The Reef (39 page)

Once again, Santiago switched off the spotlight, steered the craft along the line. He could see that sirens swam up and down the line, as if making sure the half breeds were going the right way. They acted in a manner that suggested a slave labour. Santiago followed from a greater height, looked down to see where the half breeds were taking the scrap. The line went on for a couple of hundred of yards, and the
Pilar,
Santiago noticed, had gained some altitude.

They came to yet another structure. He slowed the
Pilar
then he stood up, stepped around the controls, looked down the front porthole. It was much darker, there being only a few of the luminescent tubes. He could see the outline of what he assumed to be a coral structure, part of the reef. The half breeds were more numerous, and they were attaching the metal that they carried to the reef. He frowned.

‘What d’you see, San?’ Manolin said.

‘They’re building something.’ Santiago turned on the spotlight. He could see the reef-the stable coral rock-moving, sliding along the ocean floor, and he noted clouds of stirred sediment from where it had moved. The half breeds were attaching the metal wreckage to the rock. He muttered something and his throat felt thick. ‘I’d no idea ... My ... So that’s why. Still, I wouldn’t think it a problem ... ‘

‘What d’you see, San? I can’t see at thing,’ Manolin tried to look around Santiago’s figure, to get a glimpse through the dim waters.

‘Nothing.’ Santiago stood up then returned to his seat. He turned off the spotlight. Several sirens were hovering around the craft, in the gloom.

‘Are you sure-?’ Manolin said.

‘I didn’t see anything,’ Santiago said. ‘They were building more of the city.’ He sat motionless, staring out the porthole.
Of course,
he thought.
That makes perfect sense. But I thought it was much further away from this, hours by boat. Unless it is bigger than I thought ...

‘What is it?’ Manolin said.

‘Nothing. I rather suspect these ladies are getting a little restless with our presence. Shall we head back up? Just a precaution about the air now, that’s all.’

‘But what about the structures?’ Soul said. ‘We should go back to the main lights. If they’ve been taking Eschan ships-’

‘All in good time, Mr Soul,’ Santiago said. ‘All in good time. We’ve plenty more days yet. I don’t want to waste the air all in one day.’

‘We heading back up?’ Forb said.

‘I think that’d be a good idea-it’s damn freezing. We’ve plenty more opportunity. Anyway, we know now what’s killing the ichthyocentaurs and why.’

‘Well, not really,’ Manolin said. ‘We don’t know
why
they want half breeds, or indeed, the fact that they can have half breeds.’

‘They’re not too dissimilar,’ Santiago said. ‘They probably share a history, going back in time. The fact that they are relatively local suggests that. Anyway, this is all up for discussion. We can have a good debate when we’re back up.’

‘I want to know if they’re responsible for sinking the Eschan ships in this area,’ Soul said. ‘They represent a hazard to the city-’

‘We can discuss this later, Soul. Come on, we’ve plenty of time.’ Santiago turned the craft around, the sirens still surrounding it. ‘Besides, we’ve got to shake these ladies off.’ Santiago was keen to get back. There had been a lot of information from this, and he wanted it detailed perfectly. He had notes of his own-private documents that he needed to check, too. Much had been discovered today. Behind him, the conversations continued.

‘You’re quiet,’ Forb said, turning to Manolin.

‘Hmm.’

‘Everything okay?’ Forb leaned in closer.

‘Just thinking, that’s all,’ Manolin said. ‘A lot’s been happening recently. There’s a lot to take in.’ ‘Quite,’ Forb said. ‘I can’t wait to tell the others. What d’you think they’ll make of all this?’ ‘They probably won’t believe us,’ Manolin. ‘Anyway, I guess they’re wrapped up in their own problems.’

‘What d’you mean?’

‘There was something between Jefry and Yana before we left. Something was wrong with them. I hope they’re all right.’ ‘What was that about Yana?’ Santiago asked. ‘Nothing,’ Manolin said. ‘Come on, let’s get out of here.’ ‘Already on to it,’ Santiago said. ‘We’ll have to climb slowly, and it will take a few hours for us to take in the surface air. So we’ve plenty of time together yet. Anyway, you were saying something about Y ana?’

