Hell Divers IV: Wolves

by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

  “What the hell are you doing?” she stuttered.

  “Not kissing you, if that’s what you’re worried about.” He got off his knees and grabbed his helmet.

  “Miles!” X shouted again.

  This time, a bark sounded, and X saw movement in the green hue of his night vision. The dog was running up the beach, bounding between rocks and leaping over flotsam that had washed ashore.

  X dropped back to his knees in the sand, gripping his injured arm and heaving a sigh of relief. Hearing the crunch and grind of sand behind him, he looked up to find the Sea Wolf beached not fifty feet away.

  Magnolia pushed herself up and staggered over to X just as Miles reached them.

  “Hell of a day so far,” X said, grabbing his dog and ruffling his coat. He looked over at Magnolia, who looked confused.

  “Come on, kid,” X said. “Let’s go grab our gear from that bluff and get off this shit heap of an island.”

  * * * * *

  “Dad, how long will you be gone?” Phyl asked.

  “I’ll be back soon,” Les said, although he really had no way to know.

  Both Phyl and Katherine wrapped their arms around his waist. He held them while watching Trey finish packing a faded duffel bag on his bunk.

  Katherine, her head against his chest, said, “You take care of Trey. Promise me that.”

  “He’s not diving, don’t worry,” Les said. “I’ll dive before he does.”

  “And that’s also what I’m worried about,” Katherine said, pulling away. “I don’t want either of you diving. Why do you two have to be Hell Divers? You’re the lieutenant of Deliverance, Les. I thought Katrina said she didn’t want you diving.”

  “She did, but things have changed. I’m sorry, Kate. This is my duty now.”

  Phyl sniffled, and pulled her tear-streaked face away from his stomach.

  “It’s okay, sweetie,” he murmured. “It’s going to be okay.”

  “Ready?” Trey carried his bag under the one light in their small apartment. His shaved head glistened under the glow.

  “I want you back to celebrate your eighteenth birthday,” Katherine said, pointing her finger at Trey and then kissing him on the cheek.

  “Stop worrying, Mom. I got Dad to look after me.”

  Les smiled, but he couldn’t stop thinking about the nightmare he had just woken from. In it, his son’s chute didn’t open on a dive, and Les was forced to watch the boy cartwheel through the darkness screaming, “Dad, help me!”

  “Papa,” Phyl said, snapping Les out of the memory and dispelling the horrid image.

  “Yeah, sweetie.” He squatted down to look in her eyes.

  “I made something for you,” she said, glancing over at Katherine, who nodded back.

  Phyl pulled a yellow knitted figure out of her pocket and handed it to Les.

  “It’s a giraffe,” she said proudly.

  Les held the small figure in his callused hands. The giraffe’s long neck and legs reminded him of himself.

  “It looks kind of like the picture books, right, Papa?” Phyl asked.

  “Yes, it does, baby. I love it. Thank you.”

  Phyl smiled broadly.

  “Good job, sis,” Trey said. “I like it. Did you make me one, too?”

  She wagged her head. “No, but I will if you want.”

  “Yeah, I’d like that.” Trey slapped his dad on the shoulder. “We better go, Pops.”

  “I know.” Les stood up, gave his wife and daughter another hug goodbye, and grabbed his backpack off the floor.

  “I love you both,” he said. “Be good while we’re gone.”

  “Bring us back something,” Phyl said with a broad smile.

  Katherine blew Les a kiss. He smiled, and he and Trey set off from their quarters on the Hive, toward Deliverance. Dozens of people were out in the passageways, and most of them stopped to stare at the two divers.

  The boy seemed just as proud at that as Phyl had been about her giraffe figure. He walked with his head held high. It was the first time Les had ever seen his son so proud, and while he was glad to see him happy, he worried that pride might make Trey do something stupid.

  He needed the boy to understand that this duty wasn’t for admiration. It was for the ultimate stakes: the future of humanity. Les would not let his son become a statistic.

  Two militia guards stood at the span linking the Hive to Deliverance. Most people had to show their credentials to cross to the other ship, but Les’ and Trey’s uniforms gave them unquestioned access.

  “Good luck,” the two guards said almost in unison.

  Les led the way across the span, boots clanking on the metal. It was an odd feeling, knowing he would be separated from his wife and daughter again for an unknown length of time.

  The hatch closed behind them, and the militia guards on the Deliverance side opened the hatch to let them board. For a few seconds, Les stood between the two airships, looking out the portholes at the darkness beyond.

  As soon as the hatch opened, he ducked under the overhead and stepped onto Deliverance, where he slung his backpack over his shoulders. Inside were several of his favorite possessions: a water bottle, a handheld music player with connecting earbuds, his tool belt, and a science fiction book about an alien invasion.

  The speakers built into the overhead flared to life with a clinically calm automated female voice.

  “All noncritical personnel, please make your way to the Hive. Deliverance will undock in twenty-one minutes. Thank you.”

  Those who hadn’t already disembarked were moving away from the new wing, where hundreds of people had been relocated. Empty paint buckets and hog-bristle brushes were left behind, the paint still drying on the bulkheads where children had been painting colorful murals.

