The Mountain Opens

Posted on Fri Sep 4th, 2026 @ 9:25am by Deputy Leader George Brooks & Pine Hollow Leader Amythyst & Department Leader Briar Maddox & Department Leader Jordana Venturi & Deputy Leader John ("Dodger") Smith & Department Leader Hannah Reed & Department Leader Eliza Moore & Department Leader Leah Miller & Department Leader Elliot Pike & Senior Worker Phoebe Cates & Senior Worker Andrew Dornhoeffer & Worker Lincoln Moore & Team Leader Patrick Byrne & Team Leader Mateo Alvarez & Junior Worker Colin Chambers & Worker First Class Meredith Richmond & Worker First Class Paulina Cates & Skilled Worker Rowan Maddox & Skilled Worker Henry Karcher & Assistant Department Leader Austin Wilson & Apprentice Michael Gardner

4,426 words; about a 22 minute read

Mission: Winter's hope
Location: Pine Hollow
Timeline: October 21st 2010 - 5:45am

The moon hung low above the mountains, casting pale silver light through the towering pines that crowded either side of the abandoned railway. Their branches knitted together overhead, turning the old line into a dark tunnel of trees where only scattered shafts of moonlight reached the rusted rails below.

The convoy moved slowly. Five wagons. One livestock wagon.

Fifteen cattle pulling patiently in their harnesses while the two loose bulls—Old King and Shadow—wandered alongside as though they understood exactly where everyone was going. The goats shifted inside their wagon, complaining every time a wheel found another uneven sleeper, while the chickens clucked softly from their crates. Brutus and Kira ranged ahead of the column, disappearing into the darkness before returning again, never straying far from the children they had chosen to protect.

No one spoke unless they had to.

Weeks on the road had taught them that silence was safer.

Amy walked at the front beside the rails, Elena's weathered journal open beneath the glow of a shaded lantern. The pages had become almost as familiar as her own handwriting. She barely needed to read them anymore.

"Follow the railway until it disappears beneath the mountain."

"Trust the map."

"Trust Pine Hollow."

She whispered the final words to herself without even realizing it. Behind her came only the steady creak of wagon wheels, the gentle rattle of harness chains and the rhythmic breathing of the cattle. Every now and then one of the younger children stifled a yawn, earning a sympathetic smile from an older brother or sister before the silence settled once more. The forest seemed endless. Then...It opened.

Amy stopped so suddenly that Brutus looked back at her. One by one the wagons rolled to a halt. Before them lay a small clearing. And the railway... Ended. Or at least... It appeared to. The twin rails vanished beneath a mound of broken rock, earth and fallen timber. Moss blanketed every surface while young pine trees had already begun growing between the boulders. Beyond it... Nothing.

Only an unbroken wall of granite rising into the darkness. Patrick frowned. "...This can't be it."

"It has to be," Amy replied quietly. She slowly turned in a circle. The stream crossed the tracks exactly where Elena's map showed it should.
The mountain ridge matched perfectly. Even the bend in the railway was identical. Everything was right. Except...

"There isn't a tunnel," Austin said.

The words settled heavily over the clearing. One of the younger children whispered from somewhere near the wagons. "...Did it collapse?"

Amy didn't answer. Instead she walked to where the rails disappeared beneath the rubble and knelt. She brushed away damp pine needles.

Loose gravel. Decades of forest debris. The steel continued beneath the rocks. Perfectly straight. Austin crouched beside her. "...That's wrong."

Amy looked up. "What do you mean?"

"If this was a real collapse..." He ran his fingers along the rail. "...the weight would've bent them."

Patrick wandered closer to the cliff face. His lantern paused beside one of the young pine trees growing from the edge of the supposed rockslide.

"...Amy." She joined him. The tree barely reached her shoulder. Its bark was still smooth. No thicker than her wrist. "It's too young," Patrick murmured.

