Heather felt lucky Tolarus knew no English. It would be embarrassing to face the Atlantean with the ugly truth that they were going to leave him alone to face his destiny. How cruel would they look?
Easy on yourself, Heather. You have no other option in this situation.
Or maybe she had.
* * *
Burke didn't understand why Heather was so hesitant. The situation was crystal clear. Even her colleagues shared his opinion.
"Come on, Heather," Burke urged her. "Every minute we waste here increases our chances to be found and caught by the Griseos. Sooner or later, they will realize we're still here, and maybe they will send another force after us."
What was she musing on? Burke wished he could read her mind like the-rust-in-hell-Akmenios. He observed how she glanced a few times at Tolarus. What the hell is going on? No, it can't be. He dismissed the thought.
"So, you say taking the aircraft is a bad idea." Heather broke her silence. "What's our better alternative? The life capsule?"
Burke turned to Santino. "How deep can we dive with that thing?"
"Not more than two thousand feet," Santino stated.
"I guess we won't need more than that," Burke said.
"What are you thinking of?" Heather asked.
"Most probably, the Storm Shield will hit us. The only way to minimize the risk of sinking is to sink." Burke knew they would object to his opinion as usual. "I'm sure it sounds strange, but trust me, I know what I'm saying. Can we please postpone our debates for now?"
They all looked to each other. Why was trusting him that difficult?
"What's this all about?" Tolarus spoke at last, only Burke and Nathaniel understanding his Latin.
"They're still not sure how they can leave the island," replied Burke in Latin. "The vessel we brought has become a new option."
"There's no time for this," said Tolarus. "We can never know when the Griseos are going to send more soldiers. You must leave now."
Nathaniel was translating the conversation to Heather and her crew.
"What about you?" asked Burke. "Won't you join us?"
"No, my friend." Tolarus grinned. "This is our land. I won't leave it for those aliens that easy."
"You lost so many men, Tolarus."
"So did they. We're even now."
"I'm not sure about that. I think—"
"You're wasting your time, my friend." Tolarus pointed at Heather and her crew. "You must take them to your boat and leave the island now. Please, don't forget to tell your people about us when you return home. We will stand our ground, waiting for your reinforcements."
"We won't let you down, my friend." Burke held Tolarus by the shoulder. Truth be told, Burke wasn't sure it was a good idea to let his world know about this island. Most probably, the human invaders would replace the gray ones. The Atlanteans had better defeat those Griseos on their own.
"Tolarus is coming with us," said Heather in English.
"I've asked him already, but he insists on staying with his people." Burke turned to her, trying to put a smile on his face. "Are we leaving yet?"
"We can't leave him here after all he has done for us." Heather frowned. "Tell him what I have just said."
Hell no! I'm not going to do this ridiculous translation thing. "No," was all Burke said.
"Fine." Heather nervously turned to Nathaniel, pointing at Tolarus. "Tell him that leaving him here is pointless. The real help will come from outside the island."
"Come on, Heather," Burke said impatiently.
Suddenly, he thought of checking the aircraft radar. He hurried into the vessel, leaving Heather in her desperate attempts to persuade the Atlantean to join them. What was the reason behind her insistence? Did she have a crush on Tolarus? Damn, Heather. You must have lost your mind. Anyway, that wasn't his damned business, right? He had better keep his eyes on the damned panel.
Burke moved his fingers over the single gray pad at the center of the control panel. From what he had acquired from Akmenios's mind, he could read the symbols which appeared on the blue screen above the gray pad.
"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Burke stared at the four moving dots on the screen. He sprinted outside and jumped off the vessel. "Four vessels are approaching," Burke announced. "We must run now to the shore."
Heather looked alarmed when she asked, "How much time do we have?"
"Two minutes maximum. Sorry to interrupt your romantic farewell." Burke grunted, nodding toward Tolarus. "I'll explain to him what's going on. Now go."
