by Laura Martin
“Seems like a weird choice,” Garth said. “Why not a cat?” I pictured the handful of cats that lived aboard the Atlas. Despite the fact that land was nothing but a distant memory, rats and mice were still a constant problem aboard boats like ours. Sometimes it seemed like they were more tenacious survivors than we were.
Kate shrugged. “Tank can catch the occasional mouse, but pests aren’t really a problem for us. I’d say he’s more of a morale booster.”
“He’s kind of ugly,” Garth said.
Kate laughed. “We like him that way.” Tank gave a disgruntled snort as though he knew he’d just been insulted and lay down on my lap with what I could only describe as a resigned huff.
“Does he bite?” I said.
“Only toes,” Kate said.
“Toes?” Garth said.
Kate nodded. “Yup. He hates them. I think he’s convinced we all have worms attacking our feet. Just keep your shoes on when he’s around and you’ll be fine.”
Tentatively I reached out and ran my hand down his back, remembering when I’d tried a similar move with one of the ship’s cats and gotten a hiss and a row of four neat red scratches for my trouble. Tank just grunted a little, and I felt something inside me relax a bit.
“You three should shut it,” Max commented as he walked back over to plop down beside me again. “You’re about to miss the best part.”
We turned to watch as Captain Reese gave one final signal and the sub began to sink. A flurry of bubbles erupted from somewhere underneath the Britannica, sending up a shower of silver circles that obscured the view for a moment. When the bubbles cleared, I saw the distant underside of the Atlas. My breath caught in my chest, and I blinked back tears as the last glimpse of my home disappeared into a swirl of blue-black ocean. There was no going back now.
5
The submarine dove deeper, and I adjusted the pressure in my ears, my training as a scavenger kicking in despite the utter chaos of the last few hours. It was then that I noticed that Max and Kate were looking at me and Garth with odd, expectant expressions on their faces, and I raised an eyebrow.
“What?” I said.
Kate studied me a second and then held out a hand to Max. “I win,” she said. “Pay up.”
Max hesitated before digging something out of his pocket and slapping it into Kate’s hand.
“I’d have bet anything that at least one of them was going to hyperventilate,” he grumbled.
“Everyone hyperventilates?” I said.
“Most do,” Kate said as she unwrapped the thing Max had handed her and took a bite.
“Really?” I said, surprised. “Like, they didn’t realize that being in a sub meant going underwater?”
“It doesn’t really hit you until it happens,” Kate said with a shrug.
“It’s a lot like diving,” I said as the sub started moving forward, making its way through swirls of fish.
“How is everyone doing?” Captain Reese said, coming over to stand in front of us. “Now that we’re underway, why don’t you two step into my office so we can have a quick chat. After that, Kate and Max can show you your bunks and get you settled in before Weaver gives you the official orientation.” She motioned for us to follow her and disappeared through a small doorway to our left.
Garth immediately bounded to his feet, but I hesitated, not sure what to do about the sleeping dog. Kate solved my dilemma by reaching down, scooping Tank up, and tucking him under her arm like a giant sausage. Tank blinked up at her blearily. I followed Captain Reese and found myself in a tiny closet-sized office just big enough for the slim desk the captain was sitting behind and the two chairs opposite. Garth was already perched in one, biting nervously at his thumbnail, a habit I hadn’t seen in him since we were both eight. I sat down on the edge of the remaining seat as Captain Reese reached over to push the door shut. The room felt close and small, and I shifted uncomfortably as I looked at Captain Reese.
“Did Max or Kate mention what we do here aboard the Britannica?” she said, and when we both nodded, she smiled. “I had a feeling they might, and I want to apologize for not being able to paint you a clear picture before bringing you on as recruits. That is not how we normally do things—however, as you can probably agree, we didn’t exactly arrive to find you two in normal circumstances.”
“That’s an understatement,” Garth said.
