“When do we have to leave?” inquired Dr. Wilcox, glancing at his wrist for the watch he’d forgotten was taken away by the guards.
“The submersible is set to depart at 9:00 a.m. We need to be there no later than 8:50. You’ve gotta sneak on and off just like that.” Max snapped his fingers. Wincing apologetically at Dylan, he added, “There’s one more thing you all have to do to evade the cameras.”
…
“I’m going to kill him,” grumbled Dylan, trying not to rub his face, his hand twitching in mine.
“Just don’t touch it. It will be over soon. We just need to be patient.” I, too, struggled not to touch my itchy face.
The last finishing touch Max had given our disguises was a putty-type face mask used in the theater arts. Once applied and dried, it resembled normal skin but was very itchy and hard not to want to tear off. The result of using the putty was making Dylan’s face appear more like a girl’s and my face to appear different enough to fool the face recognition cameras that were normally dormant inside the standard cameras throughout Oceania, but could be turned on if there was ever an escaped criminal, or so Max explained to me.
“Be quiet, we’re almost there,” cautioned Dr. Wilcox, who escorted us, playing the role of doting father. He was dressed in a business suit with a brown-haired wig and fake fat cheeks altering his usually haggard appearance.
As we reached the loading zone, we mingled among other parents dropping off their young kids or seeing off the teenagers that would be onboard to instruct the younger kids as part of the extra credit projects for the high schoolers.
At the docking bay where each person had to be scanned, we each entered bogus passcodes and took the ramp up into the sub. Once inside, Dylan spun me around.
“Allie, I’m not going. Dr. Wilcox and I need to stay here in order to inform the people of Oceania about the above world. I can’t come with you. You need to escape and find your way back to your grandmother’s house. Tell her the truth. Tell her about Oceania. Get it on the news. Spread it through the Network. Do whatever you can.”
I nodded, feeling anxiety begin to creep up inside me, but I didn’t allow it to reach my face. How was I supposed to get a whole world to believe? “You two be careful.”
“Thanks.” Dylan smiled and then gestured toward the back of the submersible. “The SCUBAPS was already placed there by Max. Just put it on and you know how to use it.”
“Okay.” I reached forward and hugged Dylan, not knowing if I would ever see him again.
Dylan hugged me back and I noticed Dr. Wilcox smiling and nodding ever so slightly at me. Grateful for all of the help the inventor had given me, I gave him a smile that I hoped conveyed my feelings of gratitude.
Dylan stepped back and the doors to the submersible closed, sealing with a hiss. I was left alone in the short walkway to the rest of the sub. Deep down, I worried that I would never see my new friends again.
Chapter 26
“And if you look outside, you’ll see we’re reaching the continental shelf. Above this area is where you will find many different species we don’t see at home. These species…”
The girl rambled on about the differences between the continental shelf and the benthic zone in which Oceania sat. I knew this was my cue. I would need to start suiting up and go down into the hatch in order to get ready to be released into the sea.
However, a thought stopped me.
When Dylan and Dr. Wilcox had dumped me into the sea before, they had pressed a button to release the bottom that allowed me to drop down into the water. I would need help.
Scooting toward one of the third-graders sitting in the rear of the group, who wasn’t paying very much attention to what was going on outside the window or what the girl was instructing, I tapped on his shoulder.
The boy peered up at me with eyes full of boredom. I ruffled his chestnut brown hair and offered as excitedly as I could, “Do you want to see something really cool?” I grinned mischievously at him.
His brown eyes began to brighten, his lips parting to produce a gap-toothed smile. He nodded enthusiastically and I reached out my hand.
When the other teenagers and adults weren’t watching, I whisked the boy away to the back room with me. Quickly, I examined the area, hunting for the hatch release button. After what felt like an eternity of searching, I found a green button on a panel directly up and across from the hatch. I noticed a bag lying just beneath it, which I assumed held the SCUBAPS. I opened it up and found my suspicions to be true.
“Hey, come here.” I gestured for the boy to come closer and I kept my face looking as mischievous as possible.
Stopping about half a foot from me, a little close for comfort, he looked up at me with curious eyes that searched my face for a scam.
“After I put on this suit, I’m going to climb down into this hatch here. You’ll press this green button and then you’ll see me disappear.” I widened my fingers and pulled my hands apart in different directions to indicate mysticism.
The boy’s eyes widened and he giggled, trying to stifle it with his small hands.
“Okay, so let me put it on.” I hurried over to the suit as the boy watched me in fascination.
Having put on the suit a few times before, I knew exactly how
