Trapped On Talonque: (A Sectors SF romance) (25 page)

“Sent them each running to the exit as soon as they came through. We must be out of time by now.” Nate slid down the dirt and rocks, Thom right behind him, and sprinted along the tunnel after their companions. “Pray there isn’t another blockage before the exit, because from the increasing frequency and intensity of the quakes, we don’t have time to clear more rocks from the path. Bithia said we’re substantially over the limit of time she expected already.”

Nate skidded around a smooth, gentle curve in the corridor to find the women and Atletl standing in a pool of light from Bithia’s gilintrae in front of a massive door like the one in the hangar bay.

“What’s the holdup? Blow this thing,” Nate said. “I ordered you not to wait for us.”

“It won’t open.” Bithia’s voice was taut with frustration.

“Not responding at all?” Nate said in disbelief. He came to a stop next to her, breathing hard, staring at the door with narrowed eyes.

“I don’t believe it.” Thom added a spacer’s oath in Basic for emphasis, the tone leaving no doubt of his negative reaction to this new hurdle. “When do we get a goddamn break on this planet?”

Nate heard the grinding of whatever mechanism should be opening the portal. The door vibrated, straining upward a few inches, then thudded into its tracks. Another quake struck, this one violent enough to throw them all to the floor. Grabbing Bithia as he fell, cushioning her from impact with the floor, Nate was buffeted by massive seismic waves rolling through the ground under him. The sound—somewhere between a roar and a rumble—was deafening.

“I think the door’s warped,” Bithia said as soon as the rattling and rolling died away. Sitting up a bit drunkenly, she worked the dials of her gilintrae, stabbing at the jewels. “The mechanism tries to respond.”

“We need something to wedge it open with. If we can get the door open far enough to slip underneath and make it to the outside, we’ll be fine,” Nate said.

“This door must weigh tons. We’re not going to find anything in this tunnel strong enough to hold it,” Thom protested. “Short of going back to the rockfall.”

Another quake rattled through the tunnel. Nate heard a sharp crack behind him and then a roar as tons of rock fell through the tunnel sheathing. A rolling cloud of choking dust billowed around the curve. The door moved open farther and, as his hopes rose, stayed stubbornly in its new, slightly higher position. A cool, fresh breeze wafted into the tunnel from the small opening, creating an eddying backwash to the advancing dust cloud.

“The sea.” Celixia drew in a deep breath of the tangy salt air. “We’re so close. Can’t you make the door move a little more, T’naritza?”

Bithia glared in her general direction but worked the controls again. The door mechanism emitted a metallic shriek as it attempted to obey her commands, struggling ponderously to rise a few more inches. All progress stopped with one final, ear-splitting complaint from the tortured metal.

“Not getting any better,” Nate said. “We’re going through now.”

“What if it falls?” Celixia was wide-eyed and fearful.

“No time to worry, just go.” Nate pushed her in the direction of the small opening that was their only chance at freedom and life.

“I’ll go first.” Atletl’s voice was gentle, and he hugged Celixia reassuringly. Stepping past her, he wriggled through the opening as Nate and Thom pushed at his feet. Atletl’s optimistic assessment of what lay ahead for them came from the safety of the outdoors. “There’s a ledge out here, perhaps the size of a small table. It’s unstable, crumbling at the edges, so step lightly.”

Nate bent to shout through the opening. “How rough is the climb to the beach?”

“Not bad. There are a lot of vaiya vines growing from above.” The answer was muffled by the door and the breeze.

“Vaiya?” Nate asked Celixia, raising his eyebrows.

“A tough, insidious plant growing wild. It spreads by sending out self-rooting runners.”
 

“No time for botany lessons here,” Thom said, impatience making his voice gruff. “Will it hold a man’s weight?”

“Oh yes.” She nodded confidently. “The roots go deep.”

Satisfied, Nate yelled instructions to Atletl. “Celixia’s coming through next. As soon as she’s through, the two of you start down the cliff. Once you hit the beach, run like you’ve got Huitlani himself chasing you. Take your bearing to the left, away from the city. Celixia, come on.” Nate held out his hand imperiously, and she stepped forward with reluctance, crying as she eyed the perilously suspended door.

