Waste Not, Want Not Chapter XXIII

The two sat and drank their coffee. Conrad spoke.
“It’s good to be out in the country again. So what do you want to do today?”
“I want to go out and open the hole again. I want to climb down into the entrance chamber and at least try to see what is below. I don’t feel like risking life and limb right away!” said Paul.
Conrad sipped his brew and nodded.
“Did you bring all the stuff I asked for?”
“Sure,” said Conrad.
“The Geiger counter?”
“Yep,” Conrad handed Paul a list on a piece of paper. “It’s all in the truck.”
“Good. Let’s get you unloaded and settled in. You can have the bedroom in the front.”
Soon they were driving the two trucks along the trail leading to the rock. It was peaceful and the sky was clear. It wasn’t long before they spied the stone. They pulled to a stop just in front of the large, flat rock. Paul got out and walked over to Conrad’s truck.
“Let’s each put a cable on it and we will line up side by side and pull it. OK?” asked Paul.
“Sounds good.”
In no time they had placed their cables and started to haul in the winch cables. The stone didn’t budge. On his cell phone Paul told Conrad to lock the line and pull with the trucks. They put them in low gear and pulled, slowly the rock budged but didn’t break loose. The trucks spun their wheels but the rock wouldn’t come free. After a while Paul let out some slack in the line and shut the truck off. Conrad followed suit. The two men got of and walked over to the rock and looked it over, walking round and round it.
“Dangdest thing I ever saw,” said Paul. “I don’t see why we can’t move it.”
“Let’s take a break,” said Paul. “I brought some sandwiches and orange juice. Let’s eat.”
So that sat down on the rock and ate. Didn’t talk much.
After a while Paul got up and said “Let’s try it again,”
They climbed back into the truck cabs and again took up the slack and tried to move the rock. No luck! It was exasperating but Paul finally decided there was no point in burning up the trucks.
“Did you bring a Geiger counter?” asked Paul.
“Sure did. I got in the truck,” said Conrad. “”Do you want me to get it?”
“Yes,” said Paul. “I am curious about something.”
Conrad brought over the Geiger counter and turned it on. It registered a considerable amount of radiation. He walked closer to the rock and the Geiger counter got louder and dials shot up. As he held it over the rock it registered an abnormally high level.
“I had thought this might be the case. I know that there is uranium scattered all throughout this area and one of my companies and others mine the stuff not too far from here,” said Paul. “We’ll come back another time and try it again. The first time I moved it was relatively easy. I want to see what happens after a little time passes.”
They climbed back into their trucks and returned to the ranch house.
“What do you think?” asked Conrad.
“I really don’t know but once I moved the rock with my winch. Since then it is unmovable. Why is that? Why is the radiation level so high? Is there a connection?” Paul asked.
They made sandwiches for lunch and sat out on the front porch to eat.
“Well, what’s the plan?”
“I want to go and try again in a couple of hours and if we can’t do it then wait a while and go back,” said Paul.
“Catch it with it’s guard down huh?” Conrad chuckled as he asked the question.
“Something like that, I guess,” said Paul. “Mean while we’ll just kick back for a while. I have work I can do.”
“OK, I’ll take a walk around the place,” said Conrad. With that he walked off.