Location: Unknown

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It was dark—a strange dark—like looking through fog at night. The fog can’t really be seen or touched but seems to hinder vision anyway. Kelly’s eyes stung, and there was a constant pressure on them. Where was he?

His leg twitched. He was upright but not touching the floor—not touching anything. He flailed an arm, but it dragged as if he were moving in slow motion. Was he drugged? He exhaled. Bubbles spilled through the regulator strapped to his face. A long hose protruded from the front of it and out of the water’s surface above him—a makeshift snorkel. Shit, he was underwater. Kelly’s eyes widened in terror. All senses but vision were numbed to the point of nothingness. His heart raced, and began to hyperventilate. Calm—he must stay calm. He tried to control his breathing.

Intense fluorescent light blinked rapidly into life, shining through Kelly’s dilated pupils, temporarily blinding him. Shit, that was bright. He repeatedly opened his eyes, screwed them closed, and opened them again. The light was coming from the front like an enormous torch. Still, his vision remained blurry. He could only see shapes. What were they? Men? Those were men on the other side of glass. Kelly was in a tank.

The men wandered up to the tank, stared inside, and went back to the gray desks and consoles some ten feet away. Kelly looked around his aquatic prison. He was clearly naked, his genitals floating in the warm water. Concern for his current situation overwhelmed any sense of embarrassment. He examined the walls. Clear to the front but onyx-black to his right, rear, and above. He turned his head slowly to the left and peered through a transparent wall into an adjacent tank.

There was K’in, bobbing up and down in the water, limp but clearly awake. The creature looked weak, almost melancholy—nothing like the swirling lively animal to which he had become accustomed. He moved his large head in Kelly’s direction and appeared to watch him. Kelly squinted in the dazzling light to focus. He noticed a strange, long, black wire that was attached to K’in’s head, projecting vertically out through the water into the roof of the tank. He reached through the water to his own head. A wire. He tugged on it, but it was fixed to his scalp somehow. Fuck, what was this? Where was he?

Kelly scanned the window to the outside world for a clue. Desks, consoles, men, a plain gray floor—everything looked stark, metallic, and functional. The room was definitely small. A single door behind the men looked like an elongated porthole. Pipes of various sizes ran along the ceiling. His gaze fell on a small, table-like structure in front of the aquarium, placed between his and the creature’s portion of the tank. On its surface was something that looked very much like the object Kelly had retrieved for the General. Two black wires extended upward from it toward the tank and diverged after a few feet, splicing off to the left and right. Shit! They were hooked up to the fucking thing. Dread overwhelmed him. He kicked his feet, breathing rapidly, bubbles streaming from the regulator. Shit! Shit!

He stopped abruptly, every muscle in his body relaxing. A sense of ease and contentment washed over him. Kelly closed his eyes and listened to his heart rate slow to a resting rhythm. The water sloshed around his ears, lapping gently at his face, soothing him. Opening his eyelids, he lazily dragged his head to face the creature’s tank. As his gaze swept across the glass front, he could see the men frantically taking notes. His field of vision reached K’in. K’in was looking at him—staring at him. Their eyes locked. Emotion oozed from the creature. K’in was scared, not for himself but for Kelly. He was reaching out to him—telling him to be calm. It wasn’t English or any language, just a serene feeling of being at one with something. Kelly’s eyes rolled back in his head. Dark—everything was going dark.

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Location: U.S. submarine, somewhere in the Pacific Ocean

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“How long ‘til we’re out of the tunnel and in the bay?”

“We’ve been in the bay for three hours, Mr. Tremaine.”

“Oh?”

“You have no real sense of time down here, no natural light to aid your perception.” The XO was sitting on his chair, hands clamped together.

“Right.” He looked at his watch. It had been more than seven hours since they had left. Made sense. “So we just feel around in the dark down here? Any fool could do that. How long ‘til we—”

“Sir, I’ve been tracking a 60 Hertz signal for a while. It has a six-line profile, light and narrow. I think we have her.”

“How fast is she moving and in which direction? Has she seen us?”

The XO leapt to his feet. “We didn’t move across a layer, and the TA has stayed in line; this is coming from the UUV. She seems to be moving slightly faster than patrol speed, course correction of less than thirty degrees fairly regularly but in a general westerly direction. She’s sixty-five feet below us—we are in her blind spot.”

“Excellent.”

The XO walked across the room to the internal communications console. “Ms. Nilsson, we have the enemy sub and are tracking. Deploy the ASDS while we are still in her blind spot.”

“Affirmative.” Freya’s voice sounded muted over the communications system. “Good luck.”

“To us all, Ms. Nilsson. Out.”

“Now what?” Tremaine’s face was a mixture of anticipation and trepidation.

“Now we charge these fuckers like a bull in a china shop. Scare the shit out of them. We have one chance at this. We have to make it count.”

There was a heavy clunk as the ASDS decoupled from the hull.

“There she goes. I hope they didn’t hear that,” quipped Tremaine.

