25/1/2002 Title: City of Light Chapter: 8 Author: Squeezynz@free.net.nz Universe:Land of the Giants Rating: PG, Adventure Archive: sure, just let me know where Feedback: always welcome Disclaimer: no money, no fowl *cluck*...all IA's, with thanks ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Steve and Dan were in the process of wiring the spare hydrogen cell to a detonator when the first tremor made itself known. Steve felt the vibration through his feet, then the tools started to dance on the workbench, finally the whole ship swayed as the tremor increased in force, the cries of alarm outside the ship evidence it was really happening. Steve and Dan staggered out of the tool room, after securing the cell, lurching to the hatchway to find out what was happening. " Is it an earthquake ?" Dan shouted, trying to be heard over the almost continuous sound of cracking and groaning coming from all around the ship. " Could be, either that or a bombardment," said Steve, clutching the edge of the doorway to pull himself through. The two men looked out of the ship to see the rest of their group sprawled on the ground, unable to keep on their feet as the ground trembled and shook. " Steve....what's happening ?" shouted Betty, trying to get to her feet, using one of the chairs. Steve carefully made his way down the steps and reached Betty just as a particularly violent shake sent them all tumbling like skittles. " Get everyone into the ship, it will be safer there," Steve shouted back, giving Betty a hand up as the shaking subsided. Dan and Betty went to the others, helping them gain their feet. Fitzhugh immediately made for his hut. Steve shouted after him but the older man had reached the hut and shut the door behind him. Steve went over and pounded on the door. " Fitzhugh, you need to get to the ship...it's not safe out here, come out now." " I'm not leaving my stuff, I'll come out when I'm finished packing." " Fitzhugh, I'm ordering you to get your sorry ass out here now, this place could come down on us at any time," Steve said angrily, thumping his fist against the door. He jumped back in surprise when the door was wrenched open and Fitzhugh pushed his way out, clutching his suitcase. " There's no need to be rude, Captain Burton. I'm quite ready now." Steve scowled at him, then hurried Fitzhugh back towards the Windsifter, just as another violent quake nearly toppled them. Steve all but pushed Fitzhugh through the doorway, as the ground seemed to heave upwards, then jerk sideways, making the Windsifter shift alarmingly. Inside the women and Barry were strapped into their seats, looking white and scared. Dan was in the co-pilot chair, riding out the latest quake as the ship shuddered and rolled. " What the hell is happening out there Steve ?" Dan asked. " I'm as much in the dark as the rest of you, whatever it is, it might be a big enough diversion to allow us to escape." " What about all our gear, we can't really afford to lose all that bedding and our clothes," said Dan. Steve gave him a considering look, then checked outside the viewport. " The robots have scattered, so they're surveillance is off, lets go gather what we can and get back here before they return." Steve got up, turning to leave the cockpit, Dan quickly followed, feeling the tremors subside once more. The two men raced to the nearest hut, finding the door wide open and the roof half off. They grabbed whatever they could find in the way of belongings and bedding, dumping it in the entrance to the ship, shouting for the women to come and cart it out of the way before the next load. Valerie and Marna quickly picked up the first pile, while Betty and Barry waited for Steve and Dan to return with their next bundle. The process was repeated several times before the next big shake up started. Steve and Dan ran back to the ship while they could keep on their feet, shutting the hatchway just as a big quake rocked them from side to side, sending the women sprawling and depositing Barry into Fitzhugh lap with enough force to wind the older man. " Sorry Mr.Fitzhugh...." Barry apologised, while Fitzhugh wheezed and gasped. Steve and Dan had seen no sign of the robots or Neeson outside, while they worked. The room they were in appeared to be weathering the subsidence without much structural damage so far, but Steve had seen cracks appearing in the glass window at the far end, and didn't fancy their luck in holding out much longer. Steve could only suppose that whatever was happening was keeping both Neeson and the robots fully occupied, certainly enough to take their attention away from their captives long enough to enable them to make their escape. Steve launched himself into the cockpit as the current shakes lessened, Dan close behind him. They both started the warm up cycle for the engines, praying that everything went smoothly. Valerie clawed her way to the cockpit entrance, seeing Steve going through the pre-flight procedure's, feeling a dread clutch at her heart. " Steve....what about Mark ?" Steve turned and gave Valerie a pitying look. He had already constructed and discarded any number of rescue plans. Not one appeared feasible in their current situation. Valerie was still looking for an answer to her question, " What about Mark ?" She repeated. " Valerie, I need to get us all out of