The Graves Crew and the Damned Dam

By Kenneth McDonald

After surviving a night when the dead rose from their graves to attack the living, building a dam shouldn’t have been much of a challenge. But Graves and his crew of misfits and rejects quickly learn that their new assignment is anything but simple. Between natural hazards, saboteurs, and a mysterious threat from the river itself, the gang of men from the dregs of the Duke’s army once again find themselves on the front lines of a desperate fight for survival.

The second installment in “The Graves Crew” series of stories, featuring the adventures of a collection of losers who have a surprising number of hidden talents.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kenneth McDonald
• Release date: Sep 24, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370458196

Kenneth McDonald

I am a retired education consultant who worked for state government in the area of curriculum. I have also taught American and world history at a number of colleges and universities in California, Georgia, and South Carolina. I started writing fiction in graduate school and never stopped. In 2010 I self-published the novella "The Labyrinth," which has had over 100,000 downloads. Since then, I have published more than fifty fantasy and science fiction books on Smashwords. My doctorate is in European history, and I live with my wife in northern California.

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The Graves Crew and the Damned Dam

Kenneth McDonald

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Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2017 by Kenneth McDonald

Cover Credit: the cover image is adapted from the painting Waterfall in Yosemite by Thomas Mann (1913). The image is in the public domain.

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Works by Kenneth McDonald

The Ogre at the Crossroads

The Graves Crew

The Graves Crew and the Restless Dead

The Graves Crew and the Damned Dam

Refugees of the Crucible

Powerless

Overpowered

Balance of Power

Soul Weapons

Wizard’s Shield

Soul of the Sword

Wizard’s Stone

Tales of the Soul Weapons

The Dwarf on the Mountain

The Colors of Fate

Black Shadows Gather

Green Hearts Weep

Red Vengeance Rising

Faded Yellow Dreams

Blazing White Stars

Shiny Golden Schemes

The Mages of Sacreth

The Labyrinth

Of Spells and Demons

Grimm’s War

Grimm’s Loss

Grimm’s Love

Of Blood and Magic

Of Steel and Sorcery

The Godswar Trilogy

Paths of the Chosen

Choice of the Fallen

Fall of Creation

Daran’s Journey

Heart of a Hero

Soul of a Coward

Will of a Warrior

Courage of a Champion

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Chapter 1

Graves tasted blood as the platform shifted under him and he bit down hard on his tongue. He very nearly topped that with a smashed nose as another jolt nearly knocked him face-first into the wall of tree trunks directly in front of him. Dazed, he looked around to recover his bearings.

You okay? Squints yelled. Graves looked at the other man on the platform and managed a nod before he realized that Squints probably wouldn’t see the subtle movement. I’m fine! The bypass must be giving way again!

Graves staggered over to the edge of the platform, grabbing hold of the wall for support. The platform, made of smaller trunks lashed together, was as slick as ice. But he reached the edge without falling or sliding off and looked over into the pit below.

He heard Barek before he saw him. The big man, stripped to his waist, was caught in a swirling spray of water and mud that had transformed him into something barely human. He was letting out a stream of impressive profanity that carried clearly over the sounds of water pouring into the breach. Just moments ago it had been up to his knees, but with the sudden influx from upstream it was already past his hips and rising.

Barek had always been creative with his cursing, but at the moment he was managing a simultaneous blast against multiple targets. Graves could pick out denunciations of Diggs, the chief of the crew working the bypass, Rajek on the lines above, the citizens of River Landing, and Captain Reynon. At that last Graves couldn’t help but glance up at in the direction of the camp that lay out of sight beyond the rim of the gorge. It was stupid, he knew; with the chaos developing in the gorge no sounds from below had any chance of traveling that far.

Most of Barek’s fury, however, seemed directed at the man working beside him in the pit. The other was just as big as Barek, though even slicked with mud it was obvious that his skin was a few shades lighter, his hair a dirty blonde where it was visible through the caked filth. He was making a heroic effort to protect the wooden frame that they’d build around the socket where the next log would have soon added to the two wall segments slowly closing toward the center of the gorge. The gap between them had shrunk to a scant ten feet, but from the rate that the water was collecting at that gap Graves could see with one look that any further progress was a lost cause.

Barek, Markhos, get out of there! he yelled. Despite how close they were he had to repeat it twice before Markhos looked up. The riverman reached over and grabbed Barek’s arm, directing his attention up at Graves ten feet above him. Barek didn’t hesitate, heading immediately for the rope ladder that led up to the platform. The water was up to his chest now, swirling violently as he thrust his way forward.

Graves looked up at the log dangling halfway out into the chasm. The newest prospective addition to their dam was attached to a series of lines anchored on both sides of the gorge. A whole team of men was responsible for guiding the log down. Graves quickly found Keev, standing at his assigned spot on the near side, and waved his arms. Keev at once turned and started shouting instructions to the crew. The log stopped sliding down and began to spin in mid-air before it started slowly drifting back to the side of the gorge.

