Girard loosened his harness and leant forward to take a look. “A pod of whales. This bit of the ocean is pretty deep, and there’s not much shipping here, so the whales get left alone. See the smaller ones, there? Those are the calves. They usually travel in large family groups.”
“They are fascinating to watch. If you’re out on boats in this channel, I’m told that they will often swim alongside,” the captain’s voice made Hallie jump. She’d been so focusedon the whales and Girard’s explanation that she’d momentarily forgotten that everyone could hear them. “I would normally be happy to follow them for a while, but we don’t have the time today.” There was what sounded like genuine regret in his voice, which made Hallie warm to him.
“I’m very glad to have seen them, thank you,” Hallie said, embarrassment fading. She glanced across the cabin and saw that both Duncan and Frollo were also leaning towards the windows, apparently as interested in watching the whales as she was. She craned her neck into an uncomfortable position, keeping the sleek underwater creatures in view for as long as possible as the helicopter continued its flight, and wondered what else she might spot along the way.
Chapter five
Thecaptainhadtoldthem when he and the co-pilot had sight of the island, but from her position behind the flight crew, with a bulkhead blocking the forward view, Hallie didn’t actually see Paradise until the helicopter had begun its descent to land. The helicopter turned, and she had a dizzying view of lush green forest rising up to steep hills or mountains and a jagged coastline punctuated with what looked like high cliffs descending sharply into pale sandy beaches. Past the coastline, with the helicopter moving fast, there was nothing visible to Hallie apart from the thick canopy of leaves punctured occasionally by what looked like ragged patches of vivid yellow ground-covering plants. The only other landscape she’d seen with her own eyes had been the countryside outside the city, glimpsed from the terrace at the Abbott house, or viewed through the train window, and finally from a viewpoint at Cotovatre’s house. That landscape had been quite different and much busier. Each bit of the land had been claimed byonehochlenfamily or another and so the countryside was full of cultivated fields and farms punctuated by stretches of wild forest. Looking down at Paradise it was clear that no one had succeeded in taming this island. That made Hallie want to smile, glad that there were some parts of the world free fromhochleninfluence.
She caught sight of the shadow of the vehicle against the tops of the trees and had an unsettling moment wondering if the captain would try to land on the tree tops. But of course he was not that foolish, it was just her imagination.
The helicopter turned again and she had another view of the dense green forest giving way to more of the jagged coastline. This time, she caught a glimpse of what looked like an old, old building made of plain grey stone sitting on top of one of the cliffs, mostly hidden by trees. From the distance, she couldn’t be sure, but the building looked like some kind of ancient fortress, and mostly in ruins, reclaimed by the forest. From the vantage point of the helicopter, the building seemed tiny but Hallie thought that was deceptive.
Not far from the ancient building, at least as far as she could tell distance from the helicopter, she caught sight of the first open space not covered by trees or the vivid yellow plants. There was a collection of what looked like tiny buildings, apparently dropped at random onto the ground, with little patches of green here and there that might be gardens, and dull brown lines between the buildings and gardens that might be roads or pathways. That must be the main settlement. It ran down to the shoreline where she could see a couple of boats in the dull green-blue ocean.
Their flight had slowed, Hallie realised, and the helicopter was descending. She could see more details of the trees below them, and the rich variety of different shades of green and shapes and texture of the leaves. She almost gasped in shock when theforest abruptly ended, replaced by what looked like a stretch of bare earth. The helicopter descended further and only then did Hallie realise that Frollo and Duncan had moved. They’d slipped off their harnesses and gathered up their rifles, kneeling on the floor on either side, staring out the windows. Hallie had a moment’s worry that they’d seen something dangerous. But it just seemed a normal kind of alertness, rather than in response to any particular thing. Next to her, Girard had also loosened his harness, and was leaning slightly forward, casting his gaze from one side to the other.
“This looks like newly claimed land,” he commented, eyes on the ground outside. To Hallie it looked like a mess, as if some giant had come along and torn up whatever vegetation had been there, leaving the soil in ragged furrows and clumps. She spotted a few stray branches, some with crumpled, dying leaves, and a jagged tree stump poking up into the sky. “The community will have cleared it for farming or building,” he added, perhaps reading the confusion on her face.
“Looks like a lot of work,” Hallie commented, feeling something was needed.
Before Girard could respond, the captain’s voice came through.
“We’re going to put down here. You’re a short walk from the second settlement, which is where the liaison and the radio tower were based. There’s what looks like a road or path ahead which should take you straight there.”
