Eruption at Krakatoa

by Katrina Charman

  August 26, 1883

  Southern Sumatran Rain Forest

  Budi had felt on edge all morning. He didn’t know why—the threat from the island seemed to have passed. The monkeys were slowly returning to the jungle with their tails between their legs. They had camped outside the human village for a while but had been chased away for making nuisances of themselves and stealing too much food.

  He wished he were a bird like Melati and could fly high above the rain forest to put his mind at ease and make sure there were no threats. He loved his home, his jungle, but he and all the animals were sheltered from everything that happened outside it.

  At the very moment Budi decided he would go to the beach to see if anything else had happened on the island, the ground shook beneath his feet. There was an enormous explosion in the distance, but the shock waves it emitted rocked the earth. At once, the usually tranquil jungle was filled with noise: screams, roars, trumpets of fear. Animals trampled back and forth, stampeding through the trees, unsure of where the danger was coming from but desperate to escape whatever it was.

  Budi raced to find Raja but found himself on course to careen into a herd of elephants heading right for him. There was nowhere for Budi to go, so he stood his ground. He lowered his horns, filled his lungs, and drew himself up to make himself as large as he could as he barreled past the herd, shunting them aside.

  He was almost through the raucous crowd when he heard the smallest of voices calling out for help amid the chaos.

  “Budi!”

  Budi scanned between the elephants’ legs and spied a terrified Dewi skittering below them, her eyes wide and full of fear.

  “I’m coming, Dewi!” Budi shouted. “Hold on!”

  He put on an extra spurt of energy and reached Dewi in seconds. Ducking as low as he could, he slid beneath an elephant, his back scraping against its underside. He scooped up Dewi with his front horn so that she was clinging to his face, and escaped out the other side, skidding to a stop in the bushes as the elephants thundered on behind them.

  Budi stood defensively over Dewi, making sure that no other animals would trample her as she shakily tried to stand. The elephants were long gone, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake—fallen trees, cracked tree trunks, and a flattened path two rhinoceroses wide.

  “Where are the elephants going?” Dewi asked, her voice still shaky.

  “They are afraid, as we all are,” Budi said. “We need to find Raja and discover where the explosion came from.”

  “I think it might be Melati’s island,” Dewi said, pointing to the sky. Thick, billowing white clouds rose up and over the treetops.

  “Melati!” Dewi said suddenly. “I haven’t seen her all morning. Do you think she flew back to Krakatoa?”

  “I’m sure she is somewhere safe,” Budi reassured her. “Come, we have to find Raja. Animals are going to get hurt if they continue to rampage through the jungle.”

  Dewi hurried after Budi, calling out Raja’s name.

  Suddenly, there was another almighty explosion and the earth shifted again. “Hurry!” Budi called to Dewi as she struggled to keep up.

  As he ran, heavy rain hit his skin; it flew into his eyes, stinging them, and he struggled to catch his breath. He had turned to check that Dewi was still with him when he noticed the ground. This was not rain at all, but thick white flakes of ash and dust.

  “Climb onto my back,” Budi coughed, bending his front legs low so that Dewi could climb up. He waited until she was secure, then made his way cautiously through the jungle. He could no longer see the sky, or even the trees above. The world was filled with gray and white, and as it continued to fall, the world became as black as night.

  Dewi clung tightly to Budi, and he could feel her heart hammering against his back as fast as his own.

  “Raja!” Budi shouted over the cries of the animals echoing through the jungle. The birds squawked and screeched as they flapped around blindly. Then came a roar, and Raja appeared out of the gloom, his striped orange-and-black coat now as white as snow.

  “The island is erupting!” Raja called out. “Krakatoa.”

  Budi nodded. “What shall we do, Raja? We need to find somewhere safe.”

  Raja looked at him. “The safest thing to do is to stay beneath the trees. They will protect us until this strange rain stops. Arif, Intan!” he called.

  Two tigers appeared through the smoke. “Bring all the animals to the clearing,” Raja ordered.

