February 6th, 1974 Cont'd
Even though they saw the storm coming, Elicia and the remaining students on shore –along with the several archaeologists who had been giving them a lecture on the old palace at the top of the ruins- were soaked by the time they ran for the cabins.
Thunder pealed and lightning crackled in an almost constant show of power that made Elicia shiver, for reasons entirely unrelated to the weather itself. She sent the boys to their cabin and followed the remaining girls into theirs, where she changed into dry clothes, toweled off her hair, and then pulled on full rain gear.
They reassembled in the main building, which was mostly dining hall, but also living area, and the radio room.
It was for this last reason that Elicia wanted to be there. :Any word from the ship?: she asked anxiously as soon as she entered the room.
Professor Damon Filios himself was sitting at the radio. He didn't look happy. :Nothing since they checked in at the beginning of the dive,: he grumbled. :Arrus knows to report in more often.:
Elicia didn't like the sound of that. Still, she fought down the rising bile in her throat at the fear she felt for Alphonse, and Minxia and the other kids, all out on the water in this deluge. What if they'd been caught in the water? She tried not to think about what would happen if they got caught in a lightning strike on the open sea, or capsized. :What is the likelihood their radio could have gone out?: she asked, looking for a more reasonable alternative.
:Fairly good,: Damon admitted with a sigh. :With this much interference, they could be sending a signal, and we wouldn't get much. Mind you, we should be getting something.:
:What about other alternatives?: she asked softly. The rest of the kids were plastered to the windows, staring out at the spectacular light show. Most of them, however, looked worried. The building around them shuddered with the buffeting wind.
:There's always the possibility of a ship going down in this weather,: Damon acknowledged. :Especially with sudden squalls. However, Arrus is our best and most experienced diver, and sailor. He's sailed seas this rough before. I should know, I've been out with him.: At those words, his face took on a slightly greenish cast, as if he recalled that memory not at all fondly.
Alphonse left the sailing to the experts; he was too focused on keeping the ship from being struck by lightning to worry about the huge, pitching waves that rose many times higher than the boat, sending them often into deep troughs before the ship would rise again to the top of the next swell. They seemed to be at least thirty feet high if not more, but Al closed his eyes, focusing on the transmutation he was using –which required relatively constant work- to keep the boat from being conductive, but without altering its structure to a point that might put them in danger. The last thing he wanted to do was cause the ship to lose coherence and come apart in the water!
The students were abnormally silent, save for the gasps and occasional squeak at a particularly dramatic lurch in the ship's movement.
The driving rain had soaked them all through, and while Al was aware that he was chilled to the bone and not a bit of him was dry, but it was far colder than it had been in the ocean, he didn't really feel it. His senses were highly aware of everything going on around him, but the information was sort of filed away at the back of his mind. His consciousness was wrapped up in alchemy.
Finally he became cognizant of the fact that the lightning had stopped flashing around them, and the thunder rolls were moving off into the distance. Al opened his eyes, and surveyed the storm clouds above.
The rain was worse, but in this instance he considered that an improvement none the less.
:How far are we from shore?: He asked as he scrambled back to the wheel, where Arrus and Paoulo were.
:From shore itself? Not more than a few hundred yards,: Arrus growled. :From a landing spot? That's a different story.:
:We're miles south of Malathos,: Paoulo explained with a grimace, gesturing to the ship's starboard side. :You can see the cliffs. If we were North, it would be all sand, and we could just run ourselves ashore if need be, if not find our port. But this…:
As if to make the point, Arrus veered the ship sharply to port to avoid a jagged rock jutting ten feet out of the water beside them that seemed to loom out of nowhere in the storm darkness of the afternoon and the masking rain.
Al held hard to the rail beside him. :If I take care of the rocks, can you find a place to put in?:
Both of the archaeologists looked at him, startled, as if they hadn't even thought to ask. Perhaps, Al thought grimly, they hadn't realized exactly how much he was doing when he stood there, eyes closed, doing subtle transmutation. Well, he'd show them just what they were missing.
:We can't stay out here,: Arrus agreed. :Starboard heading, if I'm not wrong, there are caves and a small beach area a few more miles south of here. We'll make for that. But it's some treacherous going.:
:I can handle it,: Al replied with full confidence as he moved to the bow of the ship to see better.
Minxia and Thrakos moved out of his way. :What are you doing, Grandpa?: Minxia asked.
Al clapped his hands together, before holding them outspread. :Clearing us a road.:
Minxia was not prepared for the next rock sticking up in front of them to glow bright blue and explode, shards flying in all directions except at the boat! Then the one beyond it went, chunks of rock the side of her head whistling off in all directions.
:What the heck?: Thrakos stared at the rocks in the rain. :Is he doing that?: she asked Minxia, eyes wide as he pointed up at Alphonse.
Minxia nodded, and felt a smile creeping to her face despite the danger they were all in. :Yeah, he's pretty awesome that way.: Somehow, knowing her grandfather was more than capable of doing something to help their situation made her feel safer. There were literally hundreds of stories about the exploits of Grandpa Al and Great-Uncle Edward over the years, and they always came out on top no matter the odds or how crazy they trouble they seemed to be in. At least in the end. Whatever the case, they always came out alive, and Minxia was beginning to really see why. Until now, she'd never had reason to witness any of the more dramatic or large-scale alchemy her grandfather was capable of.
Not that exploding rocks were without their dangers. Minxia noted that one that fell particularly close to the ship sizzled when it hit the water, and there was no way to see all of them. Several times, she heard sharp scrapes against the hull from rocks that were under the water, and the ship shuddered often, and the sounds of cracking wood were not at all reassuring.
