Hell Holes 2: Demons on the Dalton

Quotes from the Book

• “He leaned towards me, and I did what any reasonable person would do when facing imminent death by being eaten alive. I screamed.” – Dr. Angela Menendez
• “Perhaps, we may end up being the wildebeest the lions have separated from the safety of the herd; easy pickings.” – Aileen Oshannon
• “Driver picks. I’m going to catch up with the convoy, find a way to pass several of the cars, and not be last in line.” – Dr. Jack Oswald
• Directly in front of us in the middle of the road was a huge gargoyle, at least five feet at the shoulder, his great red wings spread wide to either side, blocking the road.
• “Such were my dark thoughts sitting alone in my cabin with only the company of the dead.” – Aileen O’Shannon
• Calling Coldfoot the second largest town on the Dalton Highway south of Deadhorse is actually a gross exaggeration. In reality, Coldfoot is little more than a truck stop.
• Dozens of columns of black smoke rose in the distance behind us on both sides of the road, marking the hell that had once been Coldfoot.
• As we watched, additional fires sprang up on the hills, soon merging into a continuous wall of fire blocking our way south.
• “Right now, we are trapped between the demon horde and the river like a mouse between two rooms full of cats. We have no choice. We need to run for our one and only mouse hole.”​
• In addition to American aircraft, I was amazed to see several aircraft that bore the target-shaped, red, white, and blue insignia of the Royal Air Force and the similar Australian insignia with the red bullseye replaced by a kangaroo.
• Known as highly effective tank killers during the Iraq War, I wondered how they would fare when pitted against an army of demons.
• “These demons are a pestilence. We cannot be content to merely treat the symptoms of this disease. We must find a more permanent cure, or we all may die.” – Aileen O’Shannon
• Soldiers would have to enter an inactive hell hole, travel through the portal to the demon’s home world, and stop the invasion at its source. I didn’t see how it could possibly be anything other than a suicide mission with almost no likelihood of success. – Dr. Angela Menendez

Author’s Commentary

Oweynagat (which is pronounced “Owen-ne-gatt” and means Cave of the Cats) is the name of an actual cave located at Rath Croghan, Ireland. Ancient legends state that many evil and destructive creatures have emerged from the cave, especially on Samhain, the start of the Celtic New Year. These include a three-headed monster, wildcats, and red birds whose breath withered plants. Referred to as the hell-mouth of Ireland by medieval texts, the cave is also said to contain a portal to another world. It seemed a fitting place to be the source of the hellhounds that attacked Aileen’s village and killed her parents, the terrible event that led to her joining the Tutores Contra Infernum.

With the exception of the hell holes, I have taken great pains to ensure that the Alaskan settings in the book are as they are in real life. To achieve this level of realism, I flew to Alaska, drove the Dalton Highway up to the Yukon River, and toured Eielson AFB. I have relied heavily on Google maps, Google maps street view, photographs of Coldfoot and the Trucker’s Café, and both photographs and articles on military equipment such as Strykers and Pave Hawk helicopters. I also used multiple military advisors.

Video of Dalton Highway Site of the Forest Fire

Publishing Information

Publisher: Magical Wand Press
Edition: Second edition
Publication Date: 1 June 2016
Pages: 197
Words: 51,660
Size: 5×8
Language: English

Formats

Hell Holes 2: Demons on the Dalton is available in the following formats:

Format	Source
eBook (.epub)	Ingram
eBook (.mobi)
eBook (.pdf)
Paperback	Ingram
Hardback	Not Available
Audiobook

Cataloging in Publication (CIP) Data Block

Name: Firesmith, Donald
Title: Hell Holes: Demons on the Dalton / by Donald Firesmith.
Description: Second edition. | Pittsburgh : Magical Wand Press, 2015. | Series: Hell Holes, Volume 2. | Summary: Survivors of scientific team flee south along Dalton Highway being chased by demons. | Audience: Adult. | Language: English.
Identifiers: ISBN: 978-1523241767 (Paperback – Amazon) | ASIN: B01FQA1EFI (Kindle ebook – Amazon) | ASIN: B08P2CTDMH (Audiobook – Amazon) | ISBN: 978-1987065152 (Paperback – Barnes&Noble) | BN ID: 2940161484647 (Kindle ebook – Barnes&Noble) | ISBN: 978-1684189120 (Paperback – Ingram) | ISBN: 978-1684189137 (ebook – Ingram) | ISBN: 978-1310637452 (ebook – Smashwords)
Subjects: BISAC: FICTION / Action & Adventure. | FICTION / Fantasy / Paranormal. | Fiction / Science Fiction / General. | LCSH: American–Fantasy–Fiction. | American–Paranormal–Fiction. | American–Science Fiction–Fiction.
Classification: DDC 813.62 F57 2016

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