Buried In Blue

by L G Rollins

The Kraken swam up close to the Gearhound, keeping astride it with seeming ease. Standing atop the head of the giant squid was a single man, glowing blue. Nathaniel glared back at the ghost captain. So this was his doing. How did a ghost recruit a giant squid, though? Could ghosts communicate with animals as they could with humans?

  Nathaniel rushed back to the ladder. Gears above help him, he wasn’t backing down. The ghost could try anything that came to his mind; Nathaniel wasn’t going to give up on Elise’s experiment.

  “Brownsea,” he called up the ladder. “Keep us on course, toward the Puerto Rico Trench.”

  His navigator’s voiced echoed an “Aye, aye” from above.

  “Wimple,” he called again. “Bring the Gearhound up to full speed.”

  Another affirmative response.

  The floor below Nathaniel rumbled at the increased speed. That should clearly indicate to the old ghost captain exactly what he thought about the Kraken’s attack. They had a job to do down here. And do it, they would.

  The giant squid veered toward the submarine, crashing into them. The nose of the submarine pitched wildly. The port side light went black. With a clap, clap, clap a long slender tentacle wrapped around the bottom of the sub. Hundreds of large suckers attached to the glass. Each sucker was easily the size of Nathaniel’s hand.

  One large tentacle wrapped around the back of the Gearhound. Apparently, the ghost captain was about as ready to back down as Nathaniel was himself.

  Propellers groaned, but continued to spin. At least the monster wasn’t blocking the blades. The suckers on the Kraken tensed as the Gearhound launched forward. Another long tentacle emerged out of the murky water and wrapped around the submarine’s nose.

  Nathaniel cried, “Somersault, starboard!” His submarine wasn’t going down like this.

  His mind jumped to Melissa. At least she would withstand the summersault safely in her bunk. Hopefully Elise had found something secure to hold on to as well.

  He heard the moment the starboard blades stopped and the port blades switched to full. The Gearhound twisted inside the squid’s grip with a screech. Tingles erupted throughout Nathaniel’s chest and arms as the submarine flipped fully around. His bicorn hat tumbled off his head as bangs and thuds echoed from above. He kept his eyes trained on the suckers, holding tight with hands and legs to the ladder. He only needed the squid to release them. The suckers stretched and tugged. They flipped again. As they neared being upright once more, the suckers released.

  “Blow the tanks!”

  Wimple’s voice, orders mixed with cursing, brought the tip of the submarine upward. The starboard propeller started. The Gearhound shot straight up, the tentacles of the Kraken quickly disappearing behind them. Nathaniel’s stomach clenched at the speedy, steep incline.

  A loud thunk came from behind, and the aft of the submarine dropped. But the propellers didn’t quit. Upward they continued on. The water around them turned from inky black to twilight blue.

  The tip of the submarine broke through the ocean’s surface. Through the glass window before him, Nathaniel caught sight of the star-studded night sky, before the front crashed back down.

  For several minutes the submarine was still. Had they finally outrun the Kraken? Had it followed them to the surface? Nathaniel left the ladder and hurried over to the glass wall. Hundreds of minuscule bubbles from the submarine’s surfacing blocked his view.

  “Captain?” the crewmember above asked tentatively.

  The bubbles faded to reveal an empty ocean. “All clear,” he said.

  Let the ghost think he’d won for now. They were closer to their destination than before in terms of longitude and latitude. However, they were much further away in terms of depth. But, that wasn’t the way he intended to let it stay. What would the ghost do next when he realized they were diving again?

  Nathaniel stooped, picking up his captain’s hat. “Still, we best stay alert.”

  lise held a vial up toward the gas lamp hanging above her laboratory table. Her hand still shook from the Kraken attack, causing the liquid inside to sway inside the vial. Elise wrapped her hand fully around the glass and shut her eyes. She had to calm herself. As head scientist on this venture, she couldn’t just fall apart.

  There were foot steps and a hand gently rested against the small of her back. Nathaniel. She didn’t need to open her eyes to know it was him.

