River Odyssey

by Philip Roy

  I held on to the handle with two hands as the sub pulled me under. We went down quickly and I knew we were going to hit hard. I placed my feet against the hull and bent my knees to absorb the blow. I didn’t want to lose my grip. Someone else was in my sub with my crew. This was never supposed to happen.

  We hit with a crashing sound, which was probably some kind of debris on the bottom. I hoped that’s what it was. Within seconds we were rising again. He was flipping the same two switches. Was he having fun or was he panicking? Was he trying to destroy my submarine? Surely he didn’t want to drown?

  On the way up I tried to prepare for opening the hatch. If he kept doing what he had been doing, I would have maybe ten seconds to open the hatch, climb in and shut it. That was enough time if I were ready. But halfway up I heard the sound that I didn’t want to hear—the whir of the propeller. He had engaged the batteries and put the sub in gear. We were staring to move. We were no longer rising.

  This was the toughest decision I ever had to make. What should I do: open the hatch and bring the river inside the sub, fight with Bim and rescue my crew; or, let go and let him ride the sub until he crashed it, for surely he would crash? There was no time to think it over. If I had had more time, would I have chosen differently? Maybe. Maybe not. I would never know. With half a minute of air left in my lungs at most, I spun the wheel on the hatch and pulled it open.

  Chapter 26

  I HEARD SCREAMING inside as water flooded the sub. If Bim had been having fun, he wasn’t anymore. My first concern was for Hollie and Seaweed, although both were excellent swimmers and the sub was their home. They had often seen water rush in through the portal, though never like this. I was more afraid that he might injure them in his panic, and I knew he was going to panic.

  I had barely pulled the hatch shut when Bim came scrambling up the ladder beneath me. Everything was happening so fast but I could tell that he was panicking. The flooding water had risen to his chest and was knocking him around. I had to kick him off the ladder to prevent him from interfering with sealing the hatch. I kicked him down, he scrambled up and I kicked him down again. We were sinking fast. Any moment we would strike bottom. He was wailing his head off like someone who had stepped into a hornets’ nest.

  He was just starting for the ladder again when the sub hit. I lost my grip and fell on top of him. I knocked him right under the water, though I didn’t mean to. He was still panicking, even though no more water was coming inside, and the sump pumps were pumping out the water that had come in. He couldn’t know that. Once a person starts to panic, it takes a long time for them to settle down.

  He raised his head above water and I realized he was choking. He had swallowed water. Like a crazy person he pushed past me and went for the ladder again. This time I held on to his legs to keep him from reaching the hatch. He didn’t even seem to understand that we were on the bottom of the river. He just wanted to get out.

  “It’s okay!” I yelled. “It’s okay now!”

  He didn’t hear me. I pulled on his leg with all my weight. I had to keep him from reaching the hatch. Bending my head, I peeked into the bow and saw Seaweed floating around, and beside him, Hollie, his little head just above water as he swam around in circles. I realized now that Bim had not been having a good time in the sub at all. He had probably been panicking even before I came in. Maybe he couldn’t swim.

  “Calm down!” I yelled. “It’s going to be okay!”

  He couldn’t hear me and I was getting tired trying to hold him. I had to think of something else. I let go of him for a second and he rushed up to the hatch. I rushed up beside him. Then, by pushing back against him in the tight space, I was able to pin him against the ladder. He couldn’t move his arms freely enough to open the hatch. Now, it was just a matter of time. When the sump pumps removed enough water to make the sub buoyant again, it would lift off the bottom and surface automatically. That was how Ziegfried had designed it, and I had perfect confidence in Ziegfried.

  But it seemed to take forever. And it was exhausting pinning Bim against the ladder. In the fright of his panic he started to cry. When he couldn’t move, his crying gradually turned into weeping. It was very sad and I felt sorry for him. At the same time, I couldn’t let him go.

  “It’s going to be okay,” I said. “I promise you.”

  After what felt like hours, but was probably less than ten minutes, the sub gently lifted off the river floor. It was heavy still. The rising would be slow. When we broke the surface, I would have to act quickly. I had no idea what was waiting for us up there.

  I knew when we surfaced because the sub bobbed from side to side. It had picked up speed on the way up, with water being pumped out all the way. I let Bim open the hatch, which he did with desperation, and climb out into the darkness. But there were lights, and there were voices.

  It was the river police. They were coming over quickly. I heard a voice over a megaphone. First it came in French; then in English.

  “This is the police! Surrender your vessel! I repeat! This is the police! Surrender your vessel!”

  I still didn’t know if Bim could swim or not. Two police boats were drawing near.

  “Bim! Can you swim?”

  He looked at me pathetically.

  “Do you know how to swim?” I asked.

  He didn’t answer. He was frightened to death. I grabbed a lifebuoy as quickly as I could. “Here! Put this on!”

  I raised his arms and pulled it down over him. He was too frightened to resist.

  “Hold on here!” I said, and took hold of his wrists and pulled his hands over to a handle on the side of the portal. He grabbed hold. I knew he wouldn’t let go. The boats were almost upon us anyway.

