Water was catching up fast. The group ran to a watertight door but when Pamela opened it, water gushed out. She quickly snapped it shut. With water ahead and water behind, briefly the kanmusu entertained the idea of drowning. But hope emerged in the form of a small vent. "Where does this go?" Ramsey asked. "Uh, it joins up with a main vent in about a hundred yards. You can take that up to the next level." Pamela replied. One by one they filed in. Ramsey led followed by Chris, then Jennifer. Conner and Maggie were next. Elana refused to go in and Pamela could see she would have her work cut out for her. Finally she said "Elana if you don't go we don't go." Realizing that she'd cost them their lives as well if she didn't, Elana complied sticking close to Nelson as the pair crawled through the vent. "Ladies first." Dylan said and Pamela nodded, climbing through. Dylan followed. Crawling out into the vertical shaft, Pamela could see the water rising fast. In their race to beat the water so far they were winning but it was a tight duel. Still she was keen to keep it that way.
Ahead, Elana started panicking again. Nelson had gotten himself stuck. "Elana, Elana calm down. Panicking isn't going to help anyone. Below them, the water was rising rapidly. "I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die!" Elana sobbed. "No you're not. No you're not." Pamela assured. Nelson distracted her with questions about her brothers. Getting Nelson free they climbed free of the water but it was still rising. The hatch at the top of the vent was screwed shut. "We need something small to turn these screws!" Ramsey called. "Here, I got something!" Elana, managing to calm herself, undid her cross necklace, handing it up. "Oi vay that would be ironic." Pamela muttered. Behind her, she could hear Dylan gasping and sputtering. The water covered his head. "DYLAN!" She screeched. He surfaced, climbing up and out with her. "That was too close." She panted.
As they climbed out, Chris tried the door but it was sealed from the other side. Ramsey shone his light on a vent. "No not another one." Elana begged and Pamela had to agree. Elana was barely keeping herself together. Crawling through a second vent would potentially unravel her and that would bode disastrous for the rest of them. "Wait, wait what's this?" Chris opened a hatch in the ceiling and they climbed up into a massive open space. "What is this thing?" Maggie asked. "Ballast tank. Keeps the ship stable in rough weather." Pamela replied. "That right there, is our way out." Ramsey pointed his light to the valve on the other side. "Wait, wait. That's a pressure valve. It'll only open if there's tremendous pressure." Pamela said. "Great we're trapped!" Elana said. "No we're not." Pamela growled, starting to lose patience with the hysterical woman. "But we need a way to generate enough pressure against that valve to open it. And there's only one way to do that." She looked at Dylan. "We need to flood this entire tank." He said. "What?!" Maggie and Elana screamed simultaneously. "The valve will open and we'll go from tank to tank until we find an open hatch." Pamela said. "But what if there isn't one?" Maggie asked. "There's always an open hatch somewhere." Pamela assured her. She knew there was one in the tank next door but she also knew that this particular valve in this tank did not always open. It had been finicky lately at best. If it didn't work properly this time, they were all dead. And more bad news, once they flooded this tank, the rest would inevitably follow. It'd be a chain reaction that would reduce the time they had even further. With the ballroom gone, they were already running against the clock. Now, it have to be a sprint. Below, the water was filling the room they were just in. As it came close to the hatch opening, Ramsey shut and sealed the hatch. "You better be right." He said to Pamela. "Flood it!" Pamela told Dylan. "God I hope this works." She thought.
As soon as Dylan opened the valve water came gushing out at a rate that would terrify most seaman. The term '300 buckets an hour' didn't hold a candle to this. Within seconds the tank was up to the recommended flood line. The valve wouldn't open. The water approached the ceiling and they all took deep breaths before their heads were covered and the valve still wouldn't open. Pamela closed her eyes, searching for the valve within her. One part among millions. Finding it, she flicked her wrist, simulating a turn to the open position and she poured her will into the maneuver. This valve was opening and it was opening now. With a click the valve did so and they were all swept into the next ballast tank. They all popped up except Dylan and Pamela worried before he surfaced beside her. "There's an open hatch." He said, confirming what she already knew. "I'll follow you." She panted. Opening the valve had taken a lot out of her. He dove and she followed, close behind.
Wires dangled from the ceiling, with one particularly gnarly set just inches from her head. Get snagged on that and you weren't coming up. Dylan made a turn to the right and surfaced right in the middle of an opening. She came up beside him and immediately started to sink, too tired to try and swim. He grabbed her and she did what she could to help as he hauled her out of the water, lying her flat on her back. She stared up at him, breaths fast and shallow. "You opened that valve." He said. "Didn't know kanmusu could do that." "We can't. Not typically." She panted. She made to sit up but he gently put a hand on her chest. "Catch your breath. We've got a little time." He said. "Not as much as you think." She thought but she did as he asked, lying back down and putting her hands behind her head.