Authors: Jade Allen
“What?” Collin barked, hearing her gasp and
descending into panic. “Wat’s up? I’ll call your ship back.”
“No!” Allie stared at the screen, her eyes moving
from point to point in search of the massive shape her ship had just detected.
“I thought I saw something. Did you see it? Did it show up on the stream?”
“I didn’t see it, Allie.” Collin sounded
suspicious. “Are you screwing with me? Is this because I embarrassed you?”
“No, I saw—
there!”
The shape was back, but this time it was behind
the ship. Allie looked up and twisted her chair around to the rear porthole,
but she couldn’t see anything. She looked at the screen again, and the shape
was above the ship this time.
“Colin?”
“Yeah?”
Allie frowned, her heartbeat accelerating. “When’s
the last time you did a test of this equipment? It seems kind of…off.”
“Really? Seems fine to me.”
Allie kept peering out the portholes and back to
the screen, but no matter how many times the shape kept moving, it was never
where she looked. “I’m freaking out a little here.”
“Want me to call you back?”
Her heart was thudding against her chest, and she
could taste the anxiety clouding her mind. She remembered Carter calling her a
chicken, and wondered if she wasn’t just psyching herself out because she was
trying not to face her emotions. Her eyes went back to the screen, and
no
was on the tip of her tongue—but the shape was back, this time right in front
of the ship.
“Allie?”
She raised her eyes, but all she could see was a
stretch of shimmering green and white fog. Allie leaned forward, straining to
see through the odd liquid that was beginning to surround the ship so hard that
the safety straps were cutting into her shoulders. Something was moving through
the cloud, but she couldn’t tell what. The detection screen went blank then,
and as the lights dimmed, her breath quickened.
“Allie?”
Her eyes finally started to make sense of what
was happening, and by then it was too late. A huge, luminescent white beast
with eight long, thrashing legs was sailing toward the submarine through the
cloud of ghostly ink, its massive mouth wide open and ringed with sharp,
pearlescent teeth that all looked long enough to pierce through the metal ship.
It was much larger than the sub, and it was moving so fast that she’d never be
able to move out of the way in time. Colin was screaming in her ear as she
watched it approached, too stunned by its size to move—its huge head alone was
as big across as the submarine itself and terrifyingly vivid in its expression:
all rage and lust, for blood or for bones or for whatever it was that creatures
from hell ate. The limbs dangling from its head were as long as school buses,
giving it the appearance of a mutated jelly-fish, and Allie could see that
there were shapes floating around beneath its skin, presumably organs—or maybe
half-digested prey.
I’m going to die,
she realized. Then:
What
the hell
is
that?
The next moment, everything went black, and all
she could hear was shattering glass and the shriek of metal.
****
As soon as the water started to rush into the sub,
Allie sprang into action. Her body was on autopilot as she wrenched open the
emergency compartment and fumbled for the diving suit, the remaining air in the
sub filled with the sounds of bone crunching through metal as the creature bit
into her craft. She slipped to the floor twice, and the sub started to pitch
and roll as the creature tipped its treasure, but she had her suit snapped and
fastened by then. All that was left was the helmet and the air tank.
One of the creature’s arms punched through the
wall just to the left of her head, and she screamed as saltwater sluiced down
her throat and into her ear canal. She fought to stand and lifted her helmet,
bringing it down so hard and fast against the collar of her suit that she was
afraid she might crack it. Allie twisted the enforced glass bowl to the right
and heard the slow
hiss
as it sealed, and the final
snap
once the
mechanism locked into place. The diving suit looked flimsy, but it would let
her survive for at least an hour, maybe even two if she could calm down fast
enough. Then her train of thought was halted when the beast’s club-like limb
whacked against her helmet, and Allie struggled through the waters to push
herself out of the collapsed porthole, now facing away from the translucent
monster.
The creature was so bent on destroying the craft
completely that Allie was able to swim for a full minute without hearing the
crunching sound pause. When it did, she looked back and was startled to see
that she’d propelled herself so far away it looked almost like a toy jellyfish
was attacking a tiny submarine. It looked so harmless at first that she felt a
wave of relief wash over her, then she watched in muted shock as the sub’s
electrical and nuclear system finally caught up to what was happening. A
muffled
boom
reached her, and she watched her sub explode in a swirling
cloud of foamy seawater and spit the creature upward, emitting a high-pitched
screech as it sailed toward the surface of the ocean.
What’s going to happen
when it gets to the top?
she wondered. Then:
How did I get so far away?
Allie realized that even though her limbs had
stopped moving, she was still travelling swiftly away from the scene.
What
the hell?
