by RJ Corgan
Ling’s reluctance to initiate the request stemmed less from the violation of Kea’s personal life and more from a lack of desire to read the report itself. Not only did she not want the researchers to delve too deeply into her own interconnections with Kea, but quite frankly, she had enough of Kea Wright to last a lifetime.
Breathing out a sigh, she pressed ‘Send.’
“MY LITTLE sparrow,” Jacob whispered. “What have you done?”
Carter looked up from his phone. Outside the truck’s dusty windshield, the street ahead was packed with protestors holding signs with iterations of the words ‘Avenge Emilio’ scrawled on them in both Spanish and English.
Jacob honked the horn, but the crowd refused to budge.
Shona pointed to the traffic map on her phone. It showed the streets of Masaya bleeding with the red hue of stopped vehicles. “We’re gonna have to take the side streets.”
After ten minutes of honking and wriggling through narrow alleys, Shona decided it would be faster to walk the last few blocks to the Outpost. She paused before exiting the vehicle, scanning the potentially volatile crowd. “Just to be safe, let’s spread the wealth,” she said, removing the gravitometers from the bag. She handed one to each of the team, making sure they stowed them safely in their packs.
“Should we be worried?” Carter asked. The crowd looked more like a vigil than an angry mob.
“Volcan Masaya isn’t the only one with a fiery temper,” Jacob said. “Besides, in my experience, it is best to do what Shona says.”
“Will the truck be safe parked here?” Maria asked after they had unloaded the rest of their gear.
“It’s more important to get you all back to the Outpost,” Shona replied, her gaze focused on the crowd.
Her tone, Carter thought, implied the worst. Parked on a side street filled with litter and bins, he almost felt sorry for the truck.
“Sharvil, are you there? Over,” Shona called from the truck’s radio.
“Sharvil’s a bit busy right now,” Bree answered. “Good to hear from you! Over.”
“We’re trying to find a route to the Outpost,” Shona continued, “but the crowd’s a bit thick. Parking the truck about four blocks away. Will take the team in on foot. Over.”
“Roger that. We’ll have someone at the door waiting for you. Over.”
Shona stowed the radio on the dash. “Right, let’s keep together.”
She pulled a giant sun hat with a foldable brim from under her seat and plopped it on Maria’s head. Before the young woman could protest, Shona silenced her with a scowl. She pulled the chin strap tight, bowing the brim down to hide Maria’s face. “Here’s the deal – I’m getting you back to the Outpost in one piece. After that, you can do whatever the hell you want. Got it?”
Jacob tapped his wife on the shoulder. “Things might be getting complicated.”
Carter looked down the alley. The police had started corralling the protestors.
A sharp crack slapped their ears, followed by a cloud of yellow smoke that poured down the street.
Shona calmly unlocked the equipment locker on the side of the truck and pulled out several masks and goggles. “Not just for volcanoes.”
Judging from the expression on her face, Carter swore Shona was enjoying this.
“HEY YOU.”
Kea perked up her head and immediately regretted it. Pain sliced through her skull, sparking white flares around the edges of her vision. She had been trying, and failing, to nap on a surprisingly comfortable bed of cinders.
The trek to the next ascent point had been accomplished on foot, with stretchers held between party members. Manageable, but it had taken every drop of energy Kea had left to finish the march.
Ling was squatting a few meters away, intent on her phone while they waited their turn to be raised up the cliff.
“Hey,” the voice called again across Kea’s comms.
“Daniela! How are you doing?” Kea glanced at her watch. She had only been asleep for about ten minutes.
“My head is killing me, but I’ll live.” Daniela’s voice sounded like a trickle of dry gravel. “I’ve been listening to the chatter. Is it true that someone killed Emilio?”
Dammit, Kea cursed. “Well, you know me, I always think someone’s trying to kill someone.”
“Yeah, but how often are you right?”
Kea cleared her throat. “Let’s not bring facts and statistics into this. Think about it for a second. A rockfall is a very sloppy way of killing someone. As you can personally attest, there’s a lot of collateral damage. Besides, if someone wanted Emilio out of the way, they’d mess with one of his climbing lines or something. Much easier.”
“But if they did kill him,” Daniela pressed, “maybe they were after us too, but we survived. That could mean the killer is still here. Waiting to try again.”
Ling had stopped working on her phone, staring instead at Kea and Daniela.
The lines really weren’t private, were they?
Kea swore.
“Kea?”
“Sorry, nothing, I’m just getting tired of being right all the time.” She blew out a long breath and watched as the haze of moisture clouded her visor. “Yes, there may have been a few times when I’ve found myself in situations that were not, shall we say, ideal. But nearly every time, I was surrounded by strangers. I’ve known all of you for years. I know what you’re capable of and what you’re not.” Kea tilted her head to make sure Ling was still paying attention. “Accidents happen, but we’re going to get you out of here. Only two more vertical lifts – those are pieces of cake, and the traverse, which is like an amusement park ride. After that, it’s straight up and out.”
“I have known you for years,” Daniela said after a moment. “You only talk that much when you’re nervous about something.”
