Jen couldn't remember when she'd gotten used to the rotten fish smell, but apparently, at some point in the last couple of hours, she'd managed to either bury the fact that the room smelled like dead perch on the beach, or her cold was getting worse. She sniffed. Yup. Cold.
Her head was starting to ache a little with the mix of dampness in the cavern, the dim lighting, the concentration of staring at the flashing characters on the screen, and the ensuing snot-factory forming in her sinus cavity. She massaged the bridge of her nose and stared down at the status of completion on the last of the files she was transferring. Ninety-eight percent. Judging by the previous files, she'd be done in a couple of minutes.
A long, loud clap of thunder echoed in from the open hatchway and she screeched and jumped, nearly dropping the tablet.
"Just the storm, Doc." Evan grinned from his reclined position against the wall next to Williams. Sanchez and Edison were out front, occasionally commenting on the power of the rain which started falling over an hour ago.
"Sorry." Jen shook her head and looked sheepishly at Evan. "I hate thunder."
"Thunder can't hurt you." Evan ambled across the room towards her.
"This is Pegasus, right?" She raised an eyebrow.
Evan grinned. "True enough."
She showed Evan the tablet. "Ninety-nine percent."
"Well that only took…" Evan looked at his watch. "Three hours, twenty six minutes and… thirteen seconds."
Jen grinned. "Like you had anything better to do."
"Well, now that you mention it…"
She laughed, and watched the status meter on the tablet screen flash green then disappear. "Done." She glanced from Evan to Williams. "That's everything I can download."
Williams nodded and moved towards the front hatchway, calling through to the others that they were finishing up.
Jen clutched the tablet against her chest and bent down, reaching behind the unit to unhook the data cable. Her fingers barely touched the connection when a loud beeping sounded.
Oh crap.
Jen squeaked and jumped, turning to face Evan.
Evan spun towards her, his hands automatically dropping to his P90.
Lieutenant Williams stiffened, looking quickly around, weapon raised.
The beeping continued, quick and consistent.
"Shit." Evan cursed, spinning back around with his P90 to his shoulder.
Jen quickly checked the screen…
And laughed.
She didn't mean to.
But… it was just… well… funny.
Evan frowned and glanced at her over his shoulder.
She held up the tablet, showing Evan the large red warning message flashing against the screen.
Battery depleted.
"Sorry. My bad." She snickered, looking from Evan to Williams then back to Evan. "Guess I needed a third battery pack."
"Jeeze, Doc. Take a year off my life why don'tcha." Evan sighed and rolled his shoulders, releasing the P90 and turning around towards Williams, who was shaking his head with a grin.
Jen laughed, releasing the tension she'd balled up behind her shoulder blades. "Sorry." She apologized again.
Disconnecting the end of the cable from the laptop, she repacked the tablet into her knapsack, then turned towards the back of the unit to remove the other end of the cable from Michael's computer. She laughed again at her own freaked-out reaction to the beeping, wondering when she'd become so paranoid that a battery warning would send her into an adrenaline spiked rush.
As soon as she disconnected the cable the laughter died in her throat.
Drowned out by the piercing wail of an electronic klaxon.
Oh hell.
"Shit!" Evan cursed, staring at Jen.
"I didn't do anything!" She wailed, holding up the cable.
"The door!" Evan shouted, running towards the front hatch. Williams dove forward but he couldn't prevent the massive blast doors from blocking the doorway. They hit the ground with an echoing clang that vibrated the floor. Spinning around, the trio confirmed their worst fears. A second wall of metal had also dropped to cover the rear compartment.
They were completely sealed in.
The klaxon continued to sound, it's metallic screeching pounding an answering echo through Jen's head. The steady pulse of the obvious alarm was reflected in two red lights that surged in response over each sealed doorway.
"Edison!" Evan tried his com, but could hear nothing but static. "Edison! Sanchez!" He tried again, then dropped his hand in disgust.
Williams shoved at the front panel, and Evan ran quickly to join him. With forced grunts they tried to push, shove, move the metal wall away from the opening but it was useless. They searched the wall to the right and left of the doorway but it was no use. There was no control panel. No obvious method of raising the door.
They were trapped.
Muffled pounding sounded from the other side and Evan held up his hand, calling for quiet.
"Edison!" He yelled through the door. "Edison!"
A muffled affirmative.
"Can you see a way to open the door?"
Silence.
Jen held her breath.
