Shroud of Doom

by William Manchee

  Chapter 12

  Devastation

   

  Although the nanomite’s Ural Desert city was tough and durable it couldn’t withstand a quantum eight tremor. When the tremor struck it ripped the city apart exposing it to strong winds and sudden downpours. Thousands of nanomite swarms died in the two loons the ground shook and split apart. Those who were not close to the point of fracture survived the initial quake but now faced the daunting task of survival in a suddenly hostile environment.

  “We must prepare our swarms to reseal the exposed cells near or at the point of severance,” the Speaker said. “There’s no time to rejoin both sides of the severed city. Concentrate on getting a tight seal for now.”

  “Speaker,” the Sentinel said. “There is a two foot fissure separating the city from its raw material supply.”

  “How long to build a bridge across it?” the Speaker asked.

  “It will take several loons,” the Engineer replied.

  “Get busy then. Time is critical. Rain or a strong wind will kill many swarms. We can’t let that happen.”

  “Yes, speaker. But ash is also beginning to fall from the sky from Mt. Alabash and it will hamper our efforts.”

  “Mt. Alabash?”

  “Yes. It has erupted and is spewing out molten lava and incredible amounts of steam and ash. The sky is already grey and it’s getting difficult to breath for those outside the city. There is also a possibility the lava might reach us here.”

  “If it comes, when do you think it will arrive?”

  “In less than a kyloon,” the Scholar replied.

  “Can we evacuate?” the Speaker asked.

  “No, Speaker,” The Scholar replied. “There is nowhere to go. Our best strategy is to seal the exposed inner walls and move as deep into the city as we can. If the lava covers us we will likely die, if not from the heat then from a lack of oxygen as the fire burns it off and sucks the life out of all of us.”

  “Pray to God that doesn’t happen,” the Speaker said.

  “What about a barricade, a wall to stop the molten lava or divert it around out city?” the Engineer asked.

  “A barricade?” the Speaker asked. “Would that work?”“

  “If we could build a strong one between us and the lava, the lava would be diverted around us.”

  “Then we should split all available workers into two work parties—one to reseal the city and the other to building a wall to divert the lava around it.”

  The swarmmasters considered the suggestion and then the Speaker gave the order and the nanomites split into the two work parties as they had talked. Within a few loons a foot wide line began to form to the north and east of the city. Since the wall wasn’t intended to be inhabited by the nanomites it wasn’t built with the usual nanomite care and skill. Speed and strength were the most critical attributes of this new wall. After a kyloon had gone by the interior repairs were almost halfway done and the wall was nearly three feet tall!

  “How tall does the wall have to be?” the Speaker asked.

  “At least six feet,” the Scholar replied.

  “That will take time. When will the lava be coming?”

  “In less than two kyloons, so the workers must work harder than they have ever worked before.”

  “Yes, but the ash falling from the sky is causing problems. The swarms are having trouble breathing with so much toxins in the air.”

  “I wish there was a way to ease their discomfort, but I know of nothing that can be done,” the Speaker replied.

  Millions of nanomite swarms went to work on the wall and the exterior repairs despite the harsh conditions that confronted them. Thousands were dying every minute as they were smothered by the thick ash that now sat a half a foot deep above the city, but they had no choice but to drag their dead brothers aside and continue to construct the wall that they hoped and prayed. would divert the lava and avoid certain doom.

  As the wall grew to three feet the ash began falling harder and harder until a crack of thunder could be heard in the distance. The nanomites trembled at the sound. They knew a sudden downpour would be a disaster with their city split down the middle. They quickened their pace but it was to no avail as a sudden downpour drenched the nanomite city. Water began flooding inside the intricate structure drowning millions of nanomites. The only benefit of the rain was to clear the air and wash the ash away allowing the surviving nanomites to breath clearly again.

  A kyloon later when the lava hit the wall it stood at nearly five feet. The nanomites inside the wall fled for their lives and took refuge back in their city. The searing heat from the molten lava sent the temperature within the city soaring to unbearable levels, but the wall held and the lava flowed around the city preventing the total annihilation of the nanomite population.

  “God has saved our city,” the Speaker announced to those who survived the ordeal. The cost in the lives of our brothers was dear but their sacrifice has insured the survival of our life-form on Tarizon. We honor those who have died and shall remember this day forever.”

   

   

  Threebeard paced back and forth nervously wondering if he’d ever see his sister and her companions again. Finally he sat down at the computer terminal and started searching for information about the Mt. Alabash eruption. He gasped when he saw the report that the bridge over the Liehn River had collapsed during the tremor. How will they get across the river? He studied his map of Rigimol and finally decided they’d have to stay in Guhl until the bridge was repaired. I wonder how much time that will take? He closed his eyes and summoned his sister.

  “Artis. Are you alright?”

  “More or less,” She thought. “We can’t travel very fast with all this ash coming down. We finally came to the highway so we’re making a little better time. At least we don’t have to worry about hitting rocks and cactus.”

