The Seventh Secret

Chapter 18 — Strange Tides

After Sam had lied his way through the inspection, the coast guard officer looked around the yacht.

“May I?” he asked.

"By all means, officer," Purdue smiled, as the man went below deck to check for contraband or any other suspicious items international tourists may harbor. All he found apart from the sophisticated technology he had seen on deck was light luggage and some food and beer. While he was inspecting the vessel, the expedition members made an effort not to act suspiciously as the other officers on the boat alongside their yacht were still watching them.

“Alright. Everything seems to be in order here,” the officer said eventually and returned their papers to Sam, whom he thought was in charge of the so-called scouting session. “Enjoy our lovely country and be careful of currents down there, okay?”

They all nodded and thanked him while Nina checked her watch. Due to the unexpected inspection by the coast guard they were behind schedule, which meant they had less time to gather information, identify the wreck and decide how to tow the ship out of territorial waters without being noticed.

“I hate to rush this little party of yours," Nina told Purdue softly, "but we have a salvage tug on the way, and as yet still don't know what for or how it will be put to use."

“I agree,” Purdue smiled. “Let’s get ready, people! We have only so many hours left.”

With the coast guard safely moving in the opposite direction, Purdue opened the throttle and, at last, they made their way to the coordinates of the wreck. Within a few minutes, they had reached the location, according to Purdue's tablet and the instruments on the board. Crystal and Sam pulled on their diving suits while Purdue was still calibrating his tablet for deep sea data gathering.

“Hurry, Purdue,” Sam sniffed as the damp sea air filled his nostrils. “I don’t want to be down there too long.”

Purdue stood up and cocked his head at Sam’s remark. “Why? You’ve had longer dives before.”

"Aye, I have," Sam said, keeping the volume of his voice low. He leaned in toward Purdue. "I just don't want to leave Nina up here with these strangers too long, you know."

Purdue looked past Sam at Nina, sitting on her own, deep in thought.

“I know. She has been a tad more vulnerable of late, hasn’t she?’

“That is not what I am referring to,” Sam replied.

“But you know Dr. Malgas. Are you telling me we cannot trust him and his people?” Purdue asked, looking a bit alarmed at the sudden change in demeanor he picked up from Sam.

“No, you can trust him. Absolutely. I just have a bad feeling about those security guys,” Sam admitted.

“Why? Is there anything I should know, Sam?” Purdue persisted. “I’m not going under the water if Nina will be in trouble up here.”

“No, no, it’s nothing like that. I just don’t like leaving one of our own alone with people we have not worked with before,” Sam shrugged.

“You are trying to downplay something that is bothering you a lot,” Purdue told Sam, pointing his long thin finger at Sam’s chest so that no-one would notice that they were discussing something serious.

“Look, I just don’t trust those guys completely, alright? I’m sure that Dr. Malgas and his assistants have no hidden agenda. But I just don't want to be away from Nina too long, and she refuses to dive. I asked her," Sam clarified, but his tone concerned Purdue greatly.

“I’ll stay up here,” Purdue announced.

“What?” Sam gasped. “No, we need you down there!”

“No, you don’t. I am sure a bright young lad such as yourself can handle a camera and carry a tablet at the same time. Crystal will guide you to the best and safest places around the wreck. You just gather information. Film as much detail on the size and shape as you can, and record the dimensions on my tablet,” Purdue reassured him. “Crystal is a professional. She knows what she is looking for, so you don’t have to babysit her. Just do your thing, alright?”

Sam put his arms akimbo and sighed. His eyes dropped to the floor as he thought it through. He could not deny that leaving Purdue with Nina took a great weight off his chest, knowing she was not fair game to God knows what those men were discussing. As a matter of fact, he would feel a whole lot better with Purdue maintaining the status quo on the yacht. Sam trusted Billy Malgas completely, but the man was very naïve, sometimes even a bit timid. Despite this being his find, he lacked the natural authority and strength of character to command beyond the lecture halls. Purdue, on the other hand, was the epitome of power and authority, even with his mischievous grin and playboy appeal.

"Alright. I appreciate it, Purdue," Sam sighed in relief. Purdue gave him a jovial slap on the arm and smiled. He said nothing, but Sam knew that the unsaid accord held fast between them. They both cared greatly for Nina, regardless of their constant secret competition over her. When they turned to face her way Nina was staring right at them. The three of them had been through so much together that there was some subliminal connection between them. They knew that she had caught wind of their intent just by watching their body language.

“She knows,” Sam said.

“Doesn’t matter. I’ll explain it to her if she gets snoopy,” Purdue smiled.

