Undara Page 12

  Pushing away Kev’s observations of Travis Carlyle and the state of his marriage—it was none of her business—Emlyn unpacked the boxes and filled the cupboards. When she was done, the fridge and freezers were full of fresh food and meat. Grabbing a snack for dinner and a bottle of water from the fridge, she sat at the desk she’d marked as hers before going back to her reading.

  She checked her email, and there was a new one from John Kearns, putting their ETA early tomorrow.

  We’re sharing the driving, so expect us about nine tomorrow, she read.

  It was going to be hard to have others here, after being alone at the camp. But one thing Emlyn was looking forward to was getting into the tubes and the field work. She couldn’t do it by herself.

  The thought of interacting every day on both a work and social level was already making Emlyn nervous, and she wiped her damp hands on her shorts. They were here to work, and the last thing she needed were cosy boy-scout chats around a campfire.

  She stared at the puce-coloured wall in front of her, her eyes following the specks of fly dirt that marked it. She was kidding herself. She’d been on many field trips over the years before—before her life had changed—and of course they would relax and talk at night. Just because she’d changed didn’t mean that others would fit in with her idea of not wanting to chat over dinner and drinks.

  She’d cope. She had to.

  CHAPTER

  11

  Emlyn slept deeply and dreamlessly. She rose early and showered, screwing up her nose at the thought of the dead possum contaminating the water that was trickling from the shower. As she walked across to the main building, two white vans drove into the compound and parked in the middle of the driveway.

  ‘Emlyn?’ A tall, lanky guy with short-cropped dark hair climbed out of the first van. He held out a hand as she walked down the steps. Emlyn forced a welcoming smile to her face.

  ‘Hello, and yes, I’m Emlyn Rees. You must be Larry Robards.’ She took his hand; his grip was cool and firm. ‘Good to have you here. I’ve heard great things about your work.’

  ‘And I’ve heard the same about yours,’ he replied as he let go of her hand and shut the door of the van.

  Bill Goodwin and the two couples climbed out of the second vehicle and stretched.

  ‘Gawd, that was a long drive. Three and a half days on the road. That bloody Bruce Highway’s no better than the last time I drove north,’ Bill said as he smiled at Emlyn. ‘Good to see you again.’

  ‘It is a long trip from Brisbane. You found the turn-off after Conjuboy okay, obviously,’ Emlyn said to fill an awkward silence as they stood there waiting for the others to come across from the van.

  ‘Yeah, we had to detour around Gladstone. They’ve had a lot of rain down there.’ Bill nodded and looked around. ‘Looks like a decent enough set-up here.’

  Greg and Lucy gave her a friendly wave as they walked across. ‘Hi, Emlyn. Good to see you. All settled in?’

  She nodded as the professor and his wife joined them. ‘Yes, it’s not a bad set-up here.’

  John Kearns slung a bag over his shoulder and came around from the back of the van. ‘Emlyn, this is my wife, Meg.’

  Emlyn smiled at the woman standing beside him, aware of dark eyes sizing her up. ‘Good to meet you, Meg.’ The effort of keeping her voice chirpy and upbeat was tiring, and the humidity was still oppressive. ‘Come inside, everyone, and I’ll show you around and you can stow your gear. I turned on the air conditioners in each of the dongas last night.’ She waited for the others to catch up and then climbed the steps to the main building. ‘This is the mess, and the work area.’ She pushed open the screen door and gestured to the bench along the front wall where her laptop was set up. ‘The wi-fi speed is great. We’ve hooked into the satellite connection without a problem. I guess this is where we’ll spend a lot of our time.’

  ‘Good kitchen set-up.’ Bill poked his head into the space. ‘Much room left in the fridge? We’ve got some wine and beer that need chilling.’

  ‘Some. I left a couple of shelves free.’ Emlyn focused on relaxing her shoulders. Her breath threatened to hitch as she led them outside again and across to the dongas. She’d gotten used to being here by herself.

  ‘Two double rooms, a single and one shared, plus mine. I’ll leave you to sort out where you want to go. I’ve given them all a bit of a spruce-up, so they should be right. I wasn’t sure which rooms you’d want to sleep in.’