The Atlantean looked confused when Burke pulled Heather and Nathaniel. "Move, all of you," Burke yelled at the rest of the crew before he addressed Tolarus in Latin, "Griseos are coming. Four vessels. You must get out of here."
"Don't you worry." Tolarus patted him on the shoulder, looking him in the eye. "I'll see you again, I hope."
"What are you talking about?"
Tolarus's answer was nothing but a faint smile. The Atlantean left him and hopped onto the aircraft.
"He's not doing this," Burke muttered as he watched Tolarus's vessel fly toward the incoming four crafts. This guy makes me feel bad about myself, Burke thought inwardly, recalling the moment he had told Heather about having nothing to do for the Atlanteans.
Though it was impossible now for the Atlantean to hear him, Burke found himself saying, "I'll see you again, my friend."
39. To Sink Or Not to Sink
Everything had been quiet since Tolarus took off with the vessel. No explosions. No roaring aircraft or buzzing scooters above. Only the murmur of ocean waves. What had happened to the Atlantean would remain a mystery until they met again. If only we meet again. . .
The water reached Heather's chest when she pulled herself up on board the orange life capsule. Behind her were the rest of her crew. Three men were carrying Powell as they trudged through the water. "Almost, guys." Heather encouraged them as they approached the life capsule. Being the first to hop onto their abandoned salvation ark, she went inside to check it out. Hopefully, it is abandoned indeed. Encountering a gray face here, at this very moment, would make a horrendous ending for this nightmare.
The life capsule seemed untouched since she disembarked with her crew. Only some parts of the floor were splashed by ocean waves through the open hatch during the last three days. No gray faces here. Fortunately.
Three days? It was hard for her to believe this. She had seen humanoid aliens who could speak her language; had met descendants of the people who had lived in Atlantis—the continent that was nothing more than a myth to her; had learned new mind-blowing facts about her world and its history. All those massive events in just three days.
And she had lost many friends as well.
The moment Santino joined her on board, she urged, "Come on, Santino. We want to make sure this capsule is still alive."
She returned to the open hatch of the capsule, urging her mates to hurry up. "Burke!" she called out to the guy lingering behind her crew for no clear reason. "This is not the time for daydreaming."
No, he is not daydreaming, Heather thought as she squinted at Burke, who had been staring at the sky for a moment. "Burke! You hear something?"
Her crew managed to get Powell into the capsule when Burke finally replied, "Nothing. After all these years, I just can't help the feeling that someone is following me."
"We will have time to deal with our issues, Burke, but that happens later, not now." She glared at him.
"You're right." Burke nodded and moved at last. When he reached her, he asked, "You are worried about your blue-eyed boyfriend, aren't you?"
The question caught her off guard. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"You heard me. I know you're crazy about those eyes," Burke teased as he went past her into the capsule. "Let's go, folks. What are we waiting for?"
She would rebuke Burke for his ridiculous remark, but instead, she went to Santino. "How are we, Santi?"
Santino was already assuming his position behind the
steering panel. "We are good to go." When the hatch slowly closed, he continued, "Sit tight, everybody."
Heather found a seat right behind Santino. "At last," she muttered, gazing through the window at the island she was leaving behind. "Take this horrendous view out of my sight."
"Just one final ride," said Daniel as the life capsule made a turnaround before it moved onward, leaving the cursed island of Domus behind, hopefully for good.
"Burke," Santino called out while steering the capsule away from the island. "You said something about sinking in order not to sink or something like that. Can you tell me what the hell does this mean?"
"It means that we simply need to let the life capsule fall to deactivate the Storm Shield," Burke answered.
"Excuse me?" Santino glanced back at him, unconvinced.
"We have no time for alien hallucinations, Burke," Daniel protested. "This is our only chance."
"You know what, Daniel." Burke, who sat behind Daniel, leaned forward. "I'm afraid I'm your only hope right now."
Unfortunately, he was right about that, Heather knew. Whether he was hallucinating or not, she and her crew had no better options. "You're sure about what you say, right, Burke?" Heather wouldn't dare to think of any possible destinations for their journey except home.