  “Are you alright?”

  She gave a short nod, not trusting herself to speak. Elise placed the vial back in her cabinet and secured it with a small strip of leather. She’d begun doing so with all her chemicals ever since the ghost raided her cabinet, spilling many. She’d removed all metal that could be pulled by a magnet and wasn’t bolted securely to the submarine the very next day and had begun tying everything down with leather instead.

  “Was it him?” she asked turning to Nathaniel.

  “Yes. That blasted old ghost stood atop the Kraken like a captain at the helm.”

  Elise sighed; of course it was all the ghost’s doing. Would he ever back down? Elise eyed the empty jail cells to her right. They had a submarine full of werewolves and the full moon would begin that night. They had to dive.

  Nathaniel rubbed a hand across her back, pulling yet more tension out of her. “Don’t worry. We’ll get you deep enough in time. Rowley, Wimple, and Brownsea are meeting us down here and we’ll discuss the best course of action.”

  He wasn’t going to ask her to give up on the experiment. A small part of her had wondered if he would. Staying at the surface, or even turning around immediately and returning to England, was probably the safest course. They could always lock up the werewolves during the full moon and just forgo the experiment entirely. Diving was a risk for all; moreover, his daughter was aboard.

  But, no. Nathaniel was not giving up on her or her test subjects. The realization stilled the last of her jitters.

  The thud of boots against metal told Elise that Brownsea and Wimple were climbing down to meet them.

  They stood in a small circle and Nathaniel began. “You will be relieved to know that the Gearhound has sustained no serious damage. Other than a few bruises here and there, all aboard are equally fine. Therefore, we are ready to continue on our voyage. The full moon rises in just over eighteen hours. We need to be no less than 4,500 meters below the ocean’s surface by then.”

  “How long does a dive of that deep normally take?” Elise asked.

  “Diving comfortably, we could go that deep in little over an hour.”

  Gracious, she’d expected it to take far longer than that. Apparently it didn’t take as long to dive straight down as it did to sail parallel to the ocean floor.

  Brownsea held out a large sheet of thin parchment, topographical lines swirled atop. “The first part of the dive won’t be a problem,” his voice was nasally as always. “However, once deep, we’ll have to be cautious not to collide with the trench wall.”

  “The real question is,” Wimple said. “Will we be diving alone?”

  Rowley spoke up next. “Aren’t creatures like that, more often than not, active at night? We could certainly wait until day light.”

  Nathaniel shook his head, giving Elise a sideways glance. They both knew the Kraken’s attack had nothing to do with when the creature was naturally active.

  “The truth is,” Nathaniel said. “We are stuck between two difficult scenarios. If we stay up here, without a doubt the werewolves will change tonight. If we dive, we may face the Kraken again.”

  Elise felt her stomach flip. Out of all the many experiments she’d run during her career, none had ever spun so far out of the realm of what she’d expected. Then again, she’d never conducted an experiment kilometers away from land.

  “If we dive,” Wimple said. “We may be left facing both the Kraken and a submarine full of changing werewolves.”

  “We came here to perform an experiment.” Nathaniel looked directly at Wimple. “And we all knew the parameters of said experiment. So,
unless anyone has anything further to add, I suggest we wait a couple hours for the sun to come up and then we dive again.” He brought a finger up to emphasize his words. “Slower this time, and with a careful eye on the water around us. Brownsea, is there any place to hide along the trench wall?”

  He nodded vigorously. “Several, sir.”

  Wimple folded her arms. “We have a couple Whiteheads on board in case of pirates. We could give the monster chase. Guarantee that it won’t prove a threat while we’re in the middle of the doctor’s experiment.”

  She seriously believed they should give chase? This wasn’t some African hunting expedition. “I’m sure torpedoes will prove wholly unnecessary,” Elise said, her usual unaffected tone resonated with a hint of dogged determination. “We came out here to help lives, not take them.”

  “That kind of idealistic folly is likely to get us all killed,” Wimple retorted.

