by Scott Todd
Finally arriving out in the open at the boat, we wasted no time in getting everything out of it and then turning it over. The second we were under it, Jan stripped completely out of her clothes, and then held up the boat waiting for me to do the same.
The only boat position we found where the burning rain would not hit us, was to hold it up parallel to the ground, and let the stinging water drip down the sides. But that boat was heavy, and I took the motor side, straining under the weight. We turned the boat so that most of water missed us, and we tried to cover up the supplies best we could. But we still had to deal with runoff water coming down the hill.
I knew I couldn't last long, holding up the weight of the boat. It slowly started descending, further and further, until all we could do was to lay down underneath it, inside its confines, and let it support its own weight.
I felt around for a flashlight, but ended up with one of Jan's naked breasts in my hand instead. That did not go over well.
All we could do was to hold up an edge of the boat to let air in. As we finally settled into a barely workable position, two things became clear. The boat was clearly resistant to the rain, and we seemed to be able to breathe easier- despite the fact that we were away from trees. So either the rain was helping to clear the air, or there was a break in the sulfur cloud- or perhaps a bit of both.
By then it was already dark, and so there we lay, trapped under a shower of pain in blackness. I never did find the flashlight. We dared not move a muscle once we found a position that afforded the most protection from the burning.
As the night wore on, the runoff water seemed to burn less when it touched us. I reasoned that it was probably becoming more diluted, as less and less sulfur remained in the air. We used every last bit of clothing and the blanket we had to fend off the pain water, and by 11:00 pm we were both stark naked, except for our shoes.
But we had survived. And the water wasn't so bad anymore. By 2:00 am the rain started subsiding, and we slowly emerged from the boat. What light rain was falling provided more of a proper washing than a death bath, as it washed all but traces of the sulfur away.
The effects of the gnarly rain were evident though, when I finally did find the flashlight and started inspecting our bodies in the darkness. Our skin was red and irritated just about all over, and it still burned. But less.
A cooler breeze set in, and with it came the urge to test the air by removing our masks. Jan grabbed the edge of her mask and looked at me questioningly if it would be ok to take it off. But I erred on the side of caution and shook my head no. We better play it safe and wait.
But she had had enough and ripped it off anyway. I watched her face in horror by flashlight as she breathed a long, deliberate breath.
"I just can't take that thing any longer!" she finally gasped out loud. They were the first words spoken in days. She breathed deeply again. "It's still not easy to breathe, but it's much better," she said. "Go ahead, take it off!"
Hesitantly I agreed, and pulled it off. What she said was true. "Finally!" I exclaimed. "But keep in mind this may not last long. It may just be a temporary break, and the rain probably had a lot to do with it. I can tell that the oxygen level is still low."
"Well it makes me think we ought to try and make a break for the water line early, while we have the chance," she replied.
I debated the pros and cons of that, and finally decided that she was more right than wrong. Moving in the darkness down that hill with the boat, as tough as it was- was still better than moving in the almost darkness and not being able to breathe- should the air conditions worsen again.
"Ok, I agree," I finally said. "Let's do it." She flashed my naked body up and down with her flashlight, and I revengefully and purposefully illuminated hers with mine in response. Shining it back up at her face, I caught a glimpse of a slight smirk.
And with that we packed up everything in the boat, and proceeded to slowly work the boat down the hill. And slowly was an understatement. Between the thin air, the darkness, and the treacherous rocks, the going was dangerous and tough. But we persisted.
Chapter 52: Naked Reunion
Ben had estimated it would take us about two hours to make it down to the waterline. But by 6:00 am, after about three or four hours of hard fought progress, our flashlights could still find no water. We finally just collapsed, and could go no further. We had to get some sleep. We climbed into the boat on top of the supplies and struggled for a position- any position we could find was better than sleeping on the rocks.
I was awoken by the smell of coffee again, and it was a rude awakening. I didn't want to get up- no way. I glanced at my watch. It was about 8:30 am, and all of a sudden I realized that we had way more light. Too much light. And it was already hot. The sun made its presence felt in a big way. It had broken through the clouds, but yet it was still not easy to breathe without the masks.
I looked over and saw Jan heating up some stew on the portable stove, and realized I was starving. Seeing her do that totally naked in the light was a vision I just wasn't ready for that early after nearly no sleep- despite the fact that she was beautiful.
But dare I say an even more beautiful sight beyond her nakedness captured my attention. For there in the distance I could see it down the hill: the new shore line.
"It's... It's... Beautiful," she said, looking up and handing me a can. "Don't you think?"
"Yeah, I suppose," I replied, and devoured the meal. "Thanks."
I glanced at her up and down more purposefully with a belly full of satisfaction. "But you're just as beautiful," I casually remarked.
She blushed. "Thank you," she said, and smiled for the first time in I didn't know how long. "We've got about an hour to get there, so we better get to it!"
