Abduction

“I suppose it goes without saying,” Donald began, breaking an uncomfortable silence, “we’re in a difficult situation to say the least. We ca

“So, what do you suggest?” Suza

“I suggest we go out and reco

“What if this cavern, or whatever it is, floods again?” Perry questioned.

“It seems to me we have to take the chance,” Donald said. “I’ll be willing to go on my own. It’s up to you if you want to join me.”

“I’ll go,” Suza

“I’m not staying here by myself,” Perry a

“Okay,” Donald said. “We have two more flashlights. Let’s take them but only use one to conserve the batteries.”

“I’ll get them,” Suza

Donald was the first one out. He used the ladder rungs mounted on the side of the sail and the hull to climb down. The rungs were there to provide access to the submersible when it was in its chocks on the afterdeck of the Benthic Explorer.

Standing on the final rung, Donald shined the light down at the ground. Gauging how deep the Oceanus had sunk, he estimated the mud was twenty to twenty-four inches deep.

“Is something the matter?” Suza

“I’m trying to guess how deep the muck is,” he said. Still holding on to a rung, he lowered his right foot. It disappeared into the ooze. It wasn’t until the mud reached the lower edge of his kneecap that he felt solid ground.

“This is not going to be pleasant,” he reported. “The mud is knee-deep.”

“Let’s hope that’s our only problem,” Suza

A few minutes later the three were standing in the mud. Save for a slight glow emanating from the open submersible hatch, the only light came from Donald’s flashlight. It cast a meager cone of light in the utter blackness. Suza

“This is intimidating,” Suza

“I think I’d use a stronger word,” Perry said. “What’s our game plan?”

“That’s open to discussion,” Donald said. “My suggestion is we head in the direction the Oceanus is pointing. That seems to be the closest wall, at least according to my echo.” He looked at his compass. “It’s pretty much due west.”

“Seems like a reasonable plan to me,” Suza

“Let’s go,” Perry said.

The group set out with Donald in the lead followed by Suza

There was no talk. Each was acutely aware of the precariousness of the situation, especially the farther they got from the submersible. After ten minutes Perry insisted they pause. They had not come to any wall, and his courage had waned.

“Walking in this muck is not easy,” Perry said, avoiding the real issue. “And it also stinks.”

“How far do you think we’ve gone?” Suza

Donald turned and looked back at the submersible, which was no more than a smudge of light in the inky blackness. “Not that far,” he said. “Maybe a hundred yards.”

“I would have said a mile, the way my legs feel,” Suza

“How much farther to this supposed wall?” Perry asked.

Donald yelled again in the direction they were going. The echo came back in a couple of seconds. “I’d guess somewhere in the neighborhood of three hundred yards.”

Sudden movement and a series of slapping sounds in the darkness to their immediate left made them all jump. Donald whipped the light around and shined it in the direction of the noise. A stranded fish made a few more agonal flip-flops against the wet mud.

“Oh, my gosh, that scared the bejesus out of me,” Suza

“You and me both,” Perry confessed.

“We’re all understandably on edge,” Donald said. “If you two want to go back, I’ll continue the reco

“No, I’ll stick it out,” Suza

“Me, too,” Perry said. The idea of returning to the submersible by himself was worse than forging ahead through the mire.

“Then, let’s move out,” Donald said. He started off again and the others fell in behind him.

The group slogged ahead in silence. Each step into the unknown blackness ratcheted up their fears and anxiety. The submersible behind them was being swallowed up in the darkness. After another ten minutes they were all as tense as a piano wire about to snap, and that was when the alarm sounded.

The short burst of sound crashed out of the stillness like ca

It was flight in full panic; a mad dash for supposed safety. Unfortunately, the mud did not cooperate. All three tripped almost immediately and fell headfirst into the odious ooze. Regaining their feet, they tried to run again, with the same result.

Without a word to establish consensus, they resigned themselves to a slower gait. After a few minutes, their lack of significant headway made the futility of their flight apparent. Since there had been no surge of water refilling the cavern, all three stopped within steps of each other, their chests heaving.

The multiple echoes from the horrendous alarm died out and in their wake the preternatural stillness returned. Once again it settled back over the inky darkness like the smothering blanket in Perry’s nightmare.

Suza

“What in God’s name was that alarm?” Suza

“I was afraid it meant the water was returning,” Perry admitted.

“Regardless of what its actual meaning is,” Donald said, “for us it has an overarching significance.”

“What are you talking about?” Perry questioned.

“I know what he means,” Suza

“Exactly!” Donald said. “It’s got to be a remnant of the Cold War. And since I had top-secret clearance in the United States submarine service, I can tell you it’s not our installation. It has to be Russian!”

“You mean like some kind of secret base?” Perry asked. He glanced around the black void, now more awestruck than frightened.

“That’s the only thing I can imagine,” Donald said. “Some kind of nuclear submarine facility.”

“I suppose it’s possible,” Suza

“Maybe yes, maybe no,” Donald said. “First, it’s going to make a difference only if somebody is still ma