CHAPTER 7
Rina
The X-38 lurched to one side. Rina grabbed the wall handle beside her with both hands. The force swung her to the left and she smashed into the wall beside the keyboard, just missing the monitor. Shiro side slammed into the terminal next to him and the screen shattered.
“Earthquake!” shouted Rina. “Strap yourself in!”
Shiro quickly unfurled a safety belt from within the wall and buckled it around his waist. Through the glass domed front, Rina watched house-size chunks of rock crack off the wall face and plummet down the trench. With a loud boom, the back end of the vessel crashed downward. Rina’s hand slipped and she went sliding down the sub headfirst.
“Shiro!” she cried out, reaching for him.
He stretched out his arm but she had already passed him.
“Grab a strap!” he yelled.
She flailed her arms desperate to snatch anything. A black foot strap was ahead and she caught it with her fingers. She snapped around feet first, bashing into two portholes before jerking to a stop. The mini-sub was nearly vertical and she struggled to keep her grip. Shiro was bent forward, his face swollen and pink from the belt constricting his stomach. Another bang on the ship and the nose went down hard. Rina managed to get one foot into a floor strap and held herself in place. The vessel finally leveled off but the heavy rumbles continued their vibrations.
The bruise on her side had gone from a dull throb to a piercing pain. From a porthole, she saw several boulders tumble off a thirty-foot gray dome attached to the trench wall; two red and green lights were alternately flashing in its center. Looking out the front of the X-38, she gasped at the sight. Running along both walls of the trench, rows of ashen domes with blinking lights faded into the darkness.
The nukes, she thought. A wave of fear overcame her. We’re dead.
Another strike on the sub and her foot popped out of the restraint. Before she could secure it, a succession of hits bounced her onto the floor, her legs thrashing in all directions. Just above her, an explosion blew open the metal doors on the wall. Fiery sparks bulleted through the electrical boards then followed the wires in the wall, bursting like a strip of firecrackers. She scrunched her face against the floor, hoping the sparks wouldn't ignite her hair or clothes. Then everything stopped. It was quiet.
The rumbling ceased abruptly but the frenzied water kept jostling the ship. Finally, the movement slowly came to a halt. There was silence except for the fans working at full speed, clearing the smoke from the air.
Rina lay on her stomach exhausted with her face to the side, not wanting to move her stiff and aching body. The coolness of the indigo carpet was refreshing, and a nap was coming on fast. She felt Shiro’s finger touch her bottom lip and she opened her eyes. Blood covered his thumb.
“You stopped the countdown,” he said, grinning with his big teeth.
“Yeah,” she said, trying to gather her scrambled thoughts.
He helped her sit up.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” she said, pushing the black hair from her face. “That hurt.”
“Yep,” he said, still smiling, “but we’re alive.”
“We need to get topside.” She crawled past him, her ribs aching but her muscles were finally starting to loosen. “If we can get close enough to the surface, I can break into a satellite and inform my dad, that is, if Bauman doesn’t blow us up first.”
“Oh good,” said Shiro, “fun time with Rina isn’t over.”
“I keep your life exciting,” she said, kneeling in front of the main systems monitor. Without me, your life would be dull.”
“Unfortunately, excitement with you always means a near death experience.”
She winked at him and tapped the screen. “We’re at twenty-eight thousand feet. We have enough oxygen for eight hours and...no.” Dread threatened to overwhelm her. “We lost ballast.”
Without the ballast tanks, we can’t reach the surface.
Kneeling in the center of the sub Shiro held up a smoldering circuit board. “I think I found the ballast.”
Equations and theories raced though Rina’s mind as she searched for an answer. There had to be a way out. She couldn’t give up. She typed vigorously, telling herself no problem is unsolvable. She willed herself to persevere, to keep searching for a plausible escape, but nothing sufficed. As her hope waned, she sat back on her calves and looked at Shiro who was checking the circuit boards.
Did I just kill him? The thought was agonizing.