  Budi wasn’t sure if they would be safe in the jungle, but he knew they had to calm everyone down, so he followed Raja and the other tigers as they herded the animals to a clearing.

  “The island Krakatoa is exploding,” Raja told the anxious crowd from atop a large tree trunk. “But it is a long way from here. No fire can reach us, it is only this rain that falls from the sky that will bother us, and it will go away once the winds blow.”

  “What about the monkeys?” an orangutan called out. “They found somewhere safe.”

  Raja laughed and waved his paw in the air. “The monkeys are fools! Many of them returned because they know that our jungle is the safest place.”

  He looked over at Budi, and Budi gave a small nod. He was proud of Raja for finally taking charge, but something inside was telling him that it was not going to be all right. There was another explosion, louder this time, and a large chunk of rock came sailing through the trees, landing in front of Raja. The tiger jumped back with a yelp.

  “Perhaps we should find somewhere more sheltered in the jungle,” he said, leaping off the tree trunk.

  “I think we should leave the jungle,” Budi said, joining his friend. “Get farther away from the island. It’s not safe here.”

  Raja gave a forced laugh. “You heard what I said, Budi. We just need to wait it out.”

  “But—” Budi began, but Raja had already walked off, with the other tigers following.

  “Do you really think we will be safe?” Dewi asked quietly.

  “I’m not sure,” Budi said as another explosion sounded in the distance. “I think we will find out.”

  They made their way through the jungle, more slowly than Budi would have liked, but it was dark, the air was stifling, and he had to be careful not to go in circles. He had never felt lost in the jungle before, and the feeling scared him as much as the explosions. Eventually, the air cleared a little and Budi heard waves crashing against the shore not too far away.

  They appeared at the edge of the jungle where the trees met the land. Normally, the ground was hot and dry, but Budi was surprised to find water lapping at his feet. The ocean was a lot closer to the jungle than usual, and the waves did not move as they usually did, with a calm swaying motion. Instead, they tossed back and forth, side to side. Budi narrowed his eyes as he looked out toward the island. It was hard to see much with the sky so filled with ash, but instead of the single thin plume of smoke that had been emanating from the island for months now, heavy smoke poured out of the summits of all three mountains.

  There was another loud explosion, and a crack of lightning overhead.

  Budi tried to keep his voice calm. “We need to bring the animals together and leave, Dewi,” he said. “Now.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  Melati

  August 26, 1883

  Ketimbang

  Melati flew down to the village to see what had happened, but she didn’t need to go far. Away out in the Sunda Strait, her island… her home… looked as though it was on fire. Huge white and gray clouds rose from the fiery craters, merging into what looked like a giant mushroom. The cloud rose up, then spread out wider and wider, rapidly moving toward the coastline of Sumatra, and likely Java, too, on the opposite side.

  The town was in chaos. Humans were running around, screaming, knocking over food carts and stalls, pushing and shoving one another out of the way, while their animals—goats, dogs, donkeys, and horses—tried desperately to break free from their tethers or harnesses and escape. The horses’ eye
s were wild as they reared up, shaking their hooves at the sky. They could feel it in the air, just as Melati could. An undercurrent of something terrible radiating out from the island in invisible waves.

  In the harbor, boats strained at their mooring ropes. Some had already broken free and were being battered by the ever-increasing waves. A large steamer lay out at sea, rocking unnaturally up and down and side to side as the waves attacked from all directions. The steamer seemed to be attempting to come in to shore, but each time it came closer, the waves reared up, throwing it back out into the strait.

  The clouds had moved directly overhead now, leaving the land and air thick with dust and ash. Melati tried to breathe out of her mouth to keep herself from feeling as though she were suffocating. She flew over the now-deserted market, searching for Johanna and her family. As much as she disliked Isaak for trapping her inside a cage, she still wanted them to be safe. She circled high, then lower as the dust cloud descended, looking for any sign of them, but they were nowhere to be seen. Behind the village, the mountain the humans called Rajabasa loomed. Melati watched as small groups of humans began frantically making their way along the narrow, winding path up the steep incline, trying, she supposed, to get to some kind of safety.

