Minutes to Burn

"All right," Derek said. "Someone grab the weapons box off the Zodiac. We're gonna camp-"

A howling split the air above their heads. Savage ripped his knife from the sheath as they instinctually backed into formation. The howling died into a moan and then faded away. Savage slowly lowered his knife.

Justin and Tucker scanned the area, still trying to adjust to the dark-ness. Rex and Juan found Tank immediately, crowding him from each side. The wind kicked up again, blowing the blunt edge of Cameron's hair across her cheek, and she pulled it back and hooked it around an ear. The howl resumed. She backed down toward the water, gazing up at the cliffs.

"Cam," Derek hissed. "Get back here."

"It's the wind," she said, smiling. She pointed to a gaping black hole in the side of the dappled cliff walls. "A cave. The wind's sucking across the entrance." She was surprised at how quickly the wind had kicked up; a few moments prior, the air had been almost deathly still.

"The salt and wind have worked hollows into the cliffs all along here," Diego said, wiping his brow with a nylon sleeve. "And there are irregu-larities in the basalt where land fell away from the fissures." He smirked. "Nothing to be frightened of."

A blast of wind hit them so hard that Justin staggered a little under its force. Rex put one hand on his Panama hat to keep it from blowing off. The howl reached a scream.

"What the fuck!" Justin said, as Savage slid his knife back into its sheath. "That's a little embarrassing." The others joined his laughter.

Derek cleared his throat. "I think we can safely say-"

The ground rocked violently beneath their feet, a grinding noise filling the air. Szabla was knocked over, thrown against the base of the cliff.

"! Mierda!" Diego yelled, his voice almost drowned out by the rum-bling. "We've got a shaker. Head down to the water."

The sound of cracking rock filled the air above them, and a shower of dirt slid from the cliff, falling over their heads. Juan ducked the debris, banging into Szabla.

"Move away from the cliff!" Rex yelled. "It could slide."

A rock about the size of a skull struck Justin from behind, but fortu-nately, his backpack took the brunt of the blow. He went to a knee under the force of the rock but was quickly up and running again, hustling Rex and Diego along before him.

Szabla went down, almost taking Juan with her. She struggled to find her feet, and Juan stepped toward her, arms spread wide to keep his bal-ance on the rocking earth. He tried to pull her up but was having trouble maintaining his own footing.

Cameron grabbed Derek's arm and yanked him down toward the water, his shoulder popping with the force of her pull. He stumbled after her until the water was up around his thighs, fighting to keep his balance in the suddenly thrashing waves. Tucker, Justin, Rex, Diego, and Savage were already in the water, and Tank was running toward them on the slippery rock.

"Where's Szabla?!" Derek yelled. He looked around frantically. "Fuck, where's Juan? Where's Juan?"

Cameron saw them at the base of the cliff, trying to stand under the shower of rocks and silt. Juan slipped and landed on his back. He rolled to his hands and knees and Szabla hoisted him up under one arm.

Cameron backhanded Derek's chest. "There!" she yelled, pointing.

Derek turned to the others. "Stay here!" he yelled. "That's an order." He ran toward Szabla and Juan, smacking Tank on the shoulder as he passed him. "Tank, come!" Without hesitation, Tank turned and fol-lowed him.

Juan was finally on his feet, but the ground was loose because the freshly fallen rocks kept rolling and shifting. His canteen dangled from its strap, dancing around his stomach. Grabbing Szabla around one of her biceps, Juan stepped forward onto a mound of rocks. A creaking sound from above startled him, and he turned to see an Opuntia bending over the brink of the cliff. With a screech, it split, snapping in a fork up the line of its meter-wide trunk. The weighty cactus tree plummeted down at them.

With all his might, Juan flung Szabla away from the base of the cliff, lifting her off her feet. She hit the ground in a roll and didn't stop until she was up and sprinting for the water. The force of hurling Szabla threw Juan backward, his shoulders striking the base of the rocky wall. He slid down onto his ass, slumping into the ground, blinking hard as if to fight off a haze.

The cactus tree sliced the air a few yards in front of him, smashing into the lava. For a moment, it rested upside down, creaking and moaning, as though deciding which way to fall. Juan raised his arms to protect his face, his mouth open in a silent yell. With excruciating slowness, the cactus tree fell away from him, toppling toward the water.

The ground slowed its shaking and then, aside from the light pebbles drumming their way down the cliff face, it was still. Juan's breath left him in a gasp of relief.