Jack Monroe came next, and then the girl, Abby. They too had that similar look; the same tormented expressions of people who had survived a terrible disaster. But they were lucky; they lived, unlike her Valery.

“I am very happy for you.” Sonya shook hands, hugged them, and tried to make her face create a smile, but found it impossible. “My team is here to assist you. Hurry now; there’s a helicopter waiting.”

She almost pushed them up into the higher cave.

*   *   *

Cate let herself be hauled through the opening in the stone, and then be wrapped in a silver thermal blanket. Jack and Abby got the same treatment. Sonya walked just ahead of them, her shoulders rounded. It was obvious she took Valery Mironov’s death badly. Even though Cate felt bone tired, she hurried forward to catch her up. Jack followed.

“Sonya, thank you.”

The young woman looked at her briefly, and then nodded.

“Hey, how did you know?” Jack asked. “Heceta Island, this cave; how did you guess we’d be here?”

Sonya spoke over her shoulder. “No guess; it’s what Valery and I would have done. You too. Survivors never give up, they just look for other ways to survive.”

“We’re sorry about Valery,” Cate blurted.

Sonya stopped then, turning to stare into Cate’s face. “Yes, I’m sorry too.” After another moment, she turned away. “Hurry now; we must not attract attention. Already there are too many questions following the explosion.”

Cate let the woman get ahead of them. Her eyes had seemed almost resentful. Of what? Cate wondered. That they survived, and Valery didn’t?

Jack placed a hand on her shoulder. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Cate reached up to rub his hand. “I guess we all lost something down in that dark sea.”

“In that bad water,” Jack said softly.

The two huge helicopters were perched like giant insects at the entrance to their nest, and their rotors were already turning as the group approached. Sonya was in amongst a group of men, and she seemed to be issuing instructions. She turned briefly to point at one of the helicopters, and then waved – goodbye, Cate expected.

Cate pulled her blanket a little tighter around her shoulders. She looked back at the cave entrance. It was only about twenty feet wide, and oval shaped, and reminded her of an open mouth. There were lights set up on tripods outside, but deeper inside it was impenetrably dark.

“Like Jonah and the whale, we’ve just been spat out by the monster,” she said softly. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

“I heard that,” Jack said, and then he, Cate and Abby ran towards the chopper.