CHAPTER 4, PART 1 – A SUNKEN DREAD

Agent Max Remy sat on top of the submarine that bobbled silently at the shore. She gazed out into the stretch of water that lay before her and was disgusted at what she saw.

'We have to get from here,' she told her partner Linden Franklin as she pointed to the ground beneath her feet, 'to there.' She waved her hand towards the middle of Loch Ness, where a strange black liquid had been spread out, floating over half of the loch. Oil? Or something else…

Max disappeared into the submarine, and Linden followed her, but only after he gave one last glance to the calm surface and land he wanted to be on.

Strange sightings of the famous "Loch Ness Monster" were a common part of Scotland. But something even more unusual was at foot. Dangerous substances were polluting the grand freshwater loch, and no one knew where it was coming from.

That was why Max and Linden were at the bottom of the loch, and Linden was quite edgy about the whole ordeal.

'Uh, Max?'

'Yeah?' Max didn't look up as she worked the controls of the vessel. Her fingers flew across the buttons in a blur.

'I know this is going to sound strange, but do you believe in Nessie?' Linden looked out through the porthole as they slowly and silently descended through the water. Most of the colour had disappeared from his face.

Max let out a laugh. 'Please, Linden. The "Loch Ness Monster" is not real. It's a fable, a mythical story. You don't really believe a creature lives down here, do you?'

Silence echoed through the cabin. 'Linden?' Max sighed and put the submarine into auto drive. The craft slowly slipped through the murky water, heading toward the contaminated area.

Max spun around her chair to face Linden, who was staring out of the porthole, a terrified look on his face. He flinched at even the slightest movement in the water outside.

Max got up and laid a supportive hand on Linden's shoulder. 'Linden, I am telling you, there is no such thing as the Loch Ness…'

An echoing bang hit the side of the ship so hard that Max and Linden were catapulted into the air, landing in heap in the corner of the small room. Though Max was slightly embarrassed, Linden was petrified. 'Max… what was that?'

Max tried to be logical. 'Uh, strong currents maybe?'

She stood up slowly, only to be knocked in Linden again, as another blow hit the side of the craft. 'Okay, maybe not.'

Then she realized something. Water was falling from the ceiling like it fell from the clouds in a storm. Max raced to the controls, hoping the water had not affected the electronics.

It had.

'See! Now do you believe Nessie exists?' Linden called over the splashing droplets. The submarine was quickly becoming a small swimming pool.

Max ignored him. If there was a monster out there, she wanted to stay in the submarine, and avoiding the risk of swimming to the surface. But in order to that, she needed the craft to work. Another strike hit the vessel and Max toppled into the control panel.

'Linden, give me a hand!' The water was now up to her waist, and rising fast. Together, they tried to get the motor going again. All they needed was enough power to-

'Hey Max.' A figure suddenly appeared by Max's shoulder, and she jumped about a metre in the air. Max's startled hand sped along her notebook, leaving a blue biro mark from one corner on the page to the other. Her vision of Loch Ness and her underwater adventure had been washed out of her mind. Max was slightly disappointed.

She let out an annoyed groan. What now? I can't even sit down for five minutes without someone…

Max turned around towards her intruder with a scowl on her face, but it immediately turned into a gleaming smile when she realized who it was.

'How do you do that?' Max hadn't heard anyone come in at all. Linden had this habit of showing up unexpectedly.

Linden shrugged, flashing her a smile. He straightened. 'I just do.'

He looked down at the notebook that lay in her lap. 'Another Spyforce adventure?' he asked, nodding his head towards the book.

'Uh, yeah...' She slowly closed her dog-eared notebook and laid it on the seat, before placing her blue pen on top. Then she looked back up at Linden. Linden stared back at Max, like he was under a spell. They sat in a pool of awkward silence for what Max felt was a century. 'So…'

'Oh yeah!' Linden suddenly spoke up, like he had just awoken from a coma. He tore his eyes away from Max, slightly embarrassed. 'Ben told me to tell you that they've fixed up the ring, and they were hoping you'd come test it out again.'

Linden grinned. Only a couple of weeks ago, Max's first turn with the ring had ended in disaster. She had arrived back at the shed covered in mud, dog hair (courtesy of an over affectionate Ralph) and half of Larry's dinner, after landing in his food trough. Messy landings had been something Max was used to, but Ben had promised he'd fix them up.

No matter, Max jumped up from the bench, spilling her notebook and pen onto the veranda floor. Pieces of paper flew out of the book, which now looked like an upside down Japanese fan. The floorboards now had white papery layer.

But Max didn't stop. Or notice. 'You mean we have been sitting here all this time, while there is a finished time travel device that needs testing?'

Linden gave a weak smile. 'Sorry. I got a bit sidetracked.' Though he wanted to, Linden wasn't going to say that Max was the one who had got him so diverted from delivering his message.

'Hey, Max!' Linden called as he noticed her spilled notebook, but when he turned around, Max was almost out of the room. Linden caught the site of her blue joggers disappear out the door.

Linden sighed, and after scooping up the papers, book and pen, tucked it all under his arm and hurried off behind his partner.