  “I don’t want to leave, Mama,” said Jimmy Moffitt.

  “It’s okay, Jimmy,” his mother replied. “This is only for a little while.”

  Many of the people carrying bags away from the open hatches were former lower-deckers. Militia guards walked alongside to escort them back to the Hive.

  “We don’t want to go back there,” grumbled Justin Kraus. “You’re going to throw us out like trash again?”

  “This is only temporary,” replied one of the guards.

  “How do we know that?” asked a woman who had stopped in the passage, clutching a baby to her chest. Les couldn’t see her face, but he assumed it was Marla, one of the farmers.

  He stopped in the passage and motioned for Trey to wait.

  “I assure you, this won’t be long,” Les said.

  “We’re going to dive and bring back stuff for you guys, don’t worry,” Trey added.

  Les sighed under his breath. His son was eager to prove himself, but making promises like that was only going to get him in trouble.

  “You’re probably going to die, and then we’ll lose our new home,” Justin muttered.

  Trey stepped forward, but Les subtly put a hand on his wrist to keep his son back. The other thing the boy needed to learn was patience.

  “The ship will be back soon,” Les said calmly. He stopped short of making any promises he might not be able to keep.

  “All noncritical personnel, please make your way to the Hive,” echoed over the comm system.

  Justin and the other passengers looked up at the bulkheads.

  “Let’s go,” said one of the guards, drumming his fingers against the club on his duty belt.

  Justin lingered a moment while the others kept moving toward the exit. Then he followed without incident.

  Les watched them leave, then continued in the opposite direction until he got to the mess hall, his next stop. It was half the size of the trading post on the Hive, with only twenty white plastic tables. To his surprise, one of them was completely filled with the
other divers.

  Erin waved at Les and Trey. “We don’t have a feast tonight, but the chicken stew is still warm if you want some.”

  Les forced a smile. “Save me a bowl.” He looked over to Trey. “You wait here for me and get some of that food.”

  “Okay, Dad.”

  Les gestured for Erin to join him away from the others.

  “I thought it was just vets on this mission,” he said.

  She shrugged a muscular shoulder exposed by her black tank top. “Yeah, but Katrina still wants everyone here. That’s why you brought Trey, right?”

  Les shot a glance at his son, who was already slurping down a bowl of soup.

  “He wanted to come, and I knew if I said no, he would just get mad.”

  “Well, don’t worry, okay?”

  “Easy for you to say,” Les said with a grin. “I’ve got to get to the bridge.”

  He hurried out of the room as the final warnings played over the comm system. The passages were mostly empty now—only a few stragglers.

  Militia guards were checking quarters to make sure everyone had left. Les jogged the rest of the way to the bridge and used his key card to get in.

  Captain DaVita, standing at the central table with her palms on the surface, looked up.

  “About time, Lieutenant.”

  “Sorry, I was saying goodbye to my family.”

  She walked over to Dave Connor’s navigation and weather station.

  “Report, Ensign,” Katrina said.

  He looked up from the monitors. “Not much wind, Captain. Out of the north-northeast at around five knots. Closest storm is a forty-mile front about ten knots to the south. Barometer has dropped only slightly. I’d say we’re good to go, ma’am.”

  She picked up a handset off the bulkhead.

  “Samson, this is Katrina. Skies look good. How’s everything looking on your end?”

  “I’m hot as hell and haven’t taken a crap in three days.”

  Dave grinned, but Katrina didn’t seem amused.

  “I really wish you’d reconsider this mission,” Samson said. “I told you we’re fine on fuel cells for another six months, and your leaving us means we’ll have to use our turbofans to compensate.”

  “This mission isn’t about fuel cells, Samson, and you’re not going to burn much power without us. We won’t be gone long.”

  “All due respect, ma’am, you don’t know how long you’ll be gone. Unless something’s changed.”

  “Nothing has changed, Samson. I’m still captain, and I’m not in a mood to argue.”

  “You put me in charge of the Hive in your absence and until you bring Pepper back online.”

  “And?”

  “And I’m just voicing my honest opinion, as always.”

  Katrina exchanged a glance with Les, who couldn’t quite stifle his grin.

  “That’s what I like and hate about you Samson,” she said.

  “I know, ma’am. And if I can’t get you to reconsider, well, you have the green light from engineering. I’ll have my teams retract the span between ships.”

  “Good. I’ll have Dr. Huff send a laxative to your quarters as a special thank-you.”

  Samson laughed at that. “Good luck out there, Captain. May the skies be friendly for the journey and dive.”

  She placed the handset back on its hook and patted Connor on the back. Then she walked over to Les and whispered, “I know what you’re going to say, but I don’t want you diving on this mission.”

  Timothy gave a final warning over the comms, counting down from one minute.

  “Ma’am, I appreciate that, but I think Erin, Michael, and Layla should have a fourth member.”

  Katrina played with the end of one of her braids. “I’ll think about it.”

  “Captain, this is Sergeant Sloan. My teams have cleared Deliverance of all noncritical personnel. You have the all clear to undock.”

  “Thank you, Sergeant,” Katrina said, turning to her crew. “Okay, everyone, that leaves just a handful of farmers, some engineers, us, and the divers.”

