AN: The moment of truth has arrived!
Chapter Twenty One: Escape
Now that Cody was burdened with the cumbersome scuba gear, Zack needed to help him climb back on top of the debris pile by the wires. Once Zack was back standing with the others Cody began to give them some last minute instructions.
"The water is going to rush in very fast; I should be okay off to the side of the door like I am... I'm going to loop my good arm around that girder there..." he began, pointing to a steel beam next to where the wires hung by the door "...you guys should back yourselves up against the far wall over there. After the room floods completely we may not have a lot of light to work with. I don't know if the flashlight we have will work once it gets fully submerged so right now while you can still see get your bearings on where you need to swim to before I try opening the door. Once you reach the opening wait there to make sure everyone is accounted for before we head out and up. My guess is the sun hasn't come up yet so the ocean will be pitch black out there. We should probably grab onto each other before we head out and up so we don't get separated. Once we get outside the ship just keep kicking for the surface...it shouldn't be more than 20 or 30 feet...everyone understand?"
Zack, Max, and Russell listened carefully before nodding their understanding and moving away back towards the far wall. When Zack reached the wall he remembered the raft. He reached down and grabbed one by its strings. Cody noticed Zack pick it up.
"Yeah Zack, try to bring that if at all possible. I'm not sure what all is on the surface for us to float on and once this thing goes down..." Cody said, pointing around the room to indicate the ship "...there might not be anything at all to keep us above water. If you still have it when you reach the opening put yourself on the end of our human chain so you can have one free hand to hold onto the raft as we ascend. But if at any point you lose it or find you can't swim good with it, just forget it, we'll just have to take our chances" he said.
"Okay" Zack replied, impressed at his brother's sudden take charge attitude in the face of what was about to happen.
And then it was time. Cody looped his good arm through the nearby girder and took a deep breath. He wrapped the rubber pieces he had cut from the other raft once more around his hands.
"Turn your air on and put your masks in place. This is it, everyone say a quick prayer and I'll see you all on the surface" Cody said, the confidence in his voice very clear. It was what they all needed to hear.
They turned on their air and lowered their face masks. Zack's heart was pounding so hard that he was sure it was going to tear itself from his chest. Instinctively he grabbed Max's hand. She squeezed it reassuringly and he squeezed back. Russell switched on the flashlight.
Cody touched the hot wire to one of the other three. Nothing happened. He touched it to the next one and still nothing happened. Then he hovered the hot wire over the remaining one.
Hi ho silver
He touched them together and instantly they all heard a deep electric moaning sound. The red lights that provided their only illumination dimmed. Cody held the wires together for about 10 seconds before separating them. He waited for the ends to cool again before touching them back together. Again the lights dimmed and the electric humming sound emanated from the door. It became obvious to Cody that the door was trying to open when he began to smell the electric motors heating up above his head at the door's base. He separated the wires again after 15 more seconds to let things cool again before trying a third time. The same thing happened. After 15 more seconds Cody became concerned about burning out the electric motors and stopped again. He removed the regulator from his mouth and turned off his air. The others followed suit.
"It doesn't seem to want to open" Cody said.
"Maybe the frame of the ship has bent so that it's jammed" Max offered.
"Maybe there just isn't enough juice left in the ship to make the motors run at full strength" Russell suggested.
"Either that or they are working full strength and there is just too much water pushing on the door outside" Zack said.
"That's it! Zack you're a genius!" Cody said.
"I am? How's that?" Zack asked, not knowing the implications of what he had said.
"There is too much pressure outside!" Cody said.
The others waited for the inevitable, and in this case wanted, explanation.
"It's like those survival shows on TV where they show the car going underwater and what you should do to get out alive. They tell you to wait until the car fills up with water before you try opening the door cause if you don't the difference in pressure from inside the car to the outside will not allow you to open the door. We have the same situation here. We can't open that door unless this room is flooded first!" Cody said in a rush.
"Ok, so how do we flood this room?" Max asked.
All eyes turned toward the now struggling bow hatch.
