Aboard the cold DSRV, Ethan and the three rescued crew sat in exhausted silence on the benches. The pilot had stopped asking them what happened after a few minutes, realizing he wouldn’t get an answer until they reached the surface. The men up front still didn’t even know they had lost two crewmen, Ethan being too afraid they’d want to go back and retrieve them.
Ethan finally spoke, still wearing his suit. “What happened down there?”
Tony shook his head. “I have no idea.”
The sailor looked at Theresa and Jessica. They both shook their heads. Finally, Jessica spoke. “You saw it. What do you think it was?”
His shook his head in disbelief.
“Exactly,” she replied, and put her head on Tony’s shoulder.
************
On Ethan’s boot, the small piece of goo that had been his skipper’s pinky was now attached to the side of his shoe. It wiggled.