Clay sat tapping a pencil on the table, staring at the fireplace. Shadows danced on the floor, walls, and ceiling. The sharp smell of the burning logs permeated the air. The damp cedar logs popped, and sparks like fireflies ascended the flue. They have been in the cabin for three days. Colvin spoke without lifting his gaze from the hypnotizing flames. “Clay, we need to cause pain to NMC for all the anguish they have caused this community over decades. They are responsible for ecological destruction, human suffering, and hidden costs to the earth itself. They are responsible for hundreds of deaths. Hear me on this, Clay; we must make this bigger to grab the American public’s attention.”
Surprised, Clay looked at Colvin and questioned, “Isn’t a blackout of the Eastern Interconnection Grid and a breach of the NMC Hydroelectric dam big enough?” Clay looked at the computer monitor and then back at Colvin. “What could be bigger?”
Colvin didn’t answer the question but proposed, “We need another partner.”
“What?” Clay shouted. He pushed away from the table and scoffed, “What are you talking about?” Standing and stepping back from the table, he yelled, “Don’t you think it’s a little late to change plans?”
Colvin pleaded, “Listen to me, Clay, they will reverse the blackout, and they may stop the breach of the hydroelectric dam, but they will never stop 1.8 billion gallons of coal sludge speeding down the valley.”
“What are you talking about, Colvin?”
“What I am talking about is another target. You’ve heard them blasting away, haven’t you?”
“You mean Darknight Mountain?”
“Yes, exactly.” A coal sludge dam is 1000 yards upstream from their operation. Colvin confesses, “Clay, I haven’t told you something. “The hydroelectric dam, the coal sludge impoundment, and the mountaintop removal at Darknight Mountain are all owned by Necro Metallum Corporation.”
“What?”
“That’s right, the same company that owns the hydroelectric dam, the coal sludge impoundment, and the Darknight mountaintop removal site closed the NMC coal mine in Naoma. That mine had multiple safety violations year after year. They fought the court for decades, paid fines, and did nothing to address the violations. In the end, it was cheaper to close the mine. They made millions every year, lining their pockets and eventually starting new mountaintop removal sites. You know they don’t start those for the benefit of the mine workers. They employ fewer workers and cause environmental damage. So instead of fixing their operations, they take the easy way out.”
Clay challenged, “Why would we be responsible for the coal sludge impoundment dam failing? Wouldn’t that make us just as guilty as NMC?”
“I agree, but it is a difficult choice that will bring national attention to all of the coal sludge dams and mountaintop removal sites in West Virginia. Mountains take hundreds of thousands of years to be created, and companies like NMC destroy them in months and years. Remember, this is the same NMC mine that Asher worked at. The same company whose safety violations took his life.”
With tears in his eyes, Clay sat down and acknowledged, “I’m with you, Colvin. Who do you have in mind?”
“I’m thinking about the perfect person.” Colvin walked closer to Clay, placed a hand on each of his shoulders, and confided, “It’s someone you know, Mason Boggs.”
Clay shouted, “Mason Boggs!” Lowering his voice, he articulated, “That same Mason who destroyed the toilet in the boy’s restroom, at East Point Highschool, with a quarter stick of dynamite? That Mason?”
“Yes, Clay, that same Mason who now works for NMC at the Darknight mountaintop they are removing.”
“Now, why would Mason want to join us?”
Colvin smiled and said, “Gambling debts.”
Hours later, the fire embers were almost gone. Clay was fast asleep and snoring. Colvin stared at the ceiling. His mind boiled with hate for NMC and one man, particularly its owner, Robert Wingate III. He was once again thinking about Asher.
This is the first chapter I've read and I must say you're a terrific, descriptive writer - which is great for my very visual brain! 🙌🏻