  Meg Kearns surprised her. ‘If everyone’s okay with it, John and I will take the shared room. Two singles?’ She quirked an eyebrow at Emlyn and she nodded.

  ‘Yes.’

  Meg bumped her husband’s shoulder and smiled. ‘Even university professors have a snoring problem after a few red wines. We’ll take the shared, then.’

  ‘I’ll take the single,’ Bill said.

  ‘Double for us,’ Greg said with a smile at his wife.

  ‘I’ll take the second double if no one wants it,’ Larry said. He looked down at his lanky frame. ‘I hang over a single bed.’

  ‘Good. All sorted.’ Emlyn rubbed her hands together nervously. ‘So, get unpacked and then we’ll meet for a drink and a bit of a talk about our schedule, maybe?’

  ‘Good.’ John took control. ‘How about we meet at eleven? Does that give everyone enough time to get organised?’

  Emlyn stepped away and headed for her laptop. The next few weeks were going to be challenging for her, and she needed to prepare herself for being in company twenty-four seven.

  The day passed quickly, and by five-thirty, the communal area was cluttered and busy. Laptops sat on benches, cables snaked across the floor; a couple of laser printers and a large scanner were set up on the benches on two of the walls. Mobile phones were charging in the spare power points. Bill was on a chair securing a data projector to the frame that was mounted on the ceiling. He’d made a quick stir-fry before he’d come into the workroom, and a delicious aroma of honey and garlic drifted in from the kitchen.

  John had put a map of the property on a pin board on the wall.

  ‘Have you been out to the site at all, Emlyn?’ he asked.

  She nodded. ‘Yes, just a quick look. Travis Carlyle and his sons took me over there at sundown a couple of days ago. We went to the entrance of the main tube, but only down into the first cavern.’

  ‘I think we should have a bit of a preliminary walk-through tomorrow. And then we can plan where we’ll set up our first grid. There’s an awful lot of ground to cover, and we’ve only got twelve weeks,’ Greg commented.

  ‘And to get additional funding to extend the research is going to mean a lot of hard work on your part, guys. There’ll have to be some pretty solid findings if we want to get more money. And fast. That’s going to mean writing some papers while we’re up here, too, as well as the field work. We’re all going to be putting in some long days.’ John glanced across at Larry. ‘Can you set up to take photos on our first trip in?’

  The photographer nodded. ‘Yep. Everything’s charged. It’s just a matter of getting my gear into the caves.’

  A buzz rippled through the team as they looked at the map on the wall. Emlyn stood and traced the route from the camp to the top of the hill. ‘The main tube is here. We can drive some of the way, but there’s quite a walk to get the equipment up,’ she said to Larry.

  ‘Won’t be a problem. My last job was in Nepal. I think I can cope with a hill here. And what’s the difference between a tube and a cave?’

  Emlyn flushed. For the first time she detected arrogance in his tone. She sat down and didn’t speak again. John flicked a sympathetic glance her way before he turned to the photographer. ‘The term “lava tube” refers to a cave formed as an internal lava conduit within a flow, and we use the more general term “lava cave” for any cave within a lava flow, no matter how it was formed. Does that make sense?’

  ‘Nope, not one bit, but I’m here to take photos so I don’t have to understand all the scientif
ic stuff.’

  ‘Lucy’s going to transcribe our notes each night, and put the photos into a database,’ Greg said as they all examined the map. ‘I’ve got some quality audio gear for recording, so most of the transcribing will be from that and then I’ll edit it.’

  Bill picked up the remote. The wall lit up as John’s computer desktop was projected onto the large screen.

  ‘Great. All set to start work, then. I think that deserves a drink,’ John said.

  ‘Okay, dinner’s ready whenever you are,’ Bill said.

  John stood when everyone was seated and had a drink in front of them. ‘To a successful trip.’ He raised his glass with a smile. ‘And an extra-big thankyou to Emlyn for coordinating the trip and getting the place sorted out. You’ve done well. We really appreciate it.’

  Dinner was a noisy affair as plans were made for the following day and a slideshow of aerial photos flashed across the screen.