She turned and dangled her legs over the ledge, watching the control stick wobble between them. She glanced back at the data. The ballast tanks could only be repaired from the outside but without the manipulator arms, it was impossible. The realization of certain death began to set in. Bauman had won.
“This is it, Shiro,” she said with a heavy heart. “I can’t get us out of here. It’s over.” Her eyes flooded with tears. “I’m...I’m sorry. I wish you weren’t here.” She banged the floor with the side of her fist, then swiped the moisture off her face. “I can’t believe this. We’re really going to die.”
Shiro rushed to her side. “Die? As in forever?”
“Yeah,” she said, watching his face pinch tight with fear.
“Can’t you do something? I don’t like death. I’m only twenty-nine years old; I’m not supposed to die this young.”
“I’m only twenty-one,” she said, taking his hand. “I’m sorry.”
The panicked look on Shiro’s face told her she had to forget her frustration and calm him down once again. On their last field study of an active volcano, Mt. Etna, Shiro couldn’t stay still, always checking everyone’s work, yelling at people, rushing the study so they could get off the mountain. He made the team so nervous they’d wanted to throw him into the volcano. Right now, he looked like he was going to scream in a frenzied panic.
“There’s got to be something you can do,” he said, his lips trembling.
She sighed heavily. “There’s no way out of this. All the repairs have to be done from the outside. Just try to relax.”
His face whitened; his breathing sped up.
He’s going to hyperventilate, thought Rina. Again.
“Cup your hands over your nose and mouth,” she told him, helping him position his hands and recalling the many times in the past she had done this. “It’s all right, Shiro. We’re heroes, even if no one knows it.”
Shiro’s words came out between his breaths. “I-don’t-want-to-die.” His eyes were teary, his forehead was dripping sweat.
“I don’t either,” she said, noticing twinkles of light outside the sub. “Look, chances are someone knows about Bauman and a rescue attempt is in progress. Keep your hopes high and everything will be fine.”
Bauman’s too smart, she thought. No one knows.
“Can you imagine what Bauman is doing right now?” she said, trying to lighten the mood. “Picture a fat hippo in a tutu lying on the floor kicking, screaming, and crying for his mommy because he didn’t get his way.”
Shiro let out a chuckle and lowered his hands. His breathing was returning to normal.
“I guess you’re right,” he said. “Someone is probably trying to save us right now.”
“Exactly. And look where we are. We’re in the most unexplored region of the planet, the place we love the most. So let’s use this time before our rescue to study the trench.”
With her hand she turned Shiro’s head towards the clear dome. Outside, the lights revealed a swarm of alien-shaped macro plankton jetting about, lighting up the dark water like diamonds. Their sizes varied from one inch to over eight inches and some were close enough to view their transparent bodies simulating turbine engines with flywheels. They truly were a wonder of nature to survive in the immense pressure. The existence of these creatures was unknown in this trench until two years ago when Vector Industries, working with the military, announced they were going to do a long-term study of the Challenger Deep using an X-38.
&nbs
p; They weren’t studying for science, she thought, they were accessing the best place to plant the nukes. Bauman and Steinman are working together.
A fit of anger gave her the urge to punch something but the vessel was too fragile at this point, and she didn’t want to have to explain it to Shiro. It would just panic him again. She gazed out the front of the vessel. Not too far away, the exterior lights of the craft caught the ominous shape of a dome, one of the nukes with its lights off. She would’ve given anything to have seen Bauman’s expression when his bombs didn’t ignite. The control stick tapped the inner side of her leg. It would be useless to drive. There was nowhere to go except down.
“I hate this blood on my shirt,” said Shiro, pinching the white material from his chest. “You wouldn’t by any chance have a bleach stick?”
She shook her head and laughed. “No, and at least it’s your own. Remember the time I accidentally got pushed down a crowded stairs and hit my head, bloodying your shorts?”
