Another deep rumble and the sky above them burst forth with the greatest electrical display anyone had ever seen. The seas became choppy, and the violet-colored water started coming over the side of Simbirsk in waves. The sky was swirling in that sickening pattern they had all seen before. It looked as if they could see the mist of ocean rising into the sky as if reinforcing the storm high above. Men above decks were getting shocked as they grasped railings and other steel parts of the exposed ship.
“Get below!” Everett screamed at the men who had assisted the last of Peter the Great’s crew aboard.
Henri was pushing and screaming in Russian for the men to protect themselves.
Jack figured they had two hundred survivors aboard Simbirsk and over three hundred on the heavily damaged Shiloh. Thorne had picked up another hundred and secured them below. They were flat out of time.
“We got to go, Jack!” Everett said as he held the hatchway open. Henri got the last of the Russian personnel below and then turned with Everett and waited for the colonel.
“That’s it, Colonel,” Ryan said. “We’ve done all we can!” he said, trying to raise his voice over the power of the rapidly developing storm.
Collins looked up as the heavy rain began, and it was déjà vu all over again. Water was rising into the sky, and electrical discharge raced through the black clouds that expanded into an even wider pattern. He could feel the Simbirsk pulsing under his feet. He looked toward Houston and saw that Thorne was still up top and was easing Houston closer to Simbirsk. He pushed Ryan toward the stern of the Russian ship.
“Come on — we have to tie off Houston to Simbirsk; otherwise, the phase shift forces will rip her apart.”
Jack and Ryan fought with the heavy ropes as the deck crew of Houston tossed the ropes that would secure her to Simbirsk. They were soon joined by several marines and sailors as they disobeyed orders and the team braved the killing elements of the storm as they fought with the heavy lines. Everett was there with Henri, and they finally managed to secure Houston for their ride home — hopefully.
With a last look at Shiloh and Captain Johnson as he vanished into the bridge section of the still-flaming Shiloh, Jack realized that they were as ready as they would ever be. How many more men would they lose with the unstable phase shift? He couldn’t calculate the odds that they would all make it back. He raised the radio once last time.
“Houston, check in.”
“Houston is ready,” Thorne said as he vanished below the conning tower and into the deepest sections of the submarine.
He looked toward the burning Shiloh. “Captain Johnson, are you secure?”
“I’ll never be secure again, but for now, we’re as secure as we can get. I hope you don’t mind if I place a complaint on your methods of transportation?”
“You’ll have to stand in line for that, Captain. Good luck. Jenks?”
“Jenks here,” came the hurried reply.
“Abandon the engine spaces and get as far belowdecks as the rest.”
“What about this Ruskie?”
Jack nodded at Henri. “I have someone coming down to take charge of that.”
“Roger, I am so outta here!” Jenks said as the radio went dead. Jack shook it, but there was nothing. The electromagnetic pulse was flaring to life.
The skies overhead circled at a speed that was terrifying. Collins took Henri by the arm.
“If it looks like we might not make it, follow your orders. That bastard doesn’t deserve the same fate as these men. Put a bullet where it belongs.”
Henri only nodded as he, Everett, Ryan, and Jack turned and made for the open hatchway.
Simbirsk, Shiloh, and Houston started to move in a wide circle as the storm magnified the power of the phase shift.
For twenty miles around the tethered ships, the sea shot straight into the air and then settled once more as the buildup to the shift became unstoppable. The engine was so powerful that it changed the very fabric of the atmosphere.
Jack and the others, with the exception of Farbeaux, went to the battle bridge and made sure to stay away from the solid steel bulkheads. Henri went below with the intention of finishing what it was they were here for.
Once again all three vessels started getting pliable and warped beneath the onslaught of the shift.
The sky exploded overhead, and then the two elements met in an explosion of the magnitude of a detonating nuclear warhead.
Phase shift occurred less than four seconds after.
Jack saw the ship turn almost transparent. This time, his senses had not been caught off guard as they had been on the initial phase shift. He felt the deck beneath his feet grow soft and pliant, but he didn’t fight the strange sensation and allowed his feet to remain planted. Everett made the mistake of touching the old helmsman’s station, and his hand went completely through it. He lost his balance, but Ryan stopped his fall. Both men felt the nausea running through them. It hit Jack next. He felt his gorge rise, and his brain felt like it had exploded with a massive headache. All around him, the world spun.
Belowdecks, Jenks and Charlie were with the six orphaned children of Compton’s Reef as they huddled with the rest of the Russian and British crew of Simbirsk. Just before the phase shift started, Jenks had herded everyone he could into the solid steel armory. It was a tight squeeze, but everyone had made it in. Even Second Captain Dishlakov, with pistol out, was standing over a sitting Salkukoff and his remaining three men. Two of the Russian marines from Peter the Great also had him covered. As far as Dishlakov was concerned, Salkukoff was going to pay one way or the other for his treachery.
Jenks was watching Henri Farbeaux just as the transition of the phase shift started. The master chief didn’t really care for the look in the Frenchman’s eyes. He stood, unlike the others, as if he were a burglar waiting for the lights to go out. With his suspicions on Henri’s intent, he pulled the children closer to him. Charlie Ellenshaw had the inspiration to place a large rubber mat absconded from the mess facilities of the Simbirsk on the steel deck in the hopes it would provide the children with some comfort for the short but miserable ride back.
Then the effects hit with a shock to everyone’s senses. The children froze as first the wave of nausea hit them and then the sick feeling of electricity coursed through their small bodies. Jenks was proud as the children hugged him and held on, not making a sound. Then the bulkheads seemed to vanish, and it was like they were sitting on the ocean’s surface. It was still violet in color. The illusion was so real, it seemed Jenks could just reach out and place a hand on its cold surface.
“Oh, God,” Charlie said as he felt his backside slowly sink into the steel hull.
It was Dishlakov who saved Charlie from becoming a permanent fixture of Simbirsk. He reached out, grabbing Charlie’s hand and losing his Makarov pistol at the same time. He pulled for all he was worth and caught the professor just as the hull resolidified. Then the armory was filled with all the colors of the rainbow, and every man inside the battle cruiser felt the falling rain from the storm outside the confines of the phase shift. None of them knew it but would later guess that at that very moment they had begun to transition from one world to the next.