No.
"Are you trapped?"
No, we're clear.
"So you can you get out of the cave?" Evan shouted into the metal.
Yes. The wall is only on your side of the hatchway.
"Get back to the gate!" Evan ordered. "We're going to need something to cut through these doors!"
Sanchez will go. Came Edison's reply. I'll work on it from this side.
Suddenly, the klaxon stopped, and the room fell into silence.
"Okay…" Jen whispered, afraid to speak aloud. She moved to Michael's computer console, but the screen was blank. "Why do I get the feeling that's actually not a good sign?"
You okay? Edison shouted.
"Yeah!" Williams responded, followed with a muttered, "so far…"
A slow, long rumble began in the floor, and vibrated slowly up their legs. Organic tubing on the walls began to tremble as the force increased.
"What the hell?" Williams stared at the floor. "Earthquake?"
"Edison!" Evan shouted through the door. "Get the hell out of there!"
What about you?
"Just go, God damn it! Get out into the open! That's an order, Lieutenant!"
The rumbling increased, the violent shaking sending Jen stumbling to the side. She grabbed one of the massive metal pipes for stability.
With a roaring blast of rock and debris, a two foot section of the wall above her head exploded out under the pressure of a massive wall of water.
She screamed and fell beneath the pounding spray, the force of the water shooting her across the room like a waterslide.
Evan dove forward, grabbing her and yanking her too her feet. Williams helped guide her into the corner. The trio stared wide eyed at the white, foaming spray gushing into the cavern, quickly flooding the floor.
"Please tell me that's not…" Jen trailed off.
"The waterfall?" Evan blinked.
"I asked you not to tell me."
Evan cursed, staring at the water that churned above their ankles. "Oh, this is not good."
Jen sloshed over to the computer, hoping, wishing that perhaps there was something she could find to release the doors. Gripping the edge of the computer console, she held herself up in the slippery press of the water, and stared wide-eyed at the unit. Evan and Williams followed, and the trio eyed at the destructed mass. Several chunks of rock and metal that once lived in the wall above their heads, now resided inside the screen. She stared at it in horror, and turned to Evan.
"It's no good." She shouted over the roar of the incoming water, brushing her wet hair away from her face.
Evan stared around the room, glancing over the walls and ceiling. "Start looking for access panels, hidden doors, anything!" He ordered, moving to the wall next to the entrance. "There's got to be another way out of here!"
With the water already at their knees, they felt along behind the piping, pulling at the organic tubing. Williams had his knife out and was quickly cutting away chunks of the slimy conduits. There was nothing but the smooth surface of the metal wall behind. The water filled the room quickly, and by the time they'd cleared the first wall, it was already up to their waist.
They moved quickly to the wall across from the rerouted waterfall, pulling at the cables and piping. Jen hissed against the frigid temperature of the water as it climbed her torso.
"Damn, that's cold!" She cursed.
"It's useless." Evan growled. "There's nothing here."
He looked quickly around, his eyes locked on the ceiling. "How high is that?" He looked to Williams briefly before turning his eyes back to the roof. "Ten feet… maybe eleven?"
Williams nodded.
Evan ripped into his tack vest and handed Williams his C4. Then he pointed to a section over the already blasted opening in the wall. Water dripped down through a series of large, jagged cracks in the wall and ceiling. "The ground sloped towards this side of the river. The area above us should be dry. If we're lucky, there's less than a foot of rock above us, and it should already be weak. If we can get far enough up, we might be able to blow ourselves an escape hole."
"You can't be serious!" Jen looked from Williams to Evan to the C4 the Lieutenant was stuffing into his TAC vest next to his own.
"You got a better idea?" Evan looked at Jen.
She shook her head, riding a shiver as the cold water reached her shoulders. It was like standing in an ice bath, fully clothed.
Moving quickly to the opposite side of the room, away from the incoming water, Evan boosted Williams up, giving the Lieutenant leverage while Williams scrambled to find a handhold amongst the slick, wet piping. He moved up Evan, planting first his knees, then his heels, on the Major's shoulders. Evan grunted and grabbed a section of metal piping to keep himself upright. He used the added leverage of the water to help displace the weight, but Williams was still damn heavy. Jen half swam, half strode through the water, and stood beside Evan. Grabbing the pipe with her left hand, she braced herself against the wall, and offered Williams her shoulder to help take the weight off Evan.
