Al handed the grappler to Chris and asked, “Do you want to give it a try?”
“Happy to, Chief Clark,” said a grinning Chris.
“Do you see that ledge halfway up the cliff?”
“The little narrow one?”
“That’s the one. See if you can get the hooks to catch above that.”
Chris landed the arrow where he wanted on the first try, but when Al added his weight to it, the hooks did not catch, and it clattered back to the bottom.
“Three tries and then it’s my turn,” mocked Al.
His second attempt found the mark and ended with Al swinging from the line in recognition of a master grappler. “You really are good at that.”
“I keep trying to tell you. Maybe you should believe me now.”
Al just smiled.
It was time. Al Clark had good reason to go enhanced, and he did not hesitate to speak the phrase. His senses increased tenfold, and his body surged with unreleased potential as the changes took place. A quick check of his power reserves warned him he had only sixty percent remaining. Their swim in the ocean had been costly.
They did not have an auto climbing device as before, so Al had to climb. A more traditional climbing rope, to replace the thin cord was not possible, so he was forced to wrap the line around his hands to pull himself up.
Al was on the ledge in five minutes, but the climb would be next to impossible for an ordinary person. To keep moving, he would have to pull them up to the cramped three foot wide and twelve-foot long rocky ledge. He knew time was their enemy, and it was running out. The day was passing quickly.
With Chris’ help, Kira put on a harness, and he hooked her to the line. She squealed only once, in delight, when she was standing next to Al and looking down. She yelled down, “Do not be afraid Chris, it is fun!”
“Amateurs. They are all alike,” said Chris.
The boxes came next, and one by one Chris hooked them to the line, allowing Al to haul them up. They placed the four-foot cubes out of the way to allow room to stand, leaving them precariously perched on the three-foot ledge. The larger box Al leaned against the cliff and put a stone under the bottom to make it lean towards the rock. Lastly, he pulled up the makeshift cart.
“Okay, Chris. Tie yourself on,” ordered Al.
“I can probably climb this without your help. It might take a little longer, but it would save you energy.”
“We are in a hurry, and I can’t have you all worn out when we get to the top. We have no idea what is up there.”
“Alright then. Since you put it that way, pull me up.”
For a few moments, they looked out over the ocean. From this height, it appeared always moving and never ending. Then Chris set up to take his next shot to the top, pointing the grappler almost vertically.
The noise made by the device caused Kira to slip, which resulted in her foot kicking one of the too close boxes. Al reached out and caught the girl, but the box bounced its way down the incline to the bottom.
Speechless for a few seconds, Chris finally asked, “Did we repack that box for travel?” asked Chris.
Al answered, “Yes, we did. I am sure of it.”
Kira was upset, and close to tears, “Did I break it? If we went through all this so that I would—.”
Al cut her off. “It will be okay Kira. I’ll go back and get it once we have you two and our stuff safely at the top. We packed the box tight, so there probably was no damage.”
At least that is what Al hoped. They were committed now and had no choice. The hooks of the grappler sent by Chris caught the first time and the only way to dislodge it would be to climb to the top and unhook it.
Falkor was waiting for him as he climbed over the edge, and kept an eye on the forest behind them. Al did not stop to check his surroundings, believing the dragon would watch his back. He was busy bringing up the rest of his party and the cargo. When they were all at the top, and the sun was at its highest, the four of them stopped to marvel at the view.
Under the forest, open ground greeted them, with giant pillars of red tree trunks reaching into the sky. A carpet of blueish green moss, with a sprinkling of tiny red flowers scattered here and there, rippled across the ground into the distance; leaving little space for other plants to take root. The land before them resembled a painted scene of beauty and tranquility.
The dark green canopy above allowed only minimal light to reach the ground, giving the scene before them a misty surreal appearance. Chirps, squeaks, and calls came from unknowable sources, and the activities of creatures in the branches high above came to their attention.
“I never thought a forest could look like this,” said Kira.
“Nor I,” answered Chris. “It reminds me of something from a fantasy book.”
Al smiled and brought them back to reality. “I like it a lot. We should make good time in this terrain, and it will help me with dragging the sled. Plus, we can see anything coming for a long way.”
Kira’s enthusiasm was obvious. She twirled around and asked, “Do you smell that? It makes me think of a room with a thousand flowers.”
“It’s almost too powerful. Maybe it will get better as we get further into the woods,” hoped Chris.
Al climbed back down to the ledge, and Chris tossed him the grappling hook. He re-secured the hook in the rocks, climbed down to the bottom, and tied the wayward cube to the end of the line. Then climbed again to the narrow ledge and hoisted it up. The process was tedious, time-consuming, and it was late in the afternoon before he finished. Retrieving the crate was something he had to do. The box was critical to their success.
With the sled repacked, and their gear stowed for departure, Al called the island to inform them of their arrival.
They were on the mainland and moving ahead into the fairytale jungle.
