Death by Facebook (21 page)

“
I'd
have Shirley prepare for an evacuation.”

~~~

Star
was half way to Hilo when Janet finally woke up, groggy and grumpy.
I could feel the static roaring through her as I did my best to keep
up with the old Tercel hatchback. The Ohia forests were slowly
giving way to mango, monkeypod and palms. Orchid farms were
interspersed with the small tomato and taro patches of the local
farmers.

“
What...where...what
are we doing?” Janet managed to say through the haze and
nervous hangover of anesthesia. “Why does my damn head hurt so
much?”

Star
quickly glanced over. “We're going to Hilo, to get your
abortion.” Her fingers tightened on the steering wheel as she
said it.

Janet
seemed to take a moment to put that into some frame of mind that made
sense. Suddenly, she looked down at her belly, put her hands there
and began a slow wailing. After a few seconds she began short yelps,
almost barking and then just good old screaming.

“
Goddammit
Jimmie, shut up! I found you on the side of the damn road, and I'll
kick your ass out on the damn road again if you don't shut the hell
up!” Star had already been at her wits end when she'd
convinced herself to drive Janet to Hilo. Add a little crazy from
the passenger seat and it became overwhelming.

Janet
did shut up, except for the low moaning she continued to make as she
now rocked back and forth in the front seat.

Poor
Poho was not yet awake, I couldn't roust him yet. The anesthesia
must have worked him over good. How could I warn him? How could I
do anything about it?

Star
passed the airport and turned left toward town, crossed the bridge
just beyond tsunami park and turned left up Pauahi Street. Soon she
took a right and then another left and pulled up into the parking
area of an old two story house, with a view of the harbor and beyond,
the ocean.

The
sign outside said simply “Dr. Zhung, OB GYN”. Star
pulled up under the large canopy of an avocado tree that must have
been as big as the house all by itself. One other car was just
pulling out, leaving them to choose from any of the parking spots.

“
Poho!
Poho!” I screamed with my voice, silent as it was. This place
looked like death, especially with the small metal chimney rising
from the back of the building. I watched as Star got out of the car,
leaving Janet inside. She walked up to the building, opened the door
and disappeared.

Moving
closer to Janet now, alone in the car, I could still hear only the
static. Her mind was in a turmoil of chaos, hiding any chance I
might have of hearing my Poho boy.

Her
head was back against the head rest, her eyes closed tightly and she
had both hands against her stomach. Breath came to her deeply, her
skin taking back a little color as I watched. In a moment her hands
relaxed, one of them falling to her side onto the car seat.

It
was there, in the shade of the massive avocado tree, brilliant
sunshine painting the tropical sky just beyond, that I think I
finally got through her static storm. My focus had been improving
constantly as time went on, probably with all that practice talking
to Poho.

Several
mynah birds began squawking in the tree branches just above us. It
might have been their racket that brought her up and out of the pit
of static. It might have been me, trying to reach her, but in any
case I felt her begin to listen, tentatively.

As
she opened to me, a flood of fear and sadness poured out of her. It
was amazing that so much could fit inside of one soul. Tears filled
her eyes from behind her closed lids, pushing their way out at the
corners. Her brow furrowed deeply as she squeezed her eyes harder.
She was still a young, very young woman, confused by forces outside
her control.

Surrounding
all of that was a weak request for help, for peace. Her deep
subconscious was a well of clear thought now bubbling through the
static, pleading with whatever forces, whatever miracles might help
her.

It
felt to me like she was praying. Each tear finding its way out as
another supplication. I listened intently, drawing her out with a
compassion and empathy, with a love that came from beyond even me.

The
sky around me was filled with light now, the same light I had been
watching get closer for some time now. It was so very close. Then,
in a moment of intuition it became clear to me that I was certainly
not James Madison Turner anymore, but an extension of that light
descending ever closer. It reminded me of a lava lamp, where I was a
distinct glob separate from the mass but the same stuff, soon to
return, and probably soon to move out again.

The
lava analogy wasn't lost on me, though, and that brought me back to
Janet. Her heart was open, floating on an underlying sea of static
that was trying to swallow this rare moment of lucidity.

I
found myself expressing to her, to her very soul, that which I had
already felt earlier, but which I now seemed to communicate from the
larger light moving so close to me. My role felt as that of a
messenger, but as one who intimately understood the message, had
helped fashion it.

I
moved closer even as I could sense the static rising again,
threatening to overwhelm her moment of prayer and hope. I spoke to
her clearly, feeling her grasp at the words, at the answer, as she
began to drown again in the rising static.

I
spoke to her from the light itself. Her mind ravenously grasped at
the message as it slowly sank back into the depths.

“
You,
Janet, are loved by it all, and so you are forgiven, in advance.”

As
she sank away, I heard a new voice.

Poho
was awake.