“Sounds good, thanks,” Girard said.
The helicopter descended still further so that Hallie could make out more detail of the ground below. She’d been right about the giant, she thought. Whatever or whoever had done the work ripping up the ground hadn’t been too careful about what they were doing. Based on the hours spent gardening with her father, Hallie could tell that it was going to take a lot more workbefore the ground was suitable for planting. Hallie couldn’t help wonder what the ground had been like to start with.
There was a gentle vibration that she felt through her seat followed by a rush of cool, damp air against her face as Frollo and then Duncan opened the side doors, letting a cross-breeze through the cabin. They jumped out, rifles held ready, attention on whatever was around them. It seemed that they were taking their duties very seriously, despite the director’s assurances that he didn’t expect them to run into trouble. Hallie wasn’t sure she found it reassuring to be accompanied by so much firepower.
Girard had moved, too, unsnapping his harness. Hallie fumbled with her harness, managing to free herself, then followed Girard’s lead, leaving her helmet on the seat as she rose and grabbed her bag from under the orange webbing. The noise of the helicopter engines and rotors was deafening, cancelling out any other sound as Hallie followed Girard out onto the churned up soil. It had been raining not that long ago and the mud threatened to suck her boots down. She refused to let it, trudging after Girard across the exposed earth to what looked like a crude earth path.
It was only when they reached the path that Hallie realised Frollo and Duncan hadn’t come with them. She turned back to the helicopter to find it already lifting into the air, Frollo sitting in the open doorway, weapon still ready. She assumed Duncan was in a similar position on the other side of the vehicle. Hallie wanted to shout at Frollo to get back inside, to be safe, but suspected he would just laugh at her.
Girard put his pack down and lifted his hands, giving two thumbs up to the pilot. The nose of the helicopter dipped a fraction as if in salute, then it rose further, taking the noise and smell of oil and fuel with it.
Hallie watched until the enormous machine was little more than a speck in the sky, then finally turned her attention to their surroundings.
The packed earth path that they were standing on seemed to run down the middle of the churned up ground, perhaps marking a boundary of some kind. In one direction it led to the great forest that they had flown over, the trees far larger from the ground than they had appeared from the air. In the other direction, the path led through what seemed a long stretch of the exposed earth to a dense thicket of shrubs punctuated by mature trees. The shrubs were covered in dark green, glossy leaves, despite the winter. Beyond the cluster of plants, Hallie thought she could see the straight line of a roof. A building of some kind.
“Captain Gould will let the director know we’ve arrived,” Girard told Hallie. “If my information is right then the buildings over there should be the second settlement. Let’s see if we can find the radio to start with.”
“Alright,” Hallie agreed, but didn’t move immediately, instead looking around again. It was her first time away from Daydawn, after all. She had a moment of amazement. Not only had she just been flown across the ocean, she was now standing in a different country. She wanted to make sure she didn’t miss anything, even though she was here to work. “I’m guessing that the people here aren’t farmers,” she commented, looking across the churned-up soil. There were piles of branches and what looked like hacked-up tree trunks around the edges of the bare space along with several mounds of yellow foliage in various stages of decay. “Huh. I saw patches of that yellow stuff when we were flying over the island. I don’t recognise it.”
“Do you want to get a sample?” Girard asked.
He sounded perfectly serious and she turned to find him watching her with a hint of a fond smile on his face. “Sorry,” she said, heat surging under her skin. “I got a bit carried away sightseeing. Ready to work now.” She lifted her backpack, settling it on her shoulders. She’d tested the fit of the harness earlier, and was glad of it now as she didn’t have to fiddle with the buckles, just shrugged it into place and fastened the closures at her chest and hips. Given the choice, she’d rather not carry it far, but at least it was secure and manageable.
“It’s no problem,” Girard reassured her. “We are here to learn as much as anything, so taking the time to look around is fine.” He glanced at the sky overhead. “Although this may not be the best day for it. That storm is going to be on us soon enough.”
“We’d best find shelter, then.”
Girard nodded and turned, heading along the path.
Hallie was very glad that someone, or several someones, had gone to the effort of making the path as she plodded after Girard, the backpack a dead weight, so they didn’t have to try and make their way across the open ground.
By the time they reached the thicket of shrubs, which was farther away than it had seemed, her shoulders were aching a bit. There must be some other trick to adjusting the backpack harness which she hadn’t learned. She’d need to ask Girard about it, assuming she could find a suitable moment.