“I’m afraid it’ll fall on me.” She gave Nate a piteous look, fear and apology mixed on her face. “I’ll go last. Give me time to conquer my fear.”

“Close your eyes, and we’ll slide you through to Atletl. It’ll take one second, the blink of an eye. It isn’t going to close on you, I swear. Atletl won’t let you fall either, once you’re safely outside with him.” Nate summoned all his dwindling reserves of patience for the panicked girl. “We’ll make this quick. Thom and I aren’t going before you and Bithia.”

She swallowed hard and closed her eyes as commanded. Nate gestured to Thom and together they picked her up. He could feel her trembling as they slid her across the threshold of the tunnel. Atletl began pulling at her shoulders immediately.

“We go!” he yelled a moment later.

“Bithia, now,” Nate said, extending his hand. “Wait for me on the ledge, and I’ll help you down, but I want you out of here.”

She kissed him on the cheek before going to her knees on the floor and wriggling carefully under the impending doom of the massive door. Her dirty and scratched feet cleared the threshold a second later. “All clear,” she said. “Hurry, both of you.”

“Thom, you next.”

“Nate—”

“That’s an order, Sergeant Curran. My turn to guard the rear.”

Thom saluted and made his perilous but rapid journey out of the tunnel.

Nerves on edge as another small quake rattled through the tunnel, Nate wasted no time following his friend. He could hear the door straining above him, ratcheting an inch or two lower as he wriggled through, the sound raising his adrenaline. Bithia and Thom yanked him clear and steadied him while he found good footing on the narrow ledge outside. There was no sign of Atletl and Celixia.

Nate leaned over the edge, calculating the least-challenging descent. “Ever done any climbing?” he asked Bithia.
 

“Not a mountain climber, remember?” She shook her head, her face pale, loose strands of her hair whipping in the sea breeze. Her lavender eyes were huge in her face. She had one hand clenched on the exterior rim of the tunnel doorframe, her knuckles white.

“Thom, help me get her on my back. Lock your arms around my neck, your legs around my waist, and I’ll carry you.”

She didn’t question his ability to accomplish the feat, nor did she hesitate as Thom boosted her into position. She clasped her arms on his shoulders as ordered, trying not to choke him. Nate waited until she’d locked her legs firmly at his waist, and then he took a careful step away from the door, assessing the effect of her added weight on his balance.

“If the height bothers you, don’t look.” Taking the thick vine Thom handed him, tugging on it violently to test its strength, Nate began a controlled but recklessly fast descent down the cliff. The sergeant paralleled their route, trying to go a little faster than Nate, watchful and ready to make a grab for them if Nate lost his footing, or if the vine gave way under their weight. Fortunately it wasn’t a steep cliff, and the vaiya vines were not only abundant, the ropelike strands were as stout as Celixia had described.

Nate hit the beach, sliding the last yard in a landslide of pebbles and debris. Bithia slid off his body to the sand, landing ungracefully on her rear. Each man grabbed one of her slender hands, pulling her to her feet.

“Run for your life,” Nate said, keeping his grip on her hand.

He took off, Thom and Bithia matching him stride for stride. Dimly, he made out Atletl in the slight early evening fog, carrying Celixia. Either her strength or her resolve must have finally given out. Bithia took a second to ruthlessly hike her lavender gown above her knees, tearing the delicate side seams in the process. She proved to be a fleet runner, her long legs flashing, keeping pace with Nate effortlessly as they fled.

Suddenly, a gigantic quake struck, its rolling motion throwing them to the somewhat forgiving surface of the damp beach.
 

A second sun, a blindingly blue one, rose inland over the city, or where the city had been. Nate fought the rolling motion of the ground to drag himself to Bithia. It was impossible to stand, a challenge to crawl, because the earth was shaking so violently. He threw himself over her, trying to shield her from whatever came next. Thom burrowed into the beach next to them, head buried in his arms.

A peculiarly small explosion sounded an odd note in the midst of the general chaos and uproar.

