Chapter Five: Water, Water Everywhere, but Not A Drop to Drink

Location: Third Energy Facility, Underwater

"Shit!" Regina said aloud, annoyed at the elevator.

Picked a perfect time to get stuck...

She kicked the control panel, but to no avail—the only sounds she heard was the sound of her breathing—the underwater facility provided a strange, quiet ambience. Low rumbles could be heard, probably the hum of machines or other technical workings. She looked at the brightly lit screen of the control panel; saw an error message flashing in red. She pressed buttons, anything, all of them, nothing. The panel, as the elevator, locked. Currently, she looked around her, and was presented with two options—one, swim back to the surface; or two, there was an emergency walkway along the wall, leading to a ladder down to a platform below, probably containing a door leading into the facility proper. The annoyed solider looked at the panel again, and pressed buttons in vain, hoping that by some chance, the elevator would start up again. Her efforts proved futile; the lift was stuck.

She didn't notice a low rumble in the water some feet away from her, didn't notice the huge alligator-like aquatic dinosaur, its dark brown skin and massive jaws intent on preying on the bright yellow object in its view, didn't see it until it was just a foot or two away from her until she turned around and stared straight down the creature's gullet.

Fuck—shit—fuck—fuck--!

She pressed a button on the suit, which released some oxygen into the water, making her lift some feet into the air, her foot just missing the jaws of the Mosasaurus as it clamped down, catching all water. Its sleek, almost aerodynamic body turned away very quickly, Regina noticing that the creature, for its large size, was very mobile.

What the fuck are you?

As she began to descend again, she grabbed the Aquagrenade from the holster, and released a catch on one of the small explosive projectile rockets, and slammed it into the back of the weapon. About thirty or so feet ahead, the dinosaur turned around in a tight arc, and began to swim toward the diver again, determined to get its prey on this pass. She aimed the small weapon at the Mosasaurus as it narrowed the gap between the two, and pulled the trigger. The rocket fired, its rear propeller spinning furiously as the projectile glided quickly through the water. It slammed into the creature's neck, exploding on impact as a large amount of blood flowed from the massive tear, swirling and mixing with the cold water, staining it. It let out a roar on impact, but the creature was dead instantly, and Regina knew it. It flipped over on its back, the white underside facing upwards as it slowly descended to the metal ground. Blood trailed in large quantities from the open wound, mixing and churning with the disturbed water. A loud thud echoed throughout the area as the dinosaur hit the floor.

That was a little too close for comfort...now, the elevator's out—might as well take that emergency path, see where it goes.

Due to her new, watery environment, the boots that she wore were heavy, designed to make it so that the diver was able to walk on the ground. She stepped over the dead dinosaur, and she leapt off the edge of the platform, descending slowly for about ten feet before softly landing on the platform. At the end of the walkway, a door was marked, "Water Circulation System Control Room." Next to the door stood a large white button set into the wall. She pressed the button, and the door slid open, allowing her entry into a new room, a narrow hall lit by little lights set into the floor. It turned to the right, and as she turned the corner, she happened upon a side area, almost cubicle-like in structure. It was a three-walled control panel of sorts, a large screen in working condition the main focal point. Judging by the grid-like structure of the screen, she deducted it was a map of some kind. A flashing yellow blip represented her current position in relation to the underwater facility. Some distance away from her position, far to the right, a section of the grid was a solid red, indicating some sort of trouble in that area. Below the map, an error message detailed the problem: "No power being supplied to Inside Cooling Aqueduct area—plug missing or malfunctioned. Check to see if the plug is properly in place, or if there is damage present. If plug is damaged or missing, replace it to restore power to the area."

She looked down at the panel, and noticed a large hole where a plug would fit. Judging by the size of the hole, it was probably a spherical object four inches in diameter, and probably five or six inches long—it was hard to tell given the lighting.

Next problem—where do I find one? It's not like I know the layout of the facility or anything.

She continued on down the hall until it led to a drop-off point to an area below. Next to her, four large pipes, as wide as a human, bent into the floor, leading to somewhere. As Regina descended, she made out two doors, one on either side of her. The door to her left was barricaded and chained, a yellow caution sign hanging, reading: "Area closed due to preventative and routine maintenance of the Third Energy Reactor."