  “Listen. The bridge over the Liehn River is out. You’re going to have to stay in Guhl until they get it repaired.”

  “Scutz! I wanted to get this replica back home where it will be safe. I’m so afraid something will happen to it.”

  “I know. I wish there were a way to get you home more quickly. Unfortunately all air traffic has been grounded with all the ash in the air.”

  “Oh, well. I guess we’ll have to find an inn. Too bad there isn’t a Mighty Jolly in Guhl.”

  “Yes, I’ll have to do something about that,” Threebeard said.

  “Okay, I’ll see you whenever.”

  As Threebeard was cutting his connection to Artis, his GC began beeping. He picked it up and saw it was from Armillo, his manager in Shisk.

  “Threebeard,” he said as he put the GC to his ear.

  “Boss. I’ve got some bad news.”

  Threebeard grimaced. All I need is more bad news. “What is it?”

  “Eyeball is missing?”

  “Missing? How could that be?”

  “I don’t know. He left the tavern in a hurry yesterday in the afternoon and hasn’t been seen since.”

  “He’s telepathic. Have you tried to link with him?”

  “Yes, I have and others as well,” Armillo advised. “He’s not responding. No one can even find his mind.”

  “Did he say anything when he left?” Threebeard asked.

  “He had been complaining about Rupra Bruda hanging around the neighborhood. He’d banned him from the Mighty Jolly a few days earlier and wasn’t pleased to see him lurking about.”

  “Rupra Bruda? He’s in Shisk?”

  “Yes.”

  “I wondered where he’d gone. Why did he ban him?”

  “I’m not sure. Something about killing a rhutz. Misty recognized Bruda when their paths crossed the other day. He told Eyeball what he had done in Tributon and he told Bruda never to come to the Mighty Jolly again.”

  “He must have found out Bruda murdered a rhutz in Tributon and was responsible for the Flat Meadow Massacre. It was a big scandal and his grandfather had
to resign as speaker of the General Assembly to keep Rupra from going to jail. He disappeared shortly thereafter, and now we know where he went.”

  “What should I do?”

  “File a missing persons report with the public enforcer and tell them about your suspicions. I’ll try to get to Shisk as soon as I can get away. Artis got caught in the Mt. Alabash eruption, so I can’t leave until she gets back home safely. Have you seen Misty lately?”

  “No. He’s missing too.”

  Threebeard took a deep breath trying to control his growing rage. “So, now he’s murdering mutants as well as rhutz. We can’t let him get away with that. I’ll be there as soon as I can to help prod the authorities into doing their duty.”

  Threebeard clicked off the GC and began reading everything he could find on Rupra Bruda and his family. Although Threebeard wasn’t a violent man, he had no tolerance of those who killed for sport—whether it was rhutz or human beings. He wondered how the public prosecutor in Shisk would feel about it. It was no secret that many in Central Authority had opposed letting mutants live under the dome. They believed since the mutants were already physically impaired from the environment there was no reason to waste pure air and clean water on them now. They had learned to adapt outside the domes and they should stay there. The measure allowing them into the dome did pass, but only on by a slim margin. Even after the vote Central Authority didn’t make it easy for mutants to live in the cities. They segregated them into designated areas and made it clear they weren’t to venture out of them. Fortunately, Threebeard had become wealthy enough that public officials couldn’t ignore him. Whether they’d do what was right once an injustice was pointed out to them was another story.

   

   

  When Artis arrived in Guhl she was shocked at the devastation left from the tremors. Most of the buildings had collapsed, fires were raging throughout the city, and many streets had cracked and buckled making it nearly impossible to travel. To make matters worse the ash was so thick it was nearly impossible to see or breathe and clean water was difficult to find. When they finally made it to the downtown area where most of the inns and taverns were located they discovered many had been destroyed and the ones that had survived were full of those who had lost their homes.

  “Where are we going to stay tonight?” Artis asked worriedly.

  “Not here, I’m afraid,” Faruk replied. “It wouldn’t be safe. You know what happens in a disaster. Looters and thugs take to the streets.”

  “Right. But where can we go?”

  “Let’s head on toward the river and set up camp away from all this turmoil. It will be a lot safer.”

  Artis nodded and they continued on through the city heading south toward the washed out bridge over the Liehn River. As they maneuvered through the rubble Artis wondered if she’d ever see her home again. Liehn seemed so far away at that moment. Eventually they made it out of the city where they were expecting to find a secluded place to set up their camp and wait for the bridge to be repaired, but much to their shock and dismay thousands of people lined the road fleeing from the city. In every direction there were makeshift camps where people were huddled around campfires just trying to survive the night.

  Ash was still falling heavily and Artis could hear hundreds of people coughing, wheezing and struggling to breath. She wondered how many had already died.

  “Where do you think all these people are going?” Artis asked.

  “I don’t know. Maybe to the river where they know they will at least be able to find water.”

  “Where is Central Authority? They should have a relief effort underway by now, don’t you think?”