He refused with a shake of his head so she grabbed his ankle, planting his foot against her shoulder. "Quit being a baby!" She yelled up at him. "And get us out of here!"
He blinked down at her and nodded, shifting his weight. She grunted under the sudden pressure of having a two-hundred pound man using her for half a step-ladder, but she refused to move away. With her forehead buried against the slime of the organic tubing, she clenched the metal pipe. Her arms trembled with the strain of holding herself upright. She closed her eyes and concentrated, shuddering violently when the water lapped against the back of her neck.
"A little faster, Lieutenant!" Evan shouted, grunting as Williams shifted position.
"Almost done…" Williams called down, his voice strangely muffled. "Okay!"
Jen looked up through her wet bangs to see Williams clutching the detonator in his teeth. He nodded down at her then reached for the piping, lifting his weight off her shoulders. Evan dragged her away from the wall as Williams slid down the pipe and splashed into the water, the small black box still firmly seated dryly between his teeth. Jen bobbed in the water, the surface tickling her chin.
"Can you tread water?" Evan looked directly at her.
She nodded. "Yes. Why?"
"We're going to need to wait until we're almost at the top." Evan said to Jen, pulling her towards the side, and away from the incoming flow of water. "If we blow it too soon, it might bring the entire roof down on our heads. If we can wait until the water's almost to the roof, we stand a better chance of… swimming out of here."
"And if it doesn't work?" She asked, clenching her teeth against the shiver that ripped through her body.
"Then we're dead either way." Evan said honestly.
Jen stared at him unblinking. Then she nodded. "Okay."
"Don't worry, Doc." He grinned. "It'll work. Drowning wasn't one of the bets."
"Right." She exhaled, bobbing in the water, no longer able to touch the floor. "Lucky you picked Wraith attack, huh Major."
"Hey, come on." Evan pouted. "Day's not over yet."
Jen snorted, then sneezed twice, violently.
"Stupid cold." She muttered.
Using the pipes on the wall as hand holds, they rode the rising tide. Fingers trembled as everyone fought to keep their grip in the icy liquid. The pounding behind Jen's skull was moving at a violent pace and she closed her eyes, resting her forehead on the back of her hands. If they didn't drown, and the explosion didn't crush them under a ton of wet rock, and they actually made it out alive… they'd be seriously close to hypothermia, with no supplies. Despite the throbbing headache, Jen's mind raced with everything they were going to need the minute they got out.
Bobbing a foot from the ceiling, Jen opened her eyes and looked at Evan, her voice clipped as her chattering teeth made it difficult to speak. "We're going to… have to… get dry… and warm… fast…"
"Hypothermia." Williams agreed from the other side of Evan. "Water's damn cold."
Evan nodded, the muscle at the side of his jaw bulging as he clenched his teeth. "The village…" He shivered. "Less than a mile. Find shelter there."
"It's raining." Williams added, winking at Jen.
"Gee." Jen muttered. "Th-thanks... for the reminder."
Evan snorted and shook his head. "Don't like rain, Doc?"
Jen shivered. "Love rain." She shook her head. "Fun to walk in."
"Then what's… the problem?" Williams chattered.
"I forgot… my umbrella. Remember?" Jen stared at him.
Williams blinked, then burst out laughing.
Evan grinned and shook his head. He glanced up at the roof, then over to Williams. "Ready?"
Williams nodded. "Ready, Sir."
"Over there." Evan turned to Jen, and angled his chin towards the opposite end of the wall. Using the pipes, he pulled himself along with his right hand, and guided Jen with his left. Once they reached the end of the wall, he moved her around so she was wedged face first into the corner. Williams bobbed up beside him, so Jen was left staring at the wall, with the two men to her back.
"Alright, Doc." Williams said over her shoulder, his voice clipped. "When I say go… You're going to need… to shove yourself as far down… into the water as you can get."
"Use the pipes." Evan added, tapping the back of her hand which tightly gripped one of the pipes. "Push deep. Down. Away from the blast."
Jen nodded, her heart leaping into her throat with each throbbing pound of the headache.
"Hold your breath… as long as you can." Williams continued.
"When you see daylight…" Evan added. "Swim for it. Fast as you can. Got it?"
Jen nodded, glancing at Evan over her shoulder. He nodded back.
She shook her head, staring wide eyed as Evan looked at Williams.
"Do it." Evan ordered.
Williams grinned. "Fire in the hole…"