by J. J. Green
Her eyes lifted and met his gaze. She shifted a tentative step toward him. The strain of staying upright showed on her face. The water was up to her thighs. Ethan wondered if he should go into the cave and grab her, but then neither of them would have a firm hold of anything and if he fell he would take her with him.
She moved another step, and another. Her progress was painfully slow, and the water visibly rising. How much of it had been hidden underground? It seemed an impossible amount. Cherry moved closer. He could almost reach her. He strained with his might to close the distance between them.
Her gaze fixed on his, the fear on her face seemed to fade a little. She stretched out to him. Her fingertips brushed his hand, but then she lost her footing. She toppled backward into the water, sending up a splash as she hit. Her head was above the surface and her arms were flailing as she slid past on her back. Ethan made a wild grab for her. His fingers touched her shirt.
Then she was gone.
Cherry was gone. Ethan’s gaze desperately searched the cascade of water that was falling into the ocean. He couldn’t see her. Shock froze him, clinging one-handed to the ladder. He watched the boiling water below, which mixed with waves coming in from the ocean. Some supply boxes and other items that had been washed from the caves bobbed in the tumult. There was no sign of any people.
Cherry was down there. Smart, funny, sparky Cherry, losing her fight with the water. Ethan pressed his forehead against the cold, wet rock of the cliff face. He gripped the ladder like a vice, afraid that he would jump into the water to save her. He couldn’t swim. He would drown too, and there had to be more trapped people who needed his help.
Exerting every ounce of willpower he had, Ethan forced himself to move. He climbed across and up and down the cliff, checking the caves. Others were doing the same. Ethan found several more people and helped them to safety.
The water continued to rise. Just as Ethan was estimating that all the caves had been checked and that anyone who could be saved had been saved, an immense boom thundered up from below. Ethan’s ladder juddered. He looked downward in time to see part of the cliff break away. A lakeful of water spewed out as the rocks crashed into the ocean, sending out a massive wave.
Ethan flew up his ladder, his hands and feet a blur of motion. When he reached the top of the cliff he launched himself onto the flat ground. People were hanging around near the edge. “Get back! Run,” he shouted. He urged them to run toward the hills that bordered the dried-up river where other survivors were gathering.
“Move,” he yelled. “The cliff could collapse any second.” Finally they took notice and began to move. Running with the others, Ethan reached and then climbed the hill slopes, slipping on loose stones and dirt. When he thought they’d gone far enough to be out of danger, he halted. Gasping, he threw himself to the ground. As he panted, the image of Cherry tumbling over in the cave and being swept out into the torrent played again and again in his mind.
A lump rose in his throat. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t been able to save her. She’d been so near. He’d touched her. If he’d only managed to reach just another couple of centimeters, he would have caught her for sure. Just a couple of centimeters had meant the difference between her life and her death.
When Ethan had caught his breath he sat up. The surviving Gens were dazed and weeping. Some were going from group to group, trying to find lost loved ones. As the tragedy of Cherry’s death gripped him, other thoughts crowded in. Why had the aquifer burst?
The suspicion that he’d pushed aside in his rush to help resurfaced. As far as he knew, only he, Garwin, and Twyla were aware of the existence of the aquifer. Now that he replayed the memory of the sound he’d heard and the sensation he’d felt just prior to the flooding, he realized that they could have been caused by a bomb exploding. Had someone deliberately cracked the aquifer walls and caused the disaster? Tens if not hundreds of people had died.
His grief and guilt over Cherry’s death churned up inside him. Anger and fury took their place. He was sure he knew what had happened and who was responsible. He would make them pay.
Ethan ran down the hillside, passing through the clumps of survivors. Already people were organizing help for the injured. It was a very different scene than the reaction after the stadium bombing when the Gens had been a mess of confusion and inaction.
