Page 101 of Heat Island
“How far to the main road?” Cash asks, gripping the door handle as we take a sharp turn.
“Maybe ten more minutes,” Matheo replies, downshifting as we approach another curve.
That’s when we hear it—a low rumbling sound like thunder, but deeper. More ominous. A sound you feel in your bones rather than just hear with your ears.
The car shakes, subtle at first, then more violently. Matheo fights to keep us on the road as the steering wheel vibrates in his hands.
“What the hell—” Kyren starts.
“EARTHQUAKE!” Cash shouts, his voice cutting through the noise.
The rumbling intensifies, and suddenly the ground in front of us splits open with a sound like the world tearing in half. A jagged crack appears across the dirt road, maybe six feet wide and impossible to tell how deep.
Matheo slams on the brakes, the car sliding sideways on the loose gravel before coming to a stop just feet from the new chasm. We all sit in stunned silence for a moment, hearts pounding as we stare at the impassable gap.
“Well,” Kyren says finally, his voice unnaturally calm. “That’s not ideal.”
Cash lets out a shaky laugh. “Understatement of the century.”
I lean forward to get a better look at the split in the road. It stretches as far as I can see in both directions, effectively cutting us off from the main highway. And with volcanic ash approaching, we can’t exactly sit here and wait for a rescue crew.
“So,” I say, trying to keep my voice steady. “Anyone have any brilliant ideas about how we’re getting back to the hotel?”
Matheo turns the key in the ignition, but instead of the engine roaring to life, all we get is a pathetic sputtering sound. Like a dying animal gasping for air.
“Come on,” he mutters, trying again. The engine turns over weakly, coughs once, then falls silent.
We all exchange glances before wordlessly climbing out of the car. The acrid smell hits us immediately—sulfur mixing with something else. Something mechanical and wrong.
I crouch down beside Matheo as he pops the hood, Cash and Kyren on either side of us. What we find makes my stomach drop to my feet.
A massive tree branch, thick as my torso, somehowlodged itself under the engine during the earthquake. Dark oil pools steadily beneath the car, dripping onto the cracked asphalt like blood from a wound.
“Shit,” Cash breathes, running his hands through his hair. “That’s not good.”
Matheo straightens, wiping his hands on his jeans. The tree has torn through something vital. I see twisted metal and severed hoses where the branch punched through the engine block.
“We have bigger problems than the road being out,” Matheo says grimly, gesturing toward the growing puddle beneath our feet. “This car isn’t going anywhere.”
The volcanic rumble grows louder in the distance, and the sky continues to darken. Ash begins to fall like gray snow, dusting our shoulders and the disabled vehicle.
“How far are we from the data center?” I ask, though I already know the answer won’t be good.
“Maybe two miles back,” Cash replies, checking his phone. “No signal.”
I look around at our options—jagged volcanic terrain stretching in every direction, an impassable chasm blocking our path forward, and a disabled car that’s bleeding oil onto the ground. The wedding starts in less than three hours, and Trinity is probably already wondering where we are.
Trinity. The thought of her waiting for us, expecting us to return as promised, makes my chest tighten with something close to panic.
“We need to get moving,” I declare, a sense of determination washing over me. “Now.”
THIRTY-EIGHT
TRINITY
It takesa few minutes of cajoling and several threats to inform the media before Irwan puts me in touch with the emergency response coordinator for the data center.
“They left the facility immediately when the eruption began,” the coordinator confirms over Irwan’s phone, his voice crackling through static interference. “They should have been back at your resort by now.”
