~~~~~Chapter 7~~~~~
The walls and floor were shaking. Every pipe in the facility was rattling in the chaos. Then there was a sound heard above the rest. A sound of metal shattering. The inside locking bar had fractured. The hatch flung open with immense pressure and speed. It came crashing back into the wall it was mounted on. As it spun backwards it launched Henry into the wall with its momentous power.
Cold sea water crashed into the floor of the facility. The sound deafening as the water's force pushed itself into every open inch of space. The weight of the immense wall of water pushed Magnus and Will back towards the center of the room – their bodies bouncing off the concrete floor and into the salty waves. The constant force of the water embedded both Henry and the hatch a few feet above the floor. Henry screams were made mute and he tried to lift his arms to push away the hatch.
But every time he failed. He was pinned. The hatch's broken hinge was firmly stationary. His arms were immobile under the weight as the broken door hatch kept him trapped from his shoulders down. His HAP side still halfway exposed.
Magnus couldn't see anything around her. Darkness. Everywhere. She was being pushed into the center cylinder. The weight of the water keeping her wedged against it. As she tried to turn and face away from the incoming water, hoping she could push her momentum to swing around it, Will collided with her. His back cracking into her chest. This spun them inside a wave, spinning them around the center cylinder, towards the stairwell. Magnus choked on the water as she was being tossed around like a ragdoll. Will's body, still being pushed with hers, cascaded through the water almost unconsciously.
She had one hand gripping to a vest, a handful of bulletproof Kevlar as the two twisted about the waters. The sea water was stinging her eyes and her screams were all but muffled into incoherent babbles under the water. Impact. Magnus hit the stairwell. She could feel Will, she thought it was Will, beside her. She kept her grip on the vest of the teammate beside her. She felt the stairs underneath her and with her knees, tried to balance to get to her feet. Pushing herself up, her face broke the waterline. She choked up water and forced in a deep breath of air only to choke again.
She heard a voice. "Magnus!" Will was gagging as he reached out to help pull her up with him, both fighting against the pain of the collision.
Magnus could only spit up water, eyes closed from the burning sting of the salty sea. Will placed his hands on the back collar of her vest and with all his might yanked her out of the water beside him as he crawled up the steps.
"Magnus! Magnus come on! Move! Get up! Come on…" Magnus slowly lifted her right arm up to grab onto him. She could only manage a hold onto the side of his belt. Will screamed out in utter disbelief as he kept his tight hold on her. His weapon's light illuminating the steps and Magnus' limp body as he crawled up the stairs.
"…I've got you Magnus stay with me, stay with me!"
The force of him pulling her up into the steps gave her a momentary lapse into a distant memory – She remembers being pulled up and out of the water. Her body numb to every touch as a wave of blurry shadows and disembodied voices pulled her upwards. They laid her on her back in the tiny boat. Her body was shaking, she couldn't stop it. She could just make out the outlines, of people around her. Looking down at her. Her body tried to move but was so stiff and tired. She just kept still. Eyes focused on the stars above. There were so many of them. They were so bright. She heard voices. People talking. But one voice rose above all the others. "Don't you worry Darlin', we got you now. Can you hear me?" She felt hands on her shoulders, shaking her gently. "Hold on dear, you're out of the water now. You're out of the water." Magnus had no strength to answer or even smile a thank you. Her eyes and mind still locked to the big night sky above. The stars, they are so bright. There are so many of them. They are so beautiful. She heard the same voice again, a little louder this time. "Hey, sonny, take off your jacket. We've got to keep her warm." "Yes Ms. Brown." Hands reached over Magnus' face as the jacket was put into the hands of Molly Brown. She placed the jacket over Magnus, tucking her arms under the fabric. "There, there Miss. Just try and stay with us. Someone will be coming for us soon." Magnus tried to calm her breathing amidst the violent shakes. I wish James was here.
The sound of rushing water still filled the air around them. Will's body was so tired and weak, still overcome with pain, but he didn't let go of the hold of the back of Magnus' vest. Her hand still holding on to the side of his belt. Each step brought them further out of the invading water. Will kept his eyes on Magnus with every step he took.
"Magnus can you hear me? Look up… I'm right here." Will fell down, crouching over her, hand holding the back of her neck. He gently pulled her up, propping her up against his left knee. He made a fist and gently tapped then rubbed her sternum to force a response.
"Magnus come on, look at me, you're okay, you're okay…"
Magnus slowly started to lean into Will, trying to calm her breaths. He leaned her back into his knee, his hand wiping away the excess water drops from her eyes. Magnus' left hand reached up to Will's and squeezed his arm. A conscience gesture showing him she was hearing him.
She spat up water and heaved as she looked around. "Will… I'm alright, I'm alright."
"Magnus don't scare me like that geez!" He held her closer and rubbed her back to shake her, trying to wake her senses into a more clear thought process. Magnus put her hands on his arms. Will seethed out a sigh, still in pain from the wild toss about in the water. Magnus reached down and raised up her weapon's light to shine against the wall beside them—lighting up some of the stairwell to see. "Do you hear that?" She gasped for another breath of air. "Will?"
