Music - Resting Upon Jacob's Pillow by John Doan (Hearts Of Space: Universe 4 Collection)
In the middle of the group's second night on the island, melting ice caused some of the rocks in the crater to shift suddenly and collapse with a dull thud. The noise—which was felt nearly as much as heard—resonated up and down the tunnels making it momentarily difficult to locate its source. The disoriented sleepers quickly stumbled out of their tents, thinking that the cave roof was coming down, but Havilan told them he was almost positive the noise had come from the upper tunnel. So Tor, Os and Geddes headed in that direction to investigate.
By the time they reached the upper doorway, they could feel cold air and see starlight. The collapse was not as bad as it had sounded, but it had created a small opening to the outside. Tor told Geddes he thought their situation had actually improved, if they were going to excavate the crater. With the opening, they would be able to safely dig around the base. They might even be able to climb out of the crater and start moving debris to the mountaintop. After a brief discussion, Geddes returned to the meeting room to tell everyone there was nothing to worry about.
When Os and Tor returned, the temperature in the room had dropped somewhat. There was a draft coming up from the beach, but it was not enough to cause major discomfort. Any attempt at a solution would have to wait until morning, but they quietly moved their tent to the east doorway to block as much of the cold air as they could. By then, most of the team had already gone back to sleep.
The next morning they began to collect ideas on how they might make weather screens for the tunnels, and the one they decided on was offered by Elyse. They could use fallen reed trees for frames and stretch tarps over them. The trees, she reasoned, were tall and slender, with little or no branching; and their trunks were strong and segmented, yet flexible. There were more than enough of them scattered on the the beach. They would be dry, but could be wet for bending if necessary. Any leftover wood could be used for campfires or crafted for other uses. After breakfast, Elyse and Havilan set out to search the southern beach areas, and Geddes and Syl went north.
Having gotten the go-ahead to work in the crater, Os and Tor returned to the top of the tunnel with Annibet and Cian. Along with their tools, they brought a lightweight adjustable ladder. They found that the opening in the rocks was large enough for the ladder but not wide enough for someone to climb it, especially at the base where more rocks had fallen into the doorway. The first part of the plan, then, was for one person to slowly remove debris from the bottom of the cave-in in order to dislodge more of it from the top. The others would stand well away from the doorway and move the rocks into the tunnel for temporary storage. The plan worked well but took several hours. A great deal of rubble had to be removed to get visible results. As soon as they were able to prop the ladder against the crater wall, Annibet, being the smallest of the four, climbed it to take a look.
When she reached the top, she began to describe the scene, pausing whenever she shifted on the ladder. "It's not as cold up here as I imagined. Windy, though. The sun is out. I can see the ocean to the north, and icebergs. The terrain to the north and east is lower than the top of our crater. Looking south, I see the top of the path from the beach. The view of the lake and center island is breathtaking. I can see the outline of our crater too. As Os figured, It's elliptical in shape and symmetrical along its long axis.
"There is snow up here, but not much. If there's still ice mixed in with the rocks, I'm not seeing it. The cave-ins to the north of us look to be craters too, and are definitely within easy walking distance from where I'm standing. The beach path continues in that direction. The crater closest to us looks really huge. From my perspective it looks more circular in shape than this one; and I think there might be part of an entrance exposed on the north wall. We should talk to the others about hiking up here. I would love to tag along, if they decide to go. Oh, and if we decide to stack debris outside of the crater, there will be plenty of room." She was about to tell them that she was ready to come back down, when the rubble in the east side of the crater gave way and quickly buried the entrance and the bottom half of the ladder.
When Elyse and Havilan had gathered all the trees they could carry, they started walking back to the base camp with large bundles tucked under each arm. As they passed the trail leading up to the ridge, Havilan suddenly stopped and looked up, but Elyse kept walking and pulled both bundles out of his arms. Someone was walking on the cliff above them. He quickly tried to think of words he could say to the person and what language to use. But his brain simply wouldn't work. As the figure drew closer, he could see that it was a woman. Surprisingly, her clothing was not unlike their own. To his astonishment, she waved. It was Annibet!
As she reached the bottom of the trail from the ridge, Havilan could only manage, "How in the world...?"
"I got stuck," she answered. "I was at the top of the crater on a ladder, and the rocks started to slide. Before anyone could do anything, the tunnel entrance was completely covered. I could hear Tor yelling, 'Hold on Annibet; we'll get you out.' So I called back, 'I'm already out.' But he kept shouting that they would come get me. Finally, when I was sure they could hear me, I told them, 'Listen, I'm going to be out in the cold for awhile one way or another. I'll just climb out of the crater and take the path down to the beach.' I don't think they liked the idea, but I said, 'I'll be alright. The path was probably used for hundreds of years. If I see any ice or snow on it, I can just go around. It's actually a very nice day anyway. I'll send word to you guys as soon as I get back.' So that's what I did. The path was easy and well-worn, almost like steps in some places."
Spellbound, Elyse asked, "What did you see?"
"Everything except the ocean to the west," she replied. You can really see a lot from our part of the ridge. We need to get a group together and go back up there. The large cave-in to the north is another crater like ours. I think there's a doorway on the far side of it. And then there's a smaller crater beyond that. There was something personal that happened up there too. I need to tell you about it, when we get some time." She looked at the bundles of reed trees at Havilan's feet and said, "I would help you with those, Havilan, but I have to get back and help dig myself out." And, with that, she turned and headed for the cave.
Havilan rolled his eyes and looked at Elyse. She shrugged her shoulders, and both of them broke into laughter. Just before Annibet disappeared through the cave entrance, she turned, smiled, and waved to them again.
But Annibet did intend to help. When she returned to the top of the tunnel she joined the group removing material. She was surprised at the progress. The ladder was still propped against the crater wall, and Os was standing above it, lifting containers and rocks passed to him from below. Even from the tunnel doorway, she could see a large section of the crater wall and the top of another doorway on the north side of it. With just a few hours of effort, she thought, we could probably work our way over there.
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