Chapter 6
JUSTIN
Justin woke up hard, and memories of his sexy call with Scott the night before made quick work of rubbing one out before he left his warm bed and climbed into the shower.
A glance outside confirmed clear blue skies, even though the temperature was chilly.
Dressing in layers went with the season.
His shifter friends had higher metabolisms and didn’t seem to mind the cooler days.
Justin listened to the weather report as he fixed toast with peanut butter and poured himself a cup of coffee. Today’s blue sky and sun looked likely to hold, although later in the week, predictions warned of cooler temperatures and possible storms.
He had a photographer scheduled midweek to do aerial shots for several local projects and planned to scout locations.
After the call with Scott, Justin’s curiosity had him looking up maps of Platt Mountain.
Flying up and back would take about two hours round-trip, depending on the wind.
Justin took a few more swallows of coffee and then pulled out his phone. Liam answered on the first ring.
“Hey, do you have a couple of hours for an adventure today?” Justin asked.
“What did you have in mind?” Liam sounded intrigued, and there was a moment of muffled conversation as he caught his husband, Russ, up on the conversation.
“I thought I’d go up to Platt Mountain and do a fly-over of the old mine,” Justin said.
“You know Scott is writing some articles that include the mine, but he has to use the university’s charter service.
He made me curious, and I thought if I went up and got a look at what’s there, I could at least make suggestions to him even if I’m not the pilot. ”
What he didn’t say was that his psychic side sensed danger, and he wanted to see if he could find out anything to protect Scott aside from getting him to back off the project.
“And you wanted company for the ride?” Liam chuckled.
“A second set of eyes never hurts,” Justin pointed out. “And that way, you can snap photos if there’s anything to see. It could turn into an interesting library presentation.” He dangled the last piece as an extra incentive.
“I do have a pretty clear afternoon, and this sounds like more fun than catching up on my filing,” Liam said. “I’m in.”
They worked out the details, and Justin smiled as he ended the call. Having company would make the flight more fun, and between Liam’s knowledge of local history and his sharp fox vision, they were more likely to notice anything of importance than if Justin had to both fly and scan the landscape.
He thought about letting Scott know his plans and decided to wait. Justin didn’t want Scott to think he was meddling in his project, and if he didn’t uncover anything noteworthy, then the trip was just a way to sate his own curiosity and assure himself that looking into the history would be safe.
If he and Liam did find something out of the ordinary, he could confess his exploration to Scott and tip him off on interesting items to watch for.
Sure. That sounds like a good excuse.
“No harm in having a look,” Justin told himself as he filled his travel mug with hot coffee and grabbed the lunch he had packed from the fridge before heading to his SUV.
Before he headed for the plane, Justin took a little extra time to see what the satellite photos revealed. The most recent shots showed several of the large mining buildings still standing, and some new construction that he guessed came with the mine being sold.
By the time he had fueled up the plane and done his pre-flight check, Liam arrived with donuts and his own travel mug. “Every adventure goes better with sugar and caffeine.” He grinned.
Justin helped himself to a glazed donut and gave a satisfied sigh. “Bear Necessities makes the best.”
“That’s why keeping them in business is a sacred duty,” Liam agreed with mock solemness.
Justin ran through the last of his checklist, and they climbed into the plane. “I’m not planning to land or make any side trips. But I’m glad that Russ knows where we’ve gone.”
“He made me promise we wouldn’t explore any closer than from overhead,” Liam agreed. “I didn’t require any convincing. I’m curious, but there’s no way in hell I’d go inside.”
“Given the fencing around the property that I saw in the satellite pictures, the owners expect some people to be more adventurous.” Justin started the plane, and they taxied down the lake before lifting off into the sky.
“People can still hike in the area,” Liam pointed out.
“From what I read, there are remnants of the ski trails that were cut for that defunct Alpine Peaks resort. I’ve got to say, I’m excited about this.
I think a lot of people have never heard of either of them, which would make them interesting topics, especially with new photos. ”
“Do I sense a display coming up?” Justin asked.