The echo of the pounding water slowly faded. "The water?" Magnus took her hand from his arm and rubbed her face, coughing out excess sea water left in her throat. "The tunnel must be emptied." Will took a step back from Magnus pointing his gun light out across the water. Will stepped down a few steps to get a better view. As he put weight on his right leg he went down into a crumbled heap on the steps. "My knee! Damn it. My knee banged into a pipe or something."
Magnus continued to cough up phlegm as she reached down with a hand to where he had fallen. After clearing her throat she spoke, raspy but clear. "Alright, alright hold on. Take it easy."
Will groaned as he rested the side of this head on the cold metal step. It actually felt good he thought – to rest for a second.
"Will let me see." She pointed her weapon's light on the knee Will was holding. "Will you have to let go. Move your hands. Let me look."
Will winced in pain. "I know, okay, okay." She reached down and gently pushed his hands away. "Can you bend it?"
Will tried moving it. "Yeah I can move it." "Okay, you can bend it. Can you stand? Will we have to get up and go back into the water for Henry."
"Damn." Will almost forgot his friend in the fog of their plight. "Yeah, yeah, help me up. Get me up. HENRY!" Will's voice carried into the facility's water filled room. Magnus grabbed his belt loop again and helped to steady himself to his feet.
Alessandros was stuck in a web of piping under the water. He pounded the pipes that his leg was stuck under as if they could break like twigs. His ankle lodged between the spaces his eyes couldn't see. The water had risen to a good level of six feet from the floor of the room. He continued to feel the piping… some round gauges were holding his foot between a horizontal pipe. He felt constricted in his body armor. He started to remove his gun and shoulder strap and quickly unstrapped his vest. He thought he would have more flexibility this way. Alessandros struggled to free himself with every ounce of strength he had left. He could only imagine what was going on above the surface of the water.
The pressure was almost equal around the hatch door now, and Henry, submerged up to his waist between it. The broken hinge creaked as Henry pushed with all his upper body strength to thrust his hatch forward away from him. The metal hinge started to stretch. He could hear the metal whining as it got weaker. The weight of the hatch aiding in the failure of the metal. Henry could feel the hatch slowly wavering in the water, away from him.
Henry slid down against the wall and fell into the water. Splashing around in the darkness he reached out to grab hold of someone, anyone. "Magnus! Will! Alessandros! Can you hear me! Magnus!"
Will and Magnus heard Henry's screams from across the room. Magnus pointed her weapon out into the new lake of water. Henry was already swimming towards them. "Doc! Will!"
His eyes still in HAP mode could make out his two friends' features ahead of him. "Oh my god. Doc. Are you guys okay?"
Magnus and Will slowly stepped further down to the level of water, nearing about the 8th step from the floor. Henry was halfway across the room when he realized Alessandros wasn't behind them. Will leaned into the wall for support and shined his weapon's light across the water line.
"Henry do you see Alessandros? Will and I don't see him?"
"I'm looking Doc. Hold on." Henry stopped swimming and bobbed in the water. He was nearly the height of the waterline but not tall enough to touch the bottom without his head going underwater. He listened intently as he accelerated his HAP hearing even more. The tips of his ears started to change shape. The ear canal became sensitive to every vibration in the room. He could even hear the heart beats' of Will and Magnus.
Henry turned to his right. He bobbed up once then went down under the water. Alessandros was against the wall. Ankle still stuck in place. Henry could hear his heart beat resting. Alessandros was tapping on the pipe he was stuck under, sending sound wavelengths through the water. In morse code. Tap, tap, tap. Henry recognized the familiar pattern. He shot up from the bottom of the water with relief.
"Doc! He's alive. He's just stuck against the wall here."
Will started to get into the water to go help Alessandros. Magnus pulled him back, "Wait Will. Just a second." Magnus' light was still on Henry. " Henry, what's keeping him from surfacing?"
Henry already was over to Alessandros and back under the water. Henry shined his gun light illuminating his body. He saw that his leg was stuck in the web of piping. His ankle was caught between two round gauges. The round horizontal gauges were acting like a board over his foot. The gauges were slow close in distance, the round circle valves could almost touch. Underneath it, his ankle was lodged tightly above a suspended pipe lining itself right at this heel. The boot didn't make it any easier.
Will stood scared. "Magnus he's going to drown. We have to do something."
Magnus gave a soft pat to his shoulder. "It's alright Will. Alessandros is an Abnormal. He can breathe underwater." Will leaned back into the concrete wall stunned. His blue eyes in shock. A few moments of silence passed by. Will opened his eyes again. "My god Magnus. What do you mean he can breathe underwater?"
"Hold on. Let's just wait for Henry to assess the situation."
