In the morning after Dai unlocks my door, I slip out of my sleeping chamber, hoping to explore more of the sub. I still want to figure out a way to escape. I’m not sure how I’ll get past the shredders, but first I have to find a way off the Ophion. Dai and Wasp look into a retinal scanner each time we enter the main waterlock, which makes me think that if I tried to operate it by myself, I’d probably trigger some alarms.
As I swim forward, I’m surprised to see Dai and Whitey floating together in Whitey’s sleeping compartment. Whitey holds his face in his hands, and Dai has a hand on his shoulder.
:Bro, you gotta tell him that working in the dark and the cold, with sharkheads everywhere, is getting to us,: Whitey is saying. When he drops his hands from his face, his eyes are wild. :They’ll just keep trying to kill us. Maybe it’s because of my shark genes, but I can feel their hatred. They despise us because we’re like them but we’re more human.:
:I know. I keep trying to tell him that searching the wreck is hard on us, but he doesn’t care.:
:I-I don’t know how much longer I can keep doing it,: Whitey says, his mental voice so raw that I slip away, ashamed of eavesdropping on such a personal moment. Whitey always seems so cold and hard. It’s weird to think he hates searching the wreck just as much as Wasp and I do.
Dai and Whitey come to the mess a few minutes later, their expressions guarded. Wordlessly we chow down on old tuna again.
Whitey, Dai and Sham check the entire wreck to make sure there are no shredders lurking inside it before they let Wasp and me swim across and join them. While the shredder patrol sweeps the area right around the wreck, Sham and Whitey take lengths of chain and lock shut all the exterior hatches except the big one in the center of the top deck. Their efforts will make us safer, but they’re also making it much harder for me to escape from the Storm Petrel.
Dai says little to me all morning, but my talk with him must have had some impact, because he sends Wasp and me to search the galley while he searches his mother’s cabin. Slowly and carefully I look through silt-covered pots and pans and cooking utensils. Maybe Idaine set her computer aside and left it here the morning she got up early to cook birthday pancakes for her son.
As I search, I try to imagine that day from her perspective. Did she know her husband might be coming back for Dai’s birthing day? Would she have been worried about his return? Dai said she was starting to fear for his father’s sanity. If she had discovered something important and potentially of great value to his investors, would she have tried to hide it from him?
The more I consider that notion, the more it makes sense to me.
:I have another idea about our search,: I say to Dai as we eat lunch in the wreck’s mess. This time Sham shot a halibut, which also tastes way better than old tuna.
:Make it quick,: he says while the others listen in. :I’m getting tired of your not-so-brilliant ideas.:
I swallow a retort that might make them all mad at me. :Last night you said your mother was worried that your father might be losing it. We know she discovered the c-plankton in the months before she died. We also know that she asked the crew to warn her before your father came aboard. What if she was afraid that he’d try to sell her research to his investors?:
Dai watches me intently. :You’re thinking she may have purposely hidden her research from him?:
:That would explain why she gave her crew orders to warn her when they spotted his ship approaching. What if that day her crew did call her back, but before she came down to her lab, she hid her computer someplace your father would never think to look for it?:
For a moment, Dai’s eyes narrow, as if my words have made him think of something. But then he shrugs carelessly. :I guess it’s possible,: he says, :but I don’t know where she liked to hide her stuff. If I did, we would have looked there days ago. All right, everyone, let’s get back to it.:
We spend several more cold, frustrating hours searching the Storm Petrel before we head back to the Ophion and eat dinner. It’s hard for me to fall asleep, even though I’m exhausted. Spending so many hours in the dark wreck has messed up my internal clock that tells my brain when I should fall asleep.
Around two in the morning, I wonder if Dai and Wasp have finally fallen asleep. When I try contacting my friends at the surface, Wasp’s dampening cloud doesn’t stop me. I hope the Carly Sue is still nearby, but there’s a chance the Marine Guard or a Canadian naval ship may have chased them away.
:Tobin? Robry? Are you guys there?:
:N-nere?: Robry asks. He must have been sleeping, but he wakes up fast.
:Are you all right?: Tobin asks quickly.
I’m so happy to link with their minds again. I just wish a thousand feet of black ocean didn’t separate us.
:I’m okay,: I say. :Where are you?:
:We’re still here,: Tobin reassures me. :The Carly Sue is anchored behind a small island about a quarter mile from the wreck. Your dad has been in contact with Kuron every day, trying to negotiate your release.:
:I’m trying to find a way to escape, but they’re watching me pretty carefully. We’re staying on some sort of old naval sub buried in the muck next to the Storm Petrel. Nine of Kuron’s shredders have gone rogue, and they’re hanging out around the sub and the wreck. That’s not going to make it easy for me to reach you.:
:If you can find a safe way to escape,: Tobin says, :we have a dozen Sea Rangers ready and waiting to help. Mariah and her pod are all here, and you know they’ll help, too.:
:Don’t forget to keep track of the tides,: Robry breaks in anxiously.
:When is the next slack tide?: I ask.
:Two hours from now.:
:’Kay, I’ll try to keep track of the tides from now on. Thanks, you guys. It’s so good to hear your voices.:
:It’s good to hear yours, too. You be careful down there,: Tobin says.
:Gotta sign off,: I say hastily as my door swings open. :Someone’s coming.:
I close my eyes and my whole body tenses. I let go a sigh of relief when I sense it’s Dai. If Wasp had caught me talking with my friends, she might have stung me to death.
