CASCADE - Chapter 1

Hospital

March 15, 2023

HOSPITAL

Colvin Miller felt the phone vibrate in his shirt pocket. The text message from his mother read, “Your brother has taken a turn for the worse.”

Steadying himself and reaching a hand to his forehead, he breathed out a slow sigh. His brother Asher meant everything to him. He closed his eyes, took another long breath, grabbed his keys, and headed out the door. Before he started the engine, he texted, “I’ll be there in a bit, Mama.”

He stayed in an apartment with his long-time best friend, Clay Matthews. Clay, Colvin’s brother, Asher, and Colvin grew up together in Naoma, West Virginia. All three started working for the Coal Mine in Naoma in 1999. The mine was owned by Necro Metallum Corporation (NMC). Colvin worked as a miner for one year before joining the Army and serving three years as a Sniper. After returning to West Virginia, he went to college and graduated with a degree in Engineering. Clay joined the Marines one year after Colvin. Clay was trained as a Cyber Specialist and assigned to a cyber unit in Afghanistan. After Clay was discharged, he went to West Virginia University, earned a degree in Information Technology, and then worked for a large cybersecurity company. Asher lived with his mother and stayed at the mine until it closed in 2010.

Naoma is in what some would call a healthcare desert. Hospitals surround it, but all are more than an hour away. The ninety-minute drive to Montgomery General Hospital gave Colvin a long time to think about Asher, Mama, and the Necro Metallum Corporation, whom he blamed for his brother’s illness.

His mother, Rebecca Miller, was a single mother. His father had run off to work in Detroit on the assembly line. Checks arrived infrequently, and then there were none. Rebecca made do with wages and tips from a local diner. Most of the clothes they wore came from Goodwill. Food stamps provided meals that his mother could not provide. Colvin and Asher played outside almost every day, and when they weren’t getting into trouble, they were bored like any other young boys. Colvin and Asher met Clay at the Naoma Free Will Baptist Church.

The trio spent most of the summer before senior year in an old cabin in a holler five miles past the end of Cedar Cliff Road. Those summer days consisted of drinking, smoking, and drifting. The following summer, they started working at the NMC coal mine.

NMC was cited many times for safety violations. Management would pay the fines, but repairs were never completed. Many citations were related to employee safety. NMC holdings included four surface mines, four underground rooms, pillar mines, and thirty mountaintop removal sites. They also owned four coal sludge impoundment dams. In 2020, the company expanded its portfolio to include a hydroelectric dam south of Charleston on the Kanawha River.

The ninety-minute drive to Montgomery General Hospital went quickly. Colvin parked his truck and rushed to the ICU, where his mother stood outside Asher’s room. She hurried down the hall, reached out to Colvin, and hugged him tightly, “I don’t know what I am going to do. What am I going to do, Colvin?”

She cried, choking on her words, “I feel so lost, Colvin.”

“I know, Mama. I know Mama,” Colvin said as he pulled away and looked her in the eyes, “We’ll get through this. We’ll get through this.”

He put his arm around her, and they walked into the room as a nurse adjusted Asher’s IV bag. Seeing Colvin and his mother, she rechecked the monitor and exited, saying, “He’s resting quietly now.”

Colvin said in a hushed, audible tone, “Thank you.”

They walked into the dimly lit room. Colvin’s mother sat in a chair near the bed while Colvin stood and studied his brother’s face, the tubing, and the machines.

A steady rhythmic “Beep, beep, beep” filled the room. Colvin looked at the monitor and saw that the sound matched the undulating pattern of the white line.

“Beep, beep, beep.”

Asher was emaciated, pale, and weak. The blue lines of his veins were visible, especially the ones on the side of his forehead. Asher turned his head slightly and took labored deep breaths.

“Look who’s here, Asher,” Colvin’s mother said, “It’s your brother, Colvin.” She reached out and took hold of Asher’s hand.

“Beep, beep, beep.”

Colvin could barely get the words out, “Asher I …” and again, “Asher.”

Asher turned ever so slightly and whispered, “Hello, Colvin. Sit a spell with me.”

Colvin sat on the side of the bed. Tears welled up in his eyes and tracked down both cheeks.

“Beep, beep, beep.”

Colvin couldn’t get the words out as he leaned over and rested his head on the bed near Asher’s chest. His voice trailed off, “Asher, I …”. He continued to cry, trying to think how he could have prevented this. His body shook, and a groan started deep within him. Somewhere deep inside was darkness, and the darkness groaned.

Asher, struggling, “I’m glad you’re here.”

The three sat in the embrace for a few more minutes. Together, Mama and Colvin and Asher and sadness and anger and, most of all, love embraced.

“Beep, beep, beep”

“Beep …”

Then Colvin heard the sound change to one continuous beep. The sound filled his mind. Sadness filled his heart. Colvin stood up. The monitor registered one straight white line. Colvin stood slowly, “I’ll be right back, Mama.” He walked into the hallway, wiped tears below each eye, took out his phone, and texted, “DO IT.”