Mystery At 4,000 Fathoms

Chapter 7: A Desperate Pursuit

"See this revolver, Five?" Jenny cocks her gun, a twisted smile on her face. "It's loaded. You might be a traitor to your country, but I'm going to make sure you work for Her Majesty for me."

I sigh heavily. Will she ever understand that I'm American?

"Don't think for a second I won't shoot," She snarls. "You sided with the people who-who turned my brother into a monster. There's nothing I wouldn't do to you. Get out of that metal suit."

I obey, knowing it wouldn't be wise to tempt her. It's why I don't say Thomas turned himself into a monster. Jenny watches me closely as I remove my suit, left in nothing but flimsy fabric.

"Now start moving. We're heading for the surface, and if that's not to kill you, you need your heart pumping. The Atlanteans-murders and liars. Nice friends you have. Well! I'm not stupid enough to think they won't be coming after us in more of these living submarines. I believe I heard her tell that Peter to get the defenders and head out after us before she was smart enough to cut communications. But we have a head start.

"I've stolen enough Atlantean blueprints and formulas to convince even the Royal Geographical Society. We'll mount an expedition, overpower the city, uproot the anemone, and all that power will be mine."

"Jenny, please," I say, moving from side to side to get my blood pumping. "You don't have to do this. I know you're hurt and grieving, but this isn't-"

"Stop! You're pathetic." She sneers at me. "You so desperately want to help the people who've made you a prisoner. Do you not remember Solus' recordings? Their medical technology could save thousands, could've saved thousands. It's easy enough to pick out how your husband died. He'd still be alive if we'd had the medical knowledge that the Atlanteans hoarded."

I flinch at the mention of Wesley, but I don't back down. "It still doesn't make it right. And-and we still have that compound in us. We'll explode if we try to return to the surface."

The glint in her eye makes my blood curdle, and I pale as she grabs a hypodermic needle with her free hand. "Oh, I believe I've found the answer to that problem. Hold out your arm."

"W-what-"

"Hold it out!" She places her finger on the trigger of the revolver, smiling when I obey. She presses the needle against my skin and pushes it forward, and I wince as she injects me with whatever compound is in the needle. "Before you barged in, I'd synthesized two vials of a new compound to allow us to live on the surface again. I was resigned to testing it on myself, but since you're here, you can make yourself useful. Keep your heart rate up, or you might not survive the change."

She takes a seat at the pilot's console, and I continue jogging in place. Fear sends ice spiking through my veins, and my heart already feels like it's pumping painfully. Is it supposed to feel like this? I hope Peter reaches me soon, not that it matters if whatever Jenny injected into me fails and turns me into an anthropolyp.

The change when Nikita was bitten was fast, but I don't know how long it took for those experimenting on themselves to change. I blink back tears, knowing it will do me no good to cry. I must hope for the best and do anything I can to stop Jenny from reaching the surface, no matter the cost.

"Jenny," I say, still shuffling my feet. "Listen, I know-I know you're upset, and you think the Atlanteans are responsible for what happened to Thomas, but if that's true, then they are horrible people, right? But what you plan to do-what you've done-is the exact same thing. You want to destroy an entire nation. You got two submarines and Nikita killed yesterday! You killed Captain Solus!"

"I didn't believe anyone would get hurt yesterday, truly. And I didn't want to hurt Solus. You must believe that," She professes, and her features harden. "But by refusing to take me to Atlantis, he left me no choice. I made it quick for him, and I cut this... thing out of his head and threw him overboard."