The flitter remained where he’d left it, close to the cliff edge. The cliff hadn’t collapsed as he’d feared it might, or not just yet. Ethan sped over to the vehicle and jumped inside. He would head back to the settlement. He needed to confront Garwin and Twyla.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
When the news of the disaster at the Gens’ new settlement filtered through to the Nova Fortuna, Cariad’s first impulse was to go planetside and help. It turned out that the Gens had set up home at a cave system next to the ocean and that the entire place had flooded. The rest of the Woken also wanted to help with the rescue effort, but Anahi was reluctant. She cautioned against using the shuttles.
Everyone, including the shipboard Gens, had assembled at the shuttle bay.
“What if they’re booby trapped?” Anahi said.
“The Guardians went over them all with a fine-toothed comb,” said Cariad’s soil biologist friend, Rene. “And no one except that party that Aubriot took down has been near them since. No one’s been allowed. They must be safe.”
“We have to go and help,” Cariad said. “What will the Gens think if we stay up here all safe and sound and leave them to deal with this alone? If they ever needed us, it’s now. And what better opportunity to try to heal the rift?”
Anahi tried to voice another protest, but others were already arguing with her. Cariad desperately wanted to go down to the planet, and not only to offer what help she could. She needed to see Ethan. She’d heard that he’d been there at the time of the disaster, but nothing more than that. She wanted to be sure he was okay.
“Wait,” she said suddenly. “Why am I even listening to you?” She’d realized that Anahi could do nothing to stop her or anyone else if they wanted to go planetside. Ignoring the Leader’s reply, she said loudly over the discussion, “Well, I’m going down. Is there a pilot here willing to fly me?”
Anahi’s mouth dropped open as Cariad walked right past her into the shuttle bay.
“I’ll do it,” called one of the Gen pilots. She also strode past Anahi, and several Woken followed her. Soon, everyone who had been waiting and arguing with Anahi was in the bay and boarding the shuttles.
Cariad was on tenterhooks all the way down. The shuttle flight had never seemed so long. As soon as the ship landed, she was first to disembark. She ran to the passenger processing area and asked the clerk if she knew what had happened to Ethan. The woman said he’d been seen in the settlement, but she didn’t know where he was. Cariad sped to the farmers’ dorms, not really expecting to find Ethan there, but she hoped she might find someone who knew where he was. She was in luck. A man in the lobby told her that he thought Ethan was with Garwin, and he gave her directions to Garwin’s house. Cariad raced over and impatiently rang the door chime. When no one answered she rang it several times again, wondering if maybe Ethan wasn’t there after all.
After ten or twelve rings, a tall, bony woman answered, looking deeply agitated or perhaps harassed. She seemed more agitated than was reasonable due to someone aggressively ringing her doorbell. Cariad didn’t know the woman but assumed she was Garwin’s wife. “I’m looking for Ethan. I was told he was here.”
“Oh, he’s here all right,” the woman said.
Ethan appeared behind her in the hall. “Cariad!” He pushed past Garwin’s wife and grabbed Cariad, hugging her so tightly he lifted her feet from the ground. He stepped away but held onto her upper arms. “What are you doing here?”
“We heard about the disaster. We’ve come down to help, of course. A lot of Woken are on their way out there now, but I heard you were here. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
; Another figure appeared behind Ethan. Garwin had come into the hall too. Ignoring Cariad, he told Ethan, “I think it’s best that you leave.”
Ethan turned away from Cariad to face Garwin and said, “You might be able to make me go away for now, but what I’ve said remains the truth. I’m not going to let it rest.” He faced Garwin’s wife. “I know what you did. You’re not going to get away with it. I’m not going to let you hurt anyone else.”
“Ethan?” said Cariad. “What’s this about?”
He shot another look at the woman before saying to Cariad, “I’ll tell you all about it.”
“Not here, you won’t,” Garwin said. “Don’t come back. I don’t want to see you here again. Come on, Twyla.” He disappeared into the darkness of the hall.
Ethan was taking Cariad’s arm to leave with her when Twyla leaned toward him and hissed, “I should have put an end to your interference while I had the chance.”