With that possibility ruled out, she could only head one other direction—the double doors on her right. Another large white button was set into the wall. She pressed it, and the door slid open slowly, the mechanical gears grinding as it was working. She had walked into a large, wide hallway, lit by lights set into the wall. As before, the entire area had a bluish hue, and the only sounds that were heard—the hum of machinery, the sounds of water moving and bubbling as oxygen and carbon dioxide from Regina escaped into the water, her own normal breathing and the beating of her heart, seeming to echo in this aquatic environment. It appeared to be a transport passageway of some kind, as a couple of crates stood propped up against the walls. The passageway went straight for a couple hundred feet before veering off to the left. As she turned, a row of crates stacked two high blocked her path, but gave her enough room to boost over them, to the door on the other side.

She pressed the button beside the single door, leading to another room. This one was a little darker, but the lights in the wall provided enough ambient light to see. This room was multi-leveled, a small footbridge above her and off to the left, bridging two platforms. They were too high for her to boost up to, but as she looked up, she made out a strange object, something hanging over the side of the nearest platform. Through the translucent water, she couldn't get a clear view, but it was something bright. She positioned herself along the wall and boosted up. As she neared the top of her ascent, she could make it out clearly—it was the helmet of a diver's suit, one lifeless arm dangling over the side.

He must have been doing some work...perhaps one of those water dinosaurs had got him...what were they called, Mosasaurus, something like that? Something they told us at the briefing sessions...

Straight ahead, about twenty feet or so, a small elevator lift stood next to a door at the other end of the room. Boosting over a length of large pipe, she walked into the small lift and pressed the button to go up—nothing happened. She hit it again, again with no response. Either it was busted, or no power was being supplied. With no other option, she headed into the next room, a massively huge room, machinery and panels lining most of the walls. Pipes ran across the entire length of the ceiling, and this room was divided into two levels as well. Something strangely amiss nagged at her; something was off in this large, expansive room. As Regina walked, delving deeper into the Cooling Water Circulation Chamber, she noticed something very, very wrong—a couple of the towering machines and control panels next to her had massive holes in them, clear evidence that this was not done by any human. They were probably done by some of those amphibious dinosaurs, or something worse.

Her body let out a shudder, her mind quickly turning to another possible enemy, one she'd rather not see up, close, and personal—one of those long-necked Plesiosaurus. She recalled seeing them on the fun joyride to the Third Energy facility, but she only saw their necks—they must have huge bodies to be able to carry them like that. She didn't want to face one, but if it came down to it...she had 3 rocket propelled grenades left—she could only hope those would do it. At the end of the walkway, she noticed a ledge. To her left, the path continued to a door. She boosted onto the ledge, then walked up the short stairwell to the second level. There was no railing here, so if she fell, she'd have to start back at the bottom level again. She was above the large machines now, and some distance ahead, she could make out a school of tiny minnows, moving like a blob across the huge room. To get a measure of how big this room was, think a football field, with machines, control panels, and pipes. The room hummed with activity. Some machines had large holes in them, as mentioned.

Hope I didn't walk into a nest of some kind...

The path took a right, then a quick left. Being careful not to fall, she took her time, making slow, deliberate steps to the wider platform at the end. She could make out a pillar holding up another raised, smaller platform leading to a door, probably back to the previous room where the dead person was seen. There was evidence of a ladder here, but it was ripped clean off, the metal bent and twisted beyond recognition. Unfortunately, the platform was higher than she could boost, and would need to bring it down somewhat. She'd need to knock out the pillar and bring down the platform, giving her the needed height to boost. Regina took another of the rockets and placed it into the Aquagrenade. Taking aim at the pillar, she prayed that the thing would be structurally weak and collapse. Pulling the trigger, the grenade flew out of the gun, and in a couple seconds, slammed into the pillar, exploding at impact. The platform began to fall, the sounds of grinding stone following the explosion echoing through the water. The platform hit the ground with a loud thud, causing the ground where Regina stood to vibrate slightly.

Well, that worked...but I only have two grenades left now.

