She wanted to ask Okidu, wanted to scream the question, but all she could do was keep squeezing the trigger, keep following the lights, keep breathing steadily even though every instinct said to hyperventilate.
A shadow loomed ahead.
At first, she thought it was a reef or an underwater cliff, something massive and dark that blocked out what little ambient light existed. But as they got closer, she realized it was manmade. Smooth metal hull, the distinctive shape of a submarine.
They'd made it.
Relief flooded through her so intensely that she released the trigger, drifting to a stop as she stared at their salvation. But how were they going to get inside?
When people started to line up, she saw the opening in the hull, a hatch.
Liliat and her Guardian were the first to enter what looked like a tube or chamber, with Tony and his Guardian getting in with them.
The hatch closed, and long minutes passed before it opened again, empty and ready for the next group.
It was an airlock, she realized. They had to enter in small groups, flood the chamber, and equalize the pressure.
Of course. Submarines couldn't just open a door underwater.
She checked her gauge. One-quarter full. Maybe twenty minutes of air.
It should be enough. There were eighteen of them, and the airlock could handle four at a time. That meant five rounds of this, and each round took about seven minutes. It wouldn't be enough.
Another group entered the chamber. Two groups ahead.
Her gauge hit red. Empty. Or close enough.
Okidu moved closer, holding up his own regulator and making the sign for buddy breathing. When she shook her head, he showed her his gauge. He'd barely used any of his air.
Of course. He was part machine and didn't require as much air to breathe.
She took his regulator, breathed twice, handed it back. They established a rhythm—two breaths for her, one for him, back and forth.
Another lady ran out of air completely, her Guardian having to basically wrestle her to share his regulator as she panicked. They were rushed to the front of the line, disappearing into the chamber with two others.
One more.
Tula's lungs burned, not from lack of air, Okidu was keeping her supplied, but from the stress.
Finally, it was just the two of them.
The chamber looked impossibly small from outside, but once she was pulled in, with Okidu basically shoving her through the opening, she found herself in a metal tube with him. The outer hatch closed with a definitive clang that reverberated through the water.
For a moment, nothing happened. They floated there in the flooded chamber, still breathing through regulators, still underwater. Then she heard the pumps engaging, and the water level started dropping.
Her head broke the surface first, and she spat out the regulator, gasping for real air for the first time in two and a half hours.
Tula's legs gave out the moment she tried to stand, and she collapsed onto the wet floor of the chamber, shaking. Her wetsuit felt like it weighed a thousand pounds, her hands were cramped from gripping the scooter, but her baby was moving.
Thank the merciful Fates, he was moving.
16
KIAN
"All guests are safely aboard. We're heading toward Safe Harbor." Yamanu's voice came through the speakers of the war room, and Kian felt the tension in his chest loosen.
"Thank the merciful Fates." Wonder hugged his mother. "It's over."