"We have to open that" Cody answered.
There was a small ladder that led up to a catwalk which ran along the side of the room to the hatch.
"I don't like it...If one of us starts trying to loosen even one of those latches that door could fly open and likely kill whoever is there!" Zack exclaimed.
"What other choice do we have Zack? We can't wait until it breaks on its own! The ship could start its final plunge before that happens!" Cody replied.
"There has to be another way! Maybe we could throw things at it or find a long pole..." Zack began.
At that moment they began to hear a terrifying rumble begin somewhere deep in the ship.
... . . . ... ... . . . ... ... . . . ...
In the engine room of the dying vessel, the final act was set into play. The fires finally caught up with the main fuel tanks and they ignited in a brilliant fireball. The force was so strong that the shockwave, unable to blast through the welded steel bottom of the ship, had nowhere to go but to blast through all the decks above the engine room and out into the depths of the sea. The resulting counter force lifted the entire stern of the Poseidon nearly 20 feet out of the water, allowing the after deck rail to briefly clear the waves, before it came crashing back down. Now, with a gaping hole exposed to the sea in the entire back quarter of the ship, she began sinking stern first very rapidly. All the water that had been in the flooded bow section now began to careen towards the stern, breaking through anything in its path. As the stern section began to sink, the nose of the once proud ship began to rise above the waves and up towards the sky above.
... . . . ... ... . . . ... ... . . . ...
In the Star Tropics Lounge, despite them being at the opposite end of the ship, the shock of the explosion had knocked Bob and London out of their chairs. Both Bulkhead doors behind them gave way at the same time and the room began to flood. Amazingly, the windows that wrapped around the front of the ship held but a crack had shot across them from port to starboard. Water began to issue from the crack. Bob helped London up and they noticed the pitch of the floor beneath them change from nose down to nose up. They prepared themselves for the possibility that at any second they might have to put their plan into action and try swimming for the surface. They said their good lucks to each other in case this was it and held on.
... . . . ... ... . . . ... ... . . . ...
Back in the transfer room, everything happened so fast there was hardly any time for anyone to give directions. They were all knocked off their feet and rattled around on the deck plating before the vibrations finally eased up enough for them to stand. As they stood up they had a few seconds to notice that the pitch of the ship was changing before the bow hatch above them blew clean off its hinges, narrowly missing them, while simultaneously water began blasting in with astonishing force. They were knocked off their feet again by the water, and as they struggled to get up again they could barely hear each other.
"Turn your air on and get ready! Once the room floods I'll try the door again!" Cody screamed above the shrieking sound of the water.
Zack, who he was closest to, nodded, but he doubted the others had heard him. He saw Zack turning to instruct the others as he hurried over towards the door. The water was flooding the room so fast that by the time he reached it he had to tread water. Feeling his feet settle on the debris pile below him, he reached up, pulled down his mask, and stuck the regulator in his mouth. He turned on his air supply and reached for his sections of rubber insulation, but they were gone.
Oh well, probably wouldn't have helped underwater anyway he thought before praying that the water didn't destroy the wire's ability to send the current to the motors.
He barely had time to finish the prayer before the water was up over the wires and his head. Immediately the horrible sound of the water was reduced to a dull roar off in the distance. He slipped his good arm through the girder and kicked slowly in a reversing motion to help him stay put next to the exposed panel. Adrenaline surged through him and he did his best to breathe slowly into the regulator. As he waited for the room to finish filling he turned his head and spotted Zack, Max, and Russell holding position back near the far wall. The flashlight in Russell's hands had indeed stopped working but even in the dim hellish red glow of the two remaining lights he could still see that Zack once again had his fist clenched around the strings of one of the rafts. How Zack had managed to find it again in the sudden deluge of water Cody couldn't begin to fathom but he was grateful his brother had it. Occasionally an object would fall into view from somewhere above and Cody began to get concerned that something would fall on one of them. He didn't have time to think on that long as he realized by looking up that the room had completely flooded. Now the only sounds Cody heard were the bangs and moans of the dying ship and he knew time was up.