It was not planned or coordinated; the gathering happened without the need for organizing. Everyone on the island was waiting for news of the journey, and the leaders gathered to wait for word. The common area of the sleeping quarters was again crowded, and Robot Nine forced into duty as a waiter. It allowed him to participate in the discussions and assist the people he was designed to help. He did not complain.
Doctor Cody stood nearby listening to the captain and Edward having an involved discussion in one corner, while Ana and Kayla sat quietly talking in another. Elizabeth and Tammy waited for a call from their husbands. Al had promised his wife he would try to call every evening around sundown, and she was worried after the short, terse message they received after the storm.
Al’s friends gathered to wait for the call shortly before dusk. The signal was strongest at that time and being boosted by the outpost computer, so if the explorers were alive, they would call.
When the captain’s data pad lit up and began buzzing, it got everyone’s attention.
He put it on speaker and answered. “Captain here. How is it going Mister Clark?”
“We made it to land and scaled the cliff. I’m sending you a short video of our view.”
Other people turned on their pads and watched along with the captain. What they saw took their breath away, and they watched in awe. They saw what Al and his companions saw, and heard what they heard. Spellbound they watched until it stopped.
“Looks great. Any sign of trouble?” asked the captain.
“None so far, but we have a long way to go. We lost almost everything. Thank you, Liz and Tammy, you saved our butts by adding the emergency supplies in the transporter boxes. I can’t tell you how relieved we were when we opened that first crate.”
“You’re welcome,” they said together, a touch of smugness in their tone.
Elizabeth added, “We took into account how prone to trouble you are.”
“Now Liz, I don’t go looking for it. Most of the time it just happens. I’m sorry to cut this short, but we have to get going. I want to get as far into the forest as we can before we camp, and it’s already getting dark.”
“Will you call us again tomorrow?” she asked.
“Yes. You can count on it. Talk to you tomorrow.”
Al ended the call, and the captain’s radio went silent. The current leaders of Atlantis watched the video and listened to the mysterious sounds from across the ocean several times; discussing their first impressions of the new land. Afterward, they talked and made plans for a future that looked fulfilling, secure, and because of the brave travelers, possible.
That night the mountain spoke again. This time more violently than the last. Elizabeth was staying outside of town with Tammy in a hastily constructed hut built after the first eruption. She was keeping Tammy company and helping with her grandson, Thomas.
In the middle of the night, when people sleep their soundest, a loud explosion caused the beds they slept in to jump, and lifted the small shelter, dropping it with one big resounding bang.
For four or five seconds there was silence. Then Thomas started crying, and the hut sighed as if exhaling. The spell broke, and time began again. Within minutes they were dressed and outside, both to get out of the creaking structure and to see the mountain.
From the peak flowed streams of glowing red and yellow lava, illuminating a column of gray smoke billowing from the crater at the top. It was a picture from any geographical publication on Earth showing an erupting volcano, and it made Thomas cry all the more.
“What do we do?” asked Tammy.
“You need to stay here with Thomas, and I need to see if they need help in town.”
“I should go with you. Thomas can stay with Miss Kringle next door.”
“All right, he does look like he is settling down. Maybe he should get more sleep.”
The boy had stopped crying, and wanted only to crawl back in bed, so they settled him in and rushed into town.
The streets outside the outpost were full with half-asleep people, watching the display above them and wondering what it meant. Elizabeth went straight inside the mountain outpost to see the captain. She knew he would be somewhere inside.
A couple of quick inquiries as she passed others trying to ask her questions, and she located him in the volcano control room. She did not stop to answer any of the questions. She had none to give.
Tiro was there explaining the eruption to him, gesturing with his thin alien arms, “I believe it is another pre-eruption. The pressures have dropped, and the prediction is unchanged. The mountain has given us another warning.”
The captain asked, “Was there any damage to the facility?”
“The outpost is anchored in solid rock, but there was some damage. I am making repairs now.”
“So we have more time before the big one?”
“I can make no guarantees, but the data supports that conclusion.”
As they walked back down the corridor towards the temple chamber; Elizabeth watched the people coming in looking for friends and relatives—and information. They looked confused and anxious. She touched the captain’s arm and said, “Tobias, I think people are scared. You should probably tell them something.”
He looked around and replied, “I’m afraid you’re right Liz. Maybe it’s time they learn the truth.”
The general population knew nothing of Al’s desperate search for another place to call home. The captain believed that until now, the knowledge would do more harm than good. With the volcano's renewed activity, he needed to give them a reason for hope and decided it was time to do just that. If the explorers were successful, and the exodus begun, it was going to require everyone working together to manage a relocation of this magnitude. They will be leaving almost everything behind, and starting all over with the bare essentials.
The captain stood before the transport cube and clapped his hands. In a loud voice, he said, “Attention everyone. I have something to say.”
The truth will be hard to believe for some of these people, and in some cases, hard to accept. He stood for a moment, scanning the crowd, trying to gauge their possible reactions. He turned to Elizabeth and said, “Here goes nothing.”