Amy lifted her lantern, studying the entire slope. He was right. Every sapling looked the same age. Every shrub. Every patch of moss. It hadn't been growing here for decades. It had been planted. Carefully.
Deliberately. She opened Elena's journal again, this time reading the notes scribbled hastily into the margin. Not the map. The words beneath it. If the tunnel isn't there... Look for Signal Two.

Amy blinked. "...Signal Two?"

Austin turned, slowly sweeping his lantern back along the railway. "There."

Almost hidden beneath climbing vines stood an old railway signal.
Unlike everything else... It wasn't rusted solid. The paint had faded.
But it hadn't peeled. Someone had maintained it. Hope returned all at once.

Amy hurried toward it, brushing away years of pine needles until a square steel maintenance hatch appeared at its base.

Patrick gave a low whistle. "That's newer than everything else."

Amy reached for the latch. Locked. For a moment... No one moved.
Then something slipped free from between the pages of Elena's journal.
It fluttered silently to the forest floor. Amy bent to retrieve it. A laminated plastic card. Across the top, beneath a faded government seal, were four simple words. PINE HOLLOW SITE ACCESS LEVEL TWO AUTHORISATION

She stared at it. Elena had carried it all this time. Without another word she slid the card into a narrow slot hidden beside the hatch. A green light blinked. Once. Twice. Then— CLICK.

The lock disengaged. Patrick's eyes widened. "...There's still power."

"Batteries," Austin guessed.

Amy opened the hatch. Inside rested a heavy steel crank beside a laminated instruction plate.

EMERGENCY MANUAL ACCESS

Engage crank.
Rotate clockwise until resistance.
Pull release lever.

Amy looked at Austin. "You ready?"

He smiled faintly. "I've come this far."

Together they fitted the crank into the square drive. The first turn barely moved. The second groaned somewhere deep inside the mountain.

The third— CLUNK. The sound rolled beneath their feet like distant thunder. Every animal reacted instantly. The cattle shifted uneasily.
The goats fell silent. Brutus stopped and stared into the darkness.

Amy grasped the red lever. "Austin..."

He nodded.

She pulled. For several long seconds... Nothing happened. Then came the slow hiss of pressure releasing. Dust drifted from the cliff face.
Pebbles tumbled down the slope. The rockslide...

Moved. Not the rocks themselves. The entire mountainside slid sideways on hidden rails, carrying with it every carefully placed boulder, every sapling and every patch of earth that had hidden the entrance for decades.

Stone ground against steel with a deep, echoing rumble.

A gap appeared. Then widened. Until, where solid granite had stood only moments before... A reinforced railway tunnel stretched away into darkness.

Cool air flowed out to meet them. It carried the scent of dry concrete.
Machine oil. Cold stone. And something else... Stillness.

No one spoke. It didn't feel like discovering something forgotten.
It felt like someone had simply closed the front door... And expected to come home.

For several long moments... No one moved. The opening in the mountain stood before them like the entrance to another world.

Amy glanced back at the convoy. Twenty children. Weeks ago they had fled New York with little more than hope. Since then... They had crossed rivers. Escaped the dead. Lost Elena. And somehow... Against every impossible odd... They had made it. She closed the journal gently and tucked it beneath her arm. "Alright." Her voice was little more than a whisper. "Let's go home."

Brutus needed no encouragement. The old German Shepherd padded into the tunnel without hesitation, nose working the cool air. Kira followed a few steps behind, her ears constantly turning as though trying to hear what lay beyond the darkness.

The cattle came next. The familiar creak of leather harnesses echoed from the concrete walls as the first wagon rolled beneath the mountain. One after another the remaining wagons followed, wheels rumbling over steel rails that had not carried a train in decades.

Behind them, Patrick and Austin remained by the entrance.
Austin glanced at the heavy brass control cabinet mounted just inside the tunnel.

"So..." He rested one hand on the large lever marked OPEN. "We leave it?"

Amy nodded. "We still have everyone outside."

Patrick folded his arms. "If that thing closes halfway through..."

