We climbed from our seats and took the ladder up. I opened the hatch and climbed out of the tiny sub.
Wong was there to greet us. “Are you two okay?”
"Yes," Elana assured. "Momentary glitch."
I gave her a hand, then connected power. "You might want to double-check all the electrical connections in the mini-subs.”
"I'm glad you're back safely,” Wong said. “The last thing we need is another incident."
Ross approached with a concerned look on his face. "Hey, have you seen Judy?”
"No," David replied. "I haven't.”
"She didn't show up for lunch. I haven't seen her all day. She doesn't answer when I knock on the hatch to her compartment. I’m a little worried about her. I think she's taking this pretty hard, understandably.”
"I'll check on her," Wong said.
Elana and I followed as David marched through the passageways to Judy's bunk room. He knocked on the hatch. "Judy, are you okay in there?”
There was no response.
David knocked again. "Judy?”
He twisted the handle and pushed open the hatch. The compartment was empty.
We all exchanged a concerned look.
David continued roaming through the habitat, looking for Judy, calling out for her. We followed and bumped into Flynn.
"Have you seen Judy?" David asked.
Flynn frowned and shook his head. "No. Not since yesterday, actually."
We split up and searched the habitat.
Relatively speaking, it was a pretty big place. Lots of compartments and passageways. Plenty of areas to get lost in. We moved through the whole space and regrouped in the control room. We all had blank looks on our faces. Judy was nowhere to be found.
That's when I saw her.
Through the large portal in the control room. Judy was outside the habitat, swimming into the abyss without a dive suit, without oxygen. It wouldn't take long at that temperature for hypothermia to set in. She’d deplete her oxygen supply and blackout. That would be it.
I could think of better ways to go out.
I may have grumbled an obscenity under my breath as I darted through the habitat toward the moon pool.
"What are you going to do?" Elana shouted after me.
29
Igrabbed a mask, fins, and a bailout bottle. I shouldered the harness and hooked a tether around my belt loop. It would give me 50 yards. The current around the habitat could be strong. This bailout bottle would only last 10 to 15 minutes. I didn't have time to put on a wetsuit, and there were no rebreathers in the immediate area.
With the regulator in my mouth, I dove into the water. It was a shock to the system. At 50°, it felt like ice water. I was used to cold water dives. Being wet and cold was something you got used to in special warfare.
I finned away from the habitat into the inky abyss with only a flashlight to guide my way.
Swimming with the current, Judy had gone a considerable distance. I finned hard to catch up with her, quads burning.
She had peeled out of her jumpsuit and was in her skivvies. She intended this to be a one-way trip.