Holstering the weapon, she boosted herself up onto the newly lowered platform, then again onto the next; pressing the button and finding herself back into the room where she saw the diver. She'd have to cross a narrow footbridge, then descend down onto the ledge where the diver lay. On the wall, a small lever was down in an "off" position, the light red. Curious, she lifted the lever up, and the light changed to green. Mechanical whirring filled the air, and she realized she'd turned on power to the tiny elevator lift, giving her a way back if she flubbed. Again, taking careful, small steps, she made her way across the thin bridge, and at the end, she leapt off and descended until she landed just a couple feet away from it. Kneeling, she turned the body over, to see if she could get an identity. A face suddenly appeared in the blue murkiness of the helmet, its mouth opened in a wide "O," the eyes rolled back in his head. Blood had splattered on the glass, and it was clear that the skin, even through the opaqueness of the helmet glass, was blue—he had been asphyxiated, dead from lack of oxygen to the brain. She jumped back, startled instantly, gasping.

Whoa...calm down, Regina...it's a dead guy. You've seen much worse—you've seen mutilated, decapitated, and maimed bodies.

She turned him over again after composing herself, and saw the cause—the oxygen tube was punctured, ripped open—he had drowned. Next to him, lying on the ground, he had an Aquagrenade still in his clenched hand. Attached to him were two grenades, a welcome addition and much needed replenishment for Regina. She quickly undid the clasps on his suit, and freed the grenades, attaching them to her own uniform.

Sorry, pal...but I need these more than you do.

She also freed the weapon from his hand and found it heavy—it was loaded. Apparently, his tube was punctured, as he was reloading or ready to fire. She stood up once more, and scanned the small ledge for anything else. Several feet away from the dead diver, a small, spherical object, lie on the ground. She knew instantly what it was—the plug for the control panel in the Water Circulation System Control Room. Grabbing it, she looked at it for a second. It was a white, spherical object, with a couple of wires spanning the length. At the end, three large prongs matched the slots in the outlet. She sighed, that objective completed, and walked off the platform, descending about twenty, thirty feet to the floor. This put her right at the doors back into the transport passageway. The doors slid open, and she quickly jumped over the crates, one Aquagrenade holstered, loaded, and one in her hand along with the plug.

A minute later, she was back inside the Circulation System room, and walked back to the control panel, slamming the plug firmly into its socket. The panel let out a beep, and suddenly the red area on the map began to blink. Below, the text changed.

Detecting Plug Device............OK.

Placing Corresponding Polarities............OK.

Powering Plug.........OK.

Reactivating power to Inside Cooling Aqueduct Area............

Opening Aqueduct doors............OK.

Power restored.

The light over the Aqueduct area changed from a blinking red to a solid green. Regina was on her way before the light ever changed.

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The area seemed much darker than the rest of the facility—maybe some of the lights had burned out or something. Almost as soon as she entered the area, there was a small elevator lift going up. She walked inside, pressed the button, and found herself in a straight section of hallway, still dimly lit. Moving as fast as she possibly could, wearing those seemingly leaden boots, she made it to the end of the section, where her eyes caught another object, familiar. Another diver lay dead on the metal floor, his body lifeless and cold. There were massive tears in his suit, and the glass itself was cracked and broken in a couple of places. A couple of feet next to him, a small rectangular object sat undisturbed. She picked it up, and in the dim light of the hall, she could at least make out that it was another one of those keycards. She flipped it around to see where this one went to, but the letters couldn't be read in the light. On his person were an Aquagrenade and one projectile rocket. She put the keycard in a pocket on the suit and picked up the weapon, finding it empty. Tossing it aside, she reached down and undid the clasp holding the single rocket, whereupon she used it to load the one Aquagrenade that was empty on her. With that done, she turned to her left, whereupon she found another small lift going down. At the bottom, she was greeted with a set of double doors, with an accompanying button to open it. She pressed it, and the doors slid open slowly, and the sight before her suddenly became awesome.

She happened upon a huge room, the ceiling extremely high. In clear view, she could see it, the centerpiece of this whole facility, possibly this whole area, jungle included. A massive network of pipes branched off the octagonal structure, fences and turbines and fans in various locations, with lights. She had seen this structure before one year ago, and she was faced with it all over again.

The Third Energy reactor...