here in one piece. I'm working on a plan, but I need to get us airborne. Please, go back and strap in, this could get bumpy." Valerie gave Steve one last look, her heart in her eye's, then she turned and stumbled back to the cabin. Steve turned back to the job in hand, avoiding Dan's gaze as the two men rushed through the pre-flight checks. Finally they were ready to go, with still no sign of the robots or Neeson to hinder their escape. Steve's plan was to launch and try and find an opening, either through a broken window, or open doorway to the outside. The ship shuddered as another set of quakes rocked her, as if strong winds were continually buffeting her. Steve pushed the throttle wide open and she started to taxi, they didn't have a lot of space for a runway, Steve calculating they had just enough for a short, fast, take-off. The plants in the conservatory were jiggling and waving as if in a violent storm as the current quake shook the floor and made the walls waver back and forth, deep cracks starting to appear in the surface of the walls. Finally a robot put in an appearance, making Steve's heart race, but it was intent on its mission of repair and ignored the tiny craft gathering speed for its launch. The ground raced past the viewport and they were suddenly airborne, the rockets roaring, competing with the buildings noisy protest of it's rough treatment. They had to bank sharply as they ran out of airspace quickly, turning full circle back in the direction they'd come. In front of them was the floor to ceiling window, a wreck now, as huge chunks of glass had cracked and fallen to the floor, leaving an enormous hole, big enough for a hundred Windsifters to fly through. Steve and Dan guided their ship past the jagged edges, sailing out into a scene reminiscent of their worst nightmares. Outside the situation became fractionally clearer. The huge glass dome was coloured a lurid orange, as if from a sunset, but more violently hued than any sunset ever seen. Given it should have been full dark outside the light was a puzzle. As they exited the shattered window they had a better picture of the city. They could see that damage was widespread, with several buildings having collapsed, pulling others over as they fell. The dome itself had also suffered, several panels having cracked and fallen in, giving the Windsifter a clear avenue of escape. The airspace around them was full of smoke and ash, some from the burning buildings below them, the rest pouring in through the cracked dome above them. It resembled a scene from Dante's inferno, with flashes of robots darting around the ruined buildings like demented fireflies. Steve wove his way through the devastated city, the ship being tossed by the uncertain thermals as they passed over burning buildings. " We should get out while we can, who knows when Neeson will notice we're gone," said Dan. " I know, but we can't abandon Mark, he's here somewhere, if there's a chance we have to try," Steve replied, " I couldn't face Valerie otherwise." Dan nodded in agreement, his mouth pulled into a tight line. Steve was just coming round for another pass over the building they'd just left when the radio crackled into life, causing Dan's head to whip round in surprise. "...*hiss*...this...*snap*..Mark, can you...*hiss*....me." Dan snatched up the microphone, sharing a startled glance with Steve. " Mark, we hear you, your signal is weak, where are you ?" "...*crackle*..top of building..*hiss*...still in cage. *zzzzz*..returned our packs....*crackle*...hurry...*brrrrk*...volcano ..." the transmission suddenly ended, leaving Dan listening to dead air. " Mark, come in....Mark !" Dan tried. The two men stared at each other, trying to decipher Mark's garbled message. " I did hear him say Volcano....didn't I?" Dan asked. Steve nodded, already bringing the Windsifter round to approach the building again, this time bringing her nose up to climb to the top. " That would explain the tremors and the ash flying about," said Steve, fighting the controls as a sudden thermal threw them around. A robot suddenly flew into sight, fixing its unblinking eye stalk on them, as if trying to figure out what they were, then it darted off and disappeared. They were reaching the top of the building, which appeared relatively undamaged so far. There they saw Neeson standing at the centre of a huge circle, like a heli-pad, surrounded by hovering robots, taking instruction or relaying information as the air swirled around and became more choked with smoke and ash. The eerie orange light only made the scene more nightmarish, but also provided necessary cover for the windsifter to approach unseen. Steve tried to pierce the clouds of smoke to see where Mark could be, then he spotted the cage. It was a little way beyond Neeson, on the ground next to some boxes and cases. "Look's like Neeson is planning a little trip, I think we should relieve him of some of his luggage at least. Dan, get back to the hatch and ready the cable lift..we'll try to hook the cage and lift Mark, cage and all...its too risky to land." " Steve, with the ground shakes and updraughts, its going to be next to impossible to hold her steady, how are we going to hook the cage ?" " By you holding her steady, while I go down on the cable and attach the hook," Steve replied. " You'll