Manolin said, ‘Oh,Jefry and Yana were having another fight.’ ‘Did they tell you what it was about? Do
you
know why they were fighting?’ ‘No,’ Manolin said. ‘They’re always like it. Guess when you come away, everything’s amplified.’

‘That’s what islands are good for,’ Forb said, nodding, smiling.

‘Yes, I suppose so,’ Santiago said. ‘So you don’t know then?’

‘No. Why, should I?’ Manolin said.

‘I only wondered that’s all. I thought she had a lot on. Her and Jef are on the rocks. Guess he thinks something strange happened on the way over to Arya.’ ‘Well nothing happened, okay. Have the sirens gone yet?’ Manolin looked to Forb. The doctor said nothing.

Santiago sighed. ‘There’s one or two still swimming around us. They can’t do anything. I’ll put the spotlight back on in a few minutes.’

‘Right,’ Manolin said. ‘See if you can trace the reef again, I want to take a closer look at it. I thought it was pretty fascinating. And I want to see the tremor again.’

‘Doubt you’ll see it again,’ Santiago said. ‘It was a one-off.’

‘Well, if we’re going up slowly then we might as well get some detail of the rock. If you could bring this thing up at an angle, you could keep the beam up on the coral and I can make some good sketches of the marine life at different altitudes.’

‘Fine,’ Santiago said. ‘That’d be pretty good to discuss back in Escha.’ ‘If we ever get there,’ Soul said. ‘How long left do we have on this island now that we’ve investigated everything?’ ‘Whoa there. We’ve only just begun,’ Manolin said. ‘We’ll be here a few weeks yet you know. Why’re you so keen to get back?’

‘Well, if these sirens are the cause of our Eschan ships do disappear, then it must be reported,’ Calyban said. Then, ‘We’ve got to inform the navy. It’s been a mystery for decades-’

‘The hell you will,’ Santiago said. ‘No one’s reporting anything just yet. All we’ve done is seen them. There’s nothing to suggest they’re to blame.

‘He’s right. And I don’t want the navy coming to Arya,’ Forb said.

‘Why?’ Calyban said.

‘Why? They’ll ruin the place. They’ll bring a fleet and destroy the waters. They’ll drive their ships through the reef. They’ll trash the island. We’ll lose tons of important natural resources.’

‘Don’t worry, Doctor,’ Santiago said. ‘No one’s coming to this island. These little runts will have to get back to the mainland without us first.’

Calyban grunted then smiled. ‘Anyway, we can argue up there,’ Manolin said. ‘I want to concentrate on studying the coral, so if you could all please be quiet.’

Santiago steered the
Pilar
at an angle to the reef so that Manolin could see through the large porthole and study the rock. Manolin made sketches, diagrams, recording the colour and estimated size of each plant or animal he saw. Forb helped him, making quick sketches of plants. Time was passing quickly in this fever of discovery.

They had been travelling up the reef for some time before Manolin noticed the vibration in the rock. He said nothing at first, preferring just to watch. Being in such an alien environment, your imagination tended to entertain itself.
It
could have been anything. They ascended for an hour, and Manolin noted that the reef shook five times. Eventually, he decided to inform Santiago.

‘Well, it could still be tremors,’ Santiago said. ‘Doc, what do you think?’

‘I’m not a geologist,’ Forb said. ‘I don’t know how the land behaves here. To be honest, I never even knew that the reef was one large piece of rock like this. I didn’t know they could be distributed in such away. As for tremors, who knows?’

‘Are we rising quick enough? Manolin asked.

‘A little too quick,’ Santiago said. ‘We’ve got plenty of time yet.’

‘Good,’ Manolin said. ‘I want you to start scanning along the reef, then go up and back across. That way we can see a massive section of the coral.’

‘Well, we’ve got the time I suppose,’ Santiago said. ‘Sure.’

‘Oh, come on,’ Calyban said, in between sighs. ‘How much longer do we have to put up with your crap?’

