In front of him, what remained of the Phoiki Hot Pond appeared inviting.
Sam sucked in a deep breath of air. It was icy cold and deliciously refreshing as it breezed across his hot skin. The humidity dropped alongside the new temperature, as though he’d walked into an industrial freezer.
At a glance, his eyes raked the bizarre sight in front of him.
The jellybean-shaped Phoiki Hot Spring was frozen. Any moisture that had previously dripped from the leaves of the rainforest that lined the spring was now frozen in ice. The ground surrounding the pool was hard, as though permafrost had penetrated deep into the once warm and fertile soil. At the center of the spring, the ice tapered inward, like a giant frozen funnel.
He stepped to the edge of the opening and saw that the tunnel — just large enough for an adult to walk standing upright inside — seemed to descend farther than his line of sight.
Billie swallowed. “So, this is a vision of what’s to come?”
Sam nodded. “If we don’t find the remaining four hidden temples to deposit the sacred stones, it appears we’re all going to need to find some much warmer clothing.”
“Let’s find those temples.” Billie crossed her shivering arms. “I hate the cold.”
There were already more than thirty people working around the icy pond, taking samples, and trying to make sense of the unexplainable.
Sam turned to face his guide. “Who’s in charge here?”
The guide smiled. “That would be Demyan Yezhov — our resident Volcanologist on the island.”
He glanced at the man the guide pointed to. He was a big guy. Tall and heavily overweight, but also full of muscle. To Sam, it looked as though the guy had once been into heavy weightlifting at some stage, but then his lifestyle had changed, and as he became more focused on his work, his once muscular physique was now filled with adipose tissue after years of gluttony.
Sam approached the man. “Demyan Yezhov?”
“Yes?” The man answered with the deep resonance of an American accent, and no trace of a Russian heritage. “Who are you?”
“Sam Reilly.” He offered his hand. “And this is my associate, Billie Swan.”
Demyan took it and met his eye with an engaging smile and recognition. “It’s good to meet you both. I was meaning to contact you earlier, and then this happened.”
“Contact me?” Sam asked. “Have we met before?”
“No. I read about your exploits in the Aleutian Portal. Interesting stuff. It defies most logic regarding volcanic eruptions and their subsequent lava tubes.”
“I’m afraid I can’t help explain any of the science behind how the damned thing formed. I’m just glad it did, and we got out alive.”
“No. That’s not what I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Really, what then?” Sam asked.
“After I heard about the Aleutian Portal I read up about you. You’ve led an interesting life, and that brings with it some unique perspectives.” Demyan smiled. It was an engaging smile, and Sam guessed the man would have been considered quite attractive before gluttony and his work took over his life. “I needed to talk to you about your dissertation on climate change and the movement of the magnetic poles.”
Sam felt the icy wind sucked out of his chest. The last person who was interested in his dissertation had tried to kill him. “What did you want to know?”
Demyan swallowed hard. “How you predicted what was going to happen this week.”
Chapter Forty
Sam paused for a moment, waiting for Demyan’s statement to really sink in.
His mind returned to the dissertation that he and Billie had written in an attempt to draw out those who really knew the truth. It focused on the correlation of any sudden shift in magnetic poles and a disruption of the thermohaline circulation that regulated the entire global temperatures. In the paper, he’d discussed that such an event would lead to widespread natural disasters, ranging from a series of progressively worsening earthquakes through to absurd weather patterns as the poles shifted.
Sam looked at the frozen hot spring. “I didn’t predict this.”
Demyan grinned. “No. I don’t think anyone could have predicted this. But the rest of your dissertation has come true.”
“Really?” Sam knew that there had been a number of signs that the cataclysmic prophecy had come into effect, but wasn’t aware it had become obvious to the mainstream media or scientists. “What, exactly, has happened?”
“Globally, there have been more earthquakes in the past seven days than last year. Volcanoes across the globe that were considered dormant or extinct have started to become active. More than a hundred wild fires rage between North and South America, Europe has indicated both the hottest days on record and the coldest.” Demyan turned to look at the frozen hot spring. “And now, a stream previously fed by a volcano has become frozen in ice.”
“I’ll admit it’s been a pretty bad week.” Sam squatted down and touched the edge of the pond, even putting his hand near the ground sucked the warmth out of his hand. “Any idea what caused it?”
“None whatsoever. I was hoping you two might shed some light on it?”
“I’m a marine biologist and Billie’s an archaeologist. What assistance do you think the two of us could provide?”
“I have no idea, but you tend to know about some sort of impending cataclysmic event. I have no idea what’s causing it, but whatever it is, I’m telling you now — it has begun.”
Sam listened to the words. If Demyan only knew how right he was. “All right, what about this ice tunnel. Has anyone been down it yet?”
“Down it?” Demyan shook his head. “Why would anyone want to do that? A young man was burned to death in the pond. You can still see his bones, frozen in the ice. His fiancé told me he’d brought her here to propose just this morning.”
Sam looked at his watch. It was 3 p.m. and somehow in that short time the pond had gone from boiling to freezing. Something about the thought stuck with him. “Why is the pond still freezing? Why hasn’t it thawed?”
“I know. It’s nearly ninety degrees Fahrenheit outside, so why hasn’t the pond started to thaw?” Demyan took a deep breath. “The temperature coming out of the tunnel is nearly thirty degrees below freezing.”
“You got any explanation for that?”
“No.”
Sam looked around, the area was riddled with scientists. “Where’s the girl, now?”
“Who?”
“The unlucky fiancé.”
“She’s over there.” Demyan pointed to the other end of the pond.
Sam glanced at the woman. She was tall and athletic, with pale white skin that looked like it was rarely exposed to the sun. She was reading something. Apart from the slight reddening around her eyes where she had no doubt been crying earlier, she appeared well composed. She had a strong face with a well-defined jawline. If he’d met her in any other circumstance, his first impression would have been that she was pretty. Instead, all he saw was the tremendous burden of fatigue and guilt now etched on her face, as though she should have somehow foreseen the danger. He wished someone had contacted one of her friends or family, someone she knew well, who could take care of her.
He asked, “Why is she still here?”
Demyan shrugged. “Says she wants answers. Adamant she’s not leaving here until someone can find a scientific explanation for the impossible.”