"Yup, let's do it," I replied.
Once again we embarked down the rocks, carefully working the boat towards our goal. As we neared the water, I couldn't help but notice how out of place it looked. Where the water ended there were rocks, and then further up on the side of the mountain there were the trees that had survived the mayhem. It was all so surreal.
Finally, in gasping breaths we collapsed at the waterline, looking for any signs of the sub. But it was kind of foggy looking out over the water, and we couldn't see much of anything out there.
Then suddenly we heard the buzzing, and the UAV was fast upon us. It hovered for a minute above us, then moved out to the water, and then came back. Instinctively we knew. He wanted us to get in the boat and follow it. And so we did.
The water was still restless, as if being acted upon by outside forces. But I finally shoved us off and started up the motor. Within minutes the shore disappeared behind us, and the UAV slowly led the way above us.
We started seeing various debris floating in the water. At first it was plastic containers and pieces of trees. But then we started seeing floating dead bodies, not only of people- but animals too. Some were horribly mangled, like they had been through hell. They had been brutally murdered by the debris soup.
I thought for a minute back to the point where I had seen the furious ocean threatening menacingly against the newly carved mountain cliff. There was no debris- or bodies. Just water. I decided it must have been a big difference in water depth and pressure. From the elevation maps I remembered a more shallow drop off on the southwest side where we now where. The water had to deal with making it through many ravines and more gradual elevation changes in the winding mountains of the Appalachians, and so perhaps on this side it never got deep enough to crush. I wasn't sure. We continued, navigating the debris carefully.
It wasn't long before we could make out the familiar vision of the big black monster in the distance, awaiting us. Jan looked at me and smiled again in anticipation, but then suddenly she looked down and realized that we were both going to have to face them all totally naked. Her embarrassed look said it all.
"Don't worry, that's a small price we'll gladly pay to be back on that sub," I said. "They'll have some
clothes."
She kind of huffed a bit, but then quickly realized there was absolutely nothing we could do about it. We were at their mercy.
As we got closer, they were all standing on the deck, waiving. And Ben, being the thought master that he was, had no doubt already anticipated that we would have no clothes. Terry appeared out of the front cargo compartment carrying two of the blue Navy jumpsuits as we brought the boat onto the surfaced hull, right where we had before.
Jan jumped off and immediately grabbed the clothes, scoffing at the guys up on the deck trying to mask their grins best they could. But she had to jump over another dead body that had surfaced on the sub when it arose from the depths.
"Oh my GOD I am so happy to see you guys," Terry cried, as she hugged a newly clothed Jan. Terry threw me the suit, and I hastily put it on.
"Thanks, and boy so are we!" I exclaimed back.
Ben and Gary finally emerged from the cargo hold.
"So incredibly good to have you back!" Ben said, overjoyed and hugging me. I had never felt this happy about embracing what otherwise was a total stranger. "So glad you two made it!" he said hugging Jan as well. "Let's get you some treatment for those burns, come on!" I couldn't even speak. I was paralyzed with relief.
"Yes, we have some cream in the medical supplies that will help," Gary said, just as happily- and ushered us back into sub. Once inside, he scurried back out. "I'll take care of the boat and stuff. You guys get some help- and a... hot shower!"
The word shower had never, ever, sounded so good. And "hot" shower was absolutely irresistible. Within minutes Jan I were totally consumed under the showers, not caring a minute that Terry and Ben were watching us bathe and waiting patiently- they understood. They watched at first with genuine smiles of contentment, but quickly turned away out of respect. Our combined burns and wounds stung under the water, but we didn't care.
"I have so much I need to tell you guys," Ben finally broke the silence, shouting at us over the showers. "I'll see you in a bit!"
Terry laid out some towels, underwear, bandages, and several types of cream. It was then I noticed the bruises on her arms and legs. "See you guys in the mess hall. I've got something special for you!" she cried gleefully, and took off.
Jan and I just looked at each other through the misty haze of the water with an incredible sense of relief. The hot showers felt so good we did not want to ever get out. It was pure heaven. But finally, after being in there for at least an hour, we emerged.
The cream did help ease the pain of the acid burns, and we were right back into the blue jumpsuits. Jan treated and bandaged my arm wound again, and I treated the wounds on her back. We were still very tired. I wanted sleep more than anything. I couldn't handle anything more. It could wait.
"I've got to sleep," I said to Jan. "GOT to."
"Me too," she quickly replied. "I'm totally exhausted."
The others were a bit disappointed that we wanted to crash, but offered no resistance. Jan and I slithered into the first set of bunks we could find and were out like lights. We were warm, clean, and safe. Finally. Or safer. But at least we could sleep soundly and comfortably. The crew would not see us again for another twelve hours.
