Barren Waters - The Complete Novel: (A Post-Apocalyptic Tale of Survival) (4 page)

Olivia put her hand on his knee. “Everything all right?”

He cleared his throat. “Fine. It’s just strange. Uncomfortable even. It’s actually quite eerie to see it in person. There’s nothing here. It’s dead. Empty.” He gripped his armrests and peered into the abyss. “There’s nothing here at all. It’s astounding. Look at it.”

Her voice sounded distant, her words edged with sorrow. “I know. It’s like we’re in a giant tub of standing water. We might see an occasional jellyfish, but other than that, this little part of the world is extinct.”

He leaned forward and peered into the vast field of dark water. It was endless and deep, an immense and massive maw that pressed onto them from all sides. To Liam, the absence of life was more frightening than any underwater zoo could ever be. A nervous laugh bubbled from his lips. “I feel like I’m in a Jaws movie, like some giant shark is about to swim from the blackness and attack the sub.”

She laughed. She was kind. “Trust me, Liam. There haven’t been sharks in this part of the ocean for over ten years. No fish for fifteen.”

“Olivia, do you think the oceans are beyond saving?”

He bit his lip. Damn. Why did he have to sound like such an alarmist? No. Alarmist was kind. He was sure he sounded more like a kook. He didn’t mean to appear so somber to her, and he surely didn’t want to come off as a crazed doomsayer or wacky scientist full of outlandish conspiracy theories. He just wanted to hear the opinion of someone who might be able to think objectively, someone with a similar base of knowledge, and training in the field.

She settled her gaze upon him and he marveled at how attractive she was. The blue glow from the control panel set her hair ablaze with cerulean light. Her reply was soft and rich with emotion. “Unfortunately I do. I think we’re well past the point of no return. But I don’t think it was one thing or another that did it. I think it was a perfect storm of events, so to speak, the collapse of the Berkut oil platform, and the resulting spill, the acidification of the ocean from increased levels of CO2, and the collapse of the fishing markets in the Far East.”

She cast her gaze to the dark waters just beyond the glass. “Think of it, Liam. China had become one of the world’s super powers. They’d very nearly taken the baton from the United States, as easily as a bully would from the clutching hands of a baby. It was really just a simple turn of fate that handed the reigns back to us, a mathematical calculation that tipped the scales back in our favor. Put simply, they overfished their waters, and as a result, over three quarters of their population starved to death. And it was the same in Japan and parts of Africa too. That, in addition to the loss of the world’s coral reefs, well, it was all just too much in my opinion. The loss of the reefs alone set off a chain reaction that couldn’t be stopped.”

“It all began with the extinction of the whales,” he muttered softly.

“Yes. That it did. Well, to be clear, it began with the plankton. But we’ll go with the whales.”

With a final look at the gauge she called out their position and diverted his attention to the craft’s metal appendage. “Okay. We’re suspended at thirty feet. That mechanical arm in front of the craft will gather our samples, then we’ll descend to sixty feet, and finally to ninety.”

He watched her work, admired her slender fingers as they traveled over the series of buttons and levers in front of her. He hadn’t meant to talk about any of this, but there was something about her that calmed him, and he found himself curious about her.

“What drew you to this occupation if you don’t mind me asking?”

She shrugged, though he caught the smile that pulled at the corners of her lips. “My parents once took me to Destin, Florida when I was just a little girl. I’d never before seen water that clear or that blue, or sand that white. I remember the way we dug our feet into the warm sand, made drip-castles of it with tall spires and deep moats, how we collected shells along the shoreline. It was the first time I’d ever seen the ocean.”

She hazarded a glance in his direction and smiled thinly. “That was back when that strip of the gulf was still habitable. The emerald coast was what they called it back then. An apt name it had certainly been. ‘Emerald’,” she added wistfully. Her smile was sad. “The water there sparkled and shone beneath the sun, almost as if God had seen fit to cast gems over its surface.” She peered at him sidelong and shrugged. “I suppose my love affair began on those shores and deepened in the shallows of those waters.”

