Mosaic (13 page)

into the water. The first thing she noticed was the cold.

The suits they wore were light as cotton, but chemically

treated to keep them warm at temperatures as low as two

degrees C. Even so, Kathryn felt cool immediately. The

second thing to strike her was the pristine clarity of the

water. She felt she could see for a hundred meters-if there

had been anything to see. No flora graced this chilly lake,

no fauna inhabited its depths. There was nothing except

rock and water.

The silence soothed her, as it always did when she was

underwater. A sense of tranquillity enveloped her, and she

swam effortlessly through the clear water, keeping her eye

on the two green buddy lights on Hobbes'

back, signaling that he was doing fine. He was stroking

steadily downward, moving toward the periphery of the

quarry, searching for an opening in the wall-a crack, a

dark spot-something that might indicate the presence of a

cave system beyond. They swam like that for some forty

minutes, methodically searching the quarry walls, but

finding nothing except impenetrable stone.

They had circumnavigated the quarry twice, the second time

at a significantly lower depth. Then Hobbes signaled her to

surface, and gradually they floated their way to the top.

Kathryn was grateful. She was unpleasantly cold, and

thirsty; she wanted to get out for a while, warm up, and

have a piece of fruit. But Hobbes had other ideas.

"I think I saw something."

"Where?" Kathryn had been looking as carefully as he had,

she was sure, and had detected nothing that resembled an

opening in the stone walls. "It's quite a bit lower than we

were. I'd like to go back one more time, leave you at about

twentyfive meters while I go check it out." "That's pretty

deep."

"But not past our safety limits. Remember, with Mars's

lower gravity, water pressure isn't as intense as on

Earth." He eyed her as they trod chilly water. She really

wanted to get out and dry off, but she wasn't about to

admit that to Hobbes Johnson, of all people. So she nodded

and refit her breathing gill. He did the same, and they

sank

underwater once more. She followed him down to twentyfive

meters, then saw his hand signal for her to hold there. She

watched as he stroked deeper into dark waters; she could

barely see the 94

flutter of his fins as he moved steadily down into the

gloomy depths where sunlight could not penetrate.

Then he disappeared completely.

Kathryn felt a coldness in her stomach which was icier

than the quarry water. How would she know if anything

happened to him? How deep did he plan to go? How long would

it take?

She forced her mind to quiet, breathing steadily, focusing

on the sight of her hands floating in front of her, pale

and ghostly. Gradually the panic faded, and she peered once

more down into the depths of the dark water. She hadn't

brought an aquadyne torch, never figuring to be this deep,

never thinking she'd have a reason to go where there was no

light. She saw nothing.

Ten minutes passed, and she knew it was time to act.

Gradually, she moved herself deeper, breathing regularly,

pulling herself down through the water.

As far as she could see below her, there was only

darkness. She scanned the wall of the quarry, hoping to

discover whatever aberration it was that had drawn Hobbes

to these deep waters.

And then she saw it-another five meters below her. A dark

gash in the side of the wall, barely visible in the gloom,

no more than a faint shadow. Was that what had caught

Hobbes' eye? As she got closer, she could see that the

shadow was in fact an opening-a black trench in the rock

face some ten meters wide and five meters tall. She pulled

steadily toward it.

And then she realized it was pulling her.

A current was flowing into the opening. She realized that

meant it was the ingress to an underground river, perhaps

even a network of subterranean caves extending deep into

the planet's crust.

She let the current pull her toward the mouth that was now

yawning just below her.

And realized, too late, that as soon as she was on a level

with the opening, the current became immeasurably stronger,

and then she was sucked into the dark hole, out of control.

Desperately, she struggled against the pull, quickly

realized it was too strong for her, and lunged for the wall

of the cave mouth. Incredibly, her hands found purchase. An

upwardthrusting shard of rock allowed her to grip it

firmly, stopping her inexorable drag back into-into what?

Fear paralyzed her for a moment. She thought of her

father, how she had been so afraid it was his footsteps

they'd heard climbing toward the quarry, wishing now that

it had been him and that she were safely back in the colony

with him-chastised, to be sure, even restricted. But alive.

Where was Hobbes?

Had he been sucked into this channel as well?

Clenching the rock with all her might, she gradually turned

her head and looked behind her.

She saw the two green buddy lights another five meters in,

glowing dully through the pitch black water, not moving,

but flickering in and out of her view as the currents of

the water struck them.

Hobbes must have found something to grab on to, also.

For the first time, she realized she could see absolutely

nothing; no light penetrated here, and only the flittering

green lights interrupted the terrifying darkness. She'd

have to inch her way back to him. She carefully let go with

one hand, the other scrabbling along the wall, feeling for

a handhold.

She found one. Releasing her other hand, she clutched at

the new hold, body pressed as close to the wall of the

channel as she could get it. The sucking current was less

pronounced there.

Then she repeated the process, minute after agonizing

minute, creeping backward centimeters at a time through the

darkness and the relentless tug of the icy water. Why, she

wondered, wasn't Hobbes doing the same? Pulling himself

forward, little by little?

By the time she reached the two lights, she realized why.

He wasn't on the cave wall, but out toward the center of

the channel. He must have found an obstruction to hold to,

but he couldn't reach the wall. He was stranded. How was

she going to reach him?

