The floor swayed, then tilted. Karen tumbled into Jack’s arms.
He held her snugly. “We’re free. We’re floating up.”
After a moment he turned to her, eyes bright in the weak light. “How long till we breach the surface?”
Karen recognized the hunger in his voice. She matched it with her own. “Thirty or forty minutes,” she said huskily. She slipped from his embrace and reached to her blouse. Freeing the top buttons, she stepped back toward the sleeping quarters. Her eyes never left his. “It seems I never did give you a proper tour, did I?”
He followed her, step for step. His hand reached to the zipper of his dive suit, tugging it down. “No. And I think it’s long overdue.”
Seven hours later, out on the open deck, Jack and the others sat around a makeshift dining table. Jack had broken out the champagne and pulled the last of the Porterhouse steaks from the freezer. It was to be a sunset dinner to celebrate their survival and the secret shared by the nine people gathered here.
Only they knew what had truly transpired.
Earlier, they had broken into teams to discover how the rest of the world had fared. Charlie discovered that this time around, with the pillar destroyed, the world had been spared the Pacificwide devastation. “Not even a tremor.”
George, in the meantime, investigated if there was another
Karen was especially relieved. “He survived?”
Charlie answered, “I guess the currents must have dragged his body beyond the zone around the pillar. When the flux occurred, he simply popped back into the old timeline, a timeline where he never came out here, never died.”
“And he has no memory of what happened?”
Charlie shrugged. “I doubt it. Maybe somewhere deep inside. Something unspoken. More an odd feeling.”
“But what about Lieutenant Rolfe? His body is still down there.”
“Exactly. He remained within the zone. So he stays dead. I bet if you checked on him you’d find him missing from the real world, plucked out of the timeline just like the
Intrigued, Jack had taken it upon himself to check this angle. He had dialed Admiral Houston and found him still in San Diego. The admiral had been thrilled to hear from him after so many years. “Goddamn if I wasn’t just thinking about you today, Jack. During the eclipse.”
After exchanging pleasantries and a promise to get together, Jack hurriedly explained how he wanted to check into a friend’s whereabouts — Lieutenant Ken Rolfe. After a couple hours, the admiral had called back, suspicious. “Jack, do you know something you’re not telling me? A report came in an hour ago from Turkey. It says your friend went missing during a special ops mission at the Iraq border — along with another old friend of yours.”
“An old friend?”
“David Spangler.”
Jack had to cover his surprise and talk his way off the phone. Once free, he sat quietly for several moments. So David had stayed dead, probably still in the belly of the giant squid. The great beast must have nested close to the pillar. Jack felt a twinge of regret. Alive and free, he allowed himself the luxury of pity for the man. David had been warped by his upbringing, his father’s unspoken abuses. So where did the true blame lie? Jack knew such answers were beyond him.
Later, as the afternoon had worn on, Lisa suggested the special dinner, to toast their survival. It was heartily agreed upon by all.
Now, with the sun sinking into the western ocean, Jack settled to the table and the celebration. From across the way, Kendall McMillan caught his eye. The accountant wore shorts and a loose pullover, extremely casual for the man.
“Captain,” Kendall said, “I have a request to make.”
“What is it?”
He cleared his throat and spoke firmly. “I’d like to officially join your crew.”
This news surprised him. Kendall had always maintained an officious distance from the others. Jack frowned. “I don’t know if we have the need for a full-time accountant.”
Kendall glanced to his plate and mumbled, “You will when you’re all millionaires.”
“What are you talking about?”
He looked around the table, then spoke loudly. “I’m talking about the
Jack’s brows rose and his eyes widened. He remembered the ship’s hold full of gold bricks.
Kendall grinned like a schoolboy.
Jack lifted a glass of champagne. “We’ll share equally. Everyone. That includes our newest shipmates: Karen, Miyuki, and Mwahu.”
Kendall looked down the table. “But you said a tenth. There are only
Jack patted the tabletop. The old German shepherd, squatting at his feet, jumped up, his paws on the table. He ruffled the dog’s thick mane. “Anyone object to Elvis getting his fair share? After all, he did save all your asses from being blown to Kingdom come.”
Kendall was the first on his feet, raising his glass. “To Elvis!”
The others followed suit. The old dog barked loudly.
Jack sat back down, smiling.
Slowly, as dinner became dessert, people began to wander away into private groups to discuss the day and their futures, all happy to still have one. Jack spotted Karen by the starboard rail. She stared into the sun’s last glow.
He pushed to his feet, feeling slightly tipsy from the champagne. He crossed to the rail and put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer. As he did, he saw she held the broken shards of the crystal star in her palms.
She spoke, her voice melancholy. “With the revelations of these past days, my research is over. My great- grandfather was right. There
Leaning over, she tumbled the bright crystal shards into the dark sea. “Like the ancients themselves, we’re not ready for such power.”
Jack took her palms, cradling them in his own. “Don’t worry. There are other mysteries yet to be discovered.” Leaning down, he stared deeply into her eyes, his lips brushing hers, his voice low. “You just need to know where to look.”
