Chapter 28
Sweat sprouted on Elana’s brow. Her eyes widened with panic. She looked like she’d guzzled a pot of coffee.
“So much for control,” I muttered.
“That’s not funny!”
“Slow, deep breaths. Everything’s going to be okay.”
She nodded, closed her eyes, and filled her lungs.
“Is this what you mean by battery issues?”
“More of an issue with recharge,” she said. “But nobody’s experienced anything like this yet.”
“Do we get extra points for being the first?” I teased.
“No, but maybe we’ll get points for surviving if we get out of this mess.” She radioed the habitat. “Mayday, mayday, mayday. Oceanus, this is Neptune. We’ve lost propulsion. Do you copy?”
There was no reply.
“Where’s the electrical panel?” I asked.
Elana pointed amidships.
I climbed out of my seat, clicked on my flashlight, and moved to the panel. I pulled it open, and my beam raked across the wiring.
Elana kept trying to contact the habitat, but there was no response. “Mayday, mayday, mayday.”
She unzipped her jumpsuit a little, her skin slick with sweat.
I checked all the connections and made sure they were secure. One had wiggled loose. I reconnected the DC bus to the main power inverter. The lights came on, and the system rebooted.
Elana breathed easier when I returned to the helm. “What did you do?”
"It's not uncommon for connections to shake loose, especially in high-vibration environments. There's been a lot of tremors lately.”
She put her hand to her chest and let out a sigh. "I may have been just a tad concerned there for a second."
"Just a tad," I teased.
"Hey, I like to think I'm improving.”
The thrusters lifted us from the sea floor, and we continued on our mission to visually inspect the anchor points.
"How did this all start?” I asked.
"How did what start?”
"This phobia of yours.”
"It’s not a phobia, remember? It’s a discomfort,” she said, trying to convince herself.
I chuckled. "Right.”
"It’s stress that is triggered by certain scenarios."
"You know there's a term for that.”
"Yes, I know there's a name for that. But if I don't name it, it's not real."
I laughed again. She was half serious.
Elana kept quiet for a moment.
"If you don't want to talk about it, I understand.”
She took a deep breath and settled herself. "It's not something that’s easy to talk about.”
"Fair enough.”
After another long beat, she said, "I was attacked when I was 16.
At that point in time, I was young and na?ve and didn't know how the world worked.
I didn't realize that there were bad people out there.
I mean, I knew there were bad people out there, but I never thought I would become a victim.
I didn't have that mindset. I was strong and independent," she said, puffing herself up in a dramatic fashion.
"I was on an elevator. A guy got on. I smiled and said hello. Then, next thing I knew, he pepper-sprayed me, tied me up, and took me from the elevator. He dragged me through the parking garage and shoved me into the trunk of his vehicle. He took me to a remote farmhouse and kept me locked in a box for three weeks. I never thought I was going to get out of there.”
I was shocked. "I totally get your aversion to elevators and small spaces.”
A smile of vindication pulled her plump lips.
"It’s pretty brave of you to come down here and attempt something like this," I said.
"I think so. And I think I'm doing a pretty damn good job, if I do say so myself.
I'm not going to let my past limit me. This is something I want to do.
I want to be part of a space mission. I want to break new ground and go down in the history books.
You know what they say—do something worth writing about, or write something worth reading.
I'd like to do both at some point.” She paused.
"Maybe I'm not cut out for this. But maybe I am. I'm never going to know what I’m capable of unless I put myself to the test.”
"I think you're doing pretty well so far.”
She smiled. "Thank you.”
Wong's voice crackled over the speaker. "Neptune, Oceanus, are you okay?”
"Yes. Minor hiccup,” Elana said. “All systems functioning normally.”
"What happened? We got your message, but comms were down briefly.”
"Loose connection," she said. "No cause for alarm.”
"Are you comfortable proceeding with the mission as planned?”
"Affirmative.”
"Copy that.”
After we inspected all of the anchor points, we returned to the habitat, and Elana navigated us into the moon pool. We surfaced, and she powered down the sub.
In a tentative voice, she said, "What happens in the sub stays in the sub, right? I’d prefer if the rest of the crew didn't know my back story."
I gestured that my lips were sealed. "I don't kiss and tell.”
She lifted an intrigued eyebrow. "Good to know.”
We climbed from our seats and took the ladder up. I opened the hatch and climbed out of the tiny sub.
Wong was there to greet us. “Are you two okay?”
"Yes," Elana assured. "Momentary glitch."
I gave her a hand, then connected power. "You might want to double-check all the electrical connections in the mini-subs.”
"I'm glad you're back safely,” Wong said. “The last thing we need is another incident."
Ross approached with a concerned look on his face. "Hey, have you seen Judy?”
"No," David replied. "I haven't.”
"She didn't show up for lunch. I haven't seen her all day. She doesn't answer when I knock on the hatch to her compartment. I’m a little worried about her. I think she's taking this pretty hard, understandably.”
"I'll check on her," Wong said.
Elana and I followed as David marched through the passageways to Judy's bunk room. He knocked on the hatch. "Judy, are you okay in there?”
There was no response.
David knocked again. "Judy?”
He twisted the handle and pushed open the hatch. The compartment was empty.
We all exchanged a concerned look.
David continued roaming through the habitat, looking for Judy, calling out for her. We followed and bumped into Flynn.
"Have you seen Judy?" David asked.
Flynn frowned and shook his head. "No. Not since yesterday, actually."
We split up and searched the habitat.
Relatively speaking, it was a pretty big place. Lots of compartments and passageways. Plenty of areas to get lost in. We moved through the whole space and regrouped in the control room. We all had blank looks on our faces. Judy was nowhere to be found.
That's when I saw her.
Through the large portal in the control room. Judy was outside the habitat, swimming into the abyss without a dive suit, without oxygen. It wouldn't take long at that temperature for hypothermia to set in. She’d deplete her oxygen supply and blackout. That would be it.
I could think of better ways to go out.
I may have grumbled an obscenity under my breath as I darted through the habitat toward the moon pool.
"What are you going to do?" Elana shouted after me.