"...we're digging." That earned a tired chuckle from several of the older children. Austin pushed the heavy lever downward. It resisted.
Then... CLACK. The indicator slowly slid across to another position.

HOLD OPEN

Far above them something heavy shifted. Deep inside the mountain a steel locking pin disengaged with a dull metallic THUNK.

Patrick grinned. "So now it waits." Amy looked back one final time at the forest beyond the entrance. The abandoned railway disappeared into the darkness between the trees. Somewhere beyond those mountains...

Safe Harbor.

Leah's farm.

Elena.

She swallowed. "Not yet." Then turned away.

The convoy continued forward. The tunnel stretched on far longer than anyone expected. Lantern light danced across smooth concrete walls stained by decades of moisture. Every few hundred metres emergency lights hung silently from the ceiling.

Dead.

Waiting. Their footsteps echoed endlessly. The younger children gradually relaxed. For the first time in weeks... There were no trees to search. No roads. No abandoned houses. Nothing waiting to lunge from the darkness. Just the comforting rhythm of hooves, wagon wheels and familiar voices.

Even the animals seemed calmer.

Old King wandered confidently beside the wagons as though he had travelled this route a hundred times before.

One of the younger children yawned loudly. Another leaned against a sibling while riding atop the supply wagon. Patrick glanced behind them.
"I don't think I've ever heard it this quiet."

Briar smiled faintly. "It's nice." Nobody disagreed.

Minutes passed. Then... Brutus stopped. His ears stood upright.
He gave one soft bark. Amy looked ahead. Far in the distance...
Light.

At first it was nothing more than a pale grey circle. So faint she wondered if she had imagined it. Then it grew. Slowly.
Steadily. Changing from silver... To pale blue. The colour of approaching dawn. The tunnel began filling with cool morning air.

Fresh. Clean. Carrying scents none of them had smelled in weeks. Fresh water. Wet grass. Pine. Wildflowers. Amy felt her heart begin to race.
"We're nearly there."

Nobody needed telling twice. Children climbed down from wagons.
Others hurried forward for a better look. The light continued growing until finally...

Brutus stepped out.

Then Kira.

Amy followed. And stopped. Before them... An entire valley awakened beneath the first light of morning. Towering granite cliffs surrounded it on every side, rising hundreds of feet into the brightening sky like ancient walls built by nature itself. Behind the valley, the mountain they had just crossed stood silent and unmoving, giving no hint that a hidden railway tunnel pierced its heart.

The eastern ridgeline caught the first rays of the rising sun. Golden light spilled across the valley floor. A waterfall thundered from high upon the northern cliffs, crashing into a crystal-clear river that wound through orchards, open meadows and grazing paddocks before widening into a lake so still it reflected the morning sky like polished glass.

Mist drifted lazily across its surface.

The four-storey timber lodge stood proudly on a gentle rise overlooking the water. Stone chimneys reached into the crisp autumn air. Wide verandas wrapped around every level. Its windows caught the sunrise, glowing warmly despite having stood empty for weeks.

It didn't look abandoned. It looked... Patient. To the west stood two enormous barns surrounded by sturdy timber fencing.

Beyond them stretched hay fields ready for cutting, orchards heavy with late apples, neat vegetable gardens and rows of greenhouses glittering beneath beads of morning dew.

To the east, guest cabins nestled beneath towering pines.

A fishing dock reached quietly into the lake. Beside it stood a weathered boat shed. Far above everything else... Silent ski lifts climbed the northern mountainside toward a lonely fire watch tower perched on the ridge.

The entire valley breathed peace. No smoke. No screams. No walkers.
Only birdsong. The steady roar of the waterfall. And the distant call of a horse somewhere beyond the western pasture.

Nobody spoke. Weeks of exhaustion... Fear... Running... Loss... Every road had ended here. Amy slowly lowered Elena's journal. Tears filled her eyes before she realised they were there. "We made it."