Her eyes scanned the area, taking the massive structure in, as flashbacks of Ibis Island came flooding back—the reactor malfunctioning, Dr. Kirk, the island itself getting blasted into another time, all those dinosaurs, Tom, Cooper dying, just barely surviving the whole ordeal—all centered on this gigantic piece of machinery, the lifeblood of this area. As she ventured forth, the water was quite clear in this part of the facility, brightly lit by lights set in the walls, in the floor, and on the reactor itself. Looking through the glass of the helmet, she could make out, just barely, the outline of an upper-level passageway, leading to somewhere, maybe a possible exit. Continuing her trek in the reactor area, she began to make her way around it, hoping to find something to take her up to that ledge—

--when a loud crash ripped through the water, cutting the ambient silence right out. Instinctively, she aimed the weapon toward the direction of the crash. It sounded very close, and the sound of it made it seem like something very large had created it. Whatever it was, it was still moving, for the water seemed to rumble continuously. She pointed the gun into the direction of the crash, straight ahead—and suddenly the long, slender neck of a Plesiosaurus appeared in open water, its head moving, scanning the area for prey. The neck was attached to a huge body, long, wide, and sleek, with fins the size of a car attached to the white underside. The dinosaur moved in a wide ark, moving effortlessly through the water, its body designed for it. The creature began to head in Regina's direction, still several hundred feet away from her, but it would notice her presence quickly.

What did I say? What did I say?

She didn't even pause to think about the situation—she pulled the trigger on instinct, and the rocket flew with quick speed out of the gun, the rear propeller giving it the energy to move. A few seconds later, a quick burst of light, followed by the sounds of an explosion, resulting in an angry roar from the Plesiosaur. Now it noticed, and its long, sleek neck swung wide, crashing into the reactor, creating a massive dent and sending a loud noise of crunching metal through the cold water. A blaring alarm suddenly sounded, ringing through the entire area as red light began flashing through the water, a result of the amphibious creature hitting a generator, probably. A female voice came over a public address system, and Regina could hear it clearly.

"Warning, the Third Energy Reactor has been damaged. Repeat: the Third Energy Reactor has been damaged. Switching to emergency power. Exits will be locked to restrict extensive damage."

Shit, I'm trapped. I've got five grenades left...best to make the most of them.

Behind her, a blue, translucent shield barricaded the door she came through. The angered dinosaur had its long neck pointed directly at her, the creature moving very quickly. She could see the blood trailing out of the large wound the rocket created. Quickly, she grabbed the loaded, holstered weapon and took aim, and fired. She released some oxygen, enabling her to boost backwards as the rocket sailed through the water, reaching its mark in a couple of seconds, landing an impact in the long neck. The sound of the explosion ripped through the water, and the creature let out a roar of pain, and swam upwards, swimming over Regina. Her quick deflection had worked for now, but she had four grenades left, and he would be coming back again. Her heart pounding, she holstered one weapon, grabbed another of the grenades and loaded one into the one in her hands, then switched weapons and loaded that one as well.

The creature began to turn around as Regina began to move forward, the focus still to find a way to reach the upper ledge. Up ahead, a small platform, leading up to another, easily accessible via boost. Another loud crash filled the area as the massive body hit the wall. She boosted up onto the platform, then jumped onto the next one. It led to a footbridge, which then led up to a passageway going around the perimeter of the reactor itself. The Plesiosaur began to move toward Regina again, still several hundred feet away.

Aim for the head...the head...

She grabbed the holstered weapon, now wielding both Aquagrenades. A loud, deep roar filled the reactor area, and she took aim at it, and fired both grenades, one right after the other. Like a torpedo, they jetted through the water, slicing through it effortlessly. Two explosions occurred, the sounds vibrating, as they careened into the monstrous creature. The first slammed into the creature's body, causing a visible hole to profusely bleed. The second found its target—straight into the head of the creature, obliterating it, sending pieces of skin in all directions, a massive wave of blood staining the water red. However, momentum still carried the creature forward, even though it was falling out of the air, and she boosted to try to get out of the way—

--but she wasn't quick enough, as she was sidelined by the headless creature, the sheer force of it sending her sailing up and away, her weapons immediately leaving her hands, lost. She felt as if the wind was knocked out of her, and she gasped for air, thinking the oxygen tube ruptured. The soldier must have been sent fifty or so feet through the water, and suddenly she felt herself crashing into a wall, her back slamming into metal, her body slamming into it like a rag doll. She let out a cry of pain, and as she was falling to the floor, her vision blurred, getting fuzzier and fuzzier, until a blackness washed over her, a black veil in this blue and red sea, as she felt herself slipping into unconsciousness.

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End of Chapter Five. As always, feedback welcome! Chapter 6 should be up shortly.