Shiro grunted. “Yeah, it made me sick. I wasn’t on meds then.”
“And you freaked out,” she said, “tearing your shorts off in the middle of Las Vegas. The pain in my head was so bad but I couldn’t stop laughing.”
“That was kind of funny,” he admitted with a smile. “I almost got arrested for indecent exposure.”
For the first time, she noticed desiccated blood above his right temple. She delicately fingered through his black hair and found congealed blood covering a half-inch cut.
“That grunt hit you pretty hard with the butt of his rifle,” she said.
“I’m fine, but this shirt is ruined.” He released the spotted cloth and wiped his fingers on the leg of Rina’s jean-shorts.
“Hey, think back to Colorado,” she said, ignoring what he’d just done to her shorts. “That was my favorite place in the whole world.”
“The air is too thin at twelve thousand feet,” said Shiro, “and the headaches are atrocious.”
“Yeah, but the air is so clean. I loved the fact we were the only people for miles. If you had the chance again, would you climb the big oak tree by the lake?”
“No way. I was scared to death. The first time it took me two hours to climb fifty feet. Your mom had to bribe me with her chocolate chip cookies.” They laughed and he continued, “I can’t believe I climbed it at least ten times, just for the cookies and to hear her space stories about a planet called Verlea. I could swear she put an addictive chemical in those cookies because I still crave the stupid things.”
“Yeah,” said Rina, patting his hand.
Shiro loved her mother, especially since his parents died in a plane crash five years ago, leaving him alone. Her parents, Mary and Justin, immediately treated him like a son, seeing to his care. Shiro became family. Rina gazed up through the domed glass. The swarm of plankton had vanished. Not a visible ray of light shone through the murky water.
“Mom loved astronomy,” she said, closing her eyes. Soon it’ll be over. “That’s why we built the house up so high; she wanted to be near the stars. She made Verlea seem so real.”
“She was the best,” he said. “Hey, is it getting lighter outside?”
“Whoa,” she said, taken by surprise. It had brightened at least forty percent.
There was a loud thump and the vessel shifted. The sonar began to ping. A high-pitched scrape against the ship’s metal hull sent quivers down her spine.
She gripped the control stick. “Get on the terminal beside me and tell me what’s out there.”
“Aye, sir.” Shiro swung his legs around and knelt behind her. “I don’t get it. Nothing is registering on sonar.”
Rina’s mouth dropped open at a massive, translucent bubble rising up in front of the glass window. It was the size of a car. She dipped forward, not wanting to lose sight of the strange phenomenon bobbling through the dark water.
“What is it?” she asked.
“I don’t know.”
“The volcanic vents are over a hundred miles from here,” she said. “Could one be forming below us?”
Shiro’s eyes opened wide with worry. “I certainly hope not. Look,” he pointed, “there’s more.”
Hundreds of bubbles were clearly visible. The X-38 lurched as a half-bubble slid up the glass, squealing like fingernails on a chalkboard.
“We have to go!” said Rina, tightening her fingers around control stick. “I’m going to—”
There was a hard shudder, then a jerk, and the sub moved forward. Rina tried to steer the craft but the stick wouldn’t budge.
“We’d better belt up,” said Shiro.
He scooted over to the broken monitor and buckled himself in.
“Belt yourself in, woman!” she thought she heard him say.
But the phenomenon was fascinating. The mini-sub creaked and trembled, moving faster and faster, until the large bubbles became streams of light. The roar of the moving water thundered through the ship.
“What’s happening?” yelled Shiro.
“Hold on!” she shouted, barely able to hear him.
Her attempt to steer the craft failed so she released the control stick and grabbed a wall strap. The vessel raced through down the canyon with the spiraling water. She checked the status.
“The Gs are at fifteen,” she shouted. “We should be unconscious.” She touched the screen to view the sub’s velocity. “One hundred feet a second,” she yelled, unsure if he could hear her. “This can’t be right!”