  “Surrender your vessel, NOW!” yelled the man with the megaphone.

  If I surrendered I would be arrested. They would take the sub for sure. They would take Hollie and Seaweed too. Our sailing days would be over. I would never get the sub back.

  If Bim’s life had been in danger, I would have acted differently. I would never have left him on the hull that way. But the police were only seconds away. They were going to rescue him.

  I climbed back inside and pulled the hatch down, careful not to catch Bim’s clothing with it. When I was sure he was clear of the hatch, I sealed it, jumped down and rushed to the controls. The instant I felt them jump onto the hull I hit the dive switch. We started to dive. I raced to the periscope and spun it around to see if they were attaching a cable. No. Two officers were holding on to Bim and helping him to their boat. They were already up to their chests in water. They must have been furious at me.

  We went down fifty feet and I checked the crew. Hollie was excited but okay. Seaweed wasn’t the least bit disturbed, or didn’t show it. Everything was soaking wet, including my bed, but I could dry it all by raising the temperature and taking stuff outside eventually. First, we had to get away from there.

  The easiest thing to do was to sail downstream with the current. But that’s probably what the police would expect me to do, and so that’s what I knew I shouldn’t do. Better to do the unpredictable thing if you didn’t want to get caught. Did I ever not want to get caught! What would they think of me now, almost drowning somebody and running away from the police? I had refused to surrender my vessel when they had ordered me to. I was definitely a criminal now. They would put me in jail if they caught me, or in a correctional centre, just as Bim had been.

  I headed upstream under full battery power with my eyes glued to the sonar screen. I needed to find a good place to hide, a place where no one would find us and we could lie low for a while.

  Hollie jumped onto my lap. He was still frightened. I could see it in his eyes. I stroked his ears and spoke softly to him to calm his excitement. “That was a close one, hey, buddy? I think maybe we need to find better places to hide, don’t you?”

  I was making so many mistakes. I had made three big mistakes on this voyage: throwing the anchor without thinking, losing the s
ub in the river and leaving it where someone could find it. The spot I had chosen in Montreal was only safe for a brief mooring, not a whole week, and I knew that when I moored it there. But I had grown comfortable with it and didn’t want to bother moving. The truth was the sub was too much temptation, especially for someone like Bim. Would I have opened the hatch and climbed inside if I were him and had discovered it? Yes, I would have. I knew that I would have. And if he had drowned, and Hollie and Seaweed had drowned, would that have been my fault? I shuddered to admit it, but yes, it would have. It was my responsibility to keep the sub hidden from people who might try to take it. And I was trying. But sometimes it was so hard.

  Nobody’s perfect, Hugh had said. True enough, but I couldn’t make any more mistakes. I just couldn’t. I shut my eyes and promised myself I would be more careful. I promised Hollie and Seaweed too.

  On the west side of Montreal, in the area of Dorval, I found the perfect hiding place for the sub. It was mostly a residential area, but there was a small commercial marina with two old barges tied up together, rusting and gathering layer upon layer of river debris. They had not been moved for a very long time. Between the barges was just enough room for the sub to come up so that the bottom of the hull was flush with the bottoms of the barges, and the portal could stick out of the water a foot and be completely hidden from shore. In fact, the only way you could see the sub was if you climbed onto the barges and peered down into the dark cavity between them, and even then it was difficult to see. It was a great place to hide for a few days, to dry out our things and wait until the river police had given up their search. It also gave me the chance to do what I wanted to do next.

  Chapter 27

  SHE CAME OUT OF her house and hurried down the steps. She was carrying a school bag over one shoulder and eating a piece of toast with the other hand. The neighbour’s dog came running over and she put the toast in her mouth and stopped to pat the dog. Her school bag fell off her shoulder, she reached for it, dropped her toast and the dog ate it. She stood up and saw me across the street. She wore glasses. I could tell from all the way across the street that the lenses were thick. She was skinny. One sock was higher than the other. I wasn’t even sure they were a matching pair. She looked cute but I wondered if maybe my sister was a bit of a nerd.

  She started down the sidewalk, stopped, turned and peered in my direction through her thick glasses, then turned again and headed off to school. I followed. I tried to keep enough distance so she wouldn’t think I was following her. I didn’t want to scare her. She was small for her age, it seemed to me. She must have been eleven or twelve. Her hair was darker than mine. So was her skin. But I knew it was her. I just knew.

  She walked about a mile to school. It took her a lot longer than it should have because she stopped to pat every dog and cat along the way. She even stopped to feed a peanut to a squirrel that seemed to be expecting her. My sister loved animals. That was cool. I wondered if she had any of her own.

  The bell had rung already and all the other kids were in school when she arrived. On the way up the steps she dropped her bag for the third time. I couldn’t believe it. If there were anything breakable in that bag, it was broken. When she stood up I thought maybe she saw me again. Shoot! Was she going to tell on me? She took a deep breath and sighed. She looked like maybe she was angry. She snorted like a horse, then went inside the school.

