He’d proven that already.
As they headed down the shaft, Callum kept all of his senses on high alert. Just because there hadn’t been a shark in the stairwell when they entered didn’t mean there wasn’t one now. And knowing that Tonaka had blind spots wasn’t helping his sense of concern.
They reached the third level safely and began the long swim to the other side of the station. Putin hadn’t spared any expense on his pet project. This thing was huge. Probably twice the size of Salechii and most of that had been interlocking islands.
This station was an underwater fortress. Made of steel and glass. Had it not had just a horrible purpose, Callum might have been impressed.
“Dad,” Dillon stated behind him, “Look, the light is green.”
Callum turned to find his son was right. The light was green which according to Zoya meant that it was dry. A non-flooded room. However if they opened that door, it wouldn’t be green for long.
“Tonaka do you have a feed from Room 3-92-a4?”
Again the delay as Tonaka researched the question. That man did not say anything out of line or on speculation. Callum respected him for that. He could trust what Tonaka said as the truth. Sometimes he may not like it, but it was the truth nonetheless.
“No,” Tonaka reported. “That is a blind spot. I do not have feeds for a good twenty feet in all directions.”
That was not so good.
Callum swam over to the door. What was behind that steel door?
* * *
Dillon put his hand on the wheel. Normally he would have just by-passed the door, but who knew how long they were going to be stuck on their mini-island. They needed supplies. Fresh water, fuel, clothes.
His father nodded and Dillon spun the wheel and pushed it open. Water forced them into the room, which had been dry before their entry. Both he and his father had to put their backs into it to get the door shut again.
They had only allowed in calf-high water. Dillon turned to find yet another massacre. This one had nothing to do with sharks. Like the security room, it looked like it was a blitz attack by someone the people knew and trusted.
Arterial spray streaked the walls. It was a nightmarish sight.
“Nothing to see,” his father said, trying to turn Dillon around.
“But wait,” Dillon said. “There is bottled water and cases of toilet paper. We might need that stuff.”
Trying to avoid making eye contact with the bodies, Dillon picked his way around the room and grabbed the supplies off the shelf. Surrounded by so much water it seemed weird to be hauling so much of it around, but salt water would kill you nearly as quickly as hypothermia.
“Let’s get the stuff and get out of here,” his father ordered. Like Dillon had to be told differently.
Quickly they hooked the supplies to their weight belts and opened the door again, this time they didn’t worry so much about how much water went in. They were leaving those poor people to their watery grave.
“Nami is almost to the survivors,” Tonaka stated.
His father didn’t have to give him any orders.
Dillon was all over it, pushing off the wall, swimming as fast as he could even weighed down.
* * *
Shalie pulled her finger off the button. The tests with the QX had been illuminating. There were so many other functions the robots could perform. All were off the reservation of course, but they might come in handy.
She glanced over to the screens. Chaos pretty much reigned at the station. Her monitors were a jumble of live feed attacks, taped feeds and static. Shalie didn’t really have a good feeling for what was going on over there.
Just that they were going to try to break off a part of the sinking station and wait it out for a rescue.
Her eyes darted to the weather map. It did not look good. It might be four or five days before the Russians could come in from the north.
It was their only hope, so Shalie prayed that it worked.
Her task now was to break into the QXs’ CPUs. Which was going to be damned near impossible with the jamming going on. The microwave system was completely insulated from the rest of the QXs communications module.
Cracking her fingers, Shalie went to work.
This was going to take a hack of a lifetime.
* * *
Nami put her hands on the steel wheel. She had gotten here pretty fast. She basically just had to go down two levels, the room was nearly directly beneath where she had left Tonaka.
He had stated that people were still alive in there, but treading water and getting cold very, very quickly. She looked down at the oxygen tanks she was carrying. Would they be enough and could the survivors tolerate the cold long enough to get them up top?
There was no way to answer that question without going in and seeing what happened.
Nami opened the hatch. Water streamed in with her, but not that much. The room was nearly full already.
Nami surged forward, getting under the first person she could find, giving her support so she could keep her head above water. She felt the woman sag into her. She was clearly exhausted and shivering so badly that it was making Nami have a hard time keeping her steady.
Raising an oxygen tank above her head, she felt her survivor take it and suck in a few breaths. Hopefully it would give the woman the strength to get out of here. She guided the woman over to the side of the room so she could hang on to a metal strut and Nami could move onto the next person.
Nami didn’t think herself an extraordinarily brave person, but today she was glad she could scrounge up the necessary courage.
She helped another woman, then swam over and gave her last extra oxygen tank to an elderly man with bushy eyebrows. Amazing the things you noticed in a crisis situation. She was about to move them out when the man pointed to the corner of the room urging her over.
Pushing aside some floating debris Nami found a dog paddling as hard as he could, barely staying above the water line. Nami rushed over. There was a child clinging to the dog’s back. How long had the dog kept them both alive?
Pushing down a wave of emotion, Nami swam over, grabbing the little girl. She didn’t have an extra oxygen, so she had to take off her mask and put it over the child’s face. The little girl’s lips were blue.