Captain Reese chuckled. “Professor Weaver will go into the nitty-gritty of sea-monster management and research, and you will learn a lot of what we do on the fly and in the course of your duties on board the Britannica, so now I’m just going to give you the basics.” We nodded, and Captain Reese settled back in her seat and folded her hands in front of her. “The main mission of the Britannica is to research sea monsters. And when a monster decides to attack a ship, like the one that almost killed the two of you yesterday, we are commissioned to protect the ship and its crew at all costs.”
“Was that only yesterday?” I wondered out loud. It felt like I’d lived a lifetime since that last scavenging dive.
“It was only yesterday,” Captain Reese reassured me. “We received the Atlas’s distress call around eight a.m. and came immediately, although obviously we arrived long after the actual attack.”
“Wait, you got a distress call?” I said.
Captain Reese nodded. “All ships are equipped with a special distress call for monster encounters. The signal goes directly to the closest on-duty submarine, and if they are capable of helping, they do. Unfortunately, it’s a big ocean, and there aren’t nearly enough of us to deter every attack.”
“How often are ships attacked?” I said.
“Much more often than we’d like,” Captain Reese said. “There were close to thirty attacks in our precinct just last year.”
“How is that possible?” I said. “Sea monsters aren’t supposed to exist.”
“And yet they still do,” Captain Reese said. “There are at least two hundred different species that we know of, and Professor Weaver estimates there are hundreds more yet to be discovered. In fact, they’ve become quite the problem,” she said, continuing as though she hadn’t just said something absurd.
“Wait,” Garth said, holding up his hand. “So not only do you research sea monsters, but you have a precinct? As in there are more subs out there doing the same thing as this one?”
Captain Reese chuckled. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m getting ahead of myself. I forget sometimes that ship dwellers are kept mostly in the dark about these things.”
“That’s one way to put it,” Garth said with a sidelong glance at me. I nodded grimly. The fact that the Atlas had kept the existence of sea monsters hidden from us felt like a huge betrayal. It made me wonder what other information the captain and his officers had conveniently forgotten to mention. A shiver of nerves completely unrelated to monsters tingled down my spine as I thought about all the people on the Atlas waking up today and grumbling about how a whale could have done that much damage to the ship, and for the first time I stopped feeling bad about not getting to say goodbye and started worrying about what would happen to my family.
“The Britannica is one of twenty submarines commissioned by the Coalition to hunt down and research sea monsters,” Captain Reese went on, interrupting my thoughts. “About ten years after the Tide Rising, ships started being attacked in such high numbers that something had to be done. The Britannica and submarines like it have been assigned to protect certain quadrants of the ocean, to come to the aid of ships under attack and to try to prevent attacks by seeking out monsters.”
“To kill them?” I said.
“Only when they pose a threat to the human race,” Captain Reese said, “Our main goal is to research and learn about the creatures so we can better protect our ships and the citizens who make their lives on them.”
“Did you manage to kill the one that attacked us?” Garth said hopefully.
“Unfortunately, no,” Captain Reese said, shaking her hea
d. “The hydra, the monster that attacked your ship, is incredibly fast. So fast, in fact, that the ancient Greeks used to think it had multiple heads. We’ve proved that theory false, of course, but their speed makes them difficult to capture or kill unless we come upon them actually savaging a ship. We were able to attach a tracking device to the one that had attacked the Atlas, a first for us.” Noticing our concerned expressions, she smiled reassuringly.
“Don’t worry,” she said. “It lost the Atlas’s trail and is now headed in the opposite direction.” I felt myself sag a little from relief. “We will continue to monitor it,” she went on. “If it looks like it will cross paths with the Atlas again, we will do our best to intercept it. If you two are still with us at that point, you’ll be part of that interception.”
“Wait,” I said. “What do you mean, if we’re still with you?”
“You’re here on probation,” Captain Reese said. “If you do well, you will be allowed to become part of our permanent crew. If not, you will be returned to your ship.”
“But we can’t go back to our ship,” I said.
