Gorge, a novel in progress by Michael Gullo (2026)
“Start here.”
“Ryan, I’m not going that way.”
“What’s that mean?”
“It means I won’t be the next episode of Dateline; wife in Calligan Creek Washington mysteriously shows up at the Open Optics dam and is on trial for pushing her husband down the gorge wall.”
“Julie, it’s this or the fence.”
“How about neither?”
“I’m getting inside.”
“The signs beg to differ.”
She’s right.
“We came all this way.”
“You dragged me all this way.”
Good one, Jules.
“That settles it. You asked for this, you know…”
“Don’t do it.”
Yeah, don’t do it.
“If we get inside, we can fix this.”
“Don’t touch that fence.”
Definitely don’t touch that fence.
“I’m scaling it.”
“Ryan, that camera followed us.”
Yes I did.
“Look, we are getting inside.”
No you’re not.
“The sign’s not a bluff.”
For sure not a bluff.
“Then we go around.”
“You can’t even see what’s down there. What happens if you get all the way down, and it’s the same fences?”
It is.
“I’m not giving up.”
“Nobody said give up.”
I did.
-Matthew, he’s going to touch that fence-
He’s not.
-Matthew-
Fine. Pulse it.
-Executed-
Not this time.
“Matthew, that’s you in there, isn’t it?”
Yep.
“It’s you, isn’t it? Speak to me.”
Nope.
“My keycard don’t work.”
I know.
“Matthew, we saw the camera following us.”
It’s auto-tracking.
-Actually, only those POE cameras on the perimeter fence are auto-tracking. The bullet cameras are under my control.-
Snitch
“Can it talk back?”
“Yes, you see those little holes in the goose-neck there? That’s a speaker.”
“How do you know this?”
“We use these down in the gorge when we clean gates.”
“Why?”
“No phone service.”
“Ryan, Ryan, are you there? Come in, Ryan.”
“Yes, Mitch. We’re here, but someone beat us to it.”
You missed one, Chipshit.
-LTE towers have batteries, Matthew.-
How long?
-There is a lot of network traffic. Three days.-
“Ryan, it’s Matthew. I’m trapped in here, man. You gotta get me out.”
“Whaddya mean you’re trapped?”
“The doors won’t open, man. You gotta hop the fence and get me out.” Hot the fence.
-No, Matthew.-
“I’m coming in, Matt.”
Hot the fence.
-Your own standing order number one; if humans kill each other, that’s their choice, but we kill no one.-
He’s coming over.
“Ryan? I’m talking to you Ryan.”
Chipshit, hot that fence. That’s an order.
-Standing order number one.-
“I’m over the fence, Mitch, but Matthew Resnick is inside.”
“How do you know that?”
“I was speaking to him over the camera two-way.”
“The cameras are on?”
“Yes. We were…”
“If they’re on, we should see them.”
Shut up, you vile little man.
“The cameras are on.”
“Then it’s the LC Optical cables.”
“I got no idea what those are.”
“Ryan, don’t walk away.”
“Jules. Um, come on. Hop over.”
“No way.”
“Who are you talking to?”
“I’m here with my wife.”
“Why would you bring your wife?”
“Have you been watching the news? I wasn’t leaving her.”
“She’s not authorized…”
“Are you kidding me?”
Yeah, are you kidding?
“I’m sorry. Okay. Ryan you have to get in that building.”
“I have to get my wife first --- Come on, Julie. You have to climb over. Only the top is charged, and my coat insulated me.”
“No way, Ryan. This is ridiculous. This guy doesn’t even know that his plan will work. And the camera is just watching me.”
You’re pretty.
“Jules, don’t walk away.”
“I’m not climbing that fence.”
“Wait. Don’t.”
“I’m not staying here.”
“I’m coming. Wait.”
That’s it, walk away. You see this, Chipshit? DOD level security, and a pissed off wife saves the day.
“Julie, just wait.”
“Ryan, I’m packing for Knoxville.”
“Calm down. I’m here.”
“Don’t touch me.”
“Slow down.”
“I’m leaving. Throw that radio in the river and let’s go.”
“I can’t do that.”
“That fucking camera.”
“I know, honey.”
“This isn’t real. None of this is real. It’s just a couple banks.”
“It’s more than that.”
“News said nothing to worry about. They expect to have… If there was something wrong, the President would give like a speech or something.”