As I drifted off to sleep, I couldn't help but wonder where we were going. All I could hope was that Ben had figured a way out through the mountains. I thought of my notebook, and how I needed to update it. I hoped like hell no one found it while I was asleep, but at that point I just didn't care. I was just too tired and relieved to be back onboard the sub. Darkness came over me swiftly, trumping everything else.
Chapter 53: Unintelligible and Hostile World
When I finally awoke, Jan was sitting over me, just looking at me and caressing my forehead.
"There you are!" she said. "I've been waiting for you to get up. I just got up myself. I wanted to thank you deeply for everything you did back there." She kissed me softly on the lips.
"You mean everything WE did back there?" I countered. "You are the bravest woman I ever met!" I squeezed her hand hard.
"You two coming?" Terry said, poking her head through the doorway and startling us out of our reflective moment. She handed us both a cup of coffee.
"Yeah," I said, and grudgingly got up. I gave Jan a sorrowful "we'll finish this later" look, and headed to brush my teeth. On the way I looked at my watch and it was almost 2:00 am.
"I know you probably want to talk to Ben," Terry said, as I emerged. "But you better not. Not yet. He is steering the ship while Gary is sleeping, and it takes every bit of concentration for him to do it. I've got to get back to my post too. There's a meal I've left for you in the mess hall." Then she smiled. "It's SO damn good to see you two!" And with that she was off.
Jan and I proceeded to stuff ourselves full. It was awesome, and Terry was surely the best cook of the bunch. Or at least so I thought at that point. "This is amazing," Jan said. "I wonder where she learned how to cook like..."
But then all of sudden Ben came rushing in, and sat down beside me.
"I've only got a few minutes, and the ship is in auto mode, with Terry on watch. But here's the latest: While you two were asleep, we've submerged and are on a course I've plotted through the mountains. The water is still receding, but the rate has slowed considerably. I think if I did it right, we might be able to get out to more open ocean in a couple of days. But we have to get out of here now, or we will be trapped if the receding water path is eventually cut off by a former mountain ridge- leaving us caught like a fish in a trout pond.
"I think I found a route through the mountains as they descend, but now it's a race against time. We have to pass the lowest point out of the mountains before the water does. This means we have to move at full speed, but that has a bad downside- it makes navigating these ridges very dangerous. One bad move and we could collide with a mountain side. And the more shallow the water gets, the more dangerous it is. I've got to go back NOW. We can't afford to lose even another second," he said hurriedly.
And with that he rushed off, before I could even think of a question, much less speak it. Damn it, and I had so many questions!
Jan looked concerned. "And so what if we don't make it in time? Then what?" she asked morbidly and softly, with her head down.
"Then I guess we'll have to abandon the ship and find some high ground again," I replied, not knowing what else really to say.
She looked up at me with that horrible look of terror in her eyes. "Well there's got to be something we can do to help," she said pensively.
Then Terry poked her head in the door briefly. "I forgot to tell you that Gary will be training you both as soon as he gets up. That will be around 6:00 am. I got to run!" she said, and bolted back to her post.
"Well I guess that answers THAT question," I replied to Jan. "We ARE going to help. Gary's going to train us to help run the sub. It's amazing that Ben is already steering this thing, isn't it? While Gary's asleep? I mean that's just beyond! That's how smart and well grounded in the sciences Ben is- to learn THAT fast. There is no way I..."
"Oh yes there is, because you have no choice," a scruffy voice chimed in, sounding like it had just woken up. We turned to see a yawning Gary standing in the doorway. "Either you two learn some things around here very fast, or it could cost us all our lives. It's just that simple. It's no less than a miracle that Ben is here. Without him we would have all died, because I can't run this beast on my own. He had enough experience already with navigation systems and electronics, as well as so many other necessary sciences that teaching him is pretty easy.
"Terry, on the other hand..." he continued, but paused. "Well frankly I can't say a thing because if had not been for her alerting us when... Oh never mind... She's doing fine. Better than expected, really. And who can argue with the great food?
"Anyways, I got up early because I know the desperate situation we are in, but if I don't get sleep I put us in even more peril. Since I've trained Terry on a post already, it's best that Jan start wit
h learning the kitchen, so she can relieve Terry of the cooking duties. We desperately need Terry to STAY at her post. So Jan, if you could just do that, and check on us from time to time with stuff like coffee and drinks, that will work," he finished saying.
Thoroughly relieved, Jan immediately replied. "No problem. None at all. I'll get right to it, Sir!"
"No need to call me Sir, Jan," Gary continued. "In fact, I might as well tell you now: I have ceded final authority on the use and navigation of this ship to Ben, Terry, and now you two as well. You are now in direct command of one of the most lethal devices than man has ever created. We have incredible destructive power on board this sub. More than you even can imagine, and some of which... Well, it goes beyond what you know. But you will in time.