She had to cling often to the side of the ship, to the seat… to Thrakos. Anything to keep from being flung to the deck or overboard as the little ship tossed and bounced, and flying rubble light up the darkness around them with temporary shards of blue that vanished whenever lightning crackled in the distance.
She couldn't have said where they were, and was shocked when the boat slammed hard into something, and stopped cold. Half the class fell from their seats, slamming into the decking.
:Land ho!: someone groaned from the stern.
Grandpa Al, clinging to the railing, straightened up and glanced right past her to Arrus and Paoulo.
Arrus nodded. :This bit of beach has a few caves I've checked out before. Best chance to get above the tide.:
Al nodded. :Everyone, off the ship!: he bellowed over the pounding surf and the rushing winds. :Into the caves! We need to get above the water and out of this weather!:
Minxia didn't need to be told twice, shivering, she scrambled to the side of the ship, and followed everyone off the boat, Thrakos and Angelique beside her as her friend pushed through the small crowd.
The slip of beach really was no more than a sliver of sandy rocks that ran like a ledge along the bottom of steep cliffs Minxia could tell they had little hope of climbing. At least, not in the current weather conditions.
Driven against the rocks by a gust of wind, she grabbed Angelique's shoulder, and her friend reached back. They grabbed arms together and made their way forward, following Paoulo, who led them to the cave entrance, which seemed to appear out of nowhere, and Minxia would never have noticed if she hadn't had a guide. They were right inside it before she even realized it was there.
Inside the cave was pitch dark and everyone huddled close together, shivering and scared. Minxia swallowed several times, small cuts stinging from the sea water, and forcing herself not to tremble. They were alive, and on shore. It was a far cry better than their previous circumstances!
:This is not the trip I had in mind,: Angelique sniffed, sounding exasperated.
:Oh give it a rest!: one of the boys growled at her.
:Leave her alone,: Minxia retorted sharply. She knew her friend was just coping with the fear and the unknown and situation in her own way. Hardship wasn't exactly something Angelique was used to.
Not that Minxia could claim she was used to it, not by a long shot. But at least she had heard enough family stories and been taught enough not to panic without reason. Or, ideally, not to panic at all, even with reason. Now was the perfect time to keep her cool.
:We need to get above the tide line,: she heard her grandfather speaking to Arrus and Paoulo. :You mentioned these caves do that. How far back do we have to go?:
:Quite a ways,: Arrus replied softly. :But I've got a couple of lanterns I brought out of the boat. We should be able to see well enough. If we get high enough there might also be driftwood for fires. You think the kids will make it?:
:Sure,: Al replied with conviction in his tone. :They're pretty tough, even if they don't know it yet.:
Minxia chuckled weakly.
:What?: Thrakos asked curiously, and she realized he hadn't heard what was said. Only Minxia, picking out the familiar voice above the noise, had understood.
:Nothing. Looks like we're going to keep moving.: Taking a calming breath, Minxia smiled at Angelique and Thrakos, even though she couldn't really see them in the dim light from the entrance, to which her eyes were slowly adjusting. :Maybe we can find someplace warmer, out of the wind.: The cave was a little better, but they were still getting splashed by wind and spray. Anything dryer would be an improvement.
:All right everyone,: Grandpa Al spoke up then, calling attention in his direction. :We're moving further back into the caves. They go up from here, above the high tide line. The tide is coming in, and if we don't get up there, we're not much better off here than we were at sea. But there's plenty of room for us and an area with dry sand where we should be fine for a few hours until the water drops again. Then the storm should be over and we can go back out and have a look at the boat.:
:What if it's busted?: a boy's voice –Kevan Minxia thought- asked nervously.
:Then we'll fix it,: Al replied.
:And they should have ships out looking for us as soon as the storm passes,: Arrus added. :So if we can't fix the boat, they'll find us anyway. They know these caves exist. So all we need to do for now is stay safe until morning when the tide goes out. All right,: and a light sprang into existence, brilliant and yellow and blinding. :Follow me.:
Alphonse's face remained schooled in a look of calm concentration as he followed Arrus, with Paoulo leading up behind the line of kids as they moved through the caves. The last thing he wanted to do was worry his students even more than they already were. He had done his best to be honest about the situation without being alarmist, and that would have to do.
Fortunately, he was pleased to find that none of the ten kids with him had panicked, not even the girls. Not that he had expected Minxia to panic, but he never really could tell with kids he didn't know. Not all teenagers were as emotionally robust as he and Ed had been when it came to danger.
No one appeared seriously injured either. Not that he'd had much of a chance to look them over. That was something Al made a note to do when they stopped. Minor injuries could, in this situation, be healed with alchemy. This was not a place to get a serious gash or any kind of infection.
The caves were mostly rocky, and relatively jagged higher up, though worn smooth where it was clear the tide came up and filled them every cycle.
The lower parts were smooth, despite how much they were twisting and climbing, for quite a long time. Long enough to make Al nervous even though he was fairly certain that they were several feet above the level of the sea rising behind them, and moving faster than the water.
Still, it went against his instincts to hide in a cave under the ground to avoid drowning. Arrus spoke quietly as they walked. :Found these caves a couple of years ago. Came to this area in the summers as a kid too, with my folks. Grandparents live near here. So we saw the caves from time to time. Finally explored these when I got close enough. The far back and top has a bit of sand, usually caught drift-wood, and it's actually got a tiny vent-hole where you can smell the fresh air from outside, good for taking smoke up if we start a fire, so we don't suffocate. Best chance I figure we have at the moment. Better than out on the sea. I'm a good sailor, but no sane sailor's out in this when he can hide up somewhere in a good port.:
Al chuckled softly. :This is not my idea of a good port, but as they say. Any port.:
:Aye,: Arrus grinned, his smile a bit odd looking in the stark flickering light. :And this is definitely that kind of a storm.: