Expendable - James Alan Gardner [55]
Climbing the bluffs was easier than I expected—Chee’s body had flattened a trail on its way down. The gloves of my tightsuit were still intact, so I could catch hold of weeds and pull myself up, without worrying about thorns and burrs. Apart from a run-in with stinging nettles on my bare right calf, I reached the meadow unscathed.
Everything was where I had dropped it: my pack, my stunner, Yarrun’s helmet…and the scalpel, black now with Yarrun’s dried blood. I didn’t want to touch it. I wanted to leave it there forever, rusting in the rain.
But it was probably made of rustproof metal.
And it would be cruel to leave something so sharp where animals could injure themselves.
And a true Explorer doesn’t abandon a useful tool just because she’s squeamish.
Carefully, I wiped the blade on the grass.
Carefully, I put the scalpel away in the first aid kit.
Then I threw the kit into my backpack and fairly ran back down the bluffs.
Thunks
With so much equipment stuffed into the boat, I had to wriggle to get in myself. The boat waited motionless for me to settle; since Oar had given it voice commands before, perhaps I had to say something to get it started.
“Okay,” I announced. “I’m ready to go.”
The boat didn’t react immediately; but after I’d lain still and silent for five seconds, the lid slowly lowered. It came to within a centimeter of my face—any jostling, and I’d bump my nose on the glass. I hoped we weren’t going far…not just because the space was cramped, but because it wouldn’t take long to exhaust the scant air inside the coffin.
Smoothly the boat moved out. Black water lapped on both sides, inching up the walls until it eased over the top: the craft was submerging. I had one last glimpse of the moon and stars—my sky, the night sky—and then they were swallowed by blackness. A hand’s breadth of water above me was enough to cut off all light coming from the outside world.
Whatever propelled the boat worked silently. The only sounds were my careful breathing and my heartbeat. A drop of water fell against my cheek and I felt sudden panic—was the boat leaking? But it was only the moisture of my breath, condensing on the glass so close above me and dripping back down.
Something thumped against the boat near my feet. I jumped enough to clonk my nose on the glass, watering my eyes…but nothing else happened.
A fish—it must have been a fish, rudely surprised by colliding with a nearly invisible submarine.
And where there is one fish, there are many more.
Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.
Sometimes the hits were direct, sometimes soft glancing blows. The impacts had no pattern—whole minutes could go by in total silence, then two jolts one after another, like the proverbial water torture, never knowing when the next drop will come.
At least it kept my mind off the stuffiness of an unventilated coffin sailing with tons of water overhead.
I didn’t think about that at all.
Austere
The ride ended in a sudden bloom of light, beginning at my feet and sliding swiftly up the length of my body as the boat glided into an illuminated space. I had not looked at my watch before starting out, so I can’t say how long the voyage lasted…perhaps ten minutes, though it felt like an hour. It was lengthy enough that my eyes had adjusted to the total underwater blackness; even squinting, I could see nothing against the light now beating on my eyes.
The boat’s lid opened and I heard Oar’s voice. “Why did you take so long? Did you not understand to enter the boat? Are all Explorers stupid?”
Nice to see you again too, I thought. But the next moment I realized she must have stood there waiting, wondering if I had abandoned her the way Jelca had. In a conciliatory voice, I said, “Sorry—I needed time to pack my gear. Where are we now?”
“This is my home, Festina. It is the most beautiful home in the universe.”
My eyes were beginning to adjust to the light…not the fierce light it seemed when I emerged from total blackness, but a grayish glow like an overcast day.