‘Listen you two,’ Santiago said. ‘We’ve put up with
your crap
for weeks. We’re here on a research expedition, so you’ll shut the fuck up and learn something useful. Okay?’

‘Fine,’ Calyban said. ‘Just hurry up. And just remember who you’re addressing.’

The submersible travelled to lighter waters, and they could feel the temperature rising. The water became a dark blue. They could see recognisable creatures passing the porthole, into the spotlight.

Manolin continued making his notes. He stood up to get a closer look at some of the species. ‘Hold it here for a minute.’

‘What’s wrong?’ Santiago said.

‘Nothing. Just fascinated by that line there.’ Manolin indicated a thick, white horizontal mark that stretched across the porthole. ‘There’s no coral on this segment. Just lichens.’

‘That’s rather a long line,’ Santiago said.

‘There’s no coral polyp here,’ Forb said. I wonder why that is.’

‘Do you want me to pull back?’ Santiago said.

‘Sure, so long as the light is still effective,’ Manolin said.

‘Well, I’ll go a few feet back, and perhaps we can see what the line is,’ Santiago said. ‘Then we’ll move on.’ ‘Forb,’ Manolin said, ‘come and take a look.’ The doctor joined Manolin at the front. ‘Bizarre. There’re definitely lichens and barnacles, and it looks like rock. How far are we from the surface?’

‘Oh, not far at all now,’ Santiago said. ‘You could probably swim this far down, with the right apparatus. You can see the water’s lighter here.’

They all looked at each other as they were talking.

Then they looked back.

‘Bloody hell,’ Manolin said. He could feel his heart beating high in his chest. ‘What the hell is that?’ They were staring at a completely black, glossy surface, and the light of the spotlight was reflecting back.

‘Is that what I think it is?’ Forb said.

‘Bring us back, Santiago,’ Manolin said.

Santiago sighed, said, ‘I’m trying, damn it.’ He pulled the
Pilar
back several feet and the glossy surface still filled their vision.

Everyone stared, wide-eyed, speechless. Then, the tops of the black surface were brought down, the barnacle-encrusted surface sliding till they met. After a moment, they parted again.

‘For fucksake, get us back,’ Calyban said.

‘Wait a second,’ Manolin said.

‘Never mind a second,’ Calyban said. ‘Pull back, Santiago.

Please-’ They could hear, and feel through the metal surface of the submersible, a thundering bass sound.

Manolin was staring at a black eye, almost right through it. Deep within, the light found all the details to suggest this was completely animal, completely alive.

‘Uh, Santiago ...’ Calyban said. ‘Come on.’

‘How big is that thing?’ Manolin said. ‘It must be ten feet wide.

Hell, Santiago, pull us back. And turn that damn beam off.’ ‘Right. .. Okay.’ Santiago turned the spotlight off. Even in the better light, they could still see the reef vibrate as they pulled back. ‘This has to be reported,’ Calyban said. ‘What in Arrahd’s name was it?’

‘Nothing’s being reported without our approval,’ Santiago said.

‘Sod your approval, this is a... a ... fucking eye. What does it belong to?’ Calyban said. ‘Let’s all calm down-’ Santiago said. ‘Calm down?’ Soul said. ‘What, with that thing?’ ‘Look, everybody be quiet and let’s review this at the surface,’

Santiago said. ‘Review?’ Soul said. ‘It’s a beast. Whatever it is, it has to be removed.’

‘Removed? The hell you will,’ Santiago said. The
Pilar
shuddered as he turned the vehicle away, and steered it towards the surface. He wiped his forehead. They fell backwards into their seats as he tilted the craft.

Manolin tired to not be distracted by the arguments. He was utterly amazed at what he had just seen. If that was an eye, exactly how big was the rest of the creature likely to be? And what was the creature likely to be?

‘I don’t care what you say, that is a danger. Everything down there is,’ Calyban said.

‘We must calm down and rationalise this,’ Santiago said.

‘What’s to rationalise?’ Calyban said. Then, ‘It must be destroyed.’

‘We don’t even know what it is yet,’ Manolin said.

‘Nothing
is being
destroyed,’
Forb said.