The Amelioration Expedition
Chapter 11
Marlin was surprised and pleased with the turn of events. It was a big load off her mind to have both Donte and Dr. Oriana side with her on the issue of childbirth. She hadn't thought about the fact that her baby could be the first human born on Opus until Dr. Oriana mentioned it. She kind of liked the idea. Still, it brought her closer to a decision she didn't want to make. She couldn't raise the child on Opus. She didn't want a child at all, but since she had no choice, it might as well have the best life she could offer. That wasn't going to happen on Opus or Purlieu. That meant that she would either have to go back to Oriel and live a life she didn't want, or find someone who wanted to adopt the baby. The truth was; she didn't like that idea either. It would have been different if she had accidentally got pregnant, but the baby would always be a reminder of the rape. What if the baby turned out to be like its father?
She wasn't parent material any more than her parents were. She had been nothing more than a possession for them to argue about. Sometimes she wondered if either of them actually wanted her, or if she was a method of income for her mother. She wasn't going to do that to her baby. Her baby would have parents who loved her. In that way, Purlieu sounded the most attractive. The people of Purlieu weren't concerned about money. Dr. Oriana had started to suggest Petra, Donte's daughter. What would it be like for a human to be brought up by a Mascot? Would she be constantly trying to live up to a standard she couldn't possibly achieve, or would they expect less of her and not encourage her to do better?
No one had asked her where she wanted her baby to be born. The truth was, she wanted the baby to be born on the Spero, via c-section and delivered by Dr. Oriana. She hadn't argued the matter because when she started labor, there would be plenty of time to get back to the Spero with Dr. Oriana. It was unlikely that their structure would be near enough complete to have the surgery on Opus. Donte acted like there was nothing to having a baby. Rianne would probably disagree.
In the next week they decided on a site near a waterfall. The water shot out of the side of a mesa, formed a pool at the bottom and sank back into the ground. Apparently, the rivers of Opus all ran underground. They planned to place a turbine under the waterfall both as a source of piping water to the base camp and as a power source. Lori was working on that part. There was a dense forest nearby and a level area large enough to build a structure up against a solid rock cliff overhang. Marlin and David had scouted around to find the clay source they would need to put between the rocks.
Captain McKillum had sent six men to help them with the project. Before they left Oriel, Marlin had requested some equipment like a two-man cross-cut saw and wedges. She was the one, not Donte, who taught the men how to use the equipment. Donte, it seemed, had never felled a tree. He listened and learned quickly, though. His unusual strength made him valuable and his off-beat sense of humor quickly made him a favorite with everyone.
To Marlin's surprise, the structure of the building was completed within a week. They still had a lot of rock work and the roof to finish, but they were able to occupy the structure. That was when the rain storm struck. It rained for two days and the waterfall became a gushing river that destroyed their incomplete turbine. Lori didn't let it discourage her, though. She looked at the destruction as a lesson and began working on a new turbine that was more durable.
Donte occasionally mentioned that he sensed the presence of the unidentified animals, but they never saw them.
One sunny morning after a rain, Marlin followed Chandler, Lori and Donte on a quest to see if they could find a new water source. The others remained at the base camp.
They followed what looked like a rocky river bed. It was lower than the land around it and void of trees. Only grass grew there. It stretched for miles, taking a course toward the ocean. A wall of rock bordered the river bed, it's red color contrasting attractively with the green grass.
Marlin spotted a rock pile and decided to investigate. "It looks man-made."
Lori started to follow Marlin but stopped when Donte spoke.
"Stay away from it. I can sense running water. The rocks may have been placed there as a warning."
Lori looked uncertain what to do, but Marlin continued. Someone may have placed the rocks there to mark a water source.
She had almost reached the rock pile when the ground under her feet trembled. She carefully turned and started back to the others, testing before she put each foot down. Donte paced up and down the area, searching for solid footing. She had made it almost half the distance when Donte reached a hand toward her. She reached for his hand, but wasn't close enough. She abandoned that effort and concentrated on her slow progress forward. Again, she felt the ground tremble.
Donte reached for her hand again, but Marlin was afraid to move until the ground settled. Donte took a step forward and held out his hand to her.
"Let me come to you," she said.
Donte's added weight increased the trembling of the ground. It was starting to crumble when Marlin grabbed Donte's hand and they tried to scramble to the edge. Unfortunately, neither of them could get footing firm enough to hop to the safety of firm ground.
Marlin looked at Donte, but his expression wasn't encouraging. For one long and horrifying moment, she knew they were going to fall – like in her vision. The ground gave away completely and she screamed as they fell.
The sickening feeling of weightlessness was followed by the shock of hitting cold water. Marlin tore her hand from Donte's as they sank into a deep pool. She kicked and worked her way up to the surface. When she broke the surface, she gasped for air. She spotted a rock ledge and began swimming toward it, but the current was too strong.
Donte emerged beside her and grabbed her arm as he swam. Their combined strength couldn't break them free of the whirlpool.