“Definitely. We’ll interview residents who still remember the mine or the resort, capture their stories, borrow any photos they’ll lend us, then arrange to preserve and archive them. And for the people who were born or moved here since then, it’s brand new.”
Liam’s love of history made him perfect for his job as a librarian. Similarly, Justin appreciated learning more about Fox Hollow so he could share interesting tidbits with his customers.
“Everything I found said that the Platt Mountain mine didn’t run out of ore, it just got too deep to keep mining. Which is creepy as shit.” Liam shuddered.
“Ever wonder sometimes if the official explanation isn’t the whole story?” Justin asked as they soared over lakes and forests. The leaves were starting to fall, painting the landscape in shades of gray. A few early snows would be followed by bigger storms until the land was blanketed in white.
Liam gave him a curious look. “The official explanation is almost never the whole story, especially when big companies are involved. What did you have in mind?”
Justin shrugged. “I’m sure you’ve heard the old stories about mine monsters, especially from Cornwall and Wales.
When you get that far down below the surface, it’s a whole different world.
What’s to say they didn’t run into things that liked their privacy?
Like what we saw in that woman’s backyard? ”
Liam’s eyes widened. “You mean the Knackers and the Coblyns.”
“Yeah. Miners brought their beliefs over with them, or maybe the same creatures live underground all over the world,” Justin said.
“Those creatures are known for being pranksters, but not malicious.” Liam kept gazing out the window as they flew over the hills. “At least, according to the stories that have survived. They also don’t match with what you saw.
“I’ve been researching when I have a spare moment, but so far I haven’t turned up anything useful. If that thing you saw really was something from the mine, what was it doing all the way down here? And how have there not been sightings before this over the years?”
“Maybe someone doesn’t want people getting any closer,” Justin said.
“Someone?” Liam asked.
“There are rumors that the mine’s new owners have Mafia connections. A couple of the sources say they have a witch at their beck and call,” Justin replied. “Good reason to keep people away—including Scott.”
For a while, they flew in silence. Liam snapped photos with a couple of different cameras, including his cell phone for brief videos. “These will make a nice display on the wall in the library, and I can use the digital versions on the library website.”
Despite the remote territory, several highways cut through the forest, providing a lifeline for shipping essential goods to residents and trucking out lumber and other products.
This late in the season, the number of campers and RVs had dwindled, although die-hards would continue the outdoor life even after snow covered the ground.
Justin much preferred a nice, warm house. He knew that Scott’s thick coyote fur would keep him comfortable. Liam’s winter coat as a fox gave him more freedom in bad weather than Justin had without an animal form.
“Hey, look there.” Liam pointed. “Those don’t look like the usual tourists.”
Justin followed where Liam indicated and saw two black sedans that appeared to be traveling together.
“Those guys must have a good reason to be such a long way from Albany.” Justin remembered Scott’s remark about “men in black.”
“I wonder what sort of business they might have with the mines. Maybe the owners or investors?” Liam said. “They’re certainly off the beaten track for sightseeing tours.”
“There aren’t a lot of year-round businesses up here that aren’t touristy,” Justin noted. “I agree that it’s unusual, but if they’ve got investors, then they must have a plan that at least looks good on paper.”
They quickly outpaced the cars and reached the old ski area.
“Wow,” Liam said. “It’s funny that from the air, you can still make out where some of the ski trails and buildings were, even after almost sixty years.”
Justin spared a glance and understood what Liam meant.
Although the forest had reclaimed much of the old resort, he could easily see where nature had been disturbed.
“It’s a shame the resort didn’t make a go of it.
This end of the state could use more jobs.
A lot of the hunting and fishing happens more toward the middle and south.
Good for the area around Fox Hollow, but it makes rough going for the folks who stayed in the towns up here. ”
Justin veered north, and the Platt Mine came into view. “On the other hand, there’s more left of the mine than I expected.”
A couple of large, older buildings remained, and Justin guessed that they were the main mine shaft and some processing buildings like he had seen in the satellite images.
They looked sturdy enough to still be around in future decades unless someone made a substantial effort to blow them up and haul away the remains.