She tapped the screen a few more times trying to make adjustments, but the reading remained. The external lamps revealed the swirling water, which reminded her of the F-5 tornado, however, they were in a whirlpool going down into the deepest crack in the Earth.
The sounds of bending metal echoed through the mini-sub. Red lights flashed on the monitor. Their depth was over thirty-four thousand feet and growing fast. The rushing water was so fierce she swore every cell in her body was vibrating. There was a loud pop in the rear of the vessel and seawater came gushing in. Rina tapped the computer screen and the valve shut. How long would the ship last? At this rate, maybe a minute. Her thoughts returned to Bauman. It would just be a matter of time before he sent the other sub for detonation. A voice came from the speaker above. It was him.
“If this message activated, you’re below thirty-six thousand feet. I’ve won, Rina. Your father is dead. I killed him. He died a sniveling coward and you’re going to join him soon. May you rot in your cold grave.”
Rina froze at the statement, her heart pounded hard and she swallowed her rising hysteria.
He’s just trying to manipulate me, she reasoned.
“Bauman’s a liar,” said Shiro, reassuring her. “Your dad’s too smart for him, besides, he’s not even there.”
Her muscles relaxed. Justin was with the President in Memphis and surrounded by the Secret Service.
“You’re right,” she said and pushed the thought from her mind.
Perimeter alarms began blaring. One thousand feet to the bottom. She touched the monitor and the alarms stopped.
“Less than a minute,” she said.
Shiro offered his hand. “We go together.”
Rina nodded and clutched his hand tight. They could see the cold, gray mud approaching fast. Shiro clamped his eyes shut and squeezed her hand. She refused to close her eyes.
Bauman’s the sniveling coward.
Blinking in bold red was “IMPACT 200FT”. She held her breath and scrunched her face. This was the end.
Without warning, the vessel made a sharp turn into a cave. Rina went flying into Shiro and they bashed into the sidewall. He quickly shoved her back to a sitting position.
“I told you to belt yourself in.”
“Look!” she said excitedly, pointing outside. “The rock face is...it’s...moving.”
The grizzled stone glistened with moisture and seemed to shift in place, squirming and bending shape. She blinked several times, wondering if her vision would steady itself because what she
was seeing didn’t appear real. The roar of the water was gone. Bubbles streamed backwards over the domed glass. She reached up and touched the metal ceiling where water droplets had formed.
“Are we in air?” she asked.
“Got me,” Shiro answered softly.
“This has got to be the Moho,” she said, not taking her focus off the moving stone.
“The Moho?” he asked nervously. “How could that be? We should be dead.”
“Yeah, but we’re not.” He was getting paler by the second. She had to get his mind off the danger. “Tell me about the Mohorovicic discontinuity.” He didn’t answer so she slapped his arm. “Wake up! What’s the Mohorovicic discontinuity?”
Startled, he began talking. “The Moho is the chemical change in the rock separating the earth’s crust from the upper mantle—wait a minute....” He cleared his throat. “Why are you asking me stupid questions?”
“To keep you from puking,” she said, grateful he’d come to his senses. “Keep it together, bro. I need you.”
At the end of the tunnel, a bright light was approaching fast. The control stick was shifting on its own with perfect direction.
“Someone’s controlling the ship,” she said.
“How can that be? No one can survive down here. This is nuts! We must be dreaming.”
She pinched his forearm hard and a high-pitched outcry nearly shattered her eardrums.
“What the heck is wrong with you?” he shouted, rubbing his arm. “You gave me a bruise.”
“This isn’t a dream. I don’t know what’s happening but I need you to get a grip. I mean it, Shiro, something strange is going on and I need you with all your senses. Don’t make me hurt you again.”
“You’re a psycho chick,” he said, still kneading his arm.
“You’re right,” she said. “We should be dead. This has to be off-world technology.”
“Little green men? Get real.”
“You have a better explanation, Tarzan?”