  My sister lived not far from the river. I had planned to call first, but couldn’t think of what to say. Then, I thought maybe I’d just run into her, knowing she’d be going to school. But that wasn’t easy either. What was I supposed to say to her? How could I talk to her without scaring her? I was a stranger.

  I took Hollie to a park and threw the ball for him. We must have looked just like any other boy and his dog, not two outlaws wanted by the police. Then we went back to the school and hid behind a tree. I was hoping to see my sister come out for recess. Sure enough, the kids poured out of the school and went into the fenced area at the back. I waited but didn’t see her. Where was she? Had she gotten in trouble for being late? I felt like going inside to find out, but couldn’t do that. What would I tell them? My sister didn’t even know me.

  Finally, she came out. She was the last one. She was alone. She crossed the yard alone and sat down alone. She waved to somebody and they waved back. Then she crossed the yard again and sat beside the girl who had waved to her. She pulled a cookie from her bag, broke it in half and gave one half to her friend. Her friend passed her an apple.

  Some kids came over. They said something to her. She didn’t respond. They said something else and laughed. My sister did not look upset. Suddenly, she turned to them and said something that startled them, and they ran away. The girl beside her laughed. I wondered what my sister had said. I wished I could have gone over and asked, but I would have had to climb the fence, and somebody would probably call the police if I did that. The bell rang and all the kids went back inside. My sister and her friend went last. At the top of the stairs she turned and looked in our direction but I didn’t think she saw us. I saw her snort again and go in.

  I was waiting when the kids came out for the day. It had been so long since I went to school it was strange to see so many kids pouring out of a building like workers from a factory. It didn’t surprise me that my sister was one of the very last. I let her get a head start then followed her.

  She went down the street, around a corner and disappeared. When I turned the corner, I didn’t see her. Where did she go? I turned around and looked everywhere but couldn’t see her. I saw a large billboard. It was a sign advertising fancy women’s clothing. Was she hiding behind it? I stepped closer, and then I heard a voice. It was frightened and brave at the same time.

  “Here’s what’s going to happen,” she said. “I’m going to scream my head off. Then the police are going to come. Then they’re going to arrest you. Then they’re going to take you away and throw you in jail. You’re going to stay in there until you’re very, very old. That’s what’s going to happen. You’d better run away now while you still have the chance.”

  Whoa. My sister was tough. “Wait! Don’t scream! I’m not going to hurt you. I promise.”

  “Why are you following me? You’ve been following me all day.”

  “Because … umm … we’re related.”

  She poked her head out from behind the sign. “We’re related? What are you talking about? I’ve never even seen you before. How can we be related?”

  I took a few deep breaths and stared at her. I was surprised how hard this was and how nervous I was. “I’m your brother.”

  Her mouth dropped open. Then she shut it, took a step forward and peered at me through her glasses. “What are you talking about? I don’t have a brother.”

  Oh boy, this was weird. “Is your father Russell Pynsent?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then I’m your brother.”

  She looked confused. “What’s your name?”

  “Alfred.”

  “What’s your last name?”

  “Pynsent.”

  “What… but… how do I know you’re not just a crazy person who’s pretending to be my brother?”

  “I’m not a crazy person. But that’s a good question. That’s what I would ask. Maybe you should call your father and ask him.”

  “I will.”

  “A couple of days ago you called him at the dockyard, right?”

  “Maybe.”

  “And it was the third time in a month that you called, right?”

  “Actually, it was the fourth. How did you know that?”

  “Because I was there when you called.”

  “Then how come my father never told me about you?”

  “Because he doesn’t know who I am. Or, he didn’t.”

  “But you just said you were there when I called.”

  “I was. But I never told him who I was.”

  “He doesn’t know who you are?”

  “Maybe he d
oes now, I don’t know. He ran away as soon as he saw me.”

  “Yup. Sounds like Daddy.”

  Her eyes dropped to the ground. She looked thoughtful. It made her look older. “Why didn’t you tell him?”

  “I was planning to.”

  She stared at me again. “This is weird.”

  “I know.”

  “How old are you?”

  “Sixteen.”

  “And you’re from Newfoundland, right?”

  “Yup.”

  “I never even knew my father was married before.”

  “My mother died when I was born.”

  “Really? I’m sorry. That’s sad.”

  “I never knew her.”

  “I live with my mom.”

  “Did you ever live with your father?”

  “Ummm … I think so, but I don’t remember. I was really young. He left us and now he lives alone.”

  “Why do you think he left?”

  “Mommy says he’s like a hermit. Actually, he’s really nice once you get to know him. But it’s not easy to do that.”

  She squinted up her face. “You pretty much have to go to his house. I’m going there this weekend. You should come too. You should definitely come.”

  “I don’t know. I’ll think about it. Does he ever call you?”

  “Sometimes. But mostly I call him. He doesn’t like to talk on the telephone.”

  “I noticed. So … what’s your name?”

  “My name?”

  “Yah. What’s your name?”

  She stared through her thick lenses. Her eyes were dark, like the river.

  “Angel.”