:Nere, I know you’re pretending to be asleep,: Dai says dryly, :and I’m actually glad to hear the Carly Sue is still around.:
My heart skips a beat. He must have been listening in on my conversation with Tobin and Robry. :Huh?: I say, raising my head and staring at him.
:Come on, we’ve got to hurry to the waterlock. We don’t have much time, and I’ll explain everything to you in there. Try to shield your mind and don’t think about anything until we’re off the Ophion.:
:That’s easier said than done,: I mutter as I climb out of my hammock and follow Dai. It’s hard to think about nothing when my mind is racing with questions.
In the equipment compartment, he starts pulling on his heavy seasuit and motions that I should pull on mine. He helps me plug in my heating pack, and I’m stunned when he hands me my spear gun and the rest of my gear.
:I know you’d probably like to shoot me,: he says with a glimmer of his old humor as he leads me into the waterlock, :but I’d rather you got ready to shoot shredders instead.:
The moment the door closes behind us, I sputter, :What is going on?:
:I only went back to my father because I knew you wouldn’t give up on finding my mother’s research, and I knew he and the others would be waiting for you the moment you entered the wreck. Joining them again was the only way I could give you a chance of surviving.:
I cross my arms and stare at him. :So, you want me to believe that going back to your father was all an act?:
:Well, it wasn’t entirely an act,: he says as he loads his spear gun. :I’m still furious that you guys wouldn’t trust me and that you wouldn’t listen. I told you my dad would never let you take her research. But what you said today did make me remember something. I think I know where my mother hid her computer.:
I suck in a breath. :Where do you think it is?:
:After Maia’s death, we all avoided her cabin, but in the month before my birthday, I saw my mom enter it several times with her computer. I thought she was going in there to grieve for Maia, but now I’m not so sure.:
:You think she was hiding her computer in Maia’s cabin?:
:I think it’s a good possibility. So, we’re heading for the wreck, and if we find the computer, I’m going to take you and the computer topside to your father. Now, would you please load your spear gun?:
:You’re right. I do want to shoot you,: I say, placing a dart in my weapon. :You’ve been horrible to me from the moment you guys ambushed us.:
:Yeah, you probably hate my guts now, but you’re still alive, and I’ll take that as a win.:
:I don’t hate your guts,: I protest. :I could never hate you. In fact—:
At that moment, the control light turns to green.
:We don’t have time to talk now,: Dai says tersely. :Whitey could wake up any time. I’ll go first and look for shredders. You stay behind me when this door opens.:
:Right,: I say, but I raise my spear gun, ready to help Dai if he needs me. As tough and strong as he is, one of those mutates could tear him apart. My blood thunders in my ears as the waterlock door slides open and Dai slips outside. I stay right behind him, but I can’t see a thing because Dai isn’t using his dive torch.
:I don’t sense any shredders nearby,: he says. :Let’s go.:
He takes my hand and pulls me through the black water to the wreck. Even through my glove, I can feel his warmth. When we reach the central hatch, he unlocks it and locks it behind us. Using his own dive torch, he leads me forward through the dark wreck to Maia’s small cabin.
While Dai searches it, I hover just inside looking over his shoulder. The cabin contains a bunk, desk and built-in bureau. Over the bunk several starfish sculptures still hang on the wall.
:She must have loved starfish,: I say, my eyes prickling with tears for the little girl who never had a chance to grow up.
:They were her favorite sea creature,: Dai says, sounding distracted as he hurriedly checks all the desk and bureau drawers. I slip inside and check the bunk.
:It’s not here,: he says, looking discouraged.
:Are you sure she didn’t have some sort of secret place? Most little girls do,: I suggest, remembering the metal box under my bed where I hid my own small treasures.
:She did,: he says abruptly. :There was a small, flat compartment near the foot of her bed that she called her secret treasure chest.:
He leans over and carefully feels along the base of the bunk. :Here’s the door.: As he reaches his hand in, I hold my breath.
:I can feel something flat and rectangular.: Moments later, he straightens up, holding a slim computer in his hands. :We’ve got it!:
Dai looks down at the computer and touches it gently with his fingertips. :Mom spent so many hours on this thing, sometimes I hated it. But then she’d show me some of the amazing places she’d traveled for research, and she’d play the coolest games with me.:
All at once, he seems to remember himself. :Turn around,: he says briskly. :I want to put this in your seapack.:
I feel like I’m stealing one of the last pieces of Dai’s childhood.
:I’m sure they’ll get it back to you,: I say lamely.
:Once they open the shell around the hard drive, the computer won’t function again. But it’s all right. Mom would want the world to benefit from her work.:
Wordlessly, I turn and he slips the computer into my pack. :Now, let’s get you and this back to the surface,: Dai declares and swims for the main hatch.
As he starts to crank the latch, I say, :Please, Dai, when we reach the surface, will you stay with us? You still have a place at Safety Harbor. I-I want you to come back with us. I want you to come back with me.:
His face tightens and he doesn’t say a word as he pushes the heavy hatch door open. When he raises his spear gun, I do the same.
:Nere, I just don’t think I’ll ever fit—:
:Well, well, look what we have here,: Whitey’s grating voice fills my mind.
He, Sham and Wasp, all armed with spear guns, hover between us and the surface.