The captain called “Salute!” and the eight oarsmen each pounded their chests and shouted “Salute!” They repeated this two more times in rapid succession.
“Set him free!” commanded the captain. They tilted the board, and the Chair slid gently into the deep water. His eyes opened wide as he was shocked by the extreme coldness of the water. They had discussed it, but even so, he hadn’t expected it to hit him with such violent force. He almost gagged but held onto his wits. He knew exactly what to do; he had been trained.
He allowed the stone to pull him down to the bottom, which happened quickly. Once there, he pulled the airbag from the large inner pocket of his robe and fumbled to untie it, already fearing that it was beyond his capability. But he managed to extract the airbag, untie it, and unroll it. He then drew in a good breath and exhaled.
He immediately took another deep breath, this time holding it while he bent over to pull the free end of the slipknot.
He tugged at it, but it would not give. He became frantic at this point, swiping with his other arm, and now getting both hands on the rope. He now pulled it with all of his might. It finally yielded, and the rope came free. It had been stuck under the weight of the stone, which had wedged it against the rocky bottom.
Now free, Christopher brought the airbag to his mouth, exhaled, and took the remaining contents. His head was clear, and he didn’t feel cold anymore. He felt energized and ready to spring forth both literally and figuratively. A new chapter was about to be written. “Stay under for as long as possible,” Jacob had said. “You want people to be convinced that you’ve died.”
Christopher lingered momentarily until he felt that it was time. He still had at least ten yards of water over his head.
He started his ascent, the free end of the rope still trailing beneath him as he kicked toward the surface. A smile came over his face, and he started to use his arms as he tried to accelerate to the surface, now really in need of air.
Suddenly, he lurched to a stop as one of the ropes pulled on his leg from below. He was confused. There was nothing around him. He looked down to identify the problem and was startled to see a black creature holding the rope. In fear and desperation, he jerked his leg as hard as he could, but the creature only drew him deeper into the water. The black creature of the depths was pulling him closer. He was now completely terrified, and the situation was compounded by his immediate need for air.
As he closed proximity with his captor, he realized. It is a man! A man in some sort of black suit and wearing some other things. What? As he drew nearer, Christopher recognized the man. It’s … it’s Moey in some strange black clothing and a mask! The two men looked into each other’s eyes. While Moey grappled with murdering his father-in-law, Christopher gave up hope, knowing that he would receive no mercy from his son-inlaw, the one man who knew the truth about his darkest secrets.
Christopher’s ability to fight gave out at last, and he inhaled for the last time.
Above, all was as expected, and the riders of the barges were ready to head home. But two men were bewildered and concerned. It now seemed beyond plausibility that Christopher could have survived for this long, but Bobby instructed the Captain to wait another few minutes. Following those additional moments of hope, Jacob and Bobby looked at each other. They assumed that Christopher just couldn’t manage to escape under the real conditions. They had failed. Now, their futures were bleak—especially Jacob’s.
As the barges were turned by the backing and rowing efforts of the powerful oarsmen, Moey swam, towing Christopher’s lifeless body toward the nearby UV that was sitting on the bottom. Not wanting the body to surface, which it most certainly would, Moey took it back to the shelter for later disposal. He lashed the ropes to rings on the UV and slowly towed Christopher toward home.
When they arrived, Dream opened the outer dock doors, and the UV navigated into the dock, and settled down onto the grating. The room cleared as Moey instructed Dream to have the body transported to the freezer. The two Drakes went about the task efficiently, and Moey followed them into the freezer room. The Drakes laid Christopher’s body out on a stainless morgue table and left the room.
“Sorry, Chris,” Moey said with mixed emotions. “Did you leave me any choice?” He looked at Christopher’s open eyes one last time and then walked toward the door. “Goodbye, old man. Sleep well.” Moey exited the freezer room and locked the door. He was excited about the future now and feeling great relief for the first time in weeks.
Marina had left the shelter earlier, after a short visit, thinking that it was better for her to be seen under these circumstances. Moey knew that there was no way to reach her, and he thought it unwise to surface before it was confirmed that he was in the clear. So, he went to the command center to see how the boys were progressing.
“They are due to bypass the final settlement prior to the shelter in two hours. They should arrive at the shelter entrance within one and a half days,” Dream reported.
“That’s really great. Dream, if I am ever not available and something important needs to be communicated to the boys, then I need you to do it as we have discussed. Okay?
“Yes. I understand.”
That evening, Marina finally entered the shelter.
“Darling! You have been so busy. I was worried that you had forgotten all about me!” Moey expressed playfully.
“Oh! It has been so crazy! Everyone is trying to get a piece of me. It’s pathetic really. So many people frightened about nothing.” Marina shared energetically.
“So, when can I get some fresh air?” asked Moey with an inquisitive look.
“Well, that is exactly what I came to tell you. You are a free man, darling!” They embraced in celebration.
“I will advise you and make you a great leader. The best one ever!”
“We need to get our boys home,” Marina said, her tone serious.
“On that note, I can’t come with you right now. You will have to rule alone for another few days. I need to leave early on the train in the morning. If all goes well, I will have the boys back here in three days, assuming they can dig out the entrance in one full day.”
“That’s great!” Marina shouted. “I thought it would take weeks! I forgot about the train.”
“But there is the issue of their friends,” Moey said. “It’s hard to just leave them there.”
“Don’t! They saved the boys! Bring them back on the train!” Marina demanded.
“Really?”
“It’s time. Don’t you think?”
“I don’t know. I suppose if we can hide all the weapons.
I wouldn’t want anyone to know about that. That could be a bad thing. The weapons.”
“Okay! Fine. But let’s get all the kids back to safety.
Then your little bird can drop a note to Vlad. They must be so worried.”
“They are. We count two hundred Victorian soldiers moving east right now, obviously looking for the kids.”
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