CHAPTER 4
Ash Beach
By the end of the first week, Elena had learned three things about Kaimana.
The first was that the mountain rarely looked as dangerous as the data suggested.
The second was that Naia Reyes noticed things before the instruments did.
The third was that Naia was apparently incapable of walking anywhere normally.
She disappeared down trails as though the island had been built specifically for her feet.
Elena had watched it all week.
She had tried not to.
Tonight, she failed.
The data download was supposed to take fifteen minutes.
That was what Elena had told herself when she agreed to meet Naia at Ash Beach after sunset.
Fifteen minutes to collect the day's remote readings.
Fifteen minutes to verify the transfer.
Fifteen minutes, and then back to the station.
Instead, she was sitting on a weathered piece of black volcanic rock with her laptop balanced beside her, watching the progress bar crawl from sixty-eight percent to sixty-nine.
"Excellent," she murmured.
Naia looked over.
"Problem?"
"Technology."
"Ah."
Naia crouched beside the equipment case.
"Want me to threaten it?"
Elena glanced at her.
"Would that work?"
"Usually."
"You threaten computers?"
"I threaten anything that wastes my time."
Elena smiled.
She hadn't meant to.
Naia noticed.
Elena knew she noticed because the corner of Naia's mouth moved.
Neither commented on it.
The beach stretched around them in a dark crescent.
Ash-gray sand.
Black rock.
Ocean nearly indistinguishable from the night except where the moon caught its surface.
Far above the island, the summit was partly obscured by cloud.
The mountain was quiet.
But not asleep.
It never really slept.
A faint orange glow appeared high on the slope.
Elena looked up.
An incandescent thread moved slowly through the darkness.
Not a lava lake.
Not a continuous river.
A brief overflow from the growing dome.
It traced a narrow glowing channel down the flank before fading behind a ridge.
Elena watched until it disappeared.
Beautiful.
Dangerous.
Temporary.
She opened the data window again.
The transfer continued.
Beside her, Naia stood.
Elena watched her walk toward the waterline.
No flashlight.
No hesitation.
She moved through the darkness with the confidence of someone who knew every change in the ground beneath her boots.
Elena looked down at her laptop.
Then back up.
Naia was several meters away now.
She had stopped beside a cluster of rocks.
The waves reached her boots and withdrew.
She looked toward the horizon.
Elena closed the laptop.
"You don't need the light?"
Naia turned.
"I know where I'm going."
"It's dark."
"I noticed."
Elena picked up the flashlight.
"I'll come."
Naia's expression changed slightly.
Not quite surprise.
Something quieter.
"Okay."
They walked together.
The beam of Elena's flashlight crossed the sand.
Naia moved just outside it.
"You really don't need this?"
"No."
"You're enjoying making me feel useless, aren't you?"
Naia looked at her.
"I haven't even started."
Elena laughed softly.
The sound seemed too loud in the darkness.
They reached the water.
The wind was cooler here.
Salt filled the air.
Naia crouched and touched the wet sand.
Elena watched her.
"What are you doing?"
"Checking something."
"What?"
Naia didn't answer immediately.
She looked toward the water.
Then toward the mountain.
Then back toward the horizon.
Elena waited.
Finally Naia stood.
"Nothing."
"You've said that before."
"And you keep asking."
"Occupational hazard."
Naia looked at her.
"You ask questions like you expect everything to have an answer."
Elena considered that.
"Most things do."
"Most."
"Enough."
Naia's gaze stayed on her.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
The silence wasn't uncomfortable.
That was what Elena noticed first.
It should have been.
They barely knew each other.
They had spent four days disagreeing over routes, instruments, weather, measurement intervals, and the correct speed at which a human being should descend a volcanic trail.
Yet standing here felt strangely easy.
Elena became aware of the distance between them.
Close enough to notice Naia's breathing.
Close enough to see the faint shine of salt on her skin.
Close enough to realize that Naia's eyes looked darker at night.
She looked away first.
The ocean moved against the shore.
Behind them, the mountain gave a low distant rumble.
Neither woman moved.
Then Naia said quietly,
"We should go."
Elena looked at her.
"Because of the mountain?"
"No."
A pause.
"Because it's late."
Elena couldn't tell whether she was relieved or disappointed.
"Right."
They started back.
At the equipment case, Elena reopened the laptop.
The download had finished.
She stared at the completed file.
"You've got to be kidding me."
Naia looked over.
"What?"
"It finished while we were walking."
"That's usually how computers work."
Elena closed the laptop.
"I dislike you."
"No, you don't."
The words were casual.
Too casual.
Elena looked at her.
Naia seemed to realize what she'd said.
For one suspended second, neither corrected it.
Then Naia turned toward the village.
"Come on."
Elena followed.
They walked in silence.
Halfway up the beach, Naia stopped.
Elena nearly walked into her.
"What?"
Naia looked inland.
The breeze touched Elena's face.
She noticed it then.
The wind had changed.
Not much.
But enough.
Naia's expression tightened.
"What is it?"
Naia didn't answer immediately.
She looked toward the mountain.
Then toward the ocean.
"The wind's been sitting wrong."
Elena frowned.
"Wrong?"
"Not bad."
Naia adjusted the strap of her pack.
"Just wrong."
Elena looked toward the summit.
The clouds had begun gathering differently over the peak.
She opened her weather application.
The forecast still showed stable overnight conditions.
But Naia was already walking.
Elena followed.
Behind them, Ash Beach disappeared into darkness.
Above them, Kaimana continued building itself one layer at a time.
And somewhere beyond the village lights, the wind was beginning to change.