Here goes nothing Cody thought.
This time he knew exactly which two wires to make contact with and so, being careful not to grab the ends and complete the circuit with his body, he quickly pressed them together. Even underwater he could hear the electric groaning noise and the lights dimmed once. Again he waited a good 15 seconds before breaking the connection. The door was still not opening.
At least it's not shorting out in this water...yet Cody thought.
He pressed the wires together again and the groaning noise returned and the lights dimmed once more. After 15 seconds passed he let up again.
I need to make a better connection...but if I grab onto the ends and twist them without insulation... Cody thought.
Just then something drifted past his mask. At first he thought it was a fish but then he realized that it couldn't be a fish. He looked after it and realized it was one of his rubber pieces of insulation. He reached out with his hand and snatched it. He held the wires together and used the rubber piece in his fingers to twist the wires together. The groaning sound returned but this time it had a deeper tone to it. Slowly Cody began to detect a sliver of blackness along the top edge of the door beneath him. The sliver grew wider and wider and Cody nearly cried out in joy. The door was opening!
It opened about a foot, then a foot and a half, then suddenly the wires in front of Cody sparked and he heard the motors die out. He looked down in disbelief. They were only going to get a foot and a half worth of clearance in which to squeeze through. Cody swam down to the opening and waved the others over. As they approached he analyzed the situation. They would have to take off their tanks and lower them through the opening first before squeezing their bodies down after it. When the others arrived he was about to use himself as an example to demonstrate this but just then the lights decided to go out.
Zack felt panic surge through him. They had just made it over to Cody who was next to what Zack considered to be an impossibly small opening in the door. It had looked like Cody was about to show them something when they were suddenly plunged into darkness.
Stay calm he ordered himself.
He felt Cody grab his hand and immediately reached out with his other one and grabbed Max's hand. Max in turn grabbed Russell's. A few seconds went by and Zack suddenly felt Cody release his hand and start pulling on his air tank, trying to remove it from his back. At first he didn't understand why his brother was doing this but then it hit him.
Of course, the opening! We can't get through with the tanks on our backs
Understanding, he helped Cody slip it off, briefly releasing his grip on Max so he could get the strap off his left arm. After it was off he instantly grabbed her hand again. Zack felt Cody guide his hand to the top of the tank and then make him grab tight to it. Then Cody moved Zack's arm along with the tank, as Cody showed him that he wanted Zack to lower the tank through the opening first. Then Cody gently pushed on Zack's shoulders to show him that he wanted Zack to follow the tank through the opening with his body. As Zack contemplated how he would eventually go about this, he considered dropping the tank and allowing it to dangle from the regulator hoses. But as if Cody could read his mind, he felt Cody's hand suddenly land on top of his where he held onto the tank. Cody then squeezed his hand which let him know that Cody wanted him to keep a firm grip on the tank. Zack took Cody's hand and put it on his head before nodding in a yes motion to let Cody know he understood everything. Then Cody placed his pointer finger on the side of Zack's left forearm and made a gesture with it towards Max and Russell. Zack got the message that Cody wanted him to teach the others what he had just learned. He again placed his brother's hand on his head and nodded. He then felt Cody's hand move down and attach itself resignedly to his right sleeve and took that as his cue to begin and try to communicate what he had learned to Max.
Max was fighting panic as well. A while ago she had felt Zack release her hand briefly before grabbing it again. She couldn't see what he was doing but she felt him lean forward and then come back upright again. After a few more seconds she felt him start to tug on her tank, trying to remove it.
Why would he want to remove the tank? She thought.
