot easier in the long run. He had rented a cart and cow and pulled the cutter and supplies up the mountain to the cave. From there it had been up to him to get it into the cave. Even with his strength it took some effort to lower them into the cave, using a system of winches and levers to lower the items the 30 odd feet down the cliff face into the cave.
He then had to return the cow and cart, which took another few hours, as leaving it outside the cave to become Deathclaw fodder was unthinkable. It did allow him to carry in more supplies, though. He wouldn't need to bring in water, which was a big help. He had checked the cave's stream and discovered it now had no rads, which confirmed his belief its source was the nearby Potomac River.
Once everything was in the cave he had rested for a while before beginning work. He was creating a ramp down into the cave to make it more accessible to them. He would have to craft the ramp from the stone within the cave itself as he could not afford to alter the entrance, which would make it visible from the outside. Once that was done he would have to create a barrier to keep unwanted guests from getting in while making sure it didn't interfere with the natural disguise to the entrance. Then his real work could begin.
Even with the powerful equipment it took a week to complete the ramp. Hawk stood back and looked at his handiwork with satisfaction. It could use some smoothing out and finish work, but it would serve to get a cart up and down to move supplies in and out of the cave. A check on the outside assured him that the gate would keep large creatures like Death Claws from the cave, and the Death Claws inhabiting the area would probably discourage other life, including humans, from approaching the cave.
Besides the entrance was already sufficiently hidden and it would be very difficult to spot until you were right on top of it. The Deathclaw trail they used to approach the cave seemed to just go past the mountain face. Only if someone knew to push around the maze like series of bushes could he spot the entrance and then he would assume it was a Deathclaw breeding cave and would avoid it if he had any sense.
This part of the plan finished, Hawk went to his bed and lay down wearily. It had been a hard week even with the cutter and powered moving equipment. A good night's sleep would be required before he could begin the next phase of his project.
The dawn light woke Hawk from his slumber as the daylight crept into the cave. He rose and stretched, preparing a light breakfast. He had a theory about the tunnels and figured today would be a good day to check it out, since he would be going through the tunnel to the strange, hidden valley beyond anyway.
After checking his pack to make sure he had everything he might need Hawk hoisted it to his shoulders and headed down the short tunnel opposite the cave entrance. It didn't take long to make it to the other side. Taking a large white blanket from the pack he attached it to a long pole and shoved it into the ground in the entrance. After donning his radiation suit he headed left along the wall of the radiated caldron to the curving tunnel that lead to the large valley beyond the caldron.
He followed the downward sloping floor until he was more than a third of the way down the tunnel. Here he could hear the water rushing past on the other side of the wall. He studied the tunnel floor with the headlamp he wore to light the darkness. Yes, he could easily cut a groove with the cutter, which was lighter weight than the Gatling gun he usually carried. He calculated a groove three feet deep and two feet wide would carry enough water to the dry, radiation free valley, and still leave enough room in the tunnel to get a small cart through to take supplies in. Once the groove was cut he could blast open the wall with a small charge and allow the water to enter the groove. He had plenty of power cells and the cutter was very efficient. It shouldn't take more than three days to cut the groove in the almost 12 miles of tunnel.
Hawk moved through the tunnel, studying the floor and wall, searching for any flaws that would upset his plans. The smooth floor and wall didn't vary as he went. Finally he came out onto the ledge overlooking the valley. The view from the ledge offered nothing besides the unvarying desert, swept by a gentle breeze. He tossed down the long rope ladder he had brought and clambered down the slightly more than 30 feet to the floor of the cauldron.
He looked up at the wall rising 10,000 feet above him, sweeping off to left and right as far as he could see with barely an inward curve. Although he had searched, he still hadn't found any reference to the powerful weapon that must have blasted out this huge cauldron, the walls rising straight up, the numerous smooth round tunnels cut into them.
He went over to the tunnel he and Sally had rested in. It sloped gently upward. Leaving his pack he headed up the slope, noting the unvarying smoothness of the floor and walls.