The words barely carried beyond the first wagon. Patrick looked around the valley in complete disbelief. "...She wasn't lying."

"No," Amy whispered. "No... She wasn't."

Then... A low whinny drifted across the valley. Every head turned.
Standing beyond one of the western paddocks were four horses. Alive.
Healthy. Watching the newcomers with cautious curiosity. A moment later another sound answered. A deep contented moo. Several unfamiliar cattle appeared beyond a nearby rise. Then sheep. Dozens of them. Quietly grazing as though nothing in the world had changed. Briar blinked. "...We're not alone."

Amy smiled. "No." She watched the animals for several moments. "...Pine Hollow's been waiting for us."

She drew a deep breath. Wiped her eyes. Then, almost reluctantly...
She became their leader again. "Alright..." Her voice carried across the valley. "We've got work to do."

Austin nodded and then said "I will go close the entrance." And with Andrew at his side, took off to do so, their running feet echoing behind them.

Dodger was the last one of the convoy to enter into Pine Hollow. With Fisher at his side he stepped in and looked at what greeted them. Horses, sheep and cattle and the buildings! Huge and majestic well kept not old and falling apart. A mountain lodge, barns, guest cabins. All stood waiting for them. There was enough room for all of them. A boat dock with a weathered boat shed stood silent sentinel. Then there were the trees, full of apples waiting to be picked and rows upon rows of greenhouses with vegetable gardens next to them. Somewhere in the distance he could hear a waterfall. His eyes moved from one sight to another taking it all in. If it was a dream he didn't want it to end. Then he slowly lifted his head skyward and whispered, "Thank you Elena. Thank you for your gift. We'll make the most of it. I promise."

Entering Pine Hollow, Jordan looked around. Animal sounds filled the still air as she observed the abandoned barns. A shiver creeped up her spine, causing her to shudder. Readjusting her bag, she walked with the group and then headed towards the first barn she laid her eye upon. The stillness still creeped her out.

George sat in the driver's seat of the supply wagon, his eyes taking in the beauty and serenity that surrounded them. It's as if the nightmare that was the world, had never known of this place. He had never seen a location that looked more beautiful in his entire life. Words could not do justice to what he was looking at in that moment.

Amy looked toward the lodge. "We don't unload yet." Instead she pointed toward the broad front lawn. "We'll stage everything there until we know where it belongs." The livestock wagon shifted as one of the goats complained loudly. That finally drew a few smiles. "The chickens stay crated until we've checked the coop. The goats stay in the livestock wagon until we know the pens are secure." Her gaze shifted toward the cattle patiently waiting in their yokes. "And these girls..." She smiled softly. "...have earned a proper breakfast." She looked across the valley again before turning toward three of the older teenagers.

"Dodger..." She nodded toward the lodge. "I need the house checked from top to bottom. Every room. Every door. Make sure we're alone. Take Briar with you."

Dodger gave a crisp nod of acknowledgement. "Right. Come on Briar." He called as he was already moving towards the lodge.

He got to the main door and stopped waited for Briar to join him. " I make it four stories with possibly a basement and an attic. I think we should stick together, explore the floors together, it will take longer but we'll be sure we didn't miss anything and we'll start with the basement if it has one and work our way up."

"Sounds good" Briar replied as she joined him, her spear in her hand.

She turned slightly. "Jordana..." Her eyes drifted toward the barns and fenced paddocks. "Can you take a team and check the livestock areas? I don't want to move ours until we know the fences and barns are sound."

Jordan turned to her and nodded, "On it."

She walked towards the first barn with a team behind her.

"George." She looked toward the workshops, sheds and the open ground around the lodge. "I need to know if anything out there can hurt us. Fuel. Machinery. Open wells. Anything." She gave each of them a small nod.

George nodded. He climbed down from the wagon, then took another of the older boys with him and they set out to perform their recon of the work areas, careful not to touch anything, at least not yet.

