The water sank down right on schedule. The gurgling filled the air as it sank below the ground. Sama spied a breathing hole and jammed her hand down into the mud. After a few seconds of blind exploration she pulled a geoduck from the ground and threw it into the reed basket that hung at an angle across her back. The sun spun slowly overhead, warming the cold morning tidal plane and the men and women clamming below.
Sama stood, rubbing her forehead with her bicep. The work was hard but the pay was always good. She lived alone and wanted for nothing. There was always enough to purchase the things that she wanted: spices from the desert zone, bone jewelry from the ice zone, readers from the City. She looked down at the geoduck in her hand. It shot water onto the mud and she laughed. There was a sudden deep sound from the direction of the Aquator and all the feeding gulls took to the air. The clam diggers stood and looked as a trade barge from Hapur made its way down the river. The crew on the deck waved and the captain blew her horn once more. The clam diggers cheered and waved in return.
Sama smiled but then her eyes darted to the left. A long and dark vessel quickly approached from the East. No steam spewed behind it, marking it as a City craft. She frowned. It looked like no ship that she had ever seen. The sides were all angled up the waters edge and there didn’t seem to be a deck of any kind nor could she see any crew. From a distance it almost looked like a knife of black metal, slicing through the water. It gave her an uneasy feeling. Sama put the geoduck into her basket and watched as the barge raised signalling flags.
“Greetings. Trade. Hapur. Going to. City,” whispered Sama as each flag was raised in succession. She looked at the City ship and waited. They raised no flags but stayed on course. The barge flew new flags. “Do you need. Help. Food. Fuel.” Again no response came from the black ship. Sama squinted as she saw movement from the strange ship. The front of it was suddenly enveloped in a expanding cloud of black smoke and without warning the barge exploded. There were gasps from the clam diggers as the sound of both echoed across the flood plain. Everyone watched as the black ship slowed to a standstill. The smoke dissipated and the side of the craft facing the land opened up. Sama squinted to see what was going on as the man to her left fell to the ground, a massive hole in his head. She stared at him before someone screamed. As one the clam diggers ran. Whizzing sounds filled the air and spots of mud burst from the ground. Here and there people fell and didn’t get up.
Sama’s heart threatened to break out of her chest as she ran towards a familiar sight in the distance. “To the mangroves! Everyone keep low and run to the mangroves!” Those that were left quickly heeded her instructions and they ran without speaking towards the safety of the treeline.