  Perhaps chasing the Kraken was the safest approach. But she’d worked, talked, cared for those who others saw only as monsters. She knew in ways that few did that simply because one was capable of destruction, did not mean one ought to be killed.

  “The Kraken has a right to its home and its life.”

  “Yeah?” Wimple challenged, placing dark hands on her uniform enrobed hips. “Well I have a right to my life, too.”

  Nathaniel lifted a hand. “That’s enough. We will not pursue nor attack the Kraken without provocation. Nonetheless, have the Whiteheads readied—as a precaution only.”

  *****

  Elise slowly opened the door to her bedchamber. She was feeling no less anxious after talking with Nathaniel and the others. They were able to escape the Kraken by surfacing. But if it were to attack them during the full moon, that would not be an option.

  The full moon would rise in only a few hours, though. If she was going to stay awake all night, she would need some sleep now. Her bedchamber was empty. Pearl must be out, perhaps still working with Brownsea to find the best place for them to hide deep within the trench.

  Gracious, she hoped hiding would work. Elise pulled off her clothes and quickly changed into her light chemise. Exhaustion ate at her very bones and a clear head was essential for a well-run experiment. For that, Elise would need sleep.

  She climbed into her bunk, but couldn’t get her mind to settle.

  After only a few minutes, the bedchamber door opened once more. Elise raised the lid of one eye only, wanting sleep too badly to raise both.

  Pearl stood in the doorway, speaking with someone hidden behind the barely opened door. Elise couldn’t hear what was being said, but the other voice was deep enough it had to be a man. Moreover, Pearl’s gaze was turned up as she spoke to the other person. So the ‘he’ had to be taller than her.

  Elise pursed her lips; she shouldn’t be watching, like an old matron hoping to pick up gossip at the season’s first ball.

  Lenton’s silhouette appeared from around the door. He bent down until his forehead rested against Pearl’s. “It’ll all be fine in the end.” Now that the metal door was no longer between him and Elise, she could hear his soft words. “You’ll see. The experiment will go well.”

  Moving in closer, Lenton kissed Pearl. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she pulled him in closer.

  Elise shut her eyes tight. Embarrassed heat rushed over her. In the back of her mind she could hear Addie laughing at her. No doubt, if her friend had been the one to accidentally catch sight of a couple kissing—passionately so—Addie would not be closing her eyes, but searching for binoculars.

  When had Lenton and Pearl grown so attached? One of her lids lifted slightly once more. Though they were no longer kissing, Lenton still held Pearl close. Elise was quite sure they’d never met before boarding the submarine. Since then, she’d seen them in conversation many times, but hadn’t thought much of it. Apparently, though Nathaniel repeatedly commented that there wasn’t room for secrets aboard a submarine, there was room for clandestine meetings.

  Pearl pulled away and slipped into the room and the door latched closed. Elise shut her eyes tight; she wouldn’t want Pearl learning what she’d seen for the world. The sound of fabric rustling told Elise that Pearl had changed and was pulling the blankets over her on the bunk below.

  “There’s only one thing I don’t understand.” Pearl’s voice was less harsh than usual.

  Drat, she knew Elise wasn’t asleep. Well, if Pearl knew she’d seen the kiss, there was no reason to pretend otherwise. Besides, she was not giving up on her attempts to be more open with those around her. Perhaps this would be a good time to push herself.

  “What’s that?” Elise asked.

  “When we first met, you mentioned you needed blood samples.”

  Oh, that. Apparently, if Pearl did suspect Elise had seen her being held by Lenton, she didn’t care to speak of it. Elise certainly could go along with that. Being open about Pearl being kissed was probably more than Elise was ready for anyways.

  Pearl continued, “Honestly, I thought I was a werewolf being exploited by a vampire.”

  Elise laughed—that’s what one does to lighten the mood, right?—but it came out blatantly forced.

  Pearl ignored her attempt at levity, and Elise wished she hadn’t tried. “Why do you need my blood?”