  ‘Recent analysis of the radar data from a NASA space probe since the Germans were here seems to indicate that as well as the straight channels fanning out from the old crater, there are some aligned depressions,’ John said.

  ‘And the thinking is that unmapped lava tubes will connect these depressions that have been photographed from space.’ Greg crossed to the workbench and brought his laptop over.

  John shook his head. ‘Unplug mine, Greg, and hook up yours to the data projector so everyone can see it on the big screen.’

  Greg did so, then sat back down and turned on the data projector. The screen was filled with a satellite shot of the area and Emlyn’s eyes widened as he zoomed in. These new images were much more detailed than anything they’d looked at in the days they were preparing at the university.

  Greg was beaming. ‘Pretty amazing, aren’t they.’ He traced his mouse pointer over the image and zoomed in on the dongas. ‘Look, it’s so clear you can even see the taps on the water tanks outside.’

  A smile tipped Emlyn’s lips. ‘That reminds me, don’t drink water out of the taps.’

  Zooming out again, she concentrated as Greg walked them through the new depressions that had been picked up by the NASA satellite.

  She followed the road from the dongas, past the site of the old homestead, and the cemetery, and up the hill to the glade where she had entered the tubes with Travis and his sons. Emlyn couldn’t hold back. ‘Do you mind if I show you something?’ She jumped up, grabbed a ruler and stood beside the screen. ‘Can you zoom out a little bit please, Greg?’

  She pointed to the glade with the ruler. ‘This is where we went in the other night. Once you climb down from the glade, about twenty metres below the scree of fallen rocks, there’s a huge cavernous opening that goes for about fifty metres before it turns to the north.’ She lifted the ruler and followed the green depression on the screen. ‘We didn’t go any further in, but the small section that we explored with just LED headlamps was breathtaking.’

  John stood beside her. ‘May I?’ He held out his hand and she passed him the ruler.

  ‘There’re obviously dozens of tubes here if we follow all of the depressions linking the channels. What we thought was one long tube is obviously much more of an interlocking network.’ His eyes were bright, and his voice was charged with excitement. ‘The only problem is where do we start?’

  Greg pointed at the tube that Emlyn had been to. ‘Once we establish some clean-air tubes, I think we should start there. Working with oxygen will slow us down, and our time here is limited.’

  John grimaced. ‘So, we have to find something unique, and find it early. I have no doubt that we are going to discover new species, so speed is of the essence.’

  ‘Hang on,’ Larry interrupted. ‘What do you mean by clean-air tubes? What else are you expecting to find down there?’

  ‘There are two things we’ve got to watch out for,’ John replied. ‘Underground water and the composition of the air. In some of the caves, there’s a good chance the percentage of carbon dioxide will be high. We’ll have oxygen with us, and it means we can go further in.’

  ‘How will we know when the air’s not good?’ Larry frowned. ‘What causes it?’

  ‘Soils have much higher concentrations of carbon dioxide than the atmosphere. Plant roots, bacteria and fungi, and water in the tubes, means the soil absorbs additional carbon dioxide. And it’s a by-product of fauna such as bats. We can measure it, so don’t worry, we won’t have you working anywhere unsafe.’

  ‘Tell me exactly what this “bad air” does.’ Larry shook his head. ‘I’ve just seen six of the last team I was with in Nepal choppered out from Gorakshep with altitude sickness. Is it anything like that? That was bloody scary.’

  Greg took over. ‘That’s one of my roles, Larry. Measuring the air quality. The maximum safe working level recommended for an eight-hour day is zero-point-five per cent.’

  ‘What happens if it goes higher?’

  ‘A concentration of ten per cent or greater can cause respiratory paralysis and death within a few minutes.’

  ‘Jesus Christ, that’s great. I didn’t know that when I took the job on.’

  ‘No need to worry, mate. We’ll be measuring everywhere we go,’ Greg hastened to reassure him. ‘There’s no smell or visual sign, but even without measuring, you’d experience some warning signs like increased pulse and breathing rates. Plus clumsiness, severe headaches and dizziness, and sometimes a dry acidic taste in your mouth can be an early indication of an unsafe concentration.’