Kea rolled her eyes. “I’ve just spent hours vomiting up my duodenum, climbing out of a volcano, and talking to a goddess that I probably hallucinated. Cut me some slack.”
“Define ‘goddess’,” Daniela said.
Noting that Daniela’s tone was now colored by genuine curiosity, and not pain or exhaustion, Kea elaborated. “I was likely suffering from oxygen deprivation at the time, but I think I saw Masaya.”
“You saw her? What made you think it was Masaya?”
Kea shifted on the ground uncomfortably, trying to wriggle her bum around a particularly knobby bit of pumice. “She had breasts that could be described as pendulous ... Sorry, long story. Never mind.”
“Did she impart any wisdom?”
“We didn’t Snapchat or anything. She was kinda shimmering in front of me,” Kea confessed. “It was probably a cloud of gas.”
Daniela mulled that over. “I think the legends are quite clear – you must present her with a gift.”
Kea flinched, remembering the last several hours she’d spent on her knees before Masaya. “I’ve given and given until I had nothing left to give. If anything, I’d imagine she’d like me to stop giving.”
The crunch of boots on gravel caused Kea to turn. The team was starting to decamp. Ling stood and walked over to Kea.
“Looks like rest time is over,” Kea said. “Better sign off, my drill sergeant looks ready to get the show on the road.”
Ling stood by Kea’s side as the paramedics struggled to bear Daniela’s stretcher over the uneven terrain. “Are you two close?”
“Yes,” Kea snapped, “but not in the way you’re implying.”
“She’s an attractive woman,” Ling shrugged. “No one would blame you.”
“The university certainly would. I’m her advisor!” Kea hissed. “Not to mention the fact that she’s nearly twenty years younger than both of us.”
“Age is only a problem if you want it to be.” Ling made sure Kea was clipped onto the line before helping her along the path. The terrain was more level here, but Ling kept a hand on Kea’s waist.
Even though Kea wanted to be as far away from the woman as possib
le, she was grateful for the assistance. Her legs kept threatening to give way with each step.
Ling’s off-color comment about Daniela had hit a nerve, though.
“It’s strange …” Kea began. “Normally I would fancy Daniela. Or Josine. Or Emilio, for that matter. But after spending so much time with them, I’m more concerned about them than attracted to any of them.” Kea was surprised at her own words, but for some reason it was important that Ling understood. “I want to look out for them, protect them. I found myself lying awake at night, wondering if they’re making the right decisions in life.”
“Nurture vs. necking,” Ling mused. “I guess the maternal instinct was going to kick in at some point.”
“I wish it wouldn’t,” Kea admitted. “It is just as powerful an emotional full-body response as a crush or shag, except you’re worried about their entire future. Forever.”
I used to think I had control over who I wanted to shag, Kea thought. Until you came along and reminded me that two parties first had to agree on what a shag meant.
“Are you happy?” Kea asked.
Ling paused. “Sorry?”
“With Deshi, I mean,” Kea pressed. “Are you happy?”
“Are you still angry with me?”
“No,” Kea said eventually.
“Could have fooled me.”
Good to know, Kea thought. “Are you happy with Deshi?”
Rather than answer, Ling turned the question back on her. “Are you happy with Mack?”
“Maybe?” Kea smiled. “I think so. If it’s real. It seems too perfect, so it probably isn’t. When he showed up a few months ago, I suspected Amirah sent him my way to keep an eye on me.” Seeing Ling’s questioning look, she added, “I have something Amirah wants, or at least she thinks I do.”
There was a long pause while Ling digested the new information. “Sounds like you might be taking your own conspiracy theories a bit too seriously.”
“I hope so,” Kea said. “Otherwise, I’ve hurt a very good man.”
“So, do you?” Ling pressed.
“Do I what?
“Have something they want?”
Kea checked her watch, but the video that Carter had sent her still hadn’t finished downloading. “Time will tell.”
WHILE THE initial cloud of gas had dispersed, the Policía were gathering in numbers at the edges of the crowd, as if waiting for their chance.
Carter kept close to Maria. The ebb and flow of the protestors through the tight streets had separated them from Shona and Jacob. Every so often, however, he caught glimpses of Shona’s head bobbing through the crowd.
“Come on,” he urged. “It can’t be far now.”
Maria shook her head, as if unable to hear him above the chanting crowds. She was pointing behind him, trying to grab his arm to get his attention.
Unable to turn fully around due to the press of bodies, he twisted his head but couldn’t make out anything other than a sea of angry faces and cardboard signs.
Maria’s eyes, however, widened in terror. She tried to dart away. Carter snatched at her arm and snagged her sleeve.
“They can’t catch me!” he heard her scream. “I’ll never be able to leave!”
She yanked her shirt out of his grasp, tearing the fabric from his fingers before she disappeared into the crowd.
Carter looked behind him again, expecting to see the Policía. Instead, he saw three heavily muscled men in black, elbowing through the protestors and making a beeline in the direction Maria had fled.
Carter moved to intercept. He had no clue what he would do when he reached them, but he was saved from that decision by another volley of gas canisters. He paused to fit the mask over his head again, only to find himself swept aside by the surging crowd. By the time he was able to find his footing, there was no sign of Maria, Shona, or Jacob.
