So, writing these movie chapters are beginning to get fun. What's funny is this chapter didn't end where I expected it but that's my brain thinking ahead again. Thank you to all of those who have chosen to follow and review this story. Your excitement and encouragements are what keep me going.
"Some first date…" Jason sighs as he turns and leans back against the wall.
"Yeah," Kim lets out a small laugh. "Next time we just go to a movie."
"Deal." Jason smiles at the fact that she still has her good sense of humor even now. All of a sudden the room lurches a little. "We're moving." He states as he pushes off the wall and glances up.
"Well we wouldn't want to be late for our dinner date."
Jason glances around the room trying to see if he can hear the engines that must be running but all he can hear are the sounds of sloshing water. He is not quite sure why by he gets a sinking feeling in his gut that makes him look at the dive computer still attached to his wrist. His heart soon bottoms out with his stomach as he sees the numbers slowly climbing. Crap… "We're diving. This is some sort of submarine."
"This just gets better and better." Kim says sarcastically as she pushes off the wall and begins to wander around the room again. "So let's recap. We are prisoners of a psycho diva who want to feed us to who or whatever Maligore is. There is no way out of here. Oh and nobody beside Antonio and Arnold over there know we are even here."
"Just stay calm, Kim." Jason tells her as he walks over and puts his arm around her shoulder. "We have been in a lot worse situations than this before. We can figure this one out too."
"You're right." Kim turns her head to smile at him. She scans the space around them, looking for some inspiration. She notices various rusted pipes and metal parts hanging loose in their fittings. "We could try to make some sort of weapons."
"See, we can do this." He smiles at her, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze. Dropping his arm he turns and begins to search for decent parts. He drags his hand along the nearest wall as he examines the various raised pieces of metal. The first couple pipes he tries to pull free are so badly degraded that the metal crumbles in his hands.
Jason comes to a corner where he sees a length of pipe with a small elbow bend that appears to be loose. Applying some pressure as he wiggles it he is able to pry the pipe free from its connectors. He looks over the metal for a second before hitting it against the wall beside him several times to test its strength.
This is pointless… He glances at the pipe in his hand again before tossing it aside. Letting out a low frustrated sigh, he leans back again wall. His eyes find Kimberly and he watches her fiddle with a couple of smaller pieces of piping. That is when he finally really notices the circular panel on the wall behind her. He stares at it for a moment before it hits him.
"That's it." Jason says out loud as he begins to walk toward the wall opposite him. "Kim?"
"What?" Kim looks up to see him moving toward her.
"Move away from wall for a minute."
"Um, sure." She eyes him with uncertainty but does as he asks.
"Instead of making weapons," He starts as he reaches out and touches the round panel, "I think we should be concentrating on getting this panel off."
Has he lost his mind? Kim looks at the panel. "Okay..um…" She bends to set the pieces in her hands on the floor. "Wouldn't that mean all the water would come in?" She ask in a tone that she hopes will show him how crazy an idea that is.
"Yeah," Jason ignores the slight sarcasm in her voice as he turns on his dive computer again. "Right now my dive computer says we're at 435 feet." He begins to explain to her his plan. "The closer we get to Muranthias the sub is gonna start to climb. Once we hit 100 feet, we pop this off the wall and then boom."
Kim has an uneasy feeling about this plan. "And make it up in one breath?"
"Its our only chance." Concern is etched on, Jason's face. He knows this is a long shot but what else is there.
Kim doesn't like sound of those words but knows he is right. There is no way the two of them could take on a ship full of who knows how many face to face. She looks at the panel again and lets out a resigned breath. "Wow…"
Now how to actually get it off without tools. Jason keeps that thought to himself as he runs his fingers over the raised panel, stopping at each rusty nut that holds it in place.
"Okay, so how do you plan on getting the panel off?" Kim seems to have caught up and is now on the same brain wave as him but unlike him has no issue voicing the obvious. "We have no tools."
"Don't worry, I think of something." Okay brain, think of something. He tells her tests a nut with his fingers. He turns and glances around the room for anything that might work when he remembers the pipe he just had. Maybe… Walking back to where he threw it, Jason retrieves the piece of pipe from the shallow water. "We can use this. It should be strong enough, " He walks back over to her and the panel. "I can just break these nut off."
Kim looks at pipe in his hand then to the panel. "I dunno, Jason." She says unconvinced as she turns back to him. "But then again I don't have a better idea."
"Then step aside, sweetheart." Jason smiles as he starts to get ready to work.
"Sweetheart?"
It's at that moment that his mind registers how the words coming out of his mouth sounded causing him to freeze. Looking at Kim, he is unsure of how to interpret the expression on her face but is pretty sure it is not a happy one. "Sorry, Kim. I just…"
"Jason Lee Scott." Her use of his full name confirms his suspicions about her mood. "You will never call me sweetheart in that superior masculinity tone. Ever."
"Right. Sorry." He apologizes again as she take a few steps back to give him space.
No words are spoken between them for the next couple of hours as Jason slowly pounds off one old bolt after another working his way around the panel. When the last nut is off, He begins to hit the panel with the pipe to shake it loose from the wall. He can't help a small smile when water begins to trickle in from the bottom causing the woman helping him to gasp softly. Dropping the pipe, he looks over the panel's edge. "That should do it. Now we just have to wait."
Kim nods as she walks a couple of feet away from the leaking wall. She can't help but feel bad for yelling at Jason. Sure she is a little stressed at the moment but so is he. "Jason, I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier." She gives him a small smile as she turns to face him. "This is all just so…"
"I understand, Kimmie. This part of out life was supposed to be done." Jason returns her smile as he strolls over to her. Wrapping his arms around her he pulls her into his embrace. "But you did want to start a new adventure."
She laughs softly burying her face in his chest. After all the time he has hugged her in the past why did she never realize just how perfect a place being in his arms was. She was safe here and something else. She was home.