I tried to sign to Gemma to go back in the sub but she gave up trying to learn sign language as soon as she moved back in with us. It's only been 2 weeks since we found my parents so I've been wanting to spend as much time with them as possible. That's why I wanted to go back so soon.

I went through the hatch and I beckoned Gemma to come too. We both sucked in oxygen to try and evaporate the liquidgen.

"Why do we have to go back so soon?" She asked as soon as the liquidgen evaporated.

"I want to spend time with my parents"

She rolled her eyes and smiled "I understand you want to see your parents, but we've barely gone diving and as soon as we do, you want to go back already"

I knew she was right. But I felt like I owed it to my parents. After thinking they were gone, I've just wanted to spend as much time as possible with them.

I parked the sub near the moon pool. Gemma and I swam up and got to the house. That's when I noticed ma and pa standing there, waiting for us. Worry washed through me when I saw their faces of solemnly. Gemma stood next to me and I could tell she was worried too.

"Is anything wrong?" I asked

Ma smiled but we both knew it was fake.

"Everything is alright but .. We just need to talk with you guys for a minute."

Ma beckoned Gemma and I to come inside and sit on the couch, we followed. I felt Gemma touch my arm and whisper by my ear, "Everything will be alright, don't worry. They probably just want to have a small family meeting"

That's when I noticed Zoe already siting on the couch. "Last time they called me out like this was when ma found out she was pregnant with Zoe", I whispered back. Gemma stayed quiet after that.

"The wealth' and the government have decided that they wanted to inspect benthic territory and make sure it's a safe environment and that it's safe for people to live in," Pa said

"How is that bad?" Even though ma or Pa didn't say it was bad, I knew that something had to be going on since they looked so serious.

"Well,..they want us to go topside" Ma said slowly. "But only for a couple of days" Ma added quickly once she saw my expression.

I sat up quickly. A million feelings swept through me. Anger, sadness, worry, confusion..

"Why do we have to go topside? Why after 15 years will they choose now to inspect benthic territory? Why would the wealth want to go inside our homes?" Questions just kept flowing through my head. I tried hard not to raise my voice on my parents. I felt Gemma pull my hand to try and get me to sit down but I pulled out of her grip.

"Honey sit down" Ma said calmly "after everything that has happened with the outlaws and the townships, the government and wealth' thought it was best. And it's not just that, more people are moving subsea lately, so they also want to make sure it's safe." After a moment she added, "we will be going topside in a few days, but for now we want you to pack a few things you would like to bring while we're there. Your father and I Already thought this through so don't worry about anything."

I sat down, trying to calm down a bit.

"How are we going to stay topside for two days? Are we just going to sleep on the benches?" Zoe asked.

"No" pa answered quickly. Then he added, "the wealth' will be paying for a hotel for us. We know it might be a little hard on you to stay topside for so long, but you and Gemma can still go diving, as long as you don't go too close to benthic territory. And, if you do go diving, you will have to be back at the hotel by 6:00 o'clock."

"How will all of us be able to fit in a small hotel?" I asked

"We will figure that out once we get there," Ma said.

"Now no more questions, go to your rooms and start packing." Pa said calmly.

I got up weakly. I didn't want to go and pack. I can already imagine all the crowds and all the people and pedestrians. I can barely be topside a few hours. I knew that I'll be diving but it'll still be just a few hours and with all the people I knew Ma and Pa were going to be a little strict about it. I just needed to try and clear my thoughts. I just went into my room and started packing.

a few minutes later I heard a knock on my door and saw Gemma walk in. She didn't really have anything to pack since most of her stuff was still in a duffle bag.

"You ok?" She asked

I shook my head. "Don't you think it's a little suspicious that all of a sudden the wealth' and the government want to inspect Benthic territory?"

"Ty it'll be fine" she walked towards me and saw the the huge bag I was packing. "Don't you think your packing a lot for just a couple days?"

"I don't know. I just want to make sure I don't end up forgetting anything."

The rest of the day seemed to have past by pretty fast. It was already midnight and yet I still couldn't sleep. I just couldn't stop thinking about everything.