"Report back before anyone starts spreading out." Amy looked around at the rest of the children. "The rest of us stay together." She smiled. "We're not camping anymore." Her eyes settled once more on the lodge standing quietly beside the river. "We're moving in."

As if on cue, a low moo drifted across the valley. Heads turned toward the western pasture. Three cattle stood on a distant rise, watching the newcomers with quiet curiosity. Not theirs. Healthy. Well-fed. Alive.

Patrick couldn't help but grin. "I don't think we're the first ones having breakfast."

Amy smiled for what felt like the first time in weeks. "No..." She watched the unfamiliar cattle disappear into the morning mist. "...I think Pine Hollow has been waiting for us."

==Lodge==

Dodger opened the main doors to the lodge, they opened easily with only the slightest of creaks. he and Briar were standing in the main foyer and to say it was impressive was an understatement. It was bold and regal. They were standing on hardwood floors, polished rich looking hardwood floors as the ground floor waited before them.

Briar stared and then looked down at her dirty jeans and unwashed shirt. "Man am I under dressed" She wanted to wipe her feet. The whole ground floor was where the upper class made their homes, The large Tables in the dining hall and there, looking towards the ski slopes was a large living area with a massive double sided fireplace. "Wow." She breathed.

Dodger looked over at her. "You look fine." He stated honestly even as his swept the room before them. "Man oh man. What a room. You think the whole place looks like this?" he asked as he walked further into the room. "Briar, look at this." he gestured to a room full of books with a fireplace, "Library you think?"

Briar nodded and turned for the other side. She walked through what she was thinking of as a living room and down the hall. Bathroom on the left, a laundry, and on the right, she pushed open the doors. A massive kitchen. "Dodger!" she called. "Kitchen!"

Dodger was at her side in an instant, He stared in wide eyed wonder at the massive kitchen. "You could feed an army from this kitchen." He remarked as he took it all in "And look at this!" he said opening a door adjacent to the kitchen. "A freezer?"

Briar frowned. "Power is on" She said. "This is a pantry. But you can hear the hum of a motor." She exited the kitchen following the wall through a door and to the right to find a walk in freezer door and another further on. She took a breath and opened the first door. Cold, freezing air billowed out. And then she stared. "DODGER!" She called. Inside was meat. Kilograms and kilograms of meat hanging and on shelves.

"Oh my gosh!" Dodger gasped from her side. "I can't believe what I am seeing or hearing. Must be a generator close by. This is unbelievable. Will you look at all this meat," he walked to a shelve and picked up a couple of sealed packages, "One is labeled ribeye steaks and the other says porterhouse steaks." He picked up another package, "Steak fries."

Briar moved to the next door. She opened it. "Cold room. Milk, butter, cheese, everything!" She turned to Dodger. "Its so well supplied. Our supplies will supplement it but,.. this is so much more."

Dodger followed behind her. "This is better than finding a gold mine. This is stuff we can actually use." He walked over to another door off the freezer. Opening the door the room was cool but not as cold as the freezer. "Umm. Briar." He called to her as he stood and looked into a well stocked wine cellar.

"Lock it" she suggested. "We do not need it and maybe if we ever meet people we can use it to trade.. or medical needs." She paused. "We should check upstairs."

"Agreed. We'll need to let Amy know about it. But the younger kids do not need to know it even exists." He nodded, "Let's go."

Together they moved up to the first level above the ground floor. 10 rooms and two bathrooms were arrayed on either side of a wide hallway. There were couches and chairs through the hall. She carefully opened a door labeled 106. "Bunk room" She announced. "8 bunks"

"Not only can you feed an army but you can house an army here and look, all the rooms are well stocked with towels and even bathrobes. Everyone can have their own room if they want it. Some of the younger ones might wish to share a room. Let's see what is on the next floor and the surprises it has."

"This is amazing. Elena was right, it was set up for people to live." Briar said as they checked the next two floors with the third having less rooms but bigger beds. "The attic? And then the basement?"