After a few breaths of oxygen, the child wrapped her arms around Nami’s neck. “Sokhranit' svoyu sobaku.”
Nami didn’t need a translator, It was clear in the little girl’s face, she wanted Nami to save her dog. The girl didn’t know that Nami would have done it without any encouragement.
“Come on, come on, boy,” Nami said, her own teeth starting to chatter as water leaked into her suit now that her mask was off. “Come on.”
The dog turned, treading toward her. It was a medium sized mutt. All furry, his ears up. Now that the child was wrapped around her neck, Nami could tuck the dog under her arm. Its claws dug into her shoulders as it gripped to her. Nami didn’t mind a bit.
“Okay, let’s move out,” Nami said. She would have loved to give one of the survivors either the child or the dog, but they all looked beat. Still weak and barely able to keep themselves above water.
Honestly Nami had absolutely no idea how she was going to manage it, but she wasn’t leaving the dog behind as she put the mask up to the little beast. Seeming to understand it would help, the dog didn’t fight it at all. Instead it laid its head on her shoulder as it sucked in oxygen.
“Wagons ho!” Nami announced as they pushed off into the hallway. Her father had said that once in a movie and seemed to work, so why not?
* * *
Nick had always found it weird how exactly grey Playdough looked like C4. He was even worried during shoots that maybe there had been a switch up and he was really handling the explosive. And now he was doing exactly that.
Zoya shoved the detonator into their last charge.
Time to head back.
Their QX was already turned around, ready to reunite with his creator.
Nick had to say that while these new QXs were technically evolved, socially they were kind of lame. It was like Tonaka had decided after Salechii to make them less individual. Plus they didn’t have Shalie’s emotional chip, which seemed to make the biggest difference.
No matter, the QX had done his job. Taking them swiftly to the detonation sites and keeping them away from any stray sharks.
A smile flickered briefly at the edge of Zoya’s lips. “We have done this.”
Nick smiled back at her awkward English. He could listen to her broken speech all day long.
“Alert!” the QX barked, turning away from them toward the far end of the hallway.
Floating toward them, or rather billowing toward them was a school of rather large jellyfish.
“What are those?” Nick asked, paddling backwards from the new threat.
“Lion’s mane jellyfish,” Zoya replied. “They are world’s largest jellyfish.”
“Okay, but are they fatal?” Nick asked, because really that was the only thing that mattered any more.
“A single sting? No,” Zoya replied, but he noticed she was backing away as quickly as he was. “However to get caught in that nest? I do not know if our lives could take that.”
Neither did Nick.
The jellyfish looked so innocent and almost cheerful with their large, translucent bodies and huge spread of thin-fine but long tentacles. Like they were the Rapunzel of the Arctic world.
“Change of plan, Tonaka,” Nick informed the robotics expert. “We’ve got to go around the other way.”
“But, there are at least three sharks between you and here,” Tonaka argued.
“We’re going to have to take our chances,” Nick said, following Zoya and the QX around another corner.
This was going to be an interesting trip back.
CHAPTER 19
Callum’s arm was exhausted. It was doing the work of two as they were weighed down by the supplies. Not even his spiffy artificial ankle could help him. How he wished he’d opted for the jet propulsion. What was he thinking that he didn’t need jet propulsion? He really needed jet propulsion.
“Nami,” Tonaka asked in her ear. “You okay?”
“I’ve got it,” came the weak response.
“Dad, can you take mine?” Dillon asked.
A groan welled from deep inside of Callum. No, he couldn’t take any more, but he wasn’t about to tell his son that. Dillon was a fast swimmer under normal circumstances and if Nami was in trouble, the boy was downright Olympian material.
“Sure,” Callum said, gritting his teeth. Dillon untied his supplies and handed Callum the rope. He dropped two feet in the water. This was going to be a slow ass swim back to Tonaka.
Where was a QX when you needed one? Um, probably in the belly of a shark. So best not to mention it to Tonaka.
As Dillon swam off, Callum stopped. Okay it was time to drop the weight belt and let the supplies keep him from hitting the ceiling. It was only ten pounds though, so it wasn’t all that much help, but psychologically it made him feel less weighed down.
Gritting his teeth, Callum rolled on his side so his only arm was up and able to do a modified free style stroke. His legs were sore, crying out with each kick, but he had to get back with the supplies. He toyed a moment with leaving the stuff here and having the QX come back to get them, but Tonaka was busy with the robot getting ready to blow a portion of the station off.
Slightly more important than Callum’s painful joints. So he swam on, one stroke at a time.
Only four more hallways to go. Only four more hallways. He could do this. Keep his breathing steady. Think of Shalie. Remember that now he spoke English, so yeah. Life was good. He could do this.
Then a flicker of something up ahead. It was small and fast. Darting. It wasn’t a shark, Callum knew that. Arctic sharks were large and fat. This was small and lithe.
There was a flash of orange and green. Then another and another. Whatever was up ahead was in number. Callum racked his brain. He wasn’t as familiar with the Arctic ecosystem as he would like. There were far fewer species in the cold waters. And most were dependent on the phytoplankton bloom in the summer.