She met his eyes, her smile broadening, and he found himself staring at her white teeth. “That summer we took a tour on a glass-bottom boat and I can’t explain in words just how beautiful it was, the colors and textures of the reefs, the vibrancy and variety of the fish. It was like a painter had wished to use every available color on his palette and had chosen each at random. I loved that it was at once haphazard and harmonious. I guess it captured my heart and imagination both.” She exhaled softly. “It’s never let me go since.”

He realized with sudden embarrassment that he’d been staring at her long after she’d finished speaking. He was mesmerized, and had to nearly pinch himself out of the trance.

He pressed her further, though he wasn’t exactly sure why. He was bordering on kooky again. “Olivia, do you ever stop to think what you might do if the world does eventually collapse? I mean more so than it has already.”

She shook her head. “I really haven’t. I suppose I’m not a good planner. That, or I somehow believe in my heart that in the end, our species will find a way through this, that humans can somehow dig us out of this mess we’ve made. I mean, how can we let it all go like this? It’s unthinkable.”

He smiled. “Well, then I suppose it’s a good thing you met me because I’m an excellent planner.”

She glimpsed at him sidelong and cocked her head. “Are you flirting with me, Liam?”

They collected their samples at thirty feet and descended to sixty and did the same. They spoke of trivial things and kept the mood light despite the depressing landscape that surrounded them. They were isolated in the blackness, more alone that Liam ever felt before. They two were the only living things for miles.

Though unnerving, it was an odd sort of peace, the only sounds the whirring of the submersible’s engine, the soft purr of oxygen flowing through the craft’s vents, and the clicks and snaps of her hands as they traveled across the levers and instruments that lined the console in front of them. He found that he couldn’t take his eyes off the water. The ocean had been ailing since before he could remember. It’d been suffering a slow decline for more than a century. It was a patient struggling against the rot of cancer, a victim that’d fallen prey to a parasite that was sucking the very life from it. This strange world was choking without oxygen.

The craft continued to descend through the heavy obsidian layers until a sudden swirling of sand and silt began to obscure their vision.

“The pumps,” Liam pointed out quietly. “Don’t get too close.”

The industry of their mechanical processes upset the water around them. The craft gently rocked with the movements and Liam gripped the edge of his armrests with talon-like fingers. Gallons of water were sucked into the pumps and enriched with oxygen. He watched as treated water was then spit from a series of pumps at the rear. Deep trenches were dug into the bottom of the sea where the force of the water had created a large canyon.

Olivia angled the craft and shone the submersible’s light on the enormous apparatus. The many steel pipes and tubes crawled over the bottom of the sea like a cluster of snakes. Sand billowed from both openings as the system attempted to perform CPR on a long-dead patient.

The craft rolled suddenly and Liam released a small cry. He grimaced. Jesus, he sounded like a little girl.

Olivia pulled the craft higher. “This is as close as we can get. Any closer and we might find ourselves sucked into the mouth of that tube.”

He nodded. “Let’s just get the samples and get out of here.”

She worked the lever and he watched as the arm extended in front of them and took samples of the turbulent waters. Her eyes were wide as she followed the submersible’s light to the complex field of ductwork below.

“It’s huge,” she said with awe. “It must have cost millions.”

“It did. Actually billions if you include the cost of labor to actually set it all up.” He brought a hand to his temple and shook his head. “I guess we’ll soon see if it was money well spent.”

A small green light at the left of Olivia’s hand flashed and let them know the samples were taken, and she began to fold the arm back into the submersible’s body. She peered over at Liam, her brow creased. “This isn’t scalable you know. What’s the plan? We’re going to set this up across every dead zone? Who’ll pay for all this?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. But I do know they won’t pay for it if it isn’t working.” He took a last look at the man-made circulatory system and sighed. It wasn’t right. Synthesized life was no life at all. None of this belonged down here and he suddenly felt a strong impulse to leave.