be swinging in the breeze Steve, one wrong move and the ship could dash you against a wall," Dan said grimly. " That's why I want you to fly this bird, I'll get the others to relay instructions on positioning, and operate the winch." " It's too damn risky Steve," Dan argued. " It's the only chance Mark has...lets go, bring her around and try to get as close to the cage as possible, we won't have much time." Steve got out of his seat, resting his hand briefly on Dan's shoulder, before exiting the cockpit and calling to the others. Five minutes later, Steve was strapped to the cable with a harness, the hook in his hand, ready to step out and start his descent. Dan was holding the ship above the cage, using the manoeuvring jets to hold his position against the capricious winds rocking the ship. The clouds of ash and smoke were still screening them from the robots and Neeson, their jet noise consumed by the roar of the city destroying itself. Steve swung out and started down, the cable being played out, watched by the remaining passengers of the Windsifter. Dan had managed to bring the ship to within fifty feet above the cage, Steve could see Mark looking up at him as he steadily got closer. Finally his feet touched the mesh of the roof, letting the cable keep coming to give him some slack. He quickly hooked the cable to the centre of the cage, hoping it would stay reasonably stable, for Marks sake. Then it was two sharp tugs on the cable and the slack was taken up and they were lifting off the ground, Mark bracing himself on the side of the cage as it started to swing and slowly spin. Dan must have been told they were clear because the spaceship started to move forward while the cable was being winched up slowly. It didn't take long before they were sailing over the edge of the building, the cable within six feet of the loading bay. The plan was for Dan to find another rooftop to set down on, then they would cut Mark out of the cage and escape. Having the cage hanging down while in flight was making the ship very difficult to handle, and Mark was getting a rough ride. Steve was still attached to the cable and was also getting thrown around, the people in the ship helpless to help until the ship landed. Before too long Dan was bringing the ship into land again, this time in the lea of a semi-circular roof with a raised edge that would provide some shelter from the buffeting updraughts. The cage was once more winched down and settled on the roof, while Steve unhooked the cable, taking off the harness and letting the cable loose. Then Dan landed the ship and everyone piled out, coming over to bring the cutting torch to Steve and to express their relief at a safe rescue. Mark was quickly released and they all raced back to board the ship. Steve and Dan fired her up and took off once more. This time they were getting out at the first chance. The dome's air was rapidly getting choked with smoke and visibility was closing in. Steve spotted a large portion of the roof that had fallen in, allowing them to shoot out and find clear air outside the dome. He banked around to try and get a better picture of what was causing the disaster and gasped as the true nature of their narrow escape became apparent. Mark had come up to the cockpit and stood in the doorway, flanked by Fitzhugh and Valerie, the others looking over their shoulders at the sight in front of them. " Neeson told me that they had been recording an increase in seismic activity for the last six months, it was inevitable," Mark told them. Outside the viewport they could see a sea of lava where they had previously landed the ship and walked to the city, only a week before. Further back, beyond the forest and unseen by them when they flew in at night was the huge unmistakable cone of a volcano, the sides illuminated by the lurid light from several river's of lava that flowed down the sides of the mountain. The lava had reached the domed city and circled it, pouring eventually over the cliff edge into the sea, raising huge billowing clouds of steam as the sea and lava fought for supremacy. The forest they had landed in was ablaze, what trees had survived the lava were huge columns of fire that belched clouds of smoke and burning embers into the night sky. Dan and Steve banked away from the awful sight, heading to where the sky was clear and dark, away from the conflagration below. Steve grabbed altitude to get above the violent thermals being created by the lava and burning city. Once they were clear he circled around once more to take their last look at the city of light that truly lived up to its title tonight. The sight of the once magnificent dream city being consumed by natures great destructive force was sobering. It only reinforced how narrowly they had escaped with all their lives, and most of their possession intact. Next time they might not be so lucky, but for now they headed their ship into the star studded sky, leaving Neeson and his doomed dream behind them, glad to be safe and together once more. Steve opened the throttle to its maximum, wanting to put as much distance between them and their too near brush with death as possible. " Where are we heading now Steve ?" asked Dan. Steve only raised his arm and pointed. " That-a-way..." The End of City of Light. Look for Outbreak, coming soon.