A blow knocked Carter sideways. He fell to his knees inside a shop’s doorway. An arm wrapped around his neck, seeking a chokehold, but Carter elbowed his assailant in the face. Barely more than a teenager, the young man stumbled back, his eyes alight with fear. Before Carter could react, the man was swept away by the stream of protestors fleeing the police.
The mask, Carter thought dumbly as he pulled himself further into the doorway for shelter. He was after my mask.
Cries of anger mixed with screams of terror as the crowd surged through the streets. People, mainly students, were trying to run in both directions as the police started to hem them in.
Not good. Not good at all.
He couldn’t see any sign of Maria or the others. Carter tried to use his phone but was unable to get a call out – either the cell towers were overwhelmed by the demand or they were intentionally being blocked.
Carter tried to picture the location of the Outpost in his head. As the crow flies, it was only a few blocks down the main street. However, presumably that crow didn’t have to worry about getting gassed, trampled, or shot by the police.
Think, think, think.
He faced the doorway, lest his gas mask attract more unwanted attention. Hunkering down, making himself as small as possible. He cradled his head between his arms and placed his hands against his ears to block out the screams. Not ideal, not situationally aware, and likely a four-year-old could do better, but he needed a moment to think.
He had only been to the Outpost once and wasn’t familiar with the compound’s full layout. Since the crowd appeared to be gathering near the facility’s main entrance, he had to find a way to the back gate. He poked his head out of the doorway but didn’t recognize any buildings or landmarks. He would have to find a side street and hope it would take him near the Outpost’s loading docks.
He pulled out his rain poncho from his bag and draped it over his head, obscuring his protective gear. The dark green slip of plastic might prevent people from yanking his mask off, but it didn’t help his already severely limited vision.
Another clump sounded as a cough of gas flooded the street. He paused, waiting for the inevitable surge of the crowd away from the tear gas, then he bolted down the street, hoping to avoid getting trapped by the police cordon.
KEA WASN’T sure if the energy drink that Simon had given her was finally kicking in or if the thrill of walking on relatively level terrain was simply intoxicating. Either way, her mind was beginning to clear, but she couldn’t shake the constant nagging fear that the convulsions would return.
She watched her team as they continued their way up the path. Luis and Carlos led the way with Dominic hovering behind the paramedics carrying Josine’s stretcher. Francisco and Blanca came next, matching strides, their heads bent together. Then came the paramedics carrying Daniela.
Her mind turned to those who had not been so lucky and who would not be walking out, Adriana and Keller, and, of course, Emilio.
She wanted to hate him, she really did.
Was it because even his death wound up being a massive PR stunt, or did she hate him because he was beautiful and so unafraid of life, or of dying? The way he would throw himself off every ledge, water tower, plane, and bridge, grasping for that adrenaline rush, that high.
Was it because he had so many advantages in life, she wondered, or did she envy him because he was so carefree?
Kea shook her head, deciding to leave the psychology to people like Ling. She found her gaze returning once more to Masaya’s molten core.
All of her concerns seemed so minute compared to such raw power. Masaya had burned for an age and would likely continue long after they were gone. They were nothing but ants marching out of a hill.
A very long, very steep, and very deadly hill.
“Have you ever considered that, from behind, everybody looks the same in those proximity suits?” Ling’s comment echoed in Kea’s head.
Had Ling found anything at the base of the rockfall that would indicate sabotage? Kea had not had the time, nor the energy, to search for evidence. She wondered what Ling had been looking for. Signs of explosives or
a butt print in the dust where someone had nudged one of the giant boulders and let gravity do the rest?
I know my team, what they’re capable of. Her own remark to Daniela echoed in her head.
Sometimes I feel like I know them too well.
She shook her head. How would Ling be seeing this, from the outside? What would she be writing in her report?
Kea attempted to take a mental step back and ask the questions an investigator would ask. If someone intentionally started the rockfall, was Emilio the target? Was it because he was involved in the protests? If so, was anyone in the protests in danger? Could Daniela’s stretcher have been sabotaged, causing it to crash on the way up the rockfall. Dominic’s crushed hand also leapt to her mind. Could his injured hand be seen as a result of starting the rockfall or could he have been an intended target?
What about Adriana and Keller? The two Canadian scientists who had been lost in the fall were recent additions to the team. They hadn’t even met anyone before last week, let alone participated in the protests. Kea couldn’t imagine anyone on her team being able to remember their last names, let alone wanting them dead, so perhaps they would be ruled out. Unless they were the intended targets and not Emilio after all.
Kea’s head ached trying to imagine all the different options.
Try a different track.
Ling would look for anomalies, Kea knew. Who, then, had escaped injury? She mentally ticked off members of the team. Only Bianca, Francisco, and Luis were uninjured.
Although Luis had almost died on the climb up the rockfall.
It only then occurred to Kea that, with the current ascent order, she would be the last one to climb out of the volcano, which meant that everyone else was ahead of her, doing god knows what.
Anything could fall on her at any moment, any line could be cut and anyone could fall to their deaths.