He caught Olivia’s gaze. “Let’s get out of here. I need a drink.”

She slipped into the high-back chair with graceful elegance and a whisper of silk against bare skin. “You’re late,” he noted. “But you look lovely so I suppose you’re forgiven.”

She smiled and lifted the napkin from the table. “So then, what’s the verdict?”

“You’re not one for small talk are you?”

“Not when it comes to this,” she returned. “So tell me. I’m sure you’ve already tested the samples. I know I would’ve. Out with it. I’ve been waiting all day with bated breath. Are the pumps working?”

He leaned forward and inspected the deep cobalt of her eyes. Such an unusual color they were, and how he hated to think that he was about to mute the sparkle that twinkled within them. “You tell me. What do you think Olivia? Do you believe technology can be the savior of our species?”

She settled her gaze upon him then lifted her glass of Pinot to the light, swirled the contents, and breathed deep of its rich bouquet. Her reply was devastating in its simplicity.

“No. No I don’t. I suppose at one time I believed it could, that humanity could’ve tried to recover something of what it lost. But I think that time has long passed.”

“Then you’d be right,” he admitted with a sigh. “No. I’m afraid the pumps aren’t solving the issue at all. I’m afraid the Gulf dead zone is going to remain quite dead unless another solution can be found.”

She sat back and lifted a finger to the waitress. “Scotch,” she ordered. “Neat.”

“Make that two.”

As the dinner progressed, Liam repeatedly caught himself staring at her. Her green dress was enchanting against her tanned skin, and she’d worn her hair in a loose bun at the crown of her head, which left her brown shoulders bare. Wavy tendrils fell from the knot in a way that was carelessly sophisticated and left him short of breath.

He tried to keep the conversation light, but the fact remained that they were scientists. Scientists who had something in common, he reminded himself. It seemed that an intense passion for the sea, and for life itself, had drawn them both to their chosen fields of study. In her, he found something of a kindred spirit, someone who could not only share his beliefs and emotions, but who also wielded the specialized expertise with which to understand them. He found that he was enjoying the evening immensely.

“So what’s next for you, Liam?”

He reached under the table and pulled a slim black case from his shoulder bag. “Back to D.C. I’m afraid. I need to present my findings to the committee, and after that I’m off to the Pacific.”

“And what do you think the committee will do with your findings?”

He pulled the tester from the case and popped the needle into the tip of the third finger of his left hand. “Oh, I’m sure they’ll call more meetings with more scientists and try new implementations of various ideas. I’m impressed that they’ve rallied to the cause, and I’m certainly moved that they care so deeply about finding solutions. It’s just a shame they reacted too late.”

“You mean their timing sucked.”

He examined his blood sugar on the indicator and twisted the dial on the pen to 4. “Yeah. Their timing sucked.”

“Type 1?” she asked as she watched him dose himself.

“Since I was twelve.”

She sat back and watched him work. “So what grand adventure awaits you in the Pacific?”

“More exciting investigative testing I’m afraid. I’m off to the coast of Japan this time. Komatsu to be exact.”

She leaned forward excitedly and he nearly caught his breath. The candles flames set seductive sparks to her eyes. “You’re off to investigate the jellyfish bloom aren’t you?”

He raised an appreciative brow. “You’re definitely not just a pretty face. Yes. There’s a devastating bloom of nomuras in the waters just off Echizen. I’ve been asked to test the waters and report on the cause.”

She scoffed. “You already know the cause.”

With a sigh he agreed. “I suppose much of what I do is just busy work at this point. Yes, I know the causes as well as you. I’m quite certain it’s the water’s pH. Latest tests have revealed a range of 7.6 to 7.9. That’s much to acidic, but it’s a perfect breeding ground for the jellies.”