Panic seized Marlin and she grabbed Donte. His voice was calm, telling her to let go of his arm so he could swim and to hang on to his shirt. The whirlpool behind them made sucking noises that robbed her of reason.
Within seconds they were both being sucked into the hole. Marlin took a deep breath of air before being dragged under water. This was how she was going to die – how her baby was going to die, and how Donte was going to die. She fought it, holding her breath until she thought her lungs would explode.
Suddenly she was being tossed into the air. She gasped for air as she fell in darkness to who knew what? She screamed once before hitting the water again. She couldn't see a thing, but there was a strong current. She had no way of knowing which way to go.
"Donte!" She screamed.
"I'm here," he said beside her. "This way."
"How do you know which way to go?"
"I can see in the dark – a little. I see a…"
The current suddenly grabbed them again and they were dragged into another whirlpool. She barely had time to take a deep breath before they were plunging through another opening. Marlin held her breath, hoping that they would be tossed out again – this time out of the underground and into a pool of water. Either they were traveling a greater distance or it seemed longer because she was becoming exhausted. Either way, she was certain she would drown. She couldn't hold her breath any longer.
A hand clamped over her nose and mouth, preventing her from breathing. At least she wasn't going to die alone. Donte was with her. That was her last thought before she lost consciousness.
***
Donte couldn't let Marlin drown. He sensed they were moving through a tunnel – probably a channel to another chamber. If they could hold their breath long enough, they would probably survive. He grabbed Marlin and put his hand over her nose and mouth, sealing it off so she couldn't take a breath. She fought him for a moment and then stopped struggling. She had probably lost consciousness. Hopefully he wouldn't do the same. He could last longer under water than she could, but he was reaching the point that it was difficult to keep from gasping for breath.
Once again, they were airborne, this time inside a huge chamber with an opening at the top. He had the sickening feeling of weightlessness and gasped for air. He released Marlin's nose and mouth, but she didn't gasp for air.
They hit the water below together with a jarring force that threatened to rip her from his grasp. He managed to hold on to her and swim toward the bank. Unconscious, she was no longer struggling and it was much easier. As he got close to the bank, the current wasn't as strong. His feet touched the ground and he began to wade, pulling Marlin with him. He stopped and leaned down, covering her nose and mouth with his mouth and blowing air into her. He pulled her to the bank and laid her flat. When he checked, she had a pulse. He pressed the air from her lungs and took a deep breath before forcing more air into her.
Her stomach jerked as the baby kicked. It was starving for oxygen. He increased the intensity of the resuscitation and Marlin finally drew a deep breath of air. She rolled her head and blinked her eyes. She tried to speak and coughed. Finally, she spoke in a weak granular voice.
"Where are we?"
"In a chamber," he said as he lifted her from the ground. "We survived."
She didn't struggle as he carried her to a dry area of sand and gently sat her on the ground. He stood and surveyed the area. Above them was a large fissure almost the length of the chamber. Light reflected off a wall of light red rock. They had a source of fresh air and a source of water to drink. They could last until they were rescued.
He reached for his medallion, but found a torn shirt instead. He tried to call, but his voice merely echoed inside the chamber. They had no way of telling anyone where they were. It was unlikely that any of the expedition members thought they were still alive. If they explored that first chamber, they would see the whirlpool and know they had been dragged into it.
He turned to find Marlin hugging her knees, shivering. He felt his pocket. Yes, the laser weapon was still there. Dr. Oriana had told him that weapons were prohibited, but Gerritt and Adriaan had insisted that he take one and simply not say anything unless it was needed. He was glad he did.
The river, probably when it was flooded, had collected a large pile of limbs and leaves at the back of the cavern. There was probably enough there to keep a fire going until help arrived. Hopefully it would provide enough smoke to escape the opening and alert the others to their location.
He gathered wood and some dry leaves and placed them in a pile near the edge of the water - as close as he could get it to the opening. Hopefully he wouldn't asphyxiate them in the process. He drew his laser weapon and, setting it at short range; he fired it at the dry leaves.
The leaves shriveled and burst into flame.
Behind him Marlin gasped. "You aren't supposed to have one of those here!"
Donte didn't respond. His attention was fixed on the fire. The flames were drawn toward the opening, but there was no smoke. He sighed and looked at Marlin.
"I was hoping it would produce enough smoke to bring them to us."
Marlin stood and approached the fire, hands toward it, still shivering. Was it cold or shock?
Donte took his shirt off and wrung the water from it. Next, he removed his boots and stuck two sticks in the ground. He turned his boots upside down on the sticks. Marlin watched him and did the same with hers. Donte found more sticks and broke them so that they made forks at the top and pushed them into the sand. He laid a long stick between them and hung his shirt from it. Marlin removed her wet jacket and wrung it out, hanging it from the sticks to dry.
She hugged herself. "I'm freezing."
He didn't want to appear forward, but neither did he want her to suffer. He reached his hands out to her. "Come snuggle against me for warmth."
She rolled her eyes. "No thanks. I'll just get closer to the fire."
Soft Science Fiction