Shiro glanced at her and didn’t answer, skeptical as always. Questions were running rampant through Rina’s mind. Who are they? Why are they here? What are they doing to the planet? The white light changed to a pale yellow then broke into three separate lights. Rina stared in amazement. Within moments, their heads snapped around to a dark brown vessel zooming passed them. Colorful lights outlined its oblong shape.
“I don’t believe it,” said Shiro. “Was that a—”
“Spaceship!” said Rina, thrilled at the revelation. “There are people down here!”
“Do you think they’re British?”
“A spaceship from another world just flew by us and you think it’s the British?”
“Hey, they use their cute accents to distract your thinking,” said Shiro, “so they can empty your bank account. I don’t trust them.”
Suddenly, the light went from pitch black to sun-fire yellow. They screamed and leaned back, cupping their faces.
“What the heck?” said Rina, blinking and waiting for her vision to adjust.
“We’re in another tunnel,” said Shiro.
The mini-sub spiraled in the air, tearing through the tunnel at incredible speed. The quick turns and gyrations jolted them side-to-side and Rina was sure her head was going to snap off; it was all she could do to hold onto the wall strap. The sub whipped around a bend, then slowed and gradually came to a stop.
Giant glowing boulders were gingerly floating through the magma, resembling magnificent chunks of gold. Rina was so anxious to absorb the wonders it became difficult to control her breathing.
“This must be the mantle,” said Shiro. He put his hand on the domed window. “It’s not even warm.”
Rina palmed the glass. “This technology is way beyond us.”
Hundreds of various sized boulders surrounded the small ship. A large one was passing overhead and she couldn’t take her eyes off it, leaning forward and almost falling off the ledge.
“Do you think it’s iron?” she asked.
Before Shiro could answer, the sub bolted into high speed again. Rina went tumbling back and Shiro snatched her hand just in time.
“What the heck is wrong with you?” he said. “Keep a grip on a strap at all times!”
He pulled her back and she grabbed a wall strap.
“Sorry,” she said. “The science is incredible.”
She knew Shiro didn’t hear her. He too was mesmerized by their voyage. A section of sepia-colored stone was closing in.
“What do you think it is?” asked Shiro.
“The second Moho,” she said, “between the outer core and inner core.” Her voice softened with the fascinating realization. “We’re actually inside the planet, Shiro. No one has ever seen its interior. This is so awesome.”
“Yeah,” he said softly. “It feels surreal.”
The vessel raced through the light brown cave. When it rounded a corner, the light flared to a blinding white. They yelled and shielded their eyes with their hands, but it wasn’t enough. The light was so strong the outlines of their bones and veins were visible through their hands. It was like staring at the sun.
“This must be the liquid outer core,” Rina said, her voice straining.
“Yeah, and it’s killing me,” said Shiro.
She felt his pain. The X-38 cruised downward with an unusual smoothness. She squeezed a peek through her fingers. There was a dark spot in the distance. She took two thick wads of her long black hair and wrapped her hands, then cupped them over her eyes. The dark spot was...spinning! She poked Shiro with her elbow.
“Look! Look! It’s the solid inner core,” she said, unable to curb her enthusiasm. The science was incredible! “We were right. It spins opposite the outer core, creating our magnetic poles. This is great!”
Shiro used her hair and did the same thing.
“What’s that revolving black spot?” he asked.
“I don’t know. There’s no texture on its surface. Maybe an entrance to a cave?”
“A cave to what? How is this happening? We should be dead.”
Rina was busy timing the spinning cave. They had to hit it precisely or they would crash into the core. The closer they got, the faster the core was spinning. She carefully counted the revolutions.
No more than twenty seconds.
As they neared the opening, the solid rock was still there.
“Not this way!” she shouted.
Just then, the hole reappeared and the vessel entered the cave. The ship swung around and went into a horizontal spin. Shiro banged his head against the sidewall and lost consciousness. Rina screamed as her body rolled backwards down the sub and bashed into the back wall. Everything went black.