~~~

The
electric start fired quickly and only once to get the large fan
spinning behind Larry. Immediately, his wing, a skydiver type of
parafoil, began filling with the forced air and lifting slightly up
off the ground.

Launches
are always a critical part of flight, and this was certainly the case
with a paraglider, but even more so in an ever thickening cloud fog.
Larry could see, faintly, the edge of the Ohia forest marking the
boundary of his launch area, toward the Volcano Vineyard. Unless he
had a mechanical failure, this would be flight # 3,376.

Quickly
but perfectly going over his checklist he double checked his fuel
readings, looked behind him to insure the parafoil was off the
ground, and slowly pushed the throttle forward one third.

The
engine behind him didn't so much roar as hum with a power that
indicated flight was inevitable. Larry took a moment to confirm all
was well as he moved the throttle to full take off power.

The
parafoil wing behind him immediately fully inflated as he began
rolling forward quickly. He only need 25 knots of headwind to
generate enough lift to get off the ground. That took about two
seconds with this engine and off he went, letting that little tug of
gravity go silently and without any remorse. It would be waiting for
him later.

Still
fully engaged in safely getting off the ground, he watched the
approaching Ohia trees. If his engine failed he could still land
straight ahead without much danger. However, there was a point, very
soon in fact, where that opportunity would evolve to one that
required an emergency landing spot. Without much altitude he would
have to rely on a special combination of skill and luck.

After
just one minute of flight he reached that point where it was safer to
continue rather than abort. Things looked good. His altimeter and
compass had now joined his best friend list, along with the wing and
the engine. With this group he continued up through the fog to break
through into brilliant sunshine only 150 feet above the ground.

Jack
was already calling him. Larry moved his thumb over to the control
stick panel to answer the cell phone call inside his integrated
helmet. Built in were his Bluetooth paired phone, an iPod that had
more music than he had fuel to enjoy, an aviation radio for talking
to Hilo tower or Air Traffic Control and a direct walkie talkie link
to Jack as well as Shirley at home. Another walkie talkie unit was
in their four wheel drive. However, with all that he still hadn't
figured out how to install caller ID.

“
Hello!”

“
How's
it look up there?” Jack asked, with an obvious touch of
jealousy.

“
Clear
sailing! I'm well above the layer of cloud now. The entire area is
blanketed, but as I turn toward the west southwest I can see a white
plume of steam or ash popping through.”

It
was quiet a moment as Jack considered the weather issues.

“
Are
you going to be able to find the target area, Larry?”

Larry
was still climbing in a slow circling corkscrew. It was getting
chilly even as he was only 500 feet above the ground, but 4500 feet
above the ocean. Glancing at his gauges quickly he saw 44 degrees
outside air temperature, 42 kts forward speed and a climb rate of 150
ft per minute.

“
I'm
headed up to 6000 feet Jack. I'll call you on the walkie talkie
from there.”

“
Roger
that. We just had another little shake come through, about a 4 or
so.”

Larry
looked down at the spectacular vista below him, reached with his
thumb to switch to the walkie talkie. Home was somewhere beneath the
rolling white textures beneath him.

“
E.T.
Phoning home!” Larry called.

It
took a few seconds for Shirley to answer. She was tending to her
award winning Taro and 'Awa and had to clear the mud from her hands
before answering. When Larry was airborne she kept the walkie talkie
on her waist.

“
Are
there any more aliens with you, go ahead?” She looked up into
the milky gray fog half expecting to at least hear his engine.

“
Only
me. Hey, Jack says you just had a little shake. Over.”

Shirley
put down her tools and stood to get her water bottle. “Yes, a
small little shiver in the ground. I think it actually helps aerate
my garden, over.”

Larry
was still in his climbing turn, now looking south toward the open
ocean. “Listen Shirley, Jack says HVO might recommend an
evacuation, over.”

Neither
of them had ever had to in the twenty-two years they had lived in the
village of Volcano. They were perched on a ridge a few hundred feet
above Halema'uma'u. A thousand foot deep valley separated them from
Mauna Loa, and they were miles from the sea and any tsunami. The
only event that could realistically threaten them was a new vent
opening up across the street, from a massive earthquake. Anything
was possible, but everything was improbable. For now.

“
When
are they going to do that? Over.” Shirley asked. If there
was one thing they were good at in Volcano it was avoiding false
alarms.

“
No
idea. But they seem pretty excited over at HVO. I think they
suspect some inflation along the ridge above Halema'uma'u, over.”