Her expression was so full of hate and evil, Cariad stepped backward. The door slammed. As they went along the narrow pathway to the street, Cariad said, “What was that about? You sure pissed them off.”
“That’s nothing to how they’ll feel when I prove that I’m right.” Ethan looked puzzled. “I’m not sure what Twyla meant by that last remark, though.”
“Right about what?” asked Cariad as they walked down the street.
“Twyla—Garwin’s wife—she’s a Natural Movement follower, and maybe he is too. I’m not sure about that part.”
“What?! How do you know?”
“The flood at the caves was caused by an aquifer bursting. Only two people knew where that reservoir was apart from me, and that was Garwin and Twyla. We were together exploring the caves when we accidentally stumbled across it. It was difficult and dangerous to reach, and I’m certain no one else has gone that way after us. Twyla almost fell into it. Things might have turned out better for everyone else if she had.” He halted, his expression shifting from anger to sorrow. He hung his head. “A friend of mine died, Cariad. I nearly saved her, but she got swept away. She drowned in the ocean, like who knows how many more. And Twyla’s responsible. I’m sure of it. Just before the flooding, I saw her speeding away from the cave site.”
“Oh Ethan,” Cariad touched his arm. “I’m so sorry. So you came back here to confront them? What did they say?”
“What do you think? They denied everything of course. Dammit. I went about it the wrong way. I shouldn’t have said anything. Now they know they’re under suspicion so they’ll cover their tracks even more carefully. They’re gonna wipe every trace of their possible connection with the disaster more thoroughly than they already have.
“When I told them I’d seen Twyla race away from the caves just before the aquifer broke, Garwin stood by her like a hero. He wouldn’t hear a word I said against her. Thought up every excuse he could as to why she couldn’t possibly have anything to do with it.” Ethan shook his head. “I’m not sure that Garwin’s involved. I don’t think even he is that two-faced. But her… I had a weird feeling about her the moment I met her. And their relationship is very strange. She’s odd. Nervy. Garwin doesn’t seem to see it. He’s in love with her.”
“Well, she is his wife.”
“Yeah, well… their relationship’s complicated.”
They’d resumed walking as they talked and wandered over to the shuttle field. It was full of Nova Fortuna shuttles.
“What are so many shuttles doing here?” Ethan asked. Only two or three would have been enough to transport all the Woken.
“We didn’t know how many Gens had been injured,” Cariad replied. “We thought we might need to take them up to the ship’s medical facilities. No one knew if the hospital here was fully operational. And, Ethan, we thought some of you might want to return to the ship anyway. It’s safer for you up there. All the bombings and disasters have taken place on or near the surface.”
“It’s a good thought,” Ethan said. “Plenty of us will appreciate it, I’m sure. But though I can’t speak for the others, I don’t think I’ll ever be returning to the Nova Fortuna. This is my home now. I don’t want to abandon it. I want to put right what’s wrong here, not give up on it.”
Cariad was about to reply when the sight of an approaching shuttle distracted her. “Uh oh.”
“What’s wrong?” Ethan asked.
“It’s the Guardians.”
“You didn’t expect them to show up?”
“I should have,” Cariad replied. “I just didn’t think about it. Ethan, what have the Guardians been doing around here the last few weeks?”
“I don’t know exactly. I haven’t been around the settlement much myself. I was at the caves most of the time.”
Cariad nodded and was quiet for a few moments. “I guess that’s why you haven’t spoken to me for weeks.”
“That’s right. I didn’t want to lie to you, and… Well, I’m sorry.”
She touched his arm. “It’s okay. I understand. Ethan, I have to ask you about the Guardians. Have they taken anyone away or hurt anyone?”
“No. I’m sure I would have heard about it if they had. Why?”
Cariad explained what the Guardians had done to Aubriot. After his initial surprise, Ethan laughed wryly.
“What’s funny about it?” Cariad asked. “They had no right to sedate the man. He hadn’t done anything. They were shutting him down because of what they thought he might do.”