"This is the only thing I know." Burke shrugged. "I know nothing else."
"Guys, guys, knock it off," Santino interrupted them nervously. "Let me understand what he wants me to do."
"Just wait for the storm to begin," Burke addressed Santino. "And then, you can turn the engines off."
"Turn the engines off?" Santino echoed in disapproval. "For how long?"
"At least before you hit the ocean floor."
"You are so optimistic." Santino gaped at Burke. "There's no way we hit the ocean floor. The vessel skeleton won't withstand the pressure."
The way Burke was silenced made Heather feel nervous. "Collect your thoughts together, Burke," she pleaded. "I don't know what exactly happened to you, but you said you knew what Akmenios knew. In your mind, there must be a little piece of information that can help us."
"You might be right." Burke leaned back into his seat. "But I have no idea how to know if that little piece of information exists in the first place."
"I don't know, either," Heather snapped. "Nobody knows. Do you have any suggestions?"
"Sure." Burke's grin didn't make her feel comfortable. "You pray the storm ends before the water pressure crushes us."
Heather didn't know how to answer this back. She looked away from Burke and silently watched the ocean from the closed glass window. Waiting for the storm to happen was worse than the storm itself.
"Hey." Jay broke the silence. "How many years do you think they will sentence us?"
Heather was confused for a while before she realized what Jay was referring to. "Would you trade your seat here for a bed in a cell?" she asked him.
"I never tried either an ocean floor or a bed in a cell," said Jay. "But a cell sounds fine to me in that case."
"I won't return to a cell." Burke folded his arms. "I'd pick the ocean floor instead."
The vessel started to shake. "Hang on," Santino warned. "It's starting now."
Heather gazed at the rising waves outside. "Oh God," she muttered.
"Now, Santino!" Burke yelled. "Turn it off!"
"This is the stupidest thing I have ever done." Santino seemed a bit hesitant. The capsule swayed in the raging ocean, like a leaf wobbling in the autumn wind. If it were not for the seat belts, the capsule passengers would be smashed against its walls.
"Now, Santino!" Burke repeated.
Heather could now see nothing through the window but water. She had no idea whether they were swallowed by the ocean, or it was Santino who let the vessel sank as Burke suggested. Anyway, it was supposed to be much quieter below the water surface.
"What the hell is that?" Through the front glass, Daniel pointed at the mother of all whirlpools. In Heather's scientific career, she had never seen or heard about a vortex of a diameter that might exceed seven miles. She could estimate the velocity of its vigorous ocean currents to be not less than thirty miles per hour.
"Do something, Santino!" Heather gripped her seat arms tightly. She knew this was useless, but she couldn't help doing so. "Don't let that bitch swallow us! We'll be crunched!"
"What possibly can I do?" Santino's voice betrayed his terror. "With the engines turned off, I can't escape that monstrous vortex!"
"You must turn them on now, Santino!" Daniel urged. "If we get closer, we won't be able to overcome the huge sucking power of that vortex."
"Turning engines on means certain death," Burke reminded them. "The Shield Storm will never stop as long as our engines are still working."
"But we're sinking already, and nothing is happening!" Santino blustered.
"At least we have a probability of surviving in this scenario." Burke glared at Santino, which was an unusual scene. In their previous dark situations, Burke had always been calm enough to even find a snarky remark to say. At this very moment, he looked scared, as anybody in this death capsule should be. At this very moment, he acted normally.
Like a human.
"I hope I won't regret this, Burke." Heather looked him in the eye.
"Either way you won't," said Burke impassively. Unfortunately, he was right.
"This is madness," Daniel grunted. "We are already being drawn into the vortex currents. If we wait more than that, we won't stand a chance."
"We'll do what Burke says. We won't discuss this again," she snapped.
Despite its switched-off engines, the life capsule gained more speed as it was nearing the gigantic whirlpool. Could it be possible she had made her worst decision ever?