Henry was thinking as he took a closer look at Alessandros' leg. Damn he's so close to the surface too. Alessandros pointed at his foot. Henry shined the weapon's light and focused his HAP vision to get a closer look. Reaching down on the gauges he started to try to pry and bend them up. Alessandros could hear Henry's growls underwater as he pushed off the floor again and again trying to twist the metal away from his foot. Alessandros was pulling his leg as hard as he could.
The gauges slowly started to bend from Henry's attempts. He was pushing off the bottom of the floor then pulling himself back down. A loud click under the water sounded as one of the gauge valves broke off. Alessandros was free. He pulled his foot out and helped guide Henry up to the water's surface. Henry gave a big gasp as he broke through the water with Alessandros. Alessandros stood almost the height of Druitt so all he really had to do was stand straight up. He called out to Magnus. "I'm okay Helen! We're okay." Magnus kept her light on both him and Henry as they slowly walked and bobbed through the water to their location.
Will stood motionless as he stared out to Alessandros. He didn't realize he was holding his breath. Henry came up to the steps first. Magnus reached a hand to help him up. "Sit down Henry. Take a breather. Just sit."
Henry, who always followed Doctor's orders, sat right down. Will just stared. Still not moving a single muscle. Magnus took a glance over at Will. It was the same exact expression she had when she first saw Alessandros in full Abnormal form. He waded slowly toward the steps as to not alarm Will. Henry patted the steps below him. "Hey buddy, have a seat. Rest for a minute."
Alessandros brown eyes were no longer brown. Both eyes were black. A black that covered the whole of the eye. He blinked as he looked up the stairs. Will caught that his eyes had a second membrane. Like he had blinked twice but with a second skin slowly retracting in congruence. He could only watch motionless as he made his way over. Will could not believe what he was looking at. Alessandros' tanned complexion had changed. A black shiny, slippery skin replaced it. Will still in awe, lifted his weapon's light ever so slowly to shine at Alessandro's chest as to not blind his eyes, to get a clearer view. Alessandros came closer. His face and body was still the anatomy of a human, but this new skin was so smooth. Two equally as shiny and slippery patterns adorned around his eyes in the shape of white ovals. Sharp teeth, definitely not human were revealed as Alessandros took in deep labored breaths. He stepped up the steps slowly. Then stood still facing Will. That is when Will realized what he was, and what kind of DNA made him Abnormal. He's an orca. A human hybrid-like killer whale Abnormal. Beneath his shirt he must have gills. Will saw that the back of his shirt was torn open. A small dorsal fin was protruding about 15 inches in length. Alessandros was even cooler than Sally. Alessandros reached out a hand to Will and spoke calmly and slow.
"Will it's okay. I know I look pretty scary. I am an Abnormal. It's just take a few minutes for my Abnormal features to regress." Alessandros gave a smile – full of sharp little jagged teeth. He extended his hand up to Will. Will nodded and stared, reaching out cautiously to accept his hand. He felt the cold slippery surface skin as he shook it. Alessandros gave a slow nod. Eyes blinking.
Magnus found herself in quiet awe. It is very rare that she sees Alessandros this way. In fact, even as his doctor she can't remember the last time she did. He is a beautiful creature. Just stunning. Alessandros' deep but kind voice surfaced once more. He actually sounds a lot like Biggie in this form. Will thought. "I am the only one of my species that we know exists. Like Sally we are the rarest of rare. She had a pod of a hundred that had survived years, centuries, even thousands of years. I don't even know where my species was born." Will was overcome with empathy. He understood that this very moment will live with him for the rest of his life.
Alessandros' exchange of these few words in this form, made Will feel sorry for him. He seemed more helpless. So delicate, as if he would break if he fell. Magnus' voice broke the moment of revelation. "Alessandros are you sure you're alright. Can you breathe okay?" Magnus wore many hats throughout her life – Daughter. Mother. Friend. Lover. Warrior. Immortal… – But she never put down the one being doctor. Doctor Helen Magnus. Alessandros knew this of her. He blinked at her and smiled his row of tiny teeth. "Yes Doctor Magnus. I am fine. I'm not injured. Do not worry yourself."
Alessandros took his shirt and pulled it away from his chest to ring out the excess water. "After this remind me to take you all fishing. I am an excellent fisherman." Magnus gave out a soft giggle. "Cheeky monkey." Alessandros just gave a teeth filled grin in return.
"Okay boys. Let's try and focus. This was not part our plan and we need to keep our wits about us. Let us catch our breath and make sure we can move on. Will I want to take another look at your knee? I need everyone clear headed and able. We have a mission to finish." Alessandros slowly sat down on the staircase. His boots on the last step above the waterline. He looked out over towards the open and now empty tunnel entrance. His wet black shirt expanded slowly around the sides of his chest. Though not as rapid now. His human, natural way of breathing was returning. Will watched intently as the light reflecting from their weapon's flashlights made Alessandros black slippery skin shine, almost sparkle. Alessandros' head bare no hair. Just the shiny thick black layer of Abnormal skin. The white oval patterns around his eyes were the most unique Abnormal feature Will had ever seen.
How would the ancient Greeks have worshipped him?