It didn't take long to make his way through the straight, upward sloping tunnel to its mouth. Once there he took out the binoculars. Staying within the mouth of the cave, to avoid the radiation exposure, he raised the binoculars and looked straight across the valley. Directly opposite he could see the mouth of a tunnel and in its entrance was a white blanket on a pole. He had been right. The force that had carved this tunnel had plowed straight across and cut out the tunnel on the other side. It would be a quicker way across if only the valley hadn't been so radioactive. That cauldron must have been blasted out by a nuclear right next to the enormous, empty, non-radioactive valley. That question settled he went back and set up camp to spend the night in the mouth of the cave.
For the next three days Hawk spent most of his waking hours cutting blocks of stone from the edge of the tunnel floor, starting at the point where he could hear the water rushing on the other side. He moved the large blocks from the cut and placed them on the side, to take down into the valley later for building with. Finally he reached the edge of the tunnel mouth and made the cuts into the ledge to guide the water over the edge.
It was already late evening and he decided to go down into the valley and spend the night at the camp there rather than make the long trek back through the tunnel, along the edge of the Valley of Death, and into the short tunnel to get to the cave entrance camp. He was very tired. Tomorrow he would set a calculated charge to create a small opening to the stream and fill the channel he had crafted.
Hawk was sound asleep when a loud rumble shook the ground. He started up, as with a deafening roar, an explosion of rock and water burst from the tunnel above him, arcing out into the arid plain below. Hawk leapt to his feet, watching in horror. The wall had given way! The river was pouring through the tunnel, filling the lower end completely. The ladder had been washed from the ledge and was long gone, but it didn't matter. There was no way he could go back through the tunnel. It had become a life source for the valley but he was stranded.
The stream quickly stabilized. While most of the stone blocks had been washed out by the force of the water, some had jammed on the ledge. The water pouring over them made a lovely waterfall. The water had gouged out a small pond at its base before meandering off. The dry hard material wasn't absorbing the water quickly enough, and it was gouging out a channel through the land, as he had hoped.
He hadn't left enough supplies on this side to stay more than a week. He wasn't feeling well so after assuring himself the waterfall had stabilized, he lay back down to sleep the few remaining hours until dawn.
The sun was pouring into the cave opening when he woke. How long had he slept? He checked the time and was astounded to discover he had been sleeping for over 2 days! No wonder he was starving. He ate most of the food he had and went to the waterfall to get fresh water and bathe.
There was just a little less than a week left before the Tradewind was due at the Super Duper Mart and he didn't want to miss her. Sally wouldn't expect to hear any word of him before then as he was supposed to be coming from the Settlement but if he wasn't there she would be worried and would head for the Settlement to find him. Hawk realized there was a downside to not informing anyone where he would be. Sally would start her search for him in the North and it could take several weeks before she made her way to the cave only they knew about and then she wouldn't think to try to cross the highly radiated Valley of Death.
It would take most of a day to make the trek from the cave to the Super Duper Mart. He had to leave in just three days. At least he had the cutter and moving equipment though he wasn't sure how many power cells he had on this side of the Valley of Death. He wouldn't be able to complete everything he wanted but he'd do what he could do. He gathered his supplies and went out to choose a spot along the river.
After three days of heavy labor Hawk had in place the start of a stone foundation for a small house. He had discovered he could stand in the edge of the waterfall to shower and cool off and the small pool made a good bathing area. He couldn't work in the hottest part of the day so he napped then and worked into the night by the light of the moon.
At last his time was up. He neatened the camp, shouldered his pack, and headed up the slope of the short tunnel. Standing in the entrance he stared across the Valley of Death. He had no idea how high the radiation might get but it was his only way out now. The Elder was going to be pretty angry when he didn't bring back the cutter and power lifter, but he was afraid the extra weight would slow him down. He would retrieve them later. If he survived.
He took out his bottle of rad-away and swallowed three of the pills. He pulled on his custom made radiation suit and strapped his pack back on. Straightening his shoulders he stepped out and sped toward the blanket flag, waving in the distance.