  “Ordinarily, but with the bridge out and all aircraft grounded they’re going to have to come in from Rizi and that’s a long way off. It may be tomorrow before they get here.”

  “Damn! What are we going to do?”

  “I don’t know. If we unload our gear and try to set up camp I’m afraid we will attract a lot of unfriendly visitors looking for food and water. I think we should keep going and try to get away from the crowds. We can take the road to Rizi. It runs parallel with the river for quite a while until the river bends to the south. We can travel down it a ways and maybe lose these crowds.”

  Artis swallowed hard. “Okay, sounds like a good plan.”

  Faruk called Giant on his communicator and advised him of the plan then started the ATV moving again. The crowds along the road seemed to be getting thicker and thicker and it was getting harder and harder to drive through them without hitting someone. Faruk honked his horn trying to get people to move out of the way but he got no response. Finally six burly men turned and stood directly in front of them refusing to move.

  “Give us your water and medical supplies,” one of them screamed, “and we’ll let you pass.”

  “What should we do?” Artis asked worriedly.

  “Don’t open your door. If you do they’ll pull us all out and take everything we have.”

  “What if they try to break in?”

  “They won’t have any luck. These ATVs are built to military specifications. These mobs won’t have anything that can hurt us as long as we stay inside.”

  The mob began kicking and shaking the ATV. Faruk looked around nervously, then gently accelerated forcing the men standing in front to move aside or suffer serious injury. They cursed and kicked the ATV as it passed. Someone swung a tire iron at the window causing Artis to nearly jump out of her skin.

  Giant followed behind glaring at the men as he passed by. Soon they were picking up speed and clearing the hostile mob. A few kylods down the road they got to an intersection with a sign showing that Rizi was to their left. To their relief most of the crowds were headed for the river. They turned toward Rizi and after a few kylods had escaped the crowds of refugees fleeing from Guhl. Faruk relaxed and increased their speed but after only a few more kylods he slammed on his brakes.

  “What the hell!” Artis screamed.

  “Look ahead.” Faruk said pointing.

  She looked out and saw that the highway in front of them had disappeared. Faruk put a scarf around his mouth and nose and ventured outside. Giant got out and joined him in the grey darkness. The road had dropped nearly ten feet leaving them on the edge of a cliff. When he got back in the car his expression was glum.

  “We’ll have to set up camp here and see if there is a way around this sink hole in the morning. It’s impossible to tell right now.”

  “What about the refugees?”

  “We’ve traveled far enough we should be okay until morning.”

  Artis nodded. “Okay, I guess we don’t have any choice in the matter.”

  Faruk shook his head and started backing up the car. They turned around and drove back to where they had seen a grove of trees that would provide them some protection from the falling ash. They considered setting up camp but after experiencing a few coughing attacks as the result of simply opening the door, they decided to sleep inside their vehicles as best they could.

  They realized they were better off than most having enough food and water for at least ten days. They normally wouldn’t have carried so much water but since they had planned to camp in the desert they had brought plenty. Still, they ate and drank sparingly, not knowing how long their supplies would have to last.

  Faruk, being exhausted from the days’ ordeal, quickly fell asleep, but Artis was wide awake, so she decided to link with Threebeard and advise him of their situation.

  “Brother. Are you there?”

  “Yes, Artis. Did you find a place to spend the night.”

  She explained to him what they had found in Guhl and what had happened to them.

  “I didn’t realize Guhl had been hit so hard. There hasn’t been any reports of it on the news. Most of the coverage now is Mt. Nepat and Mt. Zillion. It seems they are about to erupt as well.”

  “Three volcanos erupting at the same time in Lemaine Shane! That’s unprecedented.”


  “Yes. It hasn’t happened in over a thousand cycles and it’s not just in Lemaine Shane—it’s all over the globe.”

  “What? There’s other volcanoes erupting?”

  “Not yet, but there have been many tremors and volcanic activity is likely in thirteen different locations.”

  “Oh, God and Sandee! What’s happening to Tarizon.”

  “Super-volcanic eruptions. It’s a rare event but does happen every five-hundred cycles or so.”

  “What are we going to do?”

  “Just try to survive, I’m afraid. There’s nothing we can do to stop it.”

  “Where is Central Authority. We’ve seen no relief efforts.”

  “I know. They will be concentrating on the domed cities. I’m afraid the people outside the domes are on their own as usual.”

  “That’s a disgrace! We all pay our taxes and are equal under the Supreme Mandate.”

  “Yes, something needs to be done about that, but for now the only thing we can worry about is survival. I’m thinking about getting together with some other people to organize a relief effort—an army of mutants to go out and assist the citizens of Tarizon through this crisis.”

  “And when the crisis is over maybe you should train your Mutant Army as a military force,” Artis suggested.

  “Perhaps, but I fear we’d be no match for the TGA. Turning ordinary citizens into a fighting force is no simple task.”

  “True, but it’s a thought.”

  “Yes, sister. It is an interesting idea.”