  Someone screamed behind her. A group of humans were on the beach, wading through the turbulent waters and bravely trying to swim to their boats, which had gotten loose of their moorings. But suddenly, the tide receded. The surface lowered as though the water was draining away. The waves continued pulling back, back, back, until the fishermen found themselves standing in thick, muddy sand. Melati waited for the tide to return, but it didn’t. It continued going out, out, out, into the strait until it must have been miles away, and all that was left behind was a vast expanse of sand and exposed rock and coral, with flapping fish and sea creatures gasping for breath, wondering where the water had gone, and the fishermen’s nets and traps strewn across it.

  “What’s happening?” Melati cried.

  She couldn’t bear to wait and see what was going to happen next. No matter how far the ocean went, it would always return. And when it did, it was not going to be good. She had to warn Dewi. The cloud continued to throw down hot ash. It would take only one dry leaf, one small spark for the entire jungle to catch fire. Perhaps, Melati thought, if they headed up into the mountains, they might find some shelter.

  She raced toward the rain forest. Another explosion sounded, this one louder than the last. It shook her feathers as she flew on, determined not to let her fear take over. The farther she flew, the thicker the air became, until she could hardly breathe.

  Slowly, Melati was enveloped in darkness as the smoke became all-encompassing. She could no longer see the sun in the sky, nor any land below to help her get her bearings. She could barely see her own beak right in front of her, but she blindly flew on through the thick ashfall. Her heart pounded as terror consumed her, and she was caught between giving up, trying to land, and continuing on in the hope of finding somewhere safe. The hot air made her head feel fuzzy, and no matter how hard she flapped her wings, the layer of ash continued to build. Her wings became so heavy that she felt herself faltering. Lower and lower she glided, weary and afraid, searching desperately for anywhere to land.

  Just as she was about to give in, she spotted something below her. She couldn’t make out what it was, but she didn’t have time or energy to worry about whether it was a safe place to land—she had to rest. She slowly came down but found herself surrounded by water. She landed with a splash in the ocean! Somehow, she had become so turned around that she had flown out to sea. The sudden shock of going from the scorching air to the frigid water made her lose her breath. She flapped frantically as the waves tossed her around. Her head ducked below the water, and a blast of pure adrenaline fueled by terror shot through her. She surfaced, coughing up salty water and shaking her wings with as much energy as she could muster to dry them before she was dragged under again.

  She spun in all directions, panicking, trying to stay afloat, searching for something… anything that might save her. Then she saw it. A steamer. She was fading fast. She didn’t have the energy to try to make it back to land. The sea would claim her long before she got anywhere close. So she used the very last of her energy and forced herself out of the water and over to the steamer, landing, utterly exhausted and with little finesse, with a dull thud.

  Despite the danger that came with being so close to humans, the explosions echoing all around, and the hot ash still raining down and choking her lungs, Melati felt her eyes flutter closed against her will, as the darkness embraced her.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Budi

  August 26, 1883

  Southern Sumatran Rain Forest

  Budi charged through the jungle with Dewi clinging to his back for dear life. Budi had only two things on his mind—find Raja, then get the animals out of the rain forest and somewhere safe. Fast. He was no expert on volcanoes, but any animal could see that Krakatoa was about to erupt again, and when that happened, Budi didn’t even want to imagine what the consequences would be.

  The temperature was rising fast. The air, heavy with smoke and ash, was stifling. He was grateful for his thick hide and that he wasn’t covered in fur like the tigers and leopards.

  “Raja!” he yelled, thundering through the trees, knocking down bushes and sending a group of moonrats skittering and shrieking in all directions. Their beady eyes glared back at him as they hissed, baring their tiny sharp teeth. He ignored them and thundered on.