Her last?
"I can't do this." Santino hit the panel with both hands repeatedly and started to work his fingers on the keys in front of him.
"Not now!" Burke unbuckled his seat belt, rushed toward Santino, and violently pulled him back. "Hold!"
Santino pushed Burke away from him. "I won't die because of your bullshit!"
Burke's eyes glowed and threw himself on Santino. "And I said not now!"
"Get off him!" Susan screamed.
Heather knew she must stop this farce, but her mind was a blank space. The vessel was rocking at a higher pace now. If she unbuckled her seatbelt, she would smash her back against the wall of the vessel. "This is insane," Heather muttered as she could hardly watch Burke and Santino's fight amid this vigorous shaking.
"Look! Look!" Powell spoke at last. "It's retracting!"
Heather stared at the vortex, making sure her eyes weren't fooling her. Powell is right. She could swear the whirlpool diameter was shrinking. Even the vessel movement started to slow down. For a while, the life capsule grew hushed as all eyes, Burke and Santino's included, were glued to the front glass window.
"Yes!" Daniel hit the seat arm with his palm.
Burke got himself off Santino. "Sorry for this," said Burke as he returned to his seat. "I had to stop you by any means."
Santino's eyes betrayed his fury as he peered at Burke. It seemed it wasn't over yet for the Latino.
"Chill out, man," Jay addressed Santino. "The guy has just apologized to you."
"We shall see about that when we return." Santino frowned.
Heather felt she should say something to Santino. But after a second thought, she chose not to bother herself with this boyish squabble.
"What's this?" Heather heard a cracking sound above her head. "Santino! Check the depth!"
"Oh shit!" Santino was awakened by Heather's alarmed voiced. "Three thousand feet! We must rise now!"
There was no way to wait for Burke's advice this time, a rift already expanding along the life capsule roof. The ocean was going to crush them like a car running over a can. "How bad is the damage?"
"Sixty percent and counting! We have a few seconds remaining before the skeleton collapses!"
"We wo
n't make it," Burke muttered. "We're still too deep."
Despite his calmness, Burke's announcement sounded more terrifying than Santino's for some reason. Because he always means every word he says, even when he jokes, Heather realized that now.
"Santino?" Daniel asked nervously. "How deep are we now?"
Santino's lips did move, but he didn't answer Daniel. He was muttering with something that only Heather could hear from her seat right behind him.
"To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul."
40. Death Capsule
The capsule wall bulged inward with a terrible rasping, water dripping into the vessel now. At any moment, the ocean would crush that capsule with all its passengers on board.
"Straight up, Santino!" Powell bellowed. "Do you hear me? Straight up!"
Heather grasped what the marine was referring to. "Do it, Santi!" she interrupted Santino's last prayers. "Focus, and you'll do it!"
"I'm already sticking to the protocol—"
"Forget the damned protocol and do what Powell says!" Heather cut him off, cold drops pouring down on her cheeks and forehead. "Do it, Santi!"
"Shell damage is ninety-one percent!" Santino blustered.
"The shell is still holding, for God's sake!" Daniel snapped. "Come on, Santi!"
Santino grunted as he adjusted the course of the life capsule, steering it upward in a sharp angle. Behind Heather Susan shrieked, Jay praying loudly, Powell bellowing out his instructions. On her right, Daniel hollered at Santino, who kept grunting as if he was pushing the capsule upward with his own arms. For one rare occasion, the only silent man in the room was Burke.
"Only thirty seconds left to surface!" Santino yelled.
Thirty seconds! Thirty long seconds! Heather grasped her seat arms, eyes still closed, waiting for someone to wake her up from this horrendous nightmare. Seeking any happy thoughts in her mind was a total failure. The last three days of her life filled her head with the worst memories ever.
Suddenly the side wall next to Jay collapsed, flooding him with water. "Get out of here! All of you!" Daniel yelled. "The capsule is sinking!"
Bermuda Page 22
