Beacon of Light in the Dark Sea

Alright. The current situation doesn’t completely match the events in my dream. But why are real people getting affected in the same places they were injured there? Shouldn’t I be writhing around from abdominal wounds then? Imagining that shark rending into me, I rubbed my unhurt stomach against the phantom sensation. Kang Soojeong eyed the child steadily before querying,  

“He’s not yours?”

“No.”  

“Where’d you find him?”

“Asleep in room 80 in the West district.” 

At my reply, Kang Soojeong’s brows knitted.  

“Wasn’t that room vacant?”

“I wouldn’t know well.”  

“Is that so? He’s sleeping pretty sound despite the circumstances.”

Recalling the sedatives in my pack I struggled not to divulge Henry’s name.  

“I think someone probably drugged him to sleep.”

“Our side’s helicopters couldn’t have brought him. Did American brats airlift and dump him? Why leave him in the West District, why not in the North district then? Hey! Nikolai! This kid one of yours Russians?”

Engaged with his team, at his Captain lifting a chin, Nikolai immediately strode over. After peering at Henry’s face he declared to Kang Soojeong.  

“Look at him. Not a hint of Slavic features. Does he resemble one raised racing across Russia’s frozen steppes, inhaling air that scorches your lungs?”

“How should I know? White people all look the same to me.”

Nikolai cast an exasperated glance then responded.  

“He’s clearly no Russian. Ask those who hail from warmer climes. Oh right. Any of you happen to see Dmitri or Irina from our team?”

Both Kang Soojeong and I rapidly shook our heads no. Nikolai briefly sighed before walking back to his group. Kang Soojeong checked the child’s pulse and peeked at his eyes, patting down his pockets and finding nothing. She scratched a cheek then snapped some pics of Henry with her tablet.  

Next she began posting on the undersea base message boards from her device. Skimming over her shoulder, my jaw dropped reading the title starting with,

[Hey dipsh*t bastard who lost a f*cking kid, listen up mofo…]

[Dunno if your dipsh*t parents raised you worth crap but left by itself in room 80, that child would’ve drowned without another’s kind intervention, due entirely to your stupidity. If you had one fingernail’s worth of brains you wouldn’t illegally sneak some sub-10 year old into this restricted undersea base for adults and dope him unconscious. Don’t expect such goodwill to persist. Right now we’re all struggling just to survive. If you don’t claim that kid pronto I’ll hunt you down and beat you half to death myself.]

Typing with zero shift in expression despite the paragraphs interspersed with over half profanity, at one point Kang Soojeong paused. On the next line in a gentle tone she appended,

[If you know the child’s parents please comment below. Thank you.]

Finishing politely, she attached the photos then posted.  

I hesitated briefly. My dream explicitly stated Henry was Nevaeh and Leonard’s son but since I’m unfamiliar with them plus current circumstances may differ, I felt reluctant jumping to conclusions. If in truth they aren’t the parents then what?  

People congregated only with their respective teams, conversing among themselves. In my dream everyone gathered together at this spot right? But Shin Haeryang, Engineering A Team leader had evacuated on the pods already then… Come to think in my dream, most who escaped on the subs were the walking dead. At the notion of Shin Haeryang, Baek Ae-young and Seo Jihyuk now deceased I broke out in chills… It was a dream dammit. No way. That can’t happen. Reality flows differently. It can’t be…can it?  

Even if I revealed discovering the escape pod system was intentionally sabotaged, who would believe that based on a dream? If I claimed certain engineering team members smuggled in weapons, sparking a shootout, would they credit my account? If I asserted fanatics with guns were holding hostages below at the 123rd bases would they accept that? Would anyone believe me if I said I died getting eaten by sharks after an undersea cable car plunged? They’d probably just label me insane. When do I speak up?  

Abruptly my strapped chest bag squirmed. I swiftly opened it to confirm cat and snake status. Despite the abrupt confinement the feline was docile. Not even meowing. Do cats like small spaces? Should’ve raised pets to know. Uncomfortable apparently, the snake in the petite pocket raised its head but barely stirred otherwise. Ah. Such good creatures.

Slogging through frigid shoulder height water flooding the narrow hallway I pondered whether I should even bother rescuing these creatures in this plight. Wouldn’t escaping alone prove far more prudent? That notion flitted through my thoughts repeatedly despite my inward chiding I’d surely come to regret abandoning them. If I returned topside alone I’d envision their drowned corpses every time I encountered cats or snakes after, knowing myself. So I fixed the bag securely shut watching everyone conferring on our circumstances.  

Finished addressing her