  It was becoming harder to see where he was going. The ash cloud had blocked out the light from the sun, and although the canopy of trees gave some protection from the torrent that rained down upon them, there was still enough ash to coat the rain forest floor. Budi ran on, knocking his shoulder into a tree, hard, and sending Dewi sliding off his back.

  “Are you all right?” Dewi and Budi asked each other at the same time. Budi gave Dewi a grim smile, then let her climb back up.

  “I’ll be fine,” Budi said. “It’s just a bruise.” He shook himself off and ran on until he saw one of Raja’s tigers ahead, prowling back and forth through the dim light.

  “Surya!” Budi called, recognizing the tiger. “Where is Raja?”

  The tiger shook her head, her eyes wide, and it sent a flash of fear through Budi. There was very little that tigers had to be afraid of, with the exception, perhaps, of humans. But seeing the terror in the young tiger’s eyes was enough to make Budi want to flee that very second and never look back.

  “I can’t find him!” Surya cried. “I can’t find any of my family. I’ve been going round and round in circles, but everything is different. I can’t find their scents anymore. This white rain has covered up everything.”

  She held Budi’s gaze. “I’m worried…” she said. “I’m worried that if it continues, there might be nothing left of the jungle or any of us at all.”

  Budi tried to give her a reassuring smile. “It won’t come to that,” he said. “Come with me and we will find Raja together. Then we will find somewhere to go where we will all be safe until this whole thing passes.”

  Surya gave him a small smile in return, and the two made their way through the thick air. Budi was desperate to run on, but his shoulder still throbbed from when he’d run into the tree, and he had almost sent Dewi hurtling off. It was as if they were feeling their way through the dark, through an unknown territory where danger could be around any corner.

  Ahead of him, the tiger stopped suddenly, and her ears pricked up. “I think he’s close,” she said. “I’ve found his scent. It’s faint, but it’s definitely him.”

  They continued on a little way and found a group of tigers surrounding a huge fallen tree, prowling back and forth. The tigers turned as one as they heard Budi approach, and they instantly bared their teeth, only falling back when they saw that Surya was with him. As much as Raja liked to convince himself that Budi was as important as he in the jungle, Budi knew
the tigers felt otherwise.

  Budi walked forward to see what they had been guarding. Hiding beneath the fallen tree was Raja.

  “Raja!” Budi said. “What are you doing? We have to leave the jungle; it’s not safe.”

  The ground rumbled and shook, and Raja pulled himself farther beneath the tree, his eyes darting wildly back and forth in fear. “We need to stay here,” he replied, his voice shaky. “It is safe in the jungle. It has always been safe in the jungle. If we go out there—outside—who knows what we might find? Krakatoa is dangerous, I don’t deny it, but the humans, Budi. You know what the humans might do to us.”

  Budi glanced at the faces of the tigers around them. Some of them, like Surya, seemed just as scared as he was and concerned for Raja, but others—Arif and Intan, a couple of the larger males—had a different look in their eyes. As if they were waiting to seize the chance to take control. As if they wanted Raja to fall apart.

  “Please, give us a moment?” Budi asked them.

  For a moment the tigers paused, looking to Arif, but Budi held the tiger’s gaze and stared him down until they strode away, just out of sight.

  Dewi clambered down from Budi’s back, and Budi lowered his head as much as he could, straining his neck to get below the tree and force Raja to look at him. “Please, Your Majesty,” Dewi begged. “The animals need you.”

  “Dewi is right,” Budi agreed. “The mountain is coming apart, and I’m worried that soon it won’t just be ash and dust raining down upon us but something much worse. We have to lead the animals away from here. I don’t know where, but I do know that we can’t stay.”

  “There is nothing out there for us, Budi,” Raja growled. “Apart from the humans and their world. Here in the jungle we know we are safe. Protected. This is our territory. But out there…”

  Budi lowered his voice so that only Raja could hear. “I know you are afraid, Raja, after what the humans did to you when you were a cub. I am afraid, too, but I am more afraid of what will happen if we stay.”