Apparently, Nina was not the only woman who could read their mannerisms.

“What is going on, boys?” Crystal asked suddenly. She looked bewitching in her skintight diving suit, and her sex appeal rendered the two men speechless at first before their spell lifted enough to answer her.

“Purdue is going to stay on board. You and I will lead the dive for now,” Sam winked, trying to charm her from seeing the true urgency of Purdue’s decision. But once more he had underestimated female intuition.

“Why? What is wrong?” she asked, dismissing all Sam’s attempts at fooling her.

“It’s not a big deal, love,” Purdue said plainly. “We have more important things to deal with right now and those are things we only have a certain time window for if you catch my drift."

“Yes, I do catch your drift. But your data is crucial. Without your dimensions…”

“Sam is taking care of that,” Purdue almost snapped at her. It was unlike him to be impatient or brash, but he did not want to have to explain his protection of Nina right now. Sam lifted the tablet for her to see, looking boyishly victorious. Crystal did not fall for it all, but she was aware of the tug headed their way and the time limit they were pushing.

“Okay,” she said sternly, flashing Purdue a particularly sharp look. “Let’s go, Sam.”

A few minutes later the two divers descended into the temperate waters of Bluewater Bay. Sam followed Crystal’s lead as she navigated their route by the coordinates on her underwater mapping system, fixed to her arm just above her diving watch — a pivotal instrument on all her salvage dives. Upon closer inspection, Sam realized that the device looked like something Purdue may very well have designed and built for Crystal.

It appeared to be far more advanced than Sam’s humble depth gauge, but he had little time to compare technology now. His film equipment needed attention as she pointed out that they were approaching a particularly huge shadow below them. Sam looked down at what was a hint of something gigantic that had not been there a moment before. It startled him. A strange tingle crept up his spine that he reluctantly construed as a tinge of terror. He may as well have caught sight of a Great White shark by the way his heart was racing.

Crystal was probably used to seeing such ominous monsters lurking motionless in the deep because did not seem the slightest bit uncomfortable. Sam frowned as his camera's viewfinder captured the structure. He felt Crystal's gentle grasp on his arm. Had he not seen her approach him her touch would have frightened the life out of him.

The curious thing was that they were not even that deep, yet the water was almost completely dark — not murky — dark, as in void of natural light. Only a few sun rays were able to penetrate the water surface as far down as 200m, where the Disphotic zone — the twilight zone of the ocean — began. The wreck, according to Purdue’s software and sonar, was resting at approximately 190m below the surface in complete darkness.

Either his depth gauge was faulty, or they were deeper than initially measured. Crystal stared at Sam in befuddlement. He gestured to his depth gauge, and she brought hers next to his to check. Both instruments displayed a depth of 300m, although this part of the bay was not nearly as deep. Perplexed, they looked at one another. Crystal shrugged and Sam shook his head. She gestured for him to use Purdue’s tablet to measure and map the exact coordinates at this depth, just to record the confusing and extremely disturbing data. Once they came back to the surface, they would figure out the discrepancies.

With great reluctance, Sam followed Crystal’s lead to go deeper towards the eerie-looking wreck. He wondered why the vessel had such a strange effect on him. Not only did it radiate absolute evil for anyone with an ounce of emotional, sensory perception, but it also exuded intelligence.

‘Things that think without brains freak me the fuck out!’ Sam thought as his heart raced. It felt as if the ship was watching them, yet Crystal went about her business as usual, checking if the salvage of the giant metal cadaver was feasible. She tried to ascertain whether the hull would be able to float with a bit of welding and checked the level of deterioration due to years of environmental factors at work.

In the meantime, Sam sucked it up and proceeded to record dimensions for Purdue, although it was hard to determine the measuring points. The ship was immensely complex in its construction, and Sam had not the slightest clue about shipbuilding. The countless rods, steel barriers, deck guns and other protrusions made it near-impossible to take exact measurements.

He did the best he could and made sure that he did not neglect his own mission of filming as many details as possible. Sam tried not to touch the wretched wreck out of sheer discomfort, but he had to film all the crevices and sub-levels. He also had to use the structure to hold on or to propel his body forward after taking pictures, while the light of his camera lit up the smothering darkness.

Every time Sam laid his hand on any part of the vessel, he felt a terrifying current engulf him, body and soul. It was not a physical sensation, but one of absolute intuition. He knew Purdue and Crystal would call him daft for admitting such nonsense, so he kept it to himself for now. Still he could not get the feeling out of his head, that the vessel had a mind of its own and that it had the ability to vanish at will, should he lose focus.

Never before had Sam hoped this much that he was mistaken.