Deluge

Among the survivors, Ronan and Murel thankfully counted most of the people they knew. All of Ke-ola’s family, including a sullen-looking Kai, the matron, doctor, captain, Lloyd, Marmie, Adrienne, and Zuzu the cat, who had appointed herself guardian of Dr. Mabo and sat on top of the woman’s head, kneading her scalp vigorously with both front paws. Mabo was bound and gagged and, for good measure, was wearing the collar she had put on Ronan. Rory handed Ronan the control, but Ronan pitched it out into the water as far as it would go.

“Not even a little zap?” Rory asked, disappointed. “I mean, I can’t. She is my grandmother.”

“I don’t want to disturb the cat, and if I zapped Mabo, the shock would probably kill Zuzu. She looks like she’s having fun.”

“Besides,” Murel added, “your gran is seriously twisted. She uses that kind of stuff. We’re better than that.”

“I guess so. I don’t want to do anything like she does. It might make her think there was a family resemblance.”

The ground trembled beneath their damp feet as the mountain beyond sent up plumes of smoke, ash, and sparks. The trees whipped fitfully in a strong hot wind. At least everyone had dried out quickly, Murel thought, and there was no danger of hypothermia here, as there would have been on Petaybee, though sunburn was always a hazard.

“We’ve been here too long,” Ronan said aloud. “This place is starting to look like home. Or bits of it.”

“The warm bits,” Murel agreed, with a nod to the volcano. “So now what? The boat’s wrecked, the alien craft can’t help as long as we’re on land instead of in the water, the mainland is full of armed soldiers, and these people can’t survive at sea very long.”

“You didn’t mention the volcano about to blow,” Pele reminded her helpfully.

“That too.” Murel regarded the waving tree fronds and the swaying trunks, then said, “There is one thing you might do that could help. Though this planet isn’t as receptive as Petaybee, it might listen. Ke-ola had us do a birthing hula for the new volcano at home. Do the rest of you know it?”

“Not really. Ke-ola paid more attention to that stuff than the rest of us.”

“I know it,” someone muttered. It was Kai, looking defensive. When the others turned to her, the big girl shrugged. “I helped Mama with you younger ones.”

“You know the birthing oli?” Pele asked in surprise.

“I ought to. She was in labor with you almost three days.”

“Ke-ola showed us the dance, but we don’t know the words,” Murel said. “And it was a while ago. Do you still remember the steps?” she asked her brother.

“I think so,” he said. “When I see it again it should come back to me.”

There was another great tremble and another plume of smoke, ash-and flame. Glowing hot veins of red bled down the side of the mountain.

“Has anyone called for help?” the injured sergeant asked. She was a small, wiry woman who reminded Murel a bit of Pet Chan. “We need to be evacuated. If that lava reaches this beach, there’ll be no safe place for any of us. I’ve seen it before.”

“Most of our equipment was destroyed, Sarge,” another soldier told her. “The mobiles aren’t working.”

“That’s because the same thing happened on the mainland,” Ronan told them. “You can’t expect any help from that quarter. We’re on our own. I know this may look daft to you, but it’s worked before, back where we come from.”

Murel had grave doubts about whether the hula would speak to the core of this planet. They’d had no indication that this thoroughly tamed world with its moribund sea and prison-populated landmasses was at all self-aware. And even if it was, it might not be reasonable. But trying to soothe it with the birthing hula would keep people busy, at least.

Let’s leave them to it and go back to the city, she suggested. Kushtaka’s people know more about how this world functions than anyone around here. Maybe they have some more ideas.

We can’t abandon Marmie and Adrienne, or the others for that matter.

We’re not abandoning them. But we need to come up with some other alternatives. I get the feeling that a sentient planet that’s been used as a prison for so long might not be enough of an art and culture lover to appreciate the dance.

They dived in and changed, and when they surfaced, began swimming toward the city. The volcano’s rumble was as fierce as the growl of some wild beast-the kind that ate seals. The water was still turbulent and full of chop from the city-ship’s agitation of it. It made for slow and rough going.

They kept surfacing and turning to look at the volcano. During one such break, they saw ships descending from the sky.

Looks like someone will get evacuated anyway, Ronan said.

Probably the brass. The rest of us can become lava statues, for all they care.

As they drew closer to the underwater volcanic vent where the city had settled, they met teams of their alien friends, some of them in squid form, some still appearing to be giant otters, swimming away from the city.

Where are you going? Ronan asked.

Setting up the sursurvu-strictly routine, one of the pair, in squid form, replied. The sursurvu was a network of surveillance devices the aliens deployed in the vicinity of their city to keep an eye on the neighborhood.