Fragment

9:19 P.M.

“There they are.” Nell pointed at the glowing raft bobbing hundreds of feet below. “See ’em?”

“Yeah!” Zero said.

As they dropped the final hundred feet, it looked as if they were perfectly aligned with the Zodiac. Too perfect: the basket halted directly over the Zodiac so that they couldn’t see it just below them.

The swells lifted the Zodiac and slammed it against the bottom of the basket. “Oh, fuck!” Winger yelped.

The wave subsided. Samir and Winger frantically paddled the Zodiac out from under the basket, which was now quivering ominously.

Vibrations rolled down the long cable, which throbbed like a bass string.

Pieces of rock sheared from the cliff and sliced into the sea: a terrific quake was rumbling through the island.

“This island’s exploding!” Andy shouted.

“Calm down, Andy,” Nell said, reaching out to squeeze his ankle. Copepod yapped frantically.

The basket tipped and swung as the falling rocks tumbled into the water all around them.

The hendropods cringed as seawater from the incoming waves splashed over the basket.

“Jump in the Zodiac when the basket swings that way,” Geoffrey instructed.

“Are you kidding?” Andy exclaimed.

The moment arrived and, when Andy didn’t move, Geoffrey pushed him out of the basket. He landed, screaming, in the Zodiac. Geoffrey turned to the hendropods, pointing. “Jump, OK?”

“Trident, what’s the status on the engines?” demanded the radio transmission from the Enterprise.

“Uh,” First Mate Warburton answered the hail from the bridge. “We think we’ve almost got the magnetometers synched up, Enterprise.”

He grimaced at Marcello, who was muttering prayers over his St. Christopher’s medal.

As the basket swung sickeningly to and fro, Geoffrey and Nell tossed the cases into the Zodiac.

Zero jumped into the raft, and Copepod followed at the urging of Andy. The little dog seemed happy to see the familiar raft. The hendropods, Nell, and Geoffrey were the last ones left in the wobbling basket.

“Here comes another set,” Samir said, looking over his shoulder. “Duck!”

Everyone in the raft ducked as another giant wave slammed them into the bottom of the swinging basket.

The basket moved to one side as the next wave lifted the Zodiac. One of the stays of the basket snapped.

Everything except for Nell and Geoffrey rolled out of the basket and into the boat.

“Allahu Akbar!” Samir exclaimed as all five hendropods tumbled into the raft around him. One of them clung to his legs with three hands.

Nell and Geoffrey clung to the basket as it splashed into the cold black water.

The basket’s heavy cable began plunging down around them in giant folds that crashed into the sea.

“We made it,” Nell gasped, treading the icy water beside Geoffrey as the basket submerged, disappearing within seconds from view.

“Not yet,” Geoffrey warned. “Let’s go! Swim, Nell!”

They swam hard for the Zodiac as great elbows of cable smashed into the water behind them.

Suddenly they found themselves on top of a furry mass floating in the water.

“Keep going!” Geoffrey yelled.

Nell saw the mouth of the giant spiger lolling open underneath her like a face in a nightmare. To her horror, her foot grazed its lower jaw, but it moved loosely as she shoved off in panic. The spiger’s spiked arms reacted slowly, rising from the water on either side of them, grasping at the two scientists as they swam for the raft.

“Hurry!” Andy yelled.

“Come on, girl!” Zero urged.

Nell swam forward in the chilling water with a renewed burst of adrenaline, passing Geoffrey. She crossed the last ten yards and grabbed the edge rail of the Zodiac, and she reached back to snag Geoffrey’s hand.

“Hit it!” Samir shouted at the Trident eighty yards away.

Captain Sol engaged the winch to reel in the floundering Zodiac at top speed.

“Look!” yelled Andy.

“Oh noooo!” Hender cried.

A giant branch of Hender’s tree plunged down the face of the cliff: two glowing creatures clung to its side.

With one hand towing Geoffrey, Nell was losing her grip on the Zodiac against the dragging force of the winch. Andy reached down to grab her wrist, but too late. The edge rail ripped from her hand and she and Geoffrey slipped behind in the churning water as the Zodiac pulled away.

“Keep swimming,” yelled Geoffrey.

Nell turned to see the massive branch crash into the sea behind them. The heaving shockwave lifted Nell and Geoffrey and threw them into the raft, pushing it closer to the Trident.

The hendropods shrieked and retreated as the wave crashed over the boat and swept Hender over the side.

Hender screamed a piercing peal of anguish and immediately sank up to his neck, reaching his arms out of the seawater in all directions.

The wave deposited one of the glowing spigers that had held onto the branch right behind him in the water.

The spiger seemed stunned from the fall, floating on its side.

“Hender!” Andy shouted.

“Andeeeeee!” Hender squealed.

“Cut the winch!” Samir yelled.

The other hendropods emitted a chatter of quick high screams at Hender and watched in terror, unable to help.

To everyone’s surprise, Andy dove in.