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Oh yes! She had gotten their attention. V-Light rock!! The memory of an incident way back in time. It reacted with water to release a gas. That gas was highly flammable. The water thrown against the rock face at the front of the cave, allowed water to run down various channels in the rock that led into the interior across the entrance. Small amounts of gas being released that built up to a substantial amount. It mixed with the cold air, made it heavy and as we all know, cold air falls, hot air rises. The Izuai bolt of lightning was as we would know it, yards from her as it hit the top of the entrance.
Igniting some of the gas causing it to flare across the entrance. Pockets of the gas like a mini firework display burning up. A second flash, intense enough to fling her screaming, into the cave. At that moment, a large amount of the gas had dropped to the level where it now came into contact with the burners heat. The burners flared, a distinct rasp, then a strong unmistakeable hiss. The wisp of energy was no longer a flicker.
From the top of the entrance, across it, was nothing but a wall of flame. Then an ominous roar, getting louder and louder. The rock getting hotter and hotter. Above the noise the voice of Dario? Screaming at them. “Get down! NOW!“ They fell to the floor of the cave. The only one who wasn’t was Doona, watching the wall of flame, the noise. The burners exploding with fragments whistling past Doona's ears as he ducked! Slamming into the rock face the other side, above the Kets lying on the ground.
That roar, all the time getting louder, before what could be described as similar to someone turning up the gas on a flame thrower? Imagine ten of them in a row? Oh yes. Across the interior of the cave, if the Kets had been standing normal height, they would have been fried! Censys flowback? It happened, but thanks to Dario they were safe. A last flare of flame burning off gas in the top part of the cave?
Silence. As the Kets got to their feet breathed a sigh of relief? The noise of something cracking? Like heated glass cracks. Clink, clink. Rock that had been heated to over 500 degrees, now rapidly cooled by the howling cold wind and rain? Clink, clink.
The entire front of the cave collapsed. Top to bottom, it piled rocks across the entrance sealing them in. Their ears particularly Claria’s felt some air pressure difference within the cave. Some Kets had been left gasping for breath. Van Ea had recovered from being thrown against the wall of the cave. She had for a few seconds, lost consciousness.
Picking themselves up off the floor to stare around them, Not that they could see much, not in the present light anyways. There were a few holes in the rocks letting light through at what had been the entrance, pin holes?
Delise had a Snaflight, a torch like object that she twisted the base on to allow fusion to occur that would trigger a broad beam of light. For the moment rather comforting to have. "I knew it! V - light reactance.“ Van Ea ran her fingers across her nose, it was bleeding.
“Why the heck didn’t someone realise lighting those burner units would trigger an ignition point? Ignite the gases from the rocks!“ “Ah but in fairness.” Mutters Dario. “The rain caused the rocks to release the gases! The dry ones would not have been a problem unless disturbed or compressed to release the gases.“ “Well we’ve a problem, not to state the obvious BUT!“
Lilia had been close to Doona, she had whispered to him then giggled. “WHAT!“ Screeches Van Ea at her. “Is so funny?!“ She said nothing feeling intimidated, by Van Ea’s sudden outburst. Doona was having none of it. The others were laughing when they heard how poor Doona had had some of his hairs scorched. Much to Van Ea’s disgust though she did almost manage a grin.
“Uh Where’s Edram?” Sevenea had turned to see his body slumped in a corner. Panicked. She rushed over to him, almost falling over one of the rocks. Not a large rock, but enough to cause her to stumble, fall at his side. Kelawi with a little less haste and care, moved to her, to pull her to her feet. Dusted down she leaned over him, relieved to hear him breathing.
Rousing him, was not easy. When they had managed to wake him, his speech was slurred and incoherent. That, had them worried. Their concerns noted by Servenea as she admitted to giving him a drug to calm him, hence him being a little out of it? Nothing for them to worry about, it would soon wear off. The others were not so convinced and Claria was furious!
"Our biology is nothing like yours! You fool! This is not good, not good at all!" He had slumped back, fast asleep, snoring! “Stupid! Really stupid, Serv." Kelawi was not short on some harsh, but very relevant words with her. “You NEVER, repeat NEVER! Share medication you, have prescribed for YOU, with anyone else! It can have fatal consequences.“
Edram snoring loudly, had them smiling. Kelawi was reassuring Claria, comforting her. At least with him snoring, you know he's still breathing. “We will have to let him sleep it off. She growled at Servenea. "You better hope nothing happens to my brother! I don't want you anywhere near him." She looked a Kelawi. "Can you stay with him.“ "Sure." Claria moved back to the others, still muttering, shaking her head. “Stupid. Really dangerous and I expected more from you Servenea!“
Outside it had stopped raining. Snowing. Not thin wisps of flakes, but thick heavy flakes, that were settling on the rocks, piled up across the cave entrance?! Inside Claria looked at the amount of rocks that had fallen? The fact that a good area of the entrance, was blocked! It would take them days to get out, IF they got out. They tried using the coms units they had been provided with? To realise THEY DIDN’T work!
Not that their plight had gone unnoticed? Arianna in the control centre saw the satellite systems respond, at the loss of Kets vital signals, with an emergency automated response blip, as one by one the Kets ident signals died back to nothing. They were either dead or somewhere the signal couldn’t track them?
She logged their last known position. Made her senior controller aware of what had occurred. “I'm on my way. Contact Corky and Margise. You had better inform Serenia.“ She glanced out of the main window area to look at the weather, it was snowing, HEAVY snow, this would complicate things. Unknown to them, how much! The weather was about to get worse, much worse.
The other teams, were aware, of how quickly the weather had changed. THEY were told to sit tight, wait for transports, the challenge as was, had been terminated. It would be almost an hour later they were all sat in the room adjacent to the Control center. Having hot food, drinks and talking amongst themselves on what could possibly have happened to Claria and her team? None of them dreamed it could be as bad as it was.
"They're tucked up somewhere safe, out of the storm, waiting until... " "Having a good rest, before making an appearance." A lot of views on what could have happened to them. In the end, the news, was NOT good. Another storm, More lightning strikes, unknown to them in the control center; on the rock surface above the cave that Claria and her team were trapped in. All across the rock surface, small explosions taking place. Pockets of gas igniting and rock cracking. Finally, the storm dies away. Peace returns, the sun comes out. Snow, ah. More snow.
Inside the cave, Van Ea had sorted out some Snaflight units that she had recovered from some packs that had been covered by smaller rocks. She passed them to the Kets. Using hers, she let the light drift across the entrance. The size of those rocks, they were not shifting them any time soon! "Well at least, things can't get any worse!" Van shook her head looked at them all then pointed her Snaflight to the ceiling.
Some large cracks? That sound again? Clink, clink... The thought, was too terrifying to comprehend. WHAT if, the ceiling collapsed? It would be a major cave in. “We have got to find a way OUT of here. They all knew what was on their minds. Few of them would survive, crushed beneath that lot.
Claria was shaking feeling very frightened. The realisation that some of their food packs and other equipment were buried under the rocks at the entrance? It was a disaster. She was trying, to stay calm. Think things through?
Finally, she gave in and burst into tears. She, was the leader, the one who should have known better, who was responsible for them and she had failed. She looked at the others. “I’m so sorry, so, so sorry.”
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