Chapter 6

"-for whatever we lose (like a you or a me)
it's always ourselves we find in the sea."

― E.E. Cummings

For two whole days, Dan is alone. Of course, he is never truly alone; the blinking security cameras are enough to remind him of that. But no one comes through the doors, even just to stare. Not any of the white coats, nor the security guards, and Phil doesn't visit, not even once.

Maybe he's not coming back? Maybe they've captured him too, and are subjecting Phil to the kind of experiments that were previously his. He imagines Phil's face contorted in pain, or worse, his skin slowly bleeding as they slice him and torture him for information. The images are painful even to imagine, and Dan knows this is, of course, extreme and sensational thinking, but he can't help it. He's worried.

With no sign of Phil, or anyone else for that matter, Dan begins to wonder if there's any way he might be able to escape on his own. He has no idea how far away they are from the shore, and transporting himself on the shore, while not entirely impossible, is highly impractical and unlikely to succeed. Perhaps he can employ the assistance of someone else here, like the woman Phil was talking to, who seems friendly enough. But from what he's seen so far, it's more common for these people to fear, or belittle him, and it's unlikely any of them will be as generous and empathetic as Phil has been.

Improbable plans spinning in his mind, clouded by hunger and ever-growing exhaustion, Dan can't tell for sure how long its been before the door creaks open overhead. Instantly revived, he swims up to the top of the tanks, making out a few figures coming through the door and-

"Phil!" It's all he can do not to grin with wild relief at the familiar face, but there are others there, and Phil seems to be concerned about them. Instead he swims about, his gaze transfixed on the group as they make their way down the stairs, and he listens.

Phil's mind is abuzz with concentration on every little detail of his movements, from the number of steps to the different textures of desks and containers he passes on his way across the room. Dan's frustration wells as he cannot discern a single word of communication, and he smacks a hand up against the glass, hoping to get his attention. Phil just continues on his path, although some of the other humans turn to Dan, faces terrified and alien.

As they gather around a table, Dan suddenly captures a single thought, the tone of the words achingly familiar, "Trust me." And so, he does.

They converse in hushed tones for a few minutes, Dan picking up something about trucks and sun and a brief argument on why Phil needs to do what he's doing. Phil stands tall and his hands speak with authority, and before long the other men and women are nodding along with him. Despite this cool and directive facade, even from where he is across the room, Dan can see the slight, nervous tapping of Phil's foot. He backs off, distracting himself as he twists back and forth through the water, remembering a few of the more unusual corals from near his home, pulling through old memories of their texture, colours and growth patterns. It's engaging enough to tide him over until the others leave and they are finally alone.

Phil runs over to the tank, his hands pressing up against the glass, apologies unsaid as their faces come eye to eye once more.

"We don't have much time; they'll be back soon." Dan nods.

"Are you okay? Did something happen?" Phil smiles at his concern, but waves it off.

"It's taken a little while to get it all organised, but nothing bad has happened, I promise." Dan can see that he's telling the truth, but Phil has already started explaining himself anyway. "They still want to kill you. But even if I couldn't change their minds on that. I organised for 'sun exposure' trials to be done first, because there's no reason that would damage any of the testing they wanted to do. They're going to take this tank up to the cliffs to catch the early sunrise somewhere where no one else will see, so we can study how your body reacts to the sunlight and how long it takes before you get, well, badly burnt." He nods to the smaller tank. "But what they don't realise is that you're actually going into that tank, and you're coming with me."

"How?"

Phil doesn't answer right away, pausing a moment by the tank and watching Dan. Then he turns and heads across the room, where he rummages through a pile of clutter, pulling out two enormous swathes of black material.

"With these. They're strong enough to keep the sun out when we need to transfer creatures between facilities," He tries not to cringe at the word 'creatures', but he cannot deny that a week ago, that is how he would have thought of it. "They're completely opaque, and technically no one should be lifting it to check you're actually under there and risk ruining the experiment- so no one will know you're not actually where they expect you to be. You're gonna be in this one, on the back of my truck." He indicates to the smaller tank.

Dan tries his best not to sound sceptical. "How do I get in there?"

"That," replies Phil, "Is where we're going to need a little help."

Suddenly, the hum in the room falls to complete silence and Jo comes bursting through the doors.

"Done. We have about five minutes before the backup power boots the security cameras back on. We have to move fast." She scurries down the stairs, joining Phil by the smaller tank, pushing it towards the larger one. They frantically crank the platform beneath it up high enough so that the two tanks are level and, at Phil's encouraging nods, Dan swims to the top of the water and, with a small whip of his tail, hops from one to the other. His arms slam down onto the glass base of the smaller tank, with barely enough room to contain his leap; the platform shakes treacherously but thankfully, the tank remains securely on top.

As they lower it back down, Phil meets Dan's eyes for a moment, and Dan is greeted with sentiments of remorse and apology, but doesn't dare to smile in front of the other human. Moments later, the heavy black cloth is pulled over his tank and the world goes dark.

Dan can't see the activity outside, but there's a whirr as machines buzz back to life, followed by the sound of approaching footsteps. He can't quite focus on what Phil is thinking, but he can hear what the new humans are saying.

"-technical malfunction, happens sometimes around these parts. There's not really a steady electrical supply, but the Prof would hear nothing of it." It's a rough chuckle that follows, and there is more than one new voice joining in.

"Perfectly understandable." That's Phil's friend, her voice steady and calm. "Now can you get a couple of your boys to hoist the big tank onto their truck? I'll be travelling with it to oversee the setup and to ensure that there's no contamination of the measured exposure.

"And you'll be going with the other one Dr Lester?" Phil must have replied non-verbally, because a few moments later there is a flurry of activity and suddenly his tank is moving.

"Careful!" That's Phil. "We need to have as little spillage as possible, if you can, please."

With shudders and creaks, Dan can feel the tank moving, water slopping from side to side, but can still see nothing. Eventually he comes to a halt, holding his breath as he hears Phil's friend call out her farewell, before there is a churning noise of the engine, the slamming of doors and they're moving again, but smoothly this time.

Then, when he's least expecting it, he can hear Phil again, sliding into his mind with growing ease-

"We're going to get you home."