“Kinda like what you Woken wanted to do to us?”
Cariad winced.
Ethan said, “That wasn’t fair. I know you were trying to fight it.”
“I was. Maybe I should have tried harder.”
The Guardians’ shuttle had landed. The ramp was down and a group containing two especially familiar figures were heading toward Ethan and Cariad across the shuttle field.
“What do you think they want?” Ethan asked as Strongquist, Faina, and other Guardians drew nearer.
“They’ll say they want to help,” Cariad replied.
“Then I think they’ll find their help isn’t needed or welcome. Especially not after word gets out about what they did to that guy. If the other Woken are telling Gens about it that might be the final… what is it? Stick?”
“Huh?”
“The final thing needed to send someone over the edge. It’s a saying.”
“Oh. Straw. The final straw that broke the camel’s back. Do you think the Gens will be hostile toward the Woken?”
“Probably not. You aren’t armed. The Guardians are already hated down here.”
Although neither Strongquist nor Faina were carrying weapons, others were, and they were behaving like guards, flanking the unarmed Guardians. They were acting as though they expected to be attacked, which, given the tensions in the colony and the high feelings after yet another disaster, wasn’t unlikely.
“Cariad,” said Strongquist. “I’m glad to see you. We’re here to help with the disaster response, but I also have some news. I’ve had another breakthrough in our investigation into the Natural Movement saboteurs.”
If she hadn’t been there to witness it, Cariad doubted she would have believed the nonchalance with which the man and other Guardians were behaving in the face of their outrageous actions.
“Fantastic,” said Ethan. “Why don’t you tell that to the bodies floating in the ocean? I’m sure they’ll feel much better about being dead. Knowing you’ve nearly caught the person who killed them.”
Strongquist was nonplussed by Ethan’s sarcastic response. “The flooding was caused by a Natural Movement saboteur?” he asked.
“Possibly saboteurs,” Ethan replied. He said to Cariad, “Garwin was here the whole time as far as I can tell. I doubt he planted the bomb. But he had no explanation for Twyla’s behavior and neither did she.”
“It was a bomb?” asked Faina. “We heard it was a natural disaster. From the sound of it, the caves were unsafe from the outset. It was unwise to attempt to create a new settlement in
such an area. There was always a risk of something like this happening.”
“The caves were safe,” Ethan said angrily. “They were bone dry. No water had flowed through them in decades, if not hundreds or thousands of years. This was a deliberate act, designed to kill as many people as possible. Designed to…” He paused. His hands were clenched into fists and he was leaning toward Faina. One of the armed Guardians had gripped his weapon.
Ethan turned his face away. “Go back to your ship. You helped us in the First Night Attack, but since then you’ve done nothing but interfere and make things worse. Leave us alone. We can deal with this ourselves.”
“I think we’ll be the judge of whether our help is needed,” Faina said. “We’ve identified the site of the disaster, and we’ll be flying the shuttle there.”
She walked back to their ship and the other Guardians went with her. Cariad wondered why they’d come to the settlement at all if they intended taking their shuttle to the caves. Unless they had only just discovered where the caves were? Faina hadn’t received any comm that Cariad had seen.
“I just wanted to tell you,” Strongquist said to Cariad, “we found that Frederick Aparicio somehow managed to get aboard the Nova Fortuna as one of the First Generation. We cross-matched our vids of him from Earth with the vids from the first decades of the voyage. We had no access to the ship’s recordings until we downloaded them from the archive. The appearance match was one hundred percent accurate. There’s no doubt that it was him aboard the ship after it departed Earth.”
“How the hell did he manage that?” Cariad asked.
“We don’t know for sure, yet if the Natural Movement had operatives who could manipulate and falsify court records and newspaper reports about the legal appeal, perhaps they were able to do the same with data about the First Generation.”
“But he must have taken someone else’s place,” Cariad protested. “And whoever was bumped off the list wouldn’t have kept quiet about it.”