Despite the risk, Nate instinctively raised his head to see the massive door of the tunnel blasted off its tracks and out to sea. Right after it came a gush of pure blue fire blowing over the ocean like a blowtorch. He tried to flatten himself and Bithia even more securely into the beach as a roaring wind rose from nowhere and tore at them. The sound was incredible, a force unto itself, the sand particles stinging as the wind drove them. How long this lasted, he couldn’t say. Eventually, the wind became a breeze and died away. All was quiet and serene again. One last quiver of the ground under him, and then it was still.

Nate realized he could hear the waves rolling in as the tide rose. He rolled into a sitting position, pulling at Bithia’s shoulder. “You okay?”
 

She nodded a bit shakily and smoothed her hair away from her face, then reached to touch a bad scratch near his temple. “You?”

“I’m fine now.” He bent to kiss her.

“I hate to interrupt,” Thom said, “but I think Atletl is trying to get our attention.”

“You okay?” Nate assessed his sergeant.

“Nice of you to ask—better late than never. I’m in one piece. Seven hells, did you see the tunnel torch? We barely got out of there in time.”

“Not a moment to spare,” Nate said as Bithia nodded.

Leaning on each other for support, the three of them got to their feet and started toward Atletl and Celixia.

Thom squinted out to sea. “Any danger of a tsunami, you think?”

“I hope not. The epicenter of the quake was pretty far inland. And shallow.”

“I see a hut or dwelling of some sort,” Atletl called as Nate came nearer. “I think it’s deserted. We need a place to rest and shelter for the night, Captain. The priestess has a brave spirit but cannot go any farther.”

As he walked over to the pair, Nate studied Celixia’s drawn face and staring eyes, testimony to her exhausted condition.
Bithia’s holding up better than she is.
He nodded. “I don’t think any of us can go farther. Been a long, rough day, all right. Let’s check this place out.” He drew his alien weapon.

It took only a few moments to assure himself the small hut was empty, apparently abandoned for some time. Set well back from the high-tide line, the one-room cottage was sturdily constructed of tightly woven, dried plant material. A front porch showed evidence of serving as a kitchen in the past.

Holstering his weapon, Nate’s gave a crisp assessment of priorities. “We have shelter for the night. Now we need fresh water, driftwood for a fire and something to cook. None of us are going to get much farther without eating. Water’s a must.”

“We need to do something about treating the cuts and bruises from climbing through the rockfall in the tunnel,” Thom said. “We find water, I can at least clean the abrasions.”

“There’s a shelf stacked with sealed jars in the rear of the hut and a pile of finely woven blankets. Trade goods maybe. Too many for whoever could have lived here in this small place. Probably made their living fishing and crafting the blankets in the winter, when the ocean was too wild for lines. Evidently, whoever left this place did so in a hurry, abandoning their merchandise.” Atletl’s report was thorough.

“Or died perhaps.” Celixia’s verdict was grim. “There’s an unfinished blanket on the floor by a chair, as if it was dropped in a hurry.” She sank onto the edge of the wooden porch and rested her head on her knees, the thin braids falling loose about her hunched shoulders.

“Celixia, can you check out those sealed jars for us? You’re more likely to recognize the contents, if by some miracle there’s food or ingredients for anything vaguely edible.” Nate squatted in front of her, his voice low and sympathetic as he tried to coax her into motion. “I know you’re tired, but please do this one thing, and then we’ll fix you a bed from the blankets, okay?” He tucked the braids behind her ears gently.

“I want to do my share,” she said, her voice hardly even a whisper. “But I’m so exhausted.” Turning her head on her knees to locate Atletl standing off to the side, she held out one hand in appeal. “Help me to my feet, and I’ll go examine these mysterious jars.”

The warrior grinned and came to lift her in one easy move. He carried her as the couple disappeared into the hut.

Nate moved on to the next set of orders. “Bithia, you and Thom are on driftwood duty. Stick together. Don’t go too far along the beach, okay? I’m going to scout the general area, make sure we have the place to ourselves, see if I can locate a source of fresh water.”