  ‘It’s more common in the deep caves,’ John said, ‘but we could still encounter it in shallower caves. So, we’ll take extra care in the deep caves, and anywhere we come across tree roots or bat guano.’

  ‘One other way we can be sure,’ Emlyn chimed in, her voice soft, ‘is to work in a tube or a cave where there are entrances at different elevations.’

  Greg nodded. ‘Thanks, Emlyn. I forgot to mention that.’

  ‘So how do you test it?’ Larry asked.

  ‘A simple naked-flame test. Easy, the flame goes out, so do we.’

  ‘That’s all you do?’ Larry was incredulous. ‘I wouldn’t trust that. A bit like what they said in Nepal. “Climb high, sleep low.”’

  ‘We do have sophisticated measuring equipment in the van, too.’ Greg exchanged a glance with John and Emlyn, and she sensed that he was wondering, like she was, whether Larry had been the wrong choice.

  The conversation moved back to a social level, and Emlyn sat quietly and followed the talk as it washed around her, smiling occasionally and nodding when a comment was directed her way. Her limbs were loose, and she relaxed even more when she realised she wasn’t required to contribute. After a while, she took her plate into the kitchen and scraped what was left into the bin.

  ‘Not a fan of honey-soy chicken?’

  She jumped as Bill’s voice startled her. ‘Yes, it was good, thank you. I wasn’t terribly hungry.’

  ‘You’ll have to make sure you have a good breakfast if you’re going out early. I’ll get a tucker bag ready tonight for you to take tomorrow.’

  Emlyn nodded as Bill regarded her. ‘You’ve lost more weight, Emlyn. Do you mind if I ask if you’re well?’

  She nodded. ‘I’m fine. It’s just the heat up here. I haven’t been very hungry, and being here by myself for the past few days, I haven’t bothered much with cooking.’

  Bill crossed to the sink and put the plug in, before turning on the hot water tap. ‘Well, I’m here now, and I’m in charge of the meals. And, young lady, I’ll be making sure you eat.’ He tempered his words with a smile. ‘Especially your meat and veggies.’

  Emlyn blinked. ‘That’s what my mum used to say.’

  He turned from the sink. ‘Used to?’

  ‘Yes. I lost both my parents last year.’

  ‘I’m sorry to hear that, love.’ He stood there looking out the window into the dark. ‘I lost my wife last year, too. Bloody breast cancer.’

  Emlyn bit her lip. She squeezed Bill’s arm
before she walked away and unplugged her laptop. Walking back through the dining room that had now morphed into a work area, she put her head down and crossed to the door. The others were still involved in a discussion at the table and only Meg lifted her head as Emlyn slipped out the door without saying goodnight.

  CHAPTER

  12

  Emlyn woke with a start when her phone alarm went off at six the next morning. She lay there for a moment after she woke and cleared her mind, breathing deeply as she prepared to face the new day.

  She had a quick shower and pulled on her long work pants and long-sleeved shirt. She’d left her boots on the step last night, and she tipped them up one at a time and checked them. It was a bad habit to leave them outside, especially this time of the year with snakes on the move. She pulled on her boots when she was sure they were clear, and walked across to the mess. The camp was quiet, although there was a light on in John and Meg’s donga. She pushed open the door of the workroom and was surprised to smell something appetising coming from the kitchen.

  Bill leaned around the door, a frypan in each hand.

  ‘Morning. Eggs or pancakes?’

  Emlyn shook her head as she put her laptop on the table. She stepped back when Larry brushed past her.

  ‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘Need coffee.’

  She nodded and waited until he filled his cup from the coffee machine that Bill had fired up. Larry glanced at her as he walked through the door and headed for his laptop. ‘Just ignore me. I’m not nice in the mornings. And it’s damn near the middle of the night still.’

  Bill shot him a filthy look. ‘Rude bugger. We don’t need that when we’re living in each other’s pockets,’ he muttered. ‘So, eggs or pancakes, love?’

  ‘Just cereal for me,’ Emlyn said.

  ‘Then eggs or pancakes?’ Bill’s voice was firm.

  She looked up with a smile, but he didn’t smile back.