Graves looked down again and saw that Barek had reached the ladder and had started up. Markhos was only a few steps behind him, having little apparent difficulty with the powerful current. The riverman was good in water, and he’d proven himself a vital addition to Graves’s crew.

A loud rushing sound that penetrated over the din below him drew Graves’s attention around. As he turned he felt a cold sensation clench in his gut.

A wall of water was rushing down the gorge toward them.

Squints turned toward the noise. All he could see was a blur of movement, but the look on Graves’s face was all the warning he needed to know their danger. He immediately grabbed hold of the cargo hoist—a basket an arm’s span across used to drop tools and construction materials into the gorge—and pulled it over to where Graves was standing. The boom atop the rim behind them wasn’t quite that long, but fortunately the man crewing it had had the forethought to play out extra rope to give them enough slack. More men were coming into view along the top of the cliff as the alarm spread, but there wasn’t much they could do to help those below at the moment.

Graves grabbed hold of the basket and thrust it over the edge of the platform. But with the angle the ropes holding it got tangled up and it twisted to the side, the basket firmly embedded in the struts supporting the platform. Cursing, Graves tried to drag it free without success. Barek was already halfway up the ladder, but Markhos was being pushed back, toward the gap where the water was flushing through in a relentless deluge.

Giving up on the hoist, Graves pulled down as much rope as he could, and turned to Squints. Get ready to pull us up! he yelled, then he went over.

He’d thought he’d been soaked through and half frozen on the platform, but the water still felt like pure ice as his legs plunged into it. He spun around and nearly lost his grip on the rope as the current smashed him against the wall of logs.

Markhos! he yelled.

The riverman had already spotted him and was trying to get to him, but Graves could see that the current was winning that fight. Growling something incoherent, Graves twined the rope around his forearm and kicked off hard from the wall. He was briefly plunged underwater, then he felt an iron grip seize hold of him. He was pulled up and saw Markhos’s face an inch from his own, the big man enfolding them both with his strong arms. For a moment it felt like Graves’s arm would be pulled from its socket, but then Markhos grabbed hold of the rope and the pressure eased.

Pull! Graves heard someone yelling, and then they were moving upward. It felt like the water was trying to maintain its grip on them. Graves wondered how close the surge of water was, or whether it had already hit them. He tried to get a clear look but everything was chaos around them and he was nearly blind.

Finally he caught sight of a face: Squints, his face tight with effort as he pulled on the rope. Markhos had already grabbed hold of the platform and was pulling himself up. Barek was there was well, and he lunged out to grab hold of Graves as he dangled just below the edge of the platform. Hold on! he shouted.

In the next moment Graves’s question was answered, as the descending wave struck like a battering ram. It didn’t quite crest the platform, but all four men could feel the construction shudder under them. A surge of spray shot up as the water hit the gap in the center of the partially-completed dam. There was a loud snap underneath them that they felt rather than heard.

Go, go! Squints yelled.

Graves was virtually flung to his feet by Barek, who barely waited to make sure he wouldn’t go over the edge before he turned and ran for the almost sheer cliff. The platform began to sag, and buckets of nails and various tools went tumbling off to be absorbed into the torrent. Most of the onrushing water was pouring through the gap in the dam, but enough was being held back to form a ferocious whirlpool. The platform tilted further as another of the struts supporting the platform gave way, and the entire assembly began to creak ominously.

Graves! Markhos yelled, grabbing hold of him and helping him forward. Squints and Barek were already making their way up the lines that led to the top of the cliff twenty feet above. The men up there were tossing down more ropes; Graves laid his hands on one just as the platform let out a final groan of protest and gave way. The log platform disintegrated as it was hurled back into the whirlpool and tossed around before the force of the water managed to thrust it through the gap and away.

For a moment Graves just dangled there, watching as the raw power of nature destroyed days of human labor. He got his legs under him, his boots finding tenuous hold on the slick rock that formed the wall of the gorge. At the moment climbing up seemed quite out of the question; he would wait until the others were ready to pull him up. Then he looked over and saw that Markhos had lingered as well, likely to make sure he wouldn’t fall. Graves had seen the man climb and knew that this ascent would give him about as much trouble as a normal man would have climbing a ladder.

You okay? the riverman asked.

Yeah.

Thanks.

Graves nodded. You’re a member of my crew. He wondered if Vanek was okay; the bypass that redirected the flow of the river away from the site of the dam must have failed catastrophically to unleash such a deluge. He looked up to the summit. Barek and Squints were already near the top, and as he watched men helped them over the crest. A familiar face leaned out, saw his and waved a signal. It was Keev, warning them that they would be pulled up next. Graves motioned back and tightened his grip on the rope. Up we go, he said, with one last look at the scene of destruction before the rope went taut and he and Markhos began their ascent to safety.

* * * * *

Chapter 2

Helpful hands pulled Graves to his feet. His clothes were sodden, and blood was trickling down his sleeve from a cut he’d managed to pick up during the chaos below. Damn, Graves, I thought you were all deaders there, Keev said, rubbing his forehead as