The captain faced the crowd and told them what they needed to hear. He told them what needed to happen. Without a wasted word the leader said, “We have to leave this island.”
Captain Tobias Effinger is a leader with a commanding voice, and when he spoke those words, all chatter stopped. For a moment there was silence, and then chaos took over. It took several minutes for them to settle down enough for him to explain.
“If you don’t know already, the mountain called Vision Peak is an active volcano. The explosion this morning and the one that happened earlier are warnings of a more serious event. The computer in the research outpost is predicting a cataclysmic eruption within the next few months, and when it does it will destroy everything on the island, if not the island itself.”
It was a mixed crowd of Earthlings, Therans, and Avalonians he addressed, and some sat down after hearing the captain’s words.
The colonists from Camelot were aware of the dangers associated with living at the base of a volcano and hoped their leaders could find a solution. The natives from Avalon and the people of the island had no concept of the destructive nature of an active volcano. They found the captain's words difficult to believe. A man somewhere in the middle of the room yelled, “Why should we believe what you say?”
There were others around him with similar thoughts, and they voiced their agreement.
“Because we have as much to lose as you do,” he replied. “Please let me continue.”
The captain paused, giving the audience time to quiet down, and then forged ahead. “I tell you this because moving to the other side of the island will not save us. When the mountain finishes what it is preparing for, there will be nowhere to hide.”
He disliked being so blunt, where tact and diplomacy are thrown out the window, but he needed their attention. Somehow, he had to convince them that leaving was necessary—even vital for their survival.
“There is no place for us to go!” another exclaimed. “Are you telling us we are doomed?”
That was the bad news, now for the good.
“We have discovered land across the sea. A vast continent that is not an island but a mainland with real mountains, lakes, and prairies.”
He could see the doubt in some of their faces. They did not yet understand how another land, far away, was helpful.
Now the captain smiled. He knew something they did not.
“We have an expedition there right now, and last night they started moving inland in search of a suitable place to relocate. If all goes well, we could start evacuating people in a week.”
“How can that be? We have no way to cross the sea,” a woman cried.
The humans from Earth and the natives that traveled with them knew of the teleporter, and how it could be used to save them. The people of the island, however, did not. He would have to explain all that later.
There was much to do, and he wanted to get to it. He answered the woman’s question with, “There is a way. When the expedition finds a suitable location, they will assemble a portable transport station, where we can step into the teleporter chamber in the center of this room, and it will deliver us to the new land.”
Confusion and fear gripped the room, and the captain attempted to reassure them. He told them plans were being put in place to get everyone to the new land, and tried to answer their questions:
“What can we take with us?”
“As much as you can carry.”
“Will it be warm?”
“Yes, it is warm there now.”
“How did the travelers get there?”
“On a boat—called the Argo. The self-propelled boat we were testing not long ago.”
“Where will we live?”
“In houses we will construct. All of us.”
“Is this the way it must be. We have to leave?”
“Yes, if you want to live.”
Elizabeth and Tammy, along with the rest of their group, joined the captain in his attempt at convincing the people of Atlantis to abandon their comfortable homes, leave the history of their forefathers, and move somewhere new and far away.
Vision Peak calmed down as Tiro promised, and the streams of lava that spewed from its peak stopped, and slowly cooled until the fire inside faded. The Islanders put out small fires and propped up damaged houses. All activities relating to moving the town ended, and their efforts refocused on what was needed to relocate a population to another world.
Elizabeth and Tammy took on the task of generating a comprehensive list of evacuees and spent their time gathering names to complete the census. The Captain needed the list completed quickly, so they hurried from person to person taking their names and some basic information, adding them to the database, and moving on.
In the process, they briefly met everyone inhabiting the island. The people of Thera were frightened and anxious, and the two women answered many questions as best they could. It was census taking with a dash of diplomacy.
Edward spent his time with Tiro, trying to figure a way to transfer some of the critical capabilities of the outpost computer to a system they could take with them. Life without a working network to handle the many things they used it for was something Edward wanted to avoid. There were fabrication machines and power generators in the outpost that needed disassembled and transported to help them create the community they all desired.
He was also coordinating the exodus. As the chief scientist, he would be operating the controls, and this responsibility weighed heavy on him.
Edward was aware of the living conditions in town and was grateful for his little room in the sleeping chamber. Two and three couples lived in the same home. If there were children, the problems were compounded. Running water was scarce, and electricity was limited. Even food was becoming a problem after the farm fields were picked clean and abandoned. He believed most would be ready for a new start.
Ana and Kayla, part of the original seven and certified nurses, were assigned to helping Doctor Cody with the injuries caused by the eruption. Some of the housing had collapsed with people inside, and raining debris caused other injuries. The casualties kept them busy.
Robot Nine ran errands for anyone that asked, and delivered food and supplies.
The only time they stopped was to recharge—the humans by taking short naps and the robot by plugging into a charging station. They were determined to be ready when the time came.