“It’s always with me,” Pharrell answered, wiping some blood off his face.
“Sorry about that knock on the head… Can you dive?” Duncan Roth asked.
“I think so.”
“Good! Go get your bells ready!” said Duncan Roth as he began to undress again. “Madison and Clay, you’ll be working the pumps, alright?”
Flynn’s head was spinning now… Duncan Roth was standing before them in his undershorts and nothing else. It was all happening too fast for him to make sense of this new turn of events… He stared at the Rottweiler, who was now adjusting a diving harness over his shoulders… Flynn was supposed to trust this man… someone he hated so much… someone he had intended to kill only a short while back…
“Flynn,” Duncan Roth called out, attaching a big flashlight to his diving belt, “…those bells you built last week, are they here?”
“Hanging along that fence, sir. Thirty feet under water.”
“Good. We’ll split the people in groups. Two at a time in each bell. We’ll have to do several dives to get everybody down, OK?”
“Sir!” Pharrell stood still, hands on his hips. “I ain’t going nowhere, till you tell us where…”
“Keep your voice down!” Duncan Roth cut him off. He then pointed at the nearest smokestack. “There’s an old Power Plant down below. That’s where we’re all going. You’ll follow me with your bells and we’ll take these people down, one by one, through an opening at the bottom of the structure.” Duncan Roth rummaged through his satchel, took out a roll of duct tape and started taping it around the bleeding wound on his neck. “We don’t want to attract any sharks now, do we?” He gave Madison a wry smile, tucking the end of his makeshift bandage and making it secure.
“Sorry, sir,” Madison mumbled. “I was only trying to…”
“No need to apologize… Whoever’s hurt better patch up before getting in the water.” Duncan Roth turned to face the whole group. “I want to reassure everyone that you’ll be OK… It’s a short swim from the diving bells to the Power Plant’s opening, and then up to an air pocket inside the building. Once you make it in there, you’ll all be safe.” He snapped his diving mask over his eyes and said, “Leave your rations behind, you won’t need them anymore… Take only small personal stuff you can fit in your pockets. Now go… please!”
Flynn couldn’t believe the Rottweiler had just said ‘please’… This man didn’t sound like the Duncan Roth he knew… Was he really going to save everybody? Flynn knew that something extraordinary was happening! Something that was contrary to all of Flynn’s logic and expectations…
“Flynn, Pharrell! Let’s go!” Duncan’s voice made Flynn focus on the task at hand. He looked around, but the man was already gone. Flynn spotted him in the water next to the boat.
“Hurry up!” the man whispered loudly. “I’ll take the first bell down, you take the next one! No lights until you get below twenty feet, OK!” And with those words, his head disappeared underwater.
A hand touched Flynn’s shoulder. “Do you believe him?” Madison asked in a hushed voice.
“I… don’t know… Do you?”
“I think so,” Madison nodded. “Don’t ask me why… but I do.”
Their eyes met and they both smiled, then Flynn looked at the water again. He picked up his knife and jumped back on the Seeker. “Let’s hope you’re right!” he said, holding his hand out for Madison, helping her step off Duncan’s boat.
Clay was already on the other side of the Departure raft, lowering Pharrell’s diving bell into the water. Having remained speechless for so long, the raft’s passengers were now beginning to move about. There was a low murmur, then anxious whispering as they rummaged through their personal belongings, taking out small items and stuffing them in their pockets.
“Hey, amigos!” Tony Romero stepped shakily on Flynn’s raft, a wide grin on his face.
“Tony!” Madison and Flynn both threw their arms around him. A quick moment passed then Flynn pulled away… There was no time for getting all emotional now… not yet!
“You heard him…” Flynn motioned towards the water where Duncan Roth had disappeared, “What do you think?”
“We don’t have much of a choice, do we?” Tony paused for a second, “I say we do it, Flynn!”
Flynn knew that Tony was right and nodded solemnly. He dragged his diving gear from under the seat and said, “I’m taking you down first.”
“No, Flynn!”
“What?” Flynn stared at Tony in surprise.
“I’ll stay and help Madison!”
Tony’s words were spoken with such force that Flynn knew it was better not to argue with his friend. He hesitated for a moment then snapped on his goggles. “Alright, I’ll go get my dad, then. You and Madison can man the air pumps.”
Flynn made his way quickly to the Departure raft where most of the group appeared to have settled down, accepting their new fate… Trying to get to the Power Plant was frightening, but they had nothing left to lose!
“Dad!” Flynn called out.
“Over here, son!”
A shadowy figure stepped forward and Flynn saw his father standing only feet away from him. The two hugged each other briefly. There was no time to speak.
“Are you ready for this?” Flynn asked.
“You know my rule, son… Ladies go first!” With those words, Alan Perry turned and brought a woman to the front.
Flynn recognized Mrs. Voinovich, their neighbor. Dark as it was, he could see the terror in her eyes. She was shaking her head, clearly petrified to go down in the water.
“Take good care of her, son!” Alan Perry nudged the woman to go forward.
Flynn exchanged a quick glance with his father, nodded and gently took Mrs. Voinovich’s hand. “You won’t have to do much, Mrs. Voinovich, don’t worry!” He led her to the edge of the platform and said, “Just sit here, and wait for me. I’ll be back in a second.”
He turned to go and saw Duncan and Pharrell dragging the diving bells behind them.
“Flynn!” the man called out. “What are you waiting for? We don’t have all night!”
Flynn slid in the water, and with a few strokes was right by his raft. He detached his bell, grabbed it by the hose and swam back to the platform. Madison, Tony and Clay were already there with the air pumps. Flynn hooked up the bell to one of the pumps and swam back to Mrs. Voinovich. She sat frozen on the platform’s edge, arms locked around her knees, her eyes like saucers, staring at the dark water.
“C’mon, Mrs. Voinovich!” Flynn extended his hand. “Just ease yourself down, and I’ll take you to the bell.”
But the woman shook her head and inched away.
“Please! We’ve got to hurry!” Flynn moved in closer.
Mrs. Voinovich let go of her knees and anchored her hands on the edge of the platform. Flynn was losing patience. Tony was right by the bell, ready with the hoist, watching them. Their eyes met, and he gave Flynn a quick nod. Flynn glanced around. No one else was looking… It only took a split second for his hand to grab Mrs. Voinovich by the wrist and yank her hard toward him. He pulled her down, locking her in a tight embrace. She managed to let out a small yelp before Flynn clasped his hand over her mouth, pinching her nose to prevent her from swallowing any water.
Flynn took a deep breath and holding the woman, he began his dive. It was harder than he thought… Mrs. Voinovich was surprisingly strong… and was putting up a mighty struggle. He had her arms pinned, but her legs were free. She kicked him hard a few times, missing his groin by a fraction of an inch. Luckily for them, Flynn was able to get cleanly under the diving bell and into the air pocket inside without a problem. He waited a couple of seconds, before lifting his hand away from Mrs. Voinovich’s mouth. “You can breathe now,” he told her.