“Look around you.”
“I am. Today he’s headed to Charlotte.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Everything’s normal. The President has a full schedule. If something was wrong he’d be in like a bunker or something, not getting on Air Force One to go shake hands in a factory.”
“You’re in your own little world here.”
“No, you’re the one. Look around you.”
“That’s the idea. Look around.”
“What do I see?”
“Me. Look at me first. What’s seven times thirteen?”
“You did it backwards.”
“Big number first –”
“Thirteen times seven.”
“Seven times ten, seventy. Seven times three, twenty-one. Twenty-one plus seventy, ninety one.”
“You’re so weird.”
“Yeah, yeah. It’s not a panic attack, Ryan. I don’t want to be here because I don’t want to be here. And I’m not the only one; look at that parking lot, one car, the creepo’s car.”
“He’s really smart – like 179 squared times nine to the fifteenth smart.”
“If he’s so smart, why’s he a graveyard shift watchman drives a beater with a threadbare donut?”
“There she is. What else?”
“That yellow is disgusting.”
“Huh?”
“The safety railings.”
“Can we talk it through now?”
“Yes. What happened to Mitch?”
“He fell off and shattered when I hopped the fence.”
“Like destroyed or battery door off?”
“I was after you. I didn’t stop to look.”
“So sweet.”
“Can we go back to panic?”
“Nope. Helpful sarcasm.”
“Great.”
“I’m not going back over there to be gawked at in the camera.”
“It’s a tracking camera.”
“I can hear the gears grinding when I move, and I look up through the dome, and I can see the lens pointed at me.”
“It tracks movement.”
“But he’s watching it.”
“You can stay over here if you want.”
“No, Ryan. You get inside, and you open the gate, and I walk in.”
“It’s a card reader. It’s broken.”
“How do you know that?”
“Light’s red.”
“So is mine.”
“More like blinking caution. I’m going to talk with Matthew.”
“Fine, but if he gawks at me again, I’ll hide his pocket protector.”
“This weather is nuts.”
“Northwest April, snowman in the morning, beach bum at lunch.”
“Is it all steamy like this every day?”
“Like, when it’s cold out over night, and the sun hits, it like burns off the frost.”
“Could that be what’s wrong with the card reader?”
“I mean, it works every morning.”
“Horse that died once.”
“Go look.”
“Ryan, I set the fence to lethal. Don’t touch it.”
-Executed-
“Matthew, why would you do that? Did I just hear the model?”
“What do you want?”
“Ten minutes ago you were luring me in, you’re trapped. Now you hot the fence.”
“There’s something wrong with that guy.”
“Timeout. I was home – just like everyone else. And my radio rings. It’s that guy that Mitch guy. He’s talking into my radio like…”
“Probably has the whole list of codes. No idea who he’s calling.”
“Exactly. He’s just clicking contacts.”
“And you answer like a fool.”
“It’s Mitch. He says so. You guys get all dressed up and clean your offices when he comes to visit.”
“That was then.”
“Well, I didn’t get the memo he’s the devil now, so I answer him. He tells me he can’t reach the center. Orders me to investigate. And now I’m here arguing with you through a camera speaker, the radio is busted open on the pavement over there, and I got no idea what’s going on.”
Chipshit, stress analysis.
-97% sincerity.-
The three percent?
-Rounding.-
“What do you want now?”
“I mean. I guess nothing. Can I go home?”
“I’m not stopping you.”
“But, Mitch.”
“Radio’s dead.”
“Makes you my only superior, and you said go home.”
“Wait a minute, Ryan. Matthew, Mitch wanted us here to make sure everything is okay at the site.”
“I doubt he even knows the maintenance man is married.”
“I bet he knows you’re an asshole, though.”
“Chipshit, de-energize the fence and buzz the gate.”
-Executed.-
“Come inside.”
“What the hell?”
“This dude’s cracked.”
“Matthew, a minute ago you’re sitting behind a lethal fence with doors locked and all you ask is for us to leave, and now you’re telling me to let my husband walk into that place. My bullshit detector is a hereditary model installed by the best in the genome, and I smell desperation.”
Chipshit.
-Posture forward, inquiring, hands open, accusational, confident. Not a threat.-
“It’s the news. It’s the users. All of my… Just come on in. It’s a misunderstanding.”
“Buzz it again.”