Lucifer's Hammer - Larry Niven [106]
MacDonald turned.
The curdled sky was rising like a curtain; you could see beneath the edge. The edge was perfectly straight, a few degrees above the horizon. Above was the green-and-orange glow of the comet's coma. Below, blackness in which stars glowed.
"The Earth's shadow," MacDonald said. "A shadow cast through the coma. I wish my wife had lived to see this. Just another year … "
A great light glared behind them. Willis turned. It sank slowly—too bright to see, blinding, drowning the background—Willis stared into it. God, what was it? Sinking … faded.
"I hope you hid your eyes," MacDonald said.
Willis saw only agony. He blinked; it made no difference. He said, "I think I'm blind." He reached out, patted rock, seeking the reassurance of a human hand.
Softly MacDonald said, "I don't think it matters."
Rage flared and died. That quickly, Willis knew what he meant. MacDonald's hands took his wrists and moved them around a rock. "Hug that tight. I'll tell you what I see."
"Right."
MacDonald's speech seemed hurried. "When the light went out I opened my eyes. For a moment I think I saw something like a violet searchlight beam going up, then it was gone. But it came from behind the horizon. We'll have some time."
"Thera's a bad luck island," Willis said. He could see nothing, not even darkness.
"Did you ever wonder why they still build here? Some of the houses are hundreds of years old. Eruptions every few centuries. But they always come back. For that matter, what're we doing—Alex, I can see the tidal wave. It gets taller every second. I don't know if it'll reach this high or not. Brace yourself for the air shock wave, though."
"Ground shock first. I guess this is the end of Greek civilization."
"I suppose so. And a new Atlantis legend, if anyone lives to tell it. The curtain's still rising. Streamlines from the nucleus in the west, Earth's black shadow in the east, meteors everywhere … " MacDonald's voice trailed off.
"What?"
"I closed my eyes. But it was northeast! and huge!"
"Greg, who named Mount Prophet Elias? It's too bloody appropriate."
The ground shock ripped through and beneath Thera, through the magma channel that the sea bed had covered thirty-five hundred years before. Willis felt the rock wrench at his arms. Then Thera exploded. A shock wave of live steam laced with lava tore him away and killed him instantly. Seconds later the tsunami rolled across the raw orange wound.
Nobody would live to tell of the second Thera explosion.
Mabel Hawker fanned her cards and smiled inwardly. Twenty points: Her hand was a good one. Her partner, unfortunately, wasn't. The way Bea Anderson was bidding, they'd be out a hundred dollars by the time the plane landed at JFK.
The 747 was high above New Jersey in its descent into New York. Mabel and Chet and the Andersons were seated around a table in the first-class section, too far from the windows to see anything. Mabel regretted the bridge game. She'd never seen New York from the air; but she didn't want the Andersons to know that.
The windows flashed again.
"Your bid, May," Chet said.
People in the window seats were craning out. First class buzzed with voices, and Mabel heard the fear that lies buried in every passenger's mind. She said, "Sorry. Two diamonds."
"Four hearts," Bea Anderson said, and Mabel cringed.
There was a soft ping. The sign lit: "FASTEN SEAT BELTS."
"This is Captain Ferrar," said a friendly voice. "We don't know what that flash was, but we'll ask you to fasten your seat belts, just in case. Whatever it was, it was a long way behind us." The pilot's voice was very calm and reassuring.
Did Bea have a jump bid? Oh, Lord, did she even know what an opening "two diamonds" meant? Have to bull it through …
There was a sound: like something very large being slowly torn in two. Suddenly the 747 was laboring, surging forward.
She'd read that experienced travelers kept their seats belts fastened loosely, so she had done that. Now Mabel deliberately unfastened the belt, laid her cards