CHAPTER 9
The Near-Miss
Naia didn't feel it.
The instruments did.
A faint pulse appeared on the portable monitor Elena had set beside the access road, so small that at first Naia thought it was a glitch.
Elena didn't.
She leaned closer.
"That's new."
Naia looked toward the mountain.
The summit was hidden behind a thin layer of cloud.
"How new?"
"Thirty seconds."
Elena's fingers moved across the screen.
Another pulse appeared.
Then another.
Naia's attention sharpened.
"Swarm?"
"Possibly."
The word had barely left Elena's mouth when someone called from farther up the road.
"Elena!"
A man in a dusty field vest came around the bend carrying a tool case.
Naia recognized him.
"Rico."
He lifted a hand.
"Morning."
"You were supposed to be at the access sensor."
"I am."
He held up the case.
"The sensor disagreed."
Elena looked at him.
"What's wrong?"
"Intermittent signal. I'm replacing the connector."
Rico set the case down beside the monitoring housing.
He was younger than Ilava but older than most of the station technicians, with an easy manner that made him seem incapable of being intimidated by anyone's credentials.
He glanced at Naia.
"You must be the famous guide."
Naia raised an eyebrow.
"Famous?"
"Ilava has mentioned you."
"That sounds dangerous."
Rico laughed.
Elena almost smiled.
Then the monitor chirped.
All three turned.
The concentration number had jumped.
Not gradually.
Suddenly.
Elena stood.
"Gas."
Naia smelled it a second later.
Sulfur.
Sharp.
Wrong.
"Rico," she said.
He looked up.
"What?"
"Leave the equipment."
He glanced at the open sensor housing.
"I just need—"
"Now."
Something in Naia's voice changed his expression.
He abandoned the case.
Elena grabbed the monitor.
"Which direction?"
Naia turned into the wind.
For half a second she couldn't feel it.
Then a gust crossed the road.
The plume shifted.
Toward them.
"Downhill."
They moved.
Fast.
The first few seconds were orderly.
Then the mountain shook.
Not violently.
But enough.
A deep vibration passed beneath their feet.
Rico stumbled.
Elena grabbed his arm.
Naia caught Elena around the waist before she could lose balance.
For one strange instant, all three were connected.
Then the ground settled.
"Move!" Naia shouted.
They ran.
The gas concentration continued climbing.
Naia didn't look at the monitor.
She watched the wind.
Watched the ash.
Watched the slope.
"Left!"
They cut across the road toward a lower ridge.
Rico coughed.
Elena's hand was still gripping his sleeve.
Naia reached them and pulled both of them farther downwind.
"Here."
They ducked behind the rock outcrop.
The air changed.
Cleaner.
Naia waited.
One breath.
Two.
Three.
"Stay."
Elena looked at her.
"Naia—"
"Stay."
She stepped out just far enough to check the road.
The gas plume was moving across the access trail now, thin enough to be nearly invisible.
Nearly.
Naia returned.
"It's passing."
Rico coughed again.
"That was exciting."
Naia stared at him.
He gave her a weak smile.
"Too soon?"
"Much."
Elena was breathing hard.
A strand of hair had come loose around her face.
Naia noticed.
She shouldn't have.
She did.
Elena looked at her.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Naia could still feel the imprint of Elena's body against her hand from the moment she'd caught her.
Elena seemed equally aware of the distance between them now.
Neither stepped closer.
Neither stepped away.
The mountain rumbled again.
They all looked up.
The moment broke.
Twenty minutes later, the concentration had dropped.
Rico retrieved his equipment only after Naia confirmed the route was clear.
The damaged connector was still lying beside the access housing.
Rico picked it up.
"Well."
He held it between two fingers.
"That explains the intermittent signal."
Elena looked at the connector.
Then at the sensor.
Then at the mountain.
"Maybe."
Rico looked at her.
"Maybe?"
"An instrument failure doesn't explain the gas spike."
"No."
He glanced toward Naia.
"Good thing someone here has functioning instincts."
Naia shook her head.
"Don't encourage her."
Elena looked at her.
"Who says I need encouragement?"
Naia met her eyes.
There was the faintest smile between them.
Rico noticed.
He wisely said nothing.
The incident was logged before noon.
Seismic swarm spike. Gas concentration increase. Field withdrawal. Three personnel exposed briefly. No injuries.
Elena added the instrument values.
Rico documented the sensor fault.
Naia recorded the wind shift and evacuation route.
The three accounts matched.
Ilava read the report standing in the station doorway.
He was silent for several seconds.
Then he looked up.
"Do we need the gas spike described as a significant event?"
Elena frowned.
"It was significant."
"Contained."
"Because we withdrew."
"Exactly."
Naia folded her arms.
Ilava looked at her.
"I'm not questioning the decision."
"Good."
"I'm questioning the language."
Elena looked down at the report.
"The swarm is real."
"I know."
"The concentration spike is real."
"I know."
"Then what exactly are you asking us to change?"
Ilava's expression tightened.
"Keep the report factual. Don't turn a contained field incident into an alarm for the evacuation office."
Naia watched him.
The mountain was quiet outside.
But something had changed.
Not enough for panic.
Enough to remember.
Elena closed the report.
"We'll discuss the wording."
Ilava nodded.
"Good."
He walked away.
Rico looked after him.
"That went well."
Naia gave him a look.
He smiled.
"I'm going to fix the sensor."
"You are absolutely not going back up there alone."
Rico sighed.
"I knew you'd say that."
Elena looked at Naia.
Naia looked back.
Neither mentioned the moment on the road.
Neither mentioned the way Elena had held onto her.
Neither mentioned how close they had been afterward.
But when Naia finally turned toward the window, she could still feel the weight of Elena's body against her hand.
And she suspected Elena could still feel it too.
Outside, the mountain continued to tremble.
Very slightly.
Almost politely.
The first swarm had begun.