Captain Reese nodded sadly. “I know, which is why I hope this works out.”
“But why would you even want us?” Garth said, asking the very question that was on my own lips.
“We have cameras attached to the undersides of most of the ships in our precinct, the Atlas included, and we were able to record the majority of your interaction with the hydra. We feel that you both showed an impressive aptitude toward sea-monster hunting.”
“An impressive what?” Garth said, glancing at me like I might know what in the world the captain was saying. I just shrugged, still trying to wrap my brain around the fact that an entire submarine did nothing but chase down sea monsters. The idea was equal parts baffling and wonderful.
“What did you call the thing that attacked our ship?” I said.
“It was a hydra,” Captain Reese said. “A ruby hydra, if we’re being specific, which I’m sure Weaver will be during his orientation. Sea-monster specifics are kind of his specialty. He’s the closet thing we have to a sea-monster expert.”
“A sea-monster expert,” Garth said, shaking his head in disbelief. “Too weird.”
Captain Reese chuckled, and I found myself smiling back at her. She seemed so much more relaxed than Captain Brown or Gizmo—or any other officer, for that matter—and there was something about her that made me feel less tense. “The majority of people react like your scavenging officer when faced with a sea monster. You two, however, managed to keep your wits about you, and that’s rare in anyone, let alone anyone your age. We are training a small group to be the next generation of sea-monster specialists,” Captain Reese went on, “and we think you two would be a great addition.”
“What about our survival credits, or lack thereof?” I said, thinking of our insurmountable debt. “Our families aren’t stuck with our debt now that we aren’t going to the work ship, are they?”
“No,” Captain Reese said. “Survival credits work a little differently here on the Britannica, but due to the dangerous nature of our job, the Coalition has made sure that those who work here are compensated. Captain Brown agreed to accept your credits for the next few years as repayment. And with that, I’ll turn you back over to Kate and Max.” Captain Reese pushed herself to her feet. “They will give you a quick tour before Professor Weaver takes you to your first lesson.” We both stood up in a kind of daze, and she opened the door. Max and Kate were waiting for us, Tank still tucked firmly under Kate’s arm. “I know this is a lot to take in,” Captain Reese said. “But what we do here on the Britannica saves lives, and if you join our team, you’ll help save lives too. Who knows, the lives you save might even be your own families’.” I was still wrapping my head around that when Kate grabbed my arm and spun me away.
“Come on,” she said. “Bunks are this way.” Garth and I hurried after her, and Max reluctantly brought up the rear. We wove our way through narrow hallways until we came to a bunk room. Stacked five high, the beds reminded me more of bookshelves than bunks, but I kept my lips shut as Kate showed me the top bunk that was to be mine.
“Go ahead and check it out,” she said as Garth clambered into the bunk directly below it. I did, climbing up a bit more cautiously than Garth had and slipping into my bunk. It was narrow, and my face was a mere foot and a half from the ceiling, but it was surprisingly comfortable. There were small cubbies along the back, presumably for our belongings, and I realized with a pang that I didn’t have any. The only thing I owned was the ratty wet suit I was wearing.
“Don’t worry,” Kate said, peering over the edge of the bunk. “The Britannica has all the supplies you’ll need. I’ll grab you a set of my clothes to change into until you get some of your own.” She turned to look over her shoulder. “Max, grab some clothes for Garth.”
“No,” Max said.
“Max,” Kate said warningly, and I heard Max huff as he rustled around in his bunk and handed something to Garth. I climbed down, and Kate handed me a stack of clothes, complete with a pair of aqua boots identical to the ones she was wearing, and motioned me into the small attached bathroom. I changed quickly, peeling off the wet suit and giving my chafed skin underneath a good scratch before pulling on the new clothes. Kate was a bit taller than me, so the shirt hung past my hips, but I’d never been so grateful in my life to not be in a wet suit.