"Yes." Dodger remarked as they took the stairs into the attic. Once there, Dodger turned to Briar, "Are you seeing this? Extra bedding and furnishings. A repair shop with a workbench. Shelves with crates" He walked over to one and opened it, " Seasonal clothes in here, clothes and scarfs. "The attic runs the length of the lodge." He noted.

"Its the perfect place to store our maps and plans." She said softly. "This place will house us well and there are still those other houses on the ridge."

"It sure will. Let's go check out the basement and if it checks out we can tell Amy to start letting everyone move in." Dodger answered.

Briar nodded and then went down to the ground floor then to the basement steps. In the basement they found single berth staff quarters, a kitchen with a table to eat at, a living room, another library and a games room and bathrooms. "Well this is going to be a good place to hide."

Dodger looked around the room. "That isn't a bad idea. Use this as a fall back position if we have to. It's got the beds and bathrooms, a kitchen, We could make do here if we had to." he looked back to Briar, "Let's go tell Amy the good news."

She nodded and followed him.

With Briar alongside him, Dodger approached Amy. "Lodge is clear all the way through from basement to attic. Enough rooms for everyone to have their own bed and room if they want it and there is power to the building and freezer that is almost completely stocked full of meat. Right Briar?"

Briar nodded and smiled. "We need to stock take it but there is enough for months."

Amy smiled. "Room for our supplies?"

"Yes."

==Property Check ==

George and Thomas, the deaf preteen who had joined the group a few days before he did, were carefully moving through the various workshops that were set up around the main area. There was a woodworking shop, a forge, an automotive garage, even a gunsmith and ammo building station. That this was all just sitting here, as if waiting for someone to just walk in and take ownership both amazed and worried him. Clearly, careful planning had been made in setting this place up. He just hoped that they didn’t find out the hard way that they made a mistake coming here.

Thomas walked behind George looking around and then pulled out a notebook and began making notes.

George paused when he saw the distant forest ranger station. It would be the best place to set up an overwatch location from. He turned and signed to Thomas, "Wgen everyone settles into the main house, I think I'm going to take that place. That way I can keep watching over the valley for any danger."

Thomas signed back "Keep an eye on Amy you mean," then he turned for the barns.

George gave his friend a slight look, as he replied, his words stumbling a bit, as he signed in the wrong order by accident. "Mean you what?"

Thomas slowly signed "You watch Amy a lot."

George blushed noticeably at that. "Do you think she knows?" He replied, signing the question slower now.

Thomas shrugged. And signed. "It's Amy. She notices most things but keeps them to herself."

George considered this fact. It was one of the things that had attracted him to her on the first place, her intelligence. No matter what they had faced, she had always seemed to be a couple steps ahead of the situation,whatever er it happened to be.

He let out a breath, then signed, "I probably don't even have. Shot with her, do I?"

Thomas considered it. "Maybe. We are not the Infernals of New York any more. Didn't you, Dodger and Amy say the rules will need to change?"

George considered the words his friend had conveyed for a few beats, then slowly shook his head as he signed his reply. "It is simple biology, that to survive, we will need to reproduce." It was strange, he thought to himself....a few months ago, and that idea would have made him laugh. But now, it was a fact of life. If they, as a group, were to stand any chance of surviving the first generation of this new world, then they would need to start making babies, and soon.

Thomas signed "I'll pass thanks," and gave an exaggerated shudder. "Lets get this done so we can get everyone into the lodge."

This made George grin and chuckle. He then signed, "I don't know, I think one of the girls was starting to eye you lately." He gave his friend a playful wink, then gently punched his shoulder in a brotherly manner. Together, they continued to sign jokes and teasing comments to each other as they completed their inspection and made their way back to the group to report their findings.

~OFF~

OOC: Maps etc on what you will see are here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nN8ziE9kne2wAWPt3rfdYuvZO6KUZv5w9o28-7O900U/edit?usp=sharing

 

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