Then it hit her. The space wasn't wide enough. They had to pass through separate from the tank. Like Zack, once she caught on she cooperated without hesitation, briefly severing her connection with Russell in order to get her tank off. She grabbed his hand again once it was off and paid attention as Zack showed her through his movements how he wanted her to put the tank through the opening first then herself after it. She felt Zack squeeze the hand she held the tank with so she would know not to let go of it. Knowing her like he does, he must have known she would nod her head yes even though he couldn't see her because as she started to do it, Zack's right hand landed on top of her head. He put her hand over his and stuck out his pointer finger and moved his hand towards Russell in a similar manner as Cody had done. Max instantly recognized this as Zack wanting Max to instruct Russell in the same way as he had instructed her. He put his hand back on her head and she nodded yes again.
Russell was beside himself in fear. After the lights went out he figured his best bet was to stand quietly and hang on to Max's hand. He knew that, despite his intense desire to do so, panicking would get them nowhere. So he stood, waiting while the others moved around next to him, not knowing what they were up to. As he waited he realized that the clock was ticking on their air supplies.
How long has it been now? 10 minutes? He thought to himself.
Then he felt Max try and take his tank off his back. At first he thought she was starting to panic herself and was trying to take his air for herself and resisted her. But after realizing that she would never do that he began to think of another reason why she wanted his tank off. Then it came to him, the gap in the door was not wide enough for both tank and person to pass through together.
Heck, even with it off I still might not be going through he thought sourly.
He quickly shrugged his tank off and allowed Max to show him through her body movements that she wanted him to put the tank through first and then go through after it. Like Cody and Zack before her, she squeezed a hand over his hand that held the tank to let him know to keep a firm grip on it and not to let it fall. Since Max had one of her hands on his shoulder near his neck Russell knew she could feel him nodding his head yes in understanding.
At the other end of the line, Cody stood patiently, assuming correctly that Max was receiving her instruction and was relaying it to Russell. He became more and more aware as he waited that the angle of the bow's upward tilt was increasing every minute.
This thing is going to go down any second now he thought to himself before pushing the thought out of his head and saying another prayer.
Unlike what Cody had done with Zack or what Zack had done with Max, Max knew that one of them had to go first and she decided it should be Russell. So after she felt him nod his head in understanding she once again went through the motions of guiding Russell's tank over to the opening and then she gently pulled at Russell himself to let him know she wanted him to go now. Russell didn't resist and she felt him lower his tank down as far as he could. Then he kind of hopped off the edge and into the opening. It was a tight fit but eventually she felt Russell's body descend through the opening.
Zack had sensed that Max was not only showing Russell what to do but having him actually do it. At first he was mad because he thought that Russell had panicked and decided on his own to go first. Then he reasoned one of them had to go first and that Max probably decided it should be him. He felt her start to lower her tank through the opening and helped her position herself over the opening. Then he helped her down through it.
As Max dropped out of the ship she collided with Russell who had hung onto the bottom edge of the door and waited for her. He grabbed her hand again and both of them waited for the twins to come through next.
Cody was becoming concerned. Too much time had passed. Either the others were beginning to leave the ship starting at the end with Russell or they were not understanding the instructions and they were all just standing there using up their air. Just as he was thinking the worst he felt Zack start to move forward and lower his tank down through the opening. He felt Zack turn but just before he went to lower himself down, with his free hand he grabbed Cody's arm and waited, hanging there in the opening by Cody's arm.
He won't leave without me Cody thought.
Cody transferred Zack's hand from his left arm to his right as he swung around and strangely, he felt no pain whatsoever. He lowered his tank through the opening with his left and in one motion, he and Zack dropped through the opening together.
Zack was glad Cody had figured out he wasn't leaving unless they did so together; he was not going to let go of his brother for even a second. As they fell through together he felt Max grab his right hand. All four clung then to the bottom edge of the transfer door. Cody pulled his tank back onto his back and Zack, noticing this, did the same. When Max felt Zack put his tank back on, she did likewise and Russell after her.
Cody released his grip on the door and, holding very tightly to Zack's hand, began to slowly kick upwards. To his relief Zack came away with him.
When Max felt Zack pull away from the ship she immediately let go and pulled Russell with her. Russell likewise felt her moving away from the door and released his hold on it. All four of them were now free of the sinking ship. Their ordeal, however, was far from over.