I emerged to see that Garth was wearing Max’s clothes, and I had to stifle a laugh. Where Max was tall and slim, Garth was shorter and broader, and Max’s too-small shirt was stretched over his chest so tightly I was worried it might rip. He shot me a look that begged me to keep my mouth shut, so I did.
“Now what?” he said.
“Now we show you around a bit,” Kate said.
“There’s no we in that sentence,” Max said. “You can give them the grand tour if you want, but I have better things to do.” With that he turned and maneuvered his way out of the tight bunk room and disappeared around a corner. Kate watched him go, her forehead creased in concern. Finally she turned back to us, rearranging her face quickly into a friendly smile. Tank chose that moment to snort, and we all looked down at the little dog as he turned and trotted out the door at the far side of the bunk room.
“Well,” Kate said. “Maybe I’m not on my own for the tour. Please follow Tank.”
Tank led us out the door and down yet another narrow hallway. Kate stopped every now and then to point out things like the captain’s quarters and two other bunk rooms, one for the adult female crew members and one for the males. Apparently, the coed bunk room was reserved for recruits like ourselves and the teenagers who worked on the crew. Once you were eighteen, you were allowed to move into the adult bunks, which were a shade larger and more luxurious than our accommodations, but not by much. Next up was the submarine’s small kitchen, a bathroom, and a few rooms that housed the nuts and bolts that kept the submarine running. I found it hard to remember I was actually in a submarine, though. The Britannica felt bigger on the inside than it looked on the outside, and I felt myself relaxing a bit.
“So, how long ago were you recruited?” I asked Kate as I followed her and our roly-poly tour guide down the narrow hall.
“A little over a year ago,” Kate said.
“Wow,” Garth said, shaking his head. “You’ve been underwater a whole year?”
“Can’t you tell?” Kate said, pointing to her face. “I used to have freckles, you know. A ton of them.” I’m not sure what our expressions were, but she flapped a hand dismissively. “Time flies down here. You’ll see. They keep us so busy sometimes I lose track of what day it is. Besides, we surface every now and then. After a while this will be your new normal, and you won’t even remember your life before.”
I felt something inside me twist a little painfully at her words. I didn’t want to forget about my dad and Wallace, not ever.
“What was your life like before?” Garth said.
Kate shrug
ged. “I lived on a small fishing boat. We only had about thirty or so people on board, and most of them were related to me. Lots of bickering.” She grinned. “Anyway, our boat got attacked by a small ghorch, and the Britannica was close enough to pry it off us.”
I felt my eyes go wide. “What’s a ghorch?” I said.
“Picture a cross between a very large angry crocodile and a whale and you’ve got a ghorch,” Kate said. “In its defense, it was just trying to get an easy meal by ripping into our fishing nets, and then my dad and uncles made it mad by firing a few spears into it. Anyway, it would have been a giant mess if the Britannica hadn’t shown up when it did.”
“And you got recruited?” I said.
Kate nodded. “I actually asked to join. I was bored stiff aboard the Sailfish, and I would have given my right arm to go on a few adventures.” Noticing our incredulous expressions, she laughed. “Don’t look at me like that,” she said. “I hated fishing. Enough about me, though. We’re on a tour, remember? Down that way is Weaver’s classroom, but you’ll see that later when he grabs you for his part of the orientation. He’ll probably want to show you the large-specimen room, too.”
“Large-specimen room?” Garth said. “As in sea-monster specimens?”
“What else?” Kate said, and smiled when she saw Garth’s expression. “Don’t worry,” she said. “You’ll get used to it eventually. Weaver’s classroom is where we do most of our classes, although there are a few on the nitty-gritty of running the sub, and those happen all over the place.”
“Classes? But we aren’t school-age anymore,” Garth said. It was true—we hadn’t been to school in over a year.
“On this sub you’re always school-age,” Kate said. “Captain Reese has this whole speech she gives about how you’re never done learning. We have to go to class every day, but when you’re an adult, you just have to do this continuing-education thing that seems to involve a lot of research.”