Did he even know she was there? He must-if she could see

his buddy lights, he could see hers. Clamping her hands

around a small rock outcropping, she gradually extended her

legs into the center of the channel, guiding them toward

the buddy lights. And felt them touch a body. Then rubbed

them on that body, trying to communicate, trying to get him

to realize that he had to grab her legs. It didn't take

long. She felt a hand around her ankle, then another, and

suddenly the pressure on her was twice as strong, as

Hobbes' body weight was pulling against her. Would this

work? Could she possibly pull both of them out of this

underwater tomb?

She had to get him toward the wall, where he could grab

hold and help pull. She let the force of the current help

her sweep her legs toward the wall, felt his body pulling

on her legs, pulling so hard she wasn't sure she could hang

on, felt one hand begin to slipAnd then the pressure on her legs was released.

She turned around and saw the buddy lights behind her,

against the wall. He had managed to find a hold.

And then the real struggle began. Pulling even herself

against the flow of water was almost impossible. Her

fingers were cold, nearly numb; they slipped against the

wet rock. Desperately she scrabbled the wall to find a

grip.

Slowly, impossibly, she pulled herself toward the mouth of

the channel, imagining that it was slightly lighter there,

that the water was gray, not black, and that the opening

was only a few meters away and soon she'd be out of this

hellhole, looking toward sunlight filtering down into the

water, moving toward the surface and warmth.

But before she ever reached the gray, her hands found a

corner. An edge. She was at the mouth. If she could turn

the corner, she was out. She reached her right hand around

the edge of the cave, pawing for a grip. She found nothing

but sheer rockface.

She felt panic rise, felt her heart begin

to pound, forced the feelings down. There had to be a way.

She felt Hobbes behind her, bumping her feet, and knew they

were very close to making it.

Holding her grip with her right hand, she twisted her body

in the water so that she was pressed face-first against the

wall. This way, she could extend her left arm higher than

she'd been able to reach with her right, though it was in a

more awkward position.

But with her left hand, she felt a blessed indentation,

not much, but enough to dig her fingers into. Would it give

her enough leverage to swing her body around and outside

the cave? She paused for a few breaths before trying it.

Gripping the indentation as hard as she could, she knifed

forward in the water and pushed her body so it twisted out

of the opening, staying flat against the wall on the

outside. The current was weak there, and she could actually

swim along the wall, away from the opening.

She turned to see if Hobbes would follow. What seemed like

minutes passed. She was numb from cold, and still faced a

slow rise to the surface. Come on, Hobbes, she thought

intensely, 1 did it, you can do it. She peered toward the

dark gash from which she had safely emanated, willing him

to appear.

And he did, rolling around the corner in much the same

fashion she had, flattening himself against the wall until

he had risen high enough to where the current was no longer

a danger to them. They eyed each other in the murky gloom,

making gestures of joy and victory, rising only as quickly

as they could safely ascend.

In ten minutes, they were on the surface, then onto the

platform, toweling vigorously to restore warmth to their

bodies, eating and drinking and laughing with a giddiness

that belied the trauma they were processing.

When they had rested, warm and full, they climbed the

quarry face again, giggling at how easy it seemed compared

to what they'd been through. On the top, they looked back

down at the water that had so recently tried to destroy

them both.

Hobbes eyes sought her face. "You saved my life, Kath," he

said simply. "I'll never forget that."

She shrugged, embarrassed. "You'd do the same for me."

"Yes, I would," he said, and there was something in his

voice that made her look sharply at him, but she saw

nothing in his face. "Well, we better get back," she said,

feeling suddenly awkward. "I'd say that's a very good

idea," said a voice from behind them, cold and potent.

They whirled, and Kathryn saw her father standing there.

"What were you two thinking? You know the quarries are offlimits."

"It's my fault, sir," Hobbes said instantly. "I've been

here with my father, and I asked Kathryn to come swimming

with me."

Her father's eyes shifted to her. "Kathryn?" he said

simply, and while every part of her wanted to let Hobbes'

gallant statement stand, she knew she couldn't lie to her

father. "Hobbes is being a gentleman, Dad. I was here with

Emma and Mary.

I talked them into it. Hobbes came later." She glanced at

Hobbes. "Thanks anyway."

Vice-Admiral Janeway tapped his commbadge and then took

each of them by an arm. "Janeway to Ops Center. Three to

beam in."

And in an instant they were standing inside Ops, where

curious officers looked at them, smiling at the incongruity

of two young people in swim gear standing in the pristine

room.

Kathryn's father ushered them into an adjacent corridor.

"Is there anything else you have to say about this little

escapade?" "It just seemed like fun. We swam and we dived

some." Kathryn held her father's gaze firmly. She wouldn't

lie to him, but choosing to omit some of the details seemed

perfectly justifiable. There was no way she was going to

tell him about their near-miss in the cave opening.

"But you knew you weren't supposed to be there?"

"Yes, Dad."

"You're grounded for the next week, Kathryn. And no

holodeck privileges, either. Hobbes, I expect you to tell

your parents about this. What they decide to do is up to

them."

"Yes, sir."

"Dad . . . was Kathryn was trying to keep the despair out

of her voice. "We're only going to be here another week. I

made plans, and there's a party next Saturday-was "You

should have thought of that before you headed for the

quarries.

Now go back to quarters and be prepared to spend the week

there."

She felt tears begin to form, and quickly blinked them