Callum kept his pulse steady by reminding himself that there weren’t lampreys or electric eels or anything like that here. Right? Or had the Russians weaponized other species. No, they couldn’t have, could they?
* * *
Dillon had never swum faster in his entire life. He could hear it in Nami’s voice. She was flagging. Sure she’d stay strong until the end, but then collapse. The last time he’d heard her sound so exhausted was during her last three-day equestrian event. She’d nearly fallen off her horse after the cross-country portion of the competition.
He’d been there to catch her then. He’d be there now.
It was easier to move with grief vented from his body. He felt like a teenager again, not an old man stooped over with sadness and regret packed into his bones.
Turning a corner, Dillon saw Nami. Her feet were dragging at the floor. She had the mask on, taking in huge breaths, but it wouldn’t be enough. Nami had been working too hard for too long and bottomed out her body’s oxygen store.
People didn’t realize that while the lungs exchanged oxygen with each breath, oxygen had to get out to the blood vessels, then into the tissue where it needed to keep a certain level to feed the cells. If you went too long with low oxygen, these tissue stores were used up and your body was basically living off of fumes. It took about 20-30 minutes to deplete it and nearly as long to recover it.
These few breaths weren’t going to give Nami the boost she needed.
He kicked strongly to close the distance.
“Keep the mask on,” he said, popping his off and putting it over the girl’s face. The dog, such a trooper looked a little bug eyed but didn’t paw or try to take the mask away from the girl. He was by far a kinder soul than most people Dillon had seen in this situation. He noticed that the other Russian survivors weren’t offering up their oxygen masks.
“Dillon, did you get it done?” Nami asked.
“You know it,” Dillon said, taking the weight of the little girl off Nami. He would have taken the dog too, but he seemed glued to Nami.
“Let me,” Nami said. “It’s a little tricky.”
His girlfriend took off her mask and put it over the dog’s mouth then petted him.
The dog exhaled, sending bubbles all around, then took in several deep breaths. Good thing it wasn’t a Dalmatian with that long nose. They never could have gotten the mask to work. Nami waited a moment then removed the mask from the dog and sucked in a few good breaths.
“He’s good,” Nami said, already sounding a bit stronger from the increased oxygen.
Dillon struck out, leading them to Tonaka. His tissue oxygen levels were high. He needed to use them to get everyone safe.
* * *
Zoya swam next to the big Hollywood movie star. She wanted to hate him. He was what she had been born and bred to hate. The soft Americans with their soft life and their soft hands.
But he had left the comfort of his mansion to come to save Russians that he had never met. He knew there would be sharks here, yet he had come. He had saved her and many more. He did not shy from danger. And seemed kinder than the characters in which he played.
She eyed him. Such beauty should not be given to a man. Not that he wasn’t masculine, but he had longer eyelashes than even she.
“Looks like we lost them,” Nick said with a smile as he turned to her.
She’d been caught staring at him. Zoya froze. Men were somewhat of a mystery to her. No, they were usually a torment. Trying to knock her back, kick her out of the boy’s club. Certainly women could serve in the Navy, but command? That was what the American’s called a glass ceiling.
“Something wrong?” Nick asked.
Zoya gulped. “Is your facemask fogging up?” she asked and regretted it immediately. It had been a lame excuse fo
r her staring at him.
“No, but thanks for checking,” he said, swimming off. Then he abruptly stopped. “Don’t look now…”
But it seemed like the most important time to look. Three sharks, stacked vertically in the tunnel came at them.
“This is like some kind of bad joke,” Nick said. “A Great White and two Greenland sharks swim into a tunnel…”
Zoya didn’t understand his comment but that didn’t keep Nick from chuckling. Slowly they backed around the corner hoping that the sharks didn’t sense them yet. Unfortunately they had not lost the lion’s mane jellyfish. The creatures were simply lagging a little behind.
Now though they were close enough for Zoya to see the inner world of a jellyfish school. Their tentacles interlaced, creating a moving sea garden. Many small creatures had come to peace with the jellyfish, either avoiding the tentacles or developing resistance to their sting. There were shrimp and fish and all kind of colored snails within that large living net.
The school filled the entire hallway. There was no going back.
And there was no going forward.
The sharks turned the corner, heading straight at them. Nick tried the doors. All the hatches were locked.
Zoya held her breath as the lead shark flicked his tail, gaining speed. They had been made.
* * *
Nick pushed Zoya behind him. He had a section of pipe. That was about it. They weren’t going to survive this. It hit him. Hard and in the chest. He had a hard time breathing knowing that his daughter was going to grow up without a father. She would be left with her mother.
But not for long. Nick knew that Nami would emancipate herself as soon as humanly possible. He trusted that Callum and Shalie would take her in. If they survived.
No, he couldn’t think like that.
Knowing that Nami could hear him, he said. “Nami, baby. I love you.” Zoya looked at him. They both knew why he said that. “Tonaka, please turn off our comms.”
He didn’t want his baby girl to hear his screaming death.
The sharks gained speed, coming right for them.
Apex Predator Thriller Series Collection (Including the blockbuster new shark park thriller, Salechii) Page 47