  Les moved over to the flight dashboard and took the program off autopilot with a punch of a button. Then he grabbed the U-shaped control yoke and prepared for the order that would separate the ships.

  “Do it,” Katrina said.

  A warning alarm sounded, filling the bridge with the wail that always came before a dive. This time, instead of proclaiming the imminent launch of humans diving to the surface, it signaled the disconnection of the two final bastions of humanity for the first time since they docked together.

  “Retracting beams one through five,” Bronson announced.

  Five loud clicks resounded through the ship, and a slight vibration rocked the bridge.

  “Retracting beams six through ten.”

  The sound repeated, and Les slowly guided Deliverance backward using the advanced thrusters under the stern.

  “We’re away,” Bronson said.

  “Fifteen degrees down angle,” Katrina said to Les. She took a seat in the leather captain’s chair and tapped her credentials onto the screen next to her.

  Come on, sweetheart, be good to me, Les thought as he watched the Hive pull away.

  The main monitor fired, and an image of his home came online. Les alternated his gaze from the view to his screen as he continued backing Deliverance away. A violent vibration shook the airship. He held the controls steady.

  “Slowly, Lieutenant,” Katrina said.

  Deliverance groaned again as it canted downward at a fifteen-degree angle. His eyes went back to the main screen, where a view of the Hive was captured in Deliverance’s frontal high beams. In the glow, he could see all the scars of the Hive’s two and a half centuries in the sky.

  His wife and daughter were there, and though he had his son with him on Deliverance, Les still felt as if he were leaving a piece of himself behind as the ship pulled away.

  “Goodbye, my loves,” he whispered.

  ELEVEN

  “Pepper, you about got this floating shit can up and running yet?” X growled.

  “Working on it, Commander.”

  “How about the radio?”

  “Almost there, sir.”

  X continued grumbling, and Magnolia, sitting in front of the control panel on the Sea Wolf, went back to digging through the medical pack, trying to ignore him. They were still anchored in the bay, and she was using the time to look after their injuries.

  Miles was already patched up, and she patted his furry head. “You’re going to be just fine, boy.”

  The boat swayed in the rough water, and Magnolia waited for it to level out before digging back into the med pack.

  “Fucking engine two is still offline,” X growled. “Pepper, give me a sitrep.”

  “Commander Rodriguez, engine one is operational, but I would strongly suggest not putting too much strain on it, especially with the status of our mainmast. I can’t guarantee we will be able to use the mizzenmast if we need to get the sails up.”

  “Yeah, I get it,” said X. “If we lose both engines, we’re well and truly screwed. For now, concentrate on trying to figure out what’s wrong with number two.”

  “We need to get that wound taken care of,” Magnolia said, eyeing his arm. She pulled out a bandage and a packet of antibacterial gel. Then she nodded at the chair beside her.

  X took a seat and pulled back his sleeve. The gash was puffy and inflamed, and a red streak ran up his forearm.

  Miles sniffed the air and licked X’s hand.

  “Thanks for getting him taken care of, and again, my apologies for being such a prick.”

  “See, now, was that so hard?” Magnolia asked.

  X raised his brow with the scar gapping through the middle.

  “Apologizing,” she said wit
h a smile.

  “Hey, I don’t hear you saying sorry or thanking me for saving you after you went ass over teakettle off the bluff.” He gave her a scrutinizing look. “You’re the one that probably needs checking out.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Sure you don’t want me to take a look?”

  She nodded, touching the welt on the top of her head. Dried blood already crusted beneath her hair. “Hold out your arm.”

  Gritting his teeth, he pulled the sleeve up to his elbow.

  “Jeez,” Magnolia said.

  “I’ve been kissed by worse things.”

  She chuckled at his choice of words. Placing the bandage on her lap, she opened the bottle of gel and waited for an even keel.

  “This is going to sting. Want some shine?”

  X shook his head. “Nah, I’m good. Pepper, how about you give me another sitrep while—”

  When the boat had stopped swaying, Magnolia rubbed the gel across the center of the wound. X let out a roaring curse.

  “Ho-o-o-oly shit!”

  The speakers crackled, and Timothy’s voice came on. “The new radio is now working. Please advise when you want me to open a channel to Deliverance. In the meantime, I’m ready to steer us out of the bay using engine one.”

  X groaned in pain, eyes wide and staring at the angry wound.

  “Go ahead and get us the hell out of here,” he said. “And establish connection with Deliverance after that. I want Katrina to know we’re back aboard the Sea Wolf.”

  “Roger that, sir. Weighing anchor now.”

  A steady clanking sounded.

  Magnolia cleaned the wound with a sterile pad, wiping away the leftover gel that overflowed the wound.

  “There’s something I need to tell you,” she said. “Something I found in the facility while you were looking for Miles.”

  He grabbed the armrest of his chair with his other hand and squeezed. “I’m listening.”

  “Remember how I told you I got the computers back online using my extra battery?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, I saw something I’ve never seen before. Stuff about the history of the world and how it ended.”

  “Who the hell cares? I don’t get why you’re so interested in history.”