Allie fought to stay calm as she looked around her and realized
she was encased in some sort of bubble that was steering itself to safety. It
was almost completely transparent, but she could tap the sides of with her
gloved hands and feel the invisible barrier there. She couldn’t stay in contact
with the sides of it, but it was still pushing her steadily forward—and she
could now see that there were other bubbles racing beside her, carrying pieces
of debris and plant life along with her. Allie saw something take shape up
ahead, and as the bubbles rolled over the sea floor, it slowly began to
materialize as an overturned Galleon, likely from the fifteenth or sixteenth
century. Her heart raced for a different reason now, and she saw huge gaps in
the rotting wood where some of the bubbles were starting to hop inside—a huge
piece of her own ship entered the ancient armada from the bottom-most and
largest hole. There was a soft light emanating from the ship, visible through
all the slats and spaces, and Allie wondered if there were rogue deep-sea
divers lurking inside. If they had the treasure, she wouldn’t stop them; they were
likely armed, and not afraid to use lethal force if they felt cornered.
But what do they have to do with these bubbles?
Allie couldn’t answer that, and the question stirred the bile in her stomach.
Her bubble finally shot through the biggest hole in the ship—but it stopped
short, and Allie crashed against the side and went ricocheting backward. Her
nose slammed against her glass helmet, and she looked through her bleary eyes
to see that her bubble had stopped short against another, larger bubble that was
protecting much of the ship from the water around it. The space inside the
bubble was filled with what looked like spare parts from various naval ships
and from crafts she’d never seen before. There were books and blankets strewn
around the space, and the light proved to be coming from the bubble itself—the
whole dome was throwing off a gentle white light that was oddly soothing to
Allie.
Less soothing were the two men crouched over the
amalgam of parts, tinkering at the structure and talking to each other as they
worked. Their voices were getting clearer and clearer, and Allie couldn’t
figure out why—until she realized the smaller bubble was beginning to be
absorbed into the larger bubble, pulling her into the ship’s dome of
protection.
“I don’t think this contrast geode is compatible,”
said the man with caramel skin and shaggy brown hair. He was wearing what
looked like a cloak, as was his companion, who was broader-shouldered and
short, black hair. “Do you think the electric system will recognize ours?”
“I don’t know, Araimeer.” The second man’s voice
was far deeper, hitting her ears like a bass drum being struck in an empty
room. “It didn’t work so well on our last test run. If we lose more time, we
risk failing this one. And we’ve
never
failed.”
“That was last time,” Araimeer said lightly. “We
hadn’t found the bio-diverter yet, and we’re better prepared for the kick-back,
in case I’m wrong. Come on, where’d all your daring nerve go all of a sudden?”
“It got knocked out when the fission drive shot
out and punched me in the gut on our last test run,” Viseer said wryly. “Just
trust me. Hand me the light wrench?”
“You’re the boss.” Araimeer tossed Viseer a slim
device that looked very much like a novelty jumbo pen, but done in glossy
black. Allie watched Viseer tap it against part of their project, and the
U-shaped part glowed blue for a moment. He paused, then made a soft noise of
contentment.
“Okay. Let’s give it a go. I think you’re right.”
“What? Just from testing the U-cycle? How can you
tell?”
Viseer turned to Araimeer and laughed. “You’re so
knowledgeable about transporters, but you don’t know the answer to that?”
Allie’s bubble finally finished dissolving, and
she fell to the sea floor with a tremendous thump. Neither of the men moved at
first—they were both too engrossed in their work— but then her eyes zeroed in
on a crack in her helmet, and she gasped in terror. The noise was far sharper,
and she saw them freeze when they heard it.
Both men spun and stood at the same time, and
their eyes fell on her at the same moment. Araimeer’s gray eyes lit up as they
fell on her, and Allie felt a frisson of longing shoot through her body that
had nothing to do with her fight or flight response. He smiled, and it warmed
his boyishly handsome features so much that her heart actually skipped a
beat—then her eyes were pulled to Viseer’s, and his outraged expression snapped
her out of the moment and plunged her back into a state of fear.
Allie clutched at her suit, too panicked to focus
on their reactions anymore.
There’s a crack. I’m going to die.
“Help
me!” she shouted, but she didn’t know what they could possible do for her; she
was going to drown to death in the hull of an ancient ship that no one would
ever find. Her heart crashed against her ribcage, and the men drew nearer to
her. Then she realized that neither of them were wearing helmets, and she
remembered the dome.
Allie looked up and to both sides of her, seeing
that the current was visible outside of the dome, but inside really did appear
to be air. The men had stopped about fifteen feet away, and she could hear them
speaking to each other in hushed voices.
“Did she come in a transpo-sphere?” Araimeer
whispered.
“She must have,” Viseer replied. “She fell, I
heard her thump, just like the rest of the debris we pick up.”
“Hey!” Allie said angrily. Neither of them reacted
to her outburst.
“Well, what do we do with her? “ Viseer asked
grimly, and her heart stopped.
Araimeer frowned. “What do you mean? We send her
back.”
As their eyes met again and she felt the heat in
his gaze, she realized that didn’t make her feel any better.
Who are you?
Allie was gazing at both of them as they
whispered, unable to speak just yet. The brown-haired man continued muttering
under his breath for so long that Allie thought something was clogging her
ears. Finally, her panic won over, and she couldn’t hold it in.
