CHAPTER 12
THERE WAS NO WORSE FEELING FOR GEARY THAN TO THINK that someone she loved was in danger and to not be able to get to them. Geary was hysterical as she forgot about her quest and swam as quickly as possible through the dark water.
"Geary!"
She ignored Kat's call. The only thing that mattered was getting topside to see what was going on.
Suddenly Arik was there, pulling Geary back. "You've got to calm down. You're breathing too rapidly."
She shook her head at him. "That sounded like an explosion. I have to get up there."
"All we heard was a pop." His tone was level and calm as those blue eyes haunted her. "It could have been anything. All we know is the intercom is malfunctioning. You don't want to die over that, do you?"
He was right and she hated him for it. Nodding, she pressed her hand against her helmet to listen more carefully. "Tory? Are you there? What's happening?"
There was still no answer.
"Tory? Christof? Justina? Thia? Dammit. Someone answer me... please."
Arik held his breath, wishing he could ease her mind. But as the silence stretched on he knew what she did. Something had to have-
His thoughts stopped as a piece of twisted metal shot past him on the right. It was followed by more pieces that rained down around them through the water.
And it was obvious what the metal was.
"Uh, folks," Scott said, his voice shaking. "I think that's our boat trying to kill us."
Yeah. Arik had a bad feeling the kid might be right. Shit.
Arik looked at Kat and could tell she had no more information than he did.
He closed his eyes and summoned his brother with his mind. " Solin..."
There was no answer from that end, either, which boded even more ominously than their exploded boat.
Arik let go of Megeara "All right, let's head up. Safely."
"Okay." But he could hear the panic and fear in Megeara's voice.
He hesitated as Megeara and Scott went first so that he could swim beside Kat. "Any clue?"
She shook her head glumly. "You know if the boat's gone, so's our air supply."
He'd thought of that himself. So far their air was holding. Which was another reason they needed to get up immediately. They didn't have much reserve, and since he was human, he could die here, which was the last thing he wanted. Kat was the only one of them who didn't have that fear. Lucky bitch.
As they swam for the first decompression station, Arik tried his best to reach Solin repeatedly while Megeara continued to call through her intercom for the others.
And repeatedly there was nothing from above, except for a few pieces of metal that continued to float by as they headed for the floor of the sea. Yeah, nothing like watching your life pass you by, knowing you were even more sunk than it was if you didn't get to air soon.
They reached the first tank, which held two breathing hoses. The women went first, then he and Scott.
They traded the lines back and forth as they waited for their bodies to adjust to the new depth before they swam any higher.
But each of them was rattled by what could have happened to the boat and the others.
"Arikos..."
He hesitated as, he finally heard Solin's voice in his head. " What's going on?"
"The boat was blown up."
"No shit. We rather got that, as parts of it almost crushed us in the water. What happened and why didn't you stop it?"
"Yeah, right. Stop it, my ass. I'm not messing with this one."
Arik cursed at Solin's selfishness. " Dammit, Solin. There's not enough air in the line for us. We might not make it back."
"Is that supposed to mean something to me? You're all going to die anyway, right? What's the point? I still have to live here after you're all gone."
If Arik could lay hands on Solin, he'd kill him.
"This isn't a game, Solin."
"No, it isn't. And you're on your own. Good luck."
Arik ground his teeth as he took the hose from Megeara so that he could take a turn breathing. " You better pray I don't make it up there to you."
"Praying's for amateurs and you got much bigger problems than me."
Arik felt Solin drifting away from his thoughts. Megeara took the hose and breathed deeply before she swam upward again. Arik and the others followed her.
They were halfway to the second station when more debris started falling through the water. What the hell? Had another boat blown up?
Arik swam up to Megeara as she started moving even faster.
"Megeara. Stop. We have to breathe slowly. You know that. Stay calm and focused."
Geary wanted to shove him away from her, but she knew he was right. She couldn't afford to fight him in the water. Right now, they had reserve air at the stations. They could stay there until their bodies readjusted. Then they could hold their breath and move to the next. But this was taking too long for her tastes.
She had to know what was going one. What had happened to the others.
Her heart heavy, she looked at Scott, who had tears in his eyes. "We'll be okay, Scott."
The doubt he held burned through her. "Yeah, right."
"No more talking," Kat snapped at them. "We have to preserve what air we got."
Arik took Geary's hand and squeezed it before he urged her up through the water. Geary obeyed, but as she swam a thousand thoughts went through her mind. Her brother had died over a malfunction in his tank.
She'd always wondered what had gone through Jason's mind in those last few minutes as he realized his life was about to end. She had to say it sucked. Memories and unfulfilled dreams poured through her with a burning intensity.
She didn't want to die. She was young and though she hadn't dated much, she still held on to the dream that one day she'd meet a great guy and have kids. That she would grow old with someone who treasured her as much as she treasured him. Was that too much to ask?
There was so much she wanted to do. And now she might never even see daylight again. It wasn't fair-to come so close to her goal and die before she could finish her quest.
But the worst thought was that Tory and Thia might be dead. Justina, Teddy, Christof, and all the others...