  She still remembered that brief exchange from so many weeks ago? What with Elise having just injected her with BLU Elixir and Pearl being abandoned by whatever family she had just the day before, it was surprising Elise’s request for blood samples was something the young woman still thought about. “I was hoping—am still hoping—to get several samples, all from the same subject. Before the full moon, during the shape-shifting, while in wolf form, and then one more a few days after the full moon. I want to put the blood under a microscope and see if I can find what is causing the shifting.”

  “You think blood of the damned looks different than yours?”

  “It’s called a scientific ‘experiment’. Not because I know what I’ll find, but because I’m willing to try it.”

  Pearl rolled over and the bunk creaked. “That’s asking a lot, you realize. Especially getting blood samples during the shifting. You’d have to strap someone down. It would be extremely risky for both the werewolf and the one gathering the samples.”

  “I know. But there has to be a reason why some people shift and some don’t. It’s risky but science always has its risks.” Someone had to be willing to step up and take on such challenges. Progress—whether it be in engineering, science or any other field—always required dedication and a willingness to step into the dangerous gray areas. Elise’s voice grew strong. “If the answer was simple or obvious then the problem would have been solved by now. All that’s left are the hard unknowns; and anyone who isn’t willing to venture into that realm has no business calling herself a doctor of science.”

  Elise let out a breath, she hadn’t planned to break into an oration. Well, if Lord Chauncey wanted her to open up, she just did. Far more than she ever had before. The only question now was whether she would regret doing so.

  Pearl didn’t respond. Elise’s face grew warm. She might have known. Hardly anyone understood her bone-deep need to find a solution and make the world a safer place. In the past, when she tried to explain she was met half the time with confused, awkward stares and the other half with blatant mockery.

  She lay in her bed, waiting to see which way Pearl would handle her outburst. But Pearl continued to be silent for several minutes.

  Then, finally, she spoke. “So, if the blood samples are that critical, why haven’t you collected them from your beau, Mr. Cunningham.”

  Elise bolted up. Her head struck the low ceiling with a low thud that echoed inside her head. “Ouch,” she whispered, a hand going to her temples.

  Pearl laughed softly.

  Elise pressed her eyes shut at the pain and flopped back down onto her thin pillow. “When did he tell you?” And if he was willing to tell Pearl that he was a werewolf, and who
knew who else, why was he so upset at the prospect of telling Nathaniel? Furthermore, what made Pearl call him her beau? First Addie and now Pearl; just because she spent so much time working with William did not mean he was interested in her, nor she in him.

  “He didn’t tell me,” Pearl was clearly incredulous. “I figured it out. It wasn’t that hard to put two and two together.”

  Elise continued to rub her head, feeling a mix of emotions: relief that Pearl hadn’t ridiculed her for her passionate outbreak, and worry over what William would say when he learned he’d been found out. Between the two, she felt far more worry. After his reaction of before, she wasn’t excited at the opportunity to revisit the topic.

  Pearl’s voice was softer this time. “We all know—not the crew, but we do. Some of the others are mad at him for trying to hide it, but it doesn’t matter. He’s still one of us.”

  “Are you going to tell him you know?” If Elise could avoid being the one to fill William in on the news she would be quite relieved.

  “No. We’ve decided to wait until he’s ready to admit it himself.” Apparently, by the way Pearl was talking, William had been a source of more than one conversation among the test subjects. “It’s hard to admit to being cursed. No one should be forced into confessing something like that.”

  While earlier Elise had been feeling guilty for not telling Nathaniel about William, now she was feeling bad about pushing William to tell. Pearl had a point. Was it ever seemly to try and force someone to admit to being a werewolf when nearly all of society scorned and hunted such men?

  William was right; telling Nathaniel would give him the right to have William killed at any point in time, without fearing the law or repercussions. What right had she to ask that of William? She ran a hand down her face. When did this experiment turn into a moral dilemma? Science was supposed to be about chemical reactions, not problems like this.

  “You might want to warn your beau, though,” Pearl continued, all tenderness leaving her voice. “He needs to watch that anger of his. He’s worse than Antsy. Being a werewolf isn’t cause to be angry all the time.”