“Sir, she’s making a course correction, sixty degrees to port. I think she’s spotted us!” the soldier at the sonar shouted.

“Fuck! All hands to deck! Move to tactical speed now! Maintain the solution, don’t let her out of your sight!”

* * *

The propeller hummed as the mini-sub cruised along. Freya sat in the transport compartment of the ASDS. It was cramped inside. Six marines were with her, one in the operations section and five in the transport compartment. She was sitting in full scuba gear on a bench-like structure, awaiting her signal to exit to the chopper, or “angel” as the marines referred to it, at the surface. She’d always liked that particular term and the idea that there was a team out there ready to rescue her, should she need it—her own private army of angels with machine guns.

Her thoughts turned to Kelly. She hoped he was okay and could be rescued, too. She knew it wasn’t likely, but she felt responsible for him—and Chris and Victoria. This was the first time she’d been in a real combat situation, and she’d already lost two, possibly three civilians. If she was really honest, she admired Kelly. Yes, he was a bit gung-ho, a bit sarcastic, and a bit moody, but he was brave. And he obviously took care of the people he loved—an admirable quality. He had to survive.

“Ms. Nilsson, we have a problem. The enemy sub has changed direction. We’ve been spotted. The XO has moved into attack mode. You need to get to the surface now.”

Freya sprang from her seat. She blinked, dazed and confused. What should she do? Scuba gear, that’s right. Get out. Get to the chopper. She sprinted into the LIO compartment, pulled on the BCD, and adjusted the straps, fastening the weight belt and the tank next.

“Okay, Ms. Nilsson, once you are away, we’ll wait for the signal and then maneuver into position. We’ll use the robotic arm to remove the hatch door to their lockout trunk. This will flood the sub and disable the enemy. We’ll send in a team to extract the creature.”

“By disable, you mean drown everyone on board, right?”

“Yes ma’am. Probably.”

She shook her head. “Surely, only flooding the lockout trunk won’t work. They can seal off compartments.”

“Not with—”

“Torpedo away!”

“What?” Freya yelled, her eyes wild.

“The XO had to take her down—it’s the only way.”

“One hundred feet, fifty feet, twenty feet, ten ... contact! The Chinese sub has been hit!” The marine at the comms station was yelling back into the LIO compartment.

“You have to go now. Go!” The marine yanked the hood of Freya’s wetsuit over her head.

She glared at him, clearly pissed off. She pulled the mask’s strap over her head and fixed it to her face. Freya heaved open the hatch door in the floor. It clanged against the inside of the hull as she let it go. The air pressure inside prevented water from rushing in. Placing the regulator in her mouth, she breathed deeply a few times before dropping feet first into the frigid water.

Once outside, she searched her surroundings. Three hundred feet below, she could see a blurry image of the Chinese sub as it sank to the ocean floor. A massive black hole gaped in the port side of the dull gray vessel. She watched for a few moments as the submarine slipped into the darkness. In the distance, she could see the shape of their sub. It appeared undamaged. Overhead, the ASDS moved. Freya kicked her feet and swam out from underneath it. Looking to the surface, she began her ascent. As she rose, she held a small prayer in her heart that belied her need to be strong: let Kelly be okay.

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Location: Chinese submarine, somewhere in the Pacific Ocean

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The tank shook violently, waking Kelly from his trance-like state. The external sounds were muffled through the water and glass, but he could make out the sound of an alarm. The men outside were struggling to stay on their feet, grasping at the consoles for support. The weight of the water around Kelly shifted as the tank moved in synchrony with room. Wherever he was, the structure was moving quickly. Were they under attack?

He glanced across at K’in, who bobbed up and down in his own compartment. As the water sloshed from side to side, a deep sense of confusion and fear passed from the creature into Kelly.

Without warning, the tanks twisted beyond their limits, forcing the Plexiglas to warp, bulge, and finally split open. The warm seawater spewed out through the tears, vomiting Kelly and K’in onto the floor of the room.

Kelly lay naked, sprawled out among the fumbling Chinese men, who appeared much more concerned with the current situation than with their prisoners. He flopped about on the floor and clawed at the mask on his face, but it was no use. The apparatus was strapped tightly to the back of his head, the external tubing running outward from the front and onto the floor. Clearly, it had just been a makeshift snorkel, but he could feel another tube extending downward from inside the mouthpiece into his windpipe. He flipped onto his front and lay low in the freezing water that swirled around the floor. Lifting himself onto his palms, he searched for the other end of the external pipe. He had to pick it up before it filled with water and drowned him.

In a push-up like motion, Kelly got to his knees and then his feet. Unsteadily, he stood and searched the room. He heard the heavy sound of his own breathing inside the mask and a faint gurgling sound as the other end of the hose lay in a thin pool of water.

He grabbed at the tubing and yanked it out of the water and over one shoulder in a single, quick movement. It was longer than he had hoped and difficult to manage. He swung around, now searching for K’in. The creature lay flat on the floor, his eyes darting about the room, following the panicked men and ensuing chaos. Kelly stomped with bare feet over to K’in, each step making a large splash. He knelt by the creature and put his hand on his head. K’in lifted his eyes to Kelly’s. With his face covered, Kelly’s eyes became an even greater focal point. They were calm and strong.

Kelly nodded at K’in—a vague indication not to worry. Be calm. Everything will be okay. He examined the wire protruding from K’in’s head. It was attached, piercing the skin directly. Kelly paused. Should he remove it? Fuck it; what else would he do? He looked once more into K’in’s eyes, trying to communicate that he was sorry, but this was going to hurt. With a sharp tug, he yanked on the wire. It popped upward, spurting blood from the tiny hole onto Kelly’s mask. K’in’s mouth opened wide, but no sound came from within. The creature shook his head, trying to shake off the pain. I know, thought Kelly, but it’s okay for you. I have to do this to myself. He reached above his own head and felt for the wire. He clasped both hands around it, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. He yanked on it, ripping it from his scalp. Kelly screamed into the mask as it tore his skin away. Throwing the wire to the floor, he stared at K’in. Okay, he thought, you took that better than I did.

A man behind Kelly shrieked loudly as a mass of seawater rushed into the room, forcing him from the doorway and crushing him against a bulkhead. Kelly had to get the door closed and cordon off the room. He left K’in on the floor and tramped over to the doorway that funneled the rushing water into the room. A Chinese man was behind the massive metallic door, trying to force it closed against the rushing onslaught. Kelly stood beside him and nodded a silent agreement. They pushed hard, but the foaming seawater pushed back harder. It was no use. There was no way that they were going to be able to close the door. The room tilted backward. Kelly and the Chinese man lost their footing and fell to the floor, sliding backward and crashing into the consoles behind them.

Where the fuck was he? He had to be deep underwater; the pressure behind that water was immense, and the room was being thrown around like a rag doll. Shit, how the hell was he going to get through this? He needed to find scuba gear. He clambered to his feet and forced a pace through the rapidly rising water swirling around his knees. His eyes fell on a single tank floating in the water, clanging against the far wall. Kelly quickened his step as best he could, wading toward it. The Chinese man, having the same thought, grabbed the tubing attached to Kelly’s mask and yanked. Kelly’s head twisted around as he was jerked backward and off his feet.

He coughed and spluttered as the tube filled with water. He scrambled to his feet, the spray of seawater in his eyes. He gathered up the tubing and squinted to see the Chinese man at the far wall, attempting to climb into the tank straps. Kelly realized that whatever vessel he was on, it was about to flood—and he had no air supply. He eyed the Chinese man at the end of the room and knew what he had to do. Without further hesitation, Kelly forced his way through the rushing water and grabbed the man around the head. The submariner squirmed and fought pathetically against Kelly’s grip. Kelly maneuvered the man’s head toward the bulkhead and jammed it sharply forward—again and again. Thick red blood spattered the wall as the soldier’s skull was crushed like a hard-boiled egg. His body was limp, but Kelly kept on smashing the man’s cranium against the metal corner. Frustration and anger filled his heart. Tears ran down his cheeks. Chris, his best friend, his only family—the fuckers had taken everything from him. Kelly screamed into the regulator.

K’in swam up to Kelly and pushed his body between the two men. Kelly frowned, confused and angry, but let his grip on the man go. The soldier slumped into the ever-rising water. K’in slinked backward, allowing his body to stretch outward with only his head above the surface of the water. He stared at Kelly and was understood. Kelly glanced at his defeated opponent and his own blood-covered hands. He closed his eyes, fighting back the tears, the pain. Then he looked at K’in and nodded.

He scooped up the scuba tank from the broken Chinese man and slipped the straps over his shoulders. He tightened them as best he could and clipped the waist belt together. Kelly stared at the tank’s regulator and then the end of the hose attached to his face. Shit, this wasn’t going to work. He was suddenly aware he was still naked and shivering. The water had risen to his shoulders now. Think! He had to think! Kelly shook his head once as he came to a final decision. Going to have to hold his breath and swim for it. He took a deep breath and tied a knot in the end of the hose as best he could.

The water was now at his chin—and freezing. Kelly ducked under and opened his eyes. Christ, it was blurry—rushing water, a veil of bubbles, and swirling notebooks. He’d give anything for his mask. Fuck it. He turned around and around, squinting to see K’in. The creature glided up beside him, flexing his body like an alligator.

K’in slipped underneath Kelly, who instinctively put his arms over the creature’s neck. K’in flicked his tail, propelling them forward. Through the tight corridors, K’in whisked them along, Kelly flapping like a flag above. The creature twirled and ducked under pipes and bulkheads, dodging the floating bodies of dead seamen.

The lights overhead flickered on and off, and then they went out. It was pitch black. K’in obviously didn’t need light to know where to go—at least, Kelly hoped he didn’t. He imagined this was what death must be like—eerie and unnerving, a constant feeling something horrible from the bowels of hell would come out of the dark to torture you. He closed his eyes. He was cold, so cold and he had no air left. Then, he lost consciousness.