“But… where are they going to go?” I asked. “There’s nothing but water out there.”
“You’ve seen them in the water, you think they’ll have any trouble?”
He was right. These Faarians were part fish.
“They’ve got a better chance out in the water,” he added. “If they stay here, they’re targets.”
“Why are you telling me this?” I asked.
“Go back to the council. Convince them to… to…” He was having trouble finding the words.
“To abandon ship?” I finished the thought for him.
“Yes, abandon ship,” he said sadly. “Spader and I will do what we can to help them launch the haulers.”
This was getting intense. He wanted me to tell these people to leave Faar… to leave their home. It was a city that for centuries had battled back everything that man and nature had to throw at it. But now they were being threatened by something far more dangerous than people desperate for food, or rising floodwaters. They were now being attacked by pure evil. Even as we stood there, the explosions were getting louder. Uncle Press was right. The Faarians had to get out.
I started to run off but -
“Bobby!” Uncle Press called. “Get your air globe first.”
At first I wasn’t sure why he was telling me this. About a second later, it hit me. We were stuck in here just like the Faarians. If we had to abandon ship, we didn’t have any of those spiffy fish suits with the built-in breathers. We needed our air globes if we wanted to survive… and we definitely wanted to survive.
“What about you guys?” I asked.
“We’ll do what we can down here then meet you up at the tunnel we entered through. Understand?”
I nodded.
Spader gave me a nervous smile. “We’re in a tum-tigger now, Pendragon.”
“Yeah. Let’s not stay long, all right?”
The two of them headed back for the hauler hangar as I ran for the tunnel that led to the aerovator. Using this elevator didn’t thrill me. I always thought you weren’t supposed to take an elevator if there was an emergency like a fire or an earthquake. Being attacked by raiders probably qualified as an emergency, but I didn’t have time to run all the way up the mountain’s paths. I’d probably get lost anyway. So I had to take my chances on the elevator.
I had to circle the big elevator tube until I found a car. When I jumped inside, I realized I wasn’t sure of how it worked. I only saw Kalaloo do it once. I grabbed the handle, pulled it toward me and — whoa! I rocketed off the ground so fast my knees buckled. I nearly got knocked to the floor from the force! I was afraid this aerovator was going to launch off the mountain like a missile, so I quickly backed off on the handle and slowed down. Whew!
The next challenge was to figure out which floor to stop on. I first had to get my air globe, then climb back up to the Council Circle.
After rising up for a few minutes, I took a wild guess and stopped the elevator on one of the floors. When I ran out, I passed a lot of Faarians who looked stunned. There were women gathering their kids together and pressing against the rock walls of the mountain. A few people ran past, pulling on their green swimskins. I guess they figured out for themselves that it would be safer outside in the water. But mostly people just stood around, looking confused, and scared. I thought about screaming, “Get out! Get out! Abandon the city!” but figured they’d think I was a nut job. No, if there was going to be an official evacuation order given, it would have to come from the council.
When I got out of the corridor into the open air, I saw that I was only one level below the rocky entrance to the tunnel we had used. I had made a great guess! So I sprinted up the winding pathway toward the entrance.
That’s when another huge explosion hit Faar. This was the closest yet, and it nearly knocked me off my feet. A few Faarians screamed. They had never experienced anything like this before. Hey, neither had I, but at least I knew where it was coming from, sort of. I’m not sure which was worse, being clueless, or knowing that someone totally evil was out there who wanted to destroy Faar.
Back in the submarine hangar, Uncle Press and Spader were doing all they could to help Kalaloo and the Faarians launch the haulers. Obviously I wasn’t there to see what I’m about to write. It was explained to me afterward.
The Faarian submariners scrambled into their ships. They all pulled on their green swimskins and lowered themselves into the clear cockpit domes. There were two submariners in each hauler. The whole time explosions rocked the hangar, but they couldn’t speed up the process for fear of damaging a hauler.
Finally the first hauler was ready for launching. The airlock door opened behind it and the small craft eased out. Once the hauler was beyond the door, the outer compartment flooded and the ship floated free.
The first hauler was on its way to save the underwater farms of Cloral.
As I ran for the tunnel where we left our gear, the explosions started coming faster. It was like Saint Dane had found his target and was zeroing in. I had no idea what his weapon was, but it was pretty powerful. I could only hope that the Faarians had built this place tough so it could withstand the attack.
I found our gear right where we had left it and grabbed my air globe. For a second I thought I should bring the other two down to Uncle Press and to Spader, but that wasn’t my mission. I had to get to the Council Circle and convince them to abandon Faar. That was the plan; I had to stick to it.
I ran back through the tunnel and made my way out into the light. I quickly debated about the best way to get up to the Council Circle. Should I take the aerovator or just run? Since the aerovator scared me and I had already traveled the paths to the platform once before, I decided to run. It wasn’t easy though. Every time an explosion rocked the place, I was nearly knocked off my feet. Once I almost stumbled off the path and would have fallen down the steep, craggy mountain if a Faarian hadn’t grabbed me. He saved my life. But I didn’t stop to give him more than a quick “thanks.” I had to get to the council.
I retraced the route we took before and was soon running up the marble steps that led to the fancy platform and the Council of Faar. I didn’t know what I’d find there. For all I knew these people had already left. But when I got to the top of the steps, I saw that they were all still sitting on the round bleachers. They seemed to be in heated debate. I didn’t want to step into the middle of it, but I had to. I had to somehow convince these people that the best thing they could do was announce to all of Faar that it was time to leave.
Down in the submarine hangar, the second hauler was ready for launching. The cargo hold was loaded with the precious chemical and the submariners were at the controls, ready to go. Slowly the door at the rear of their pen began to rise. In a few moments the second hauler would be out and on its way The other eighteen haulers wouldn’t be far behind. Things were looking good…
… and then there was an explosion. A big one. It was a direct hit to the air lock behind the hauler that was on its way out. A wave of water blasted in that rocked the hauler forward. The submariners were bounced around like they were in a washing machine. Worse, the half-open door to the sea stopped moving. Several Faarians desperately tried to work the controls to get it moving again, but it was no use. The door was jammed.
Then they discovered something even more ominous. The explosion had done more harm than they first realized. The Faarians discovered thatnoneof the doors behind the haulers would open! This last explosion had done some major damage. If they couldn’t repair it, then the rest of the haulers would be stuck in their pens, unable to be launched.
While the Faarians frantically tried to repair the damaged controls, Uncle Press told Spader to get out of there and bring back their air globes. Spader refused. He didn’t want to leave Uncle Press. But Uncle Press insisted. He reminded Spader that the Faarians had breathers in their suits. If they had to abandon Faar, they would be fine. But as for he and Spader, the Travelers wouldn’t be doing much more traveling.
Spader got the point. He didn’t want to leave, especially when things were looking the bleakest, but he knew he had to go. So, reluctantly he left the hauler hangar and started up toward the tunnel where the last two air globes were waiting.
At the Council Circle I approached the bleachers and heard some of the arguments that were being made.
“We must protect Faar at all costs!” one woman yelled.
“Cloral cannot afford to lose our knowledge and support.”
“It was a breakdown in security,” another man jumped in. “We should never again allow an outsider to enter Faar.”
Another woman yelled at this man, “Wake up! The secret is out. They know we’re here.”
