A week passed without sun. Time in the cave was measured not by light, but by the rhythm of the vents. When the steam hissed loud, it was morning. When the drip of the pool slowed, it was night. The survivors adapted quickly. Humans were creatures of pattern. Give them a routine, and they would find a way to survive anything.
Ezra walked the perimeter of the main chamber. The new arrivals had settled into the alcoves along the eastern wall. They had built partitions from driftwood and canvas. It looked like a village carved into the belly of a whale. The air was thick with the smell of cooking fish and wet wool. It was a good smell. It smelled like life.
He stopped at the entrance to the deeper tunnel. Kaela was there, supervising a team returning from the crystal chamber. They carried b