“What the hell is going on?”
The men stopped talking. Araimeer’s face took on a
look of shame, and the depth of his emotion was startling. “I’m sorry, we meant
no offense in keeping you in the dark. It seems you got picked up by one of our
transpo-spheres.”
“Those bubble things?” Allie asked.
Araimeer nodded. “We use them to scavenge for
usable material. They pick up anything within the guidelines that we’ve
programmed into it, and I guess you fall within the parameters.”
Allie took a deep breath, then remembered her
helmet. “Can I take this helmet off?” she asked.
“Of course!” Araimeer said, nodding his head
vigorously. “Sorry, we should have told you. We need air too, so this dome is
airtight, and the air is self-replenishing.” Viseer shot Araimeer a look, and
he blushed. “What’s your name, by the way?”
Something about his earlier phrasing was off, but
she had other questions to ask first. “I’m Allie. What were you looking for
with those bubbles?”
Araimeer gestured to the amalgam of parts they had
been tinkering with. “We need to rebuild our teleporter. It was destroyed when
we came down here, along with our water pod. Lucky we had our emergency light
dome—“
“Araimeer,” Viseer said abruptly, and the other
man fell silent. Allie looked between the two, their words tumbling through her
head and helping her form a conclusion that couldn’t be true. They were down
here without suits, using terms she’d never heard before and using strange,
advanced technology that went well beyond her knowledge, despite the fact that
she’d seen several classified weapons being used for warfare in the United
States. What had Araimeer said?
We need air too.
“What are you guys doing down here, exactly?” Allie
asked, and her voice sounded tinny and breathless to her ears.
Viseer narrowed his eyes at his partner and
sighed. “Dammit, Araimeer. You said too much.”
Araimeer’s cheeks flamed scarlet, and he rounded
on Viseer angrily. “It’s not like we can just zap her back to the surface when
we’re ready, Viseer. She’s stuck here as long as we are, and that will be too
long without contact with her people. Look at her suit. How do you think she
got out of her ship? She didn’t just stroll away.”
Viseer’s brown eyes widened, and he turned back
to Allie. “You met the jellyfish?”
Allie gasped. “So it
was
a jellyfish.”
Viseer nodded. “Correct. Was.”
He seemed content to leave it at that, but
Araimeer was too excited to let it go. He crouched beside her, and Allie had
the urge to reach out and touch his cheek; she actually pulled her gloves off
before she realized what she was doing. “It was normal when we found it,
anyway. Did it shoot any beams at you? Were its teeth still sparkling? Did it
have
more
teeth than it should have had? Did—“
“Araimeer!” Viseer shouted. He put his hands over
his eyes and sighed again, and Araimeer’s face grew gloomy.
Allie couldn’t hold it in any longer. “So you guys
are…aliens?”
The brown haired man’s face sprang back into
happiness so fast, Allie wondered if she’d imagined his sour expression. “Yes!
You
do
understand!”
“No she doesn’t,” Viseer said angrily, and he
stood and began pacing the floor, stepping over piles of books and extra parts
as he moved. “She’ll be down here with us, and if her people know her ship was
destroyed, they’ll think
she’s
been destroyed, too. How can we just beam
her back when the teleporter starts running again and not expect anyone to make
a fuss? How, Araimeer?”
Araimeer’s face was deep in thought as the darker
haired man spoke. “We’ll figure something out.”
Allie laughed, and Araimeer looked startled.
“Sorry,” she said. “You just reminded me of my best friend. He’s relentlessly
optimistic, even in the worst of times.” It seemed odd to be comparing the two,
especially since she was far calmer than she normally would have been, but
their similarities gave her comfort instead of the creeps.
Araimeer grinned at her, and it made his plain
face charmingly handsome. He leaned forward slightly, and Allie had to fight
the urge to plunge her hands into his hair. “Sounds like I would like this guy.
I love cheery humans.”
“You love
all
humans,” Viseer said
bitterly. He was bent back over the jumble of parts, tinkering away with an
unseen tool.
Araimeer chuckled. “He’s good to have in a crisis,
because he works when he panics.” His voice was as soft as his gaze, and Allie
could see they’d been partners for a long time. His hand was right next to
hers; she couldn’t resist her urges any longer, and she brushed her fingers up
against his. There was a flare of energy between them, and he swung his face
toward her, his lips dangerously close to hers.
He smiled. “It’s weird to say it’s nice to be
stuck with someone, but…I think it’ll be nice to be stuck with you for a
while.”
Allie giggled, then swore at herself internally.
What
is wrong with you?
But she really couldn’t help it— and worse, she was
curious despite herself; her Navy training had taught her to push past her
discomfort to get to the meatier parts of life, and Allie wasn’t willing to
stay on the sea floor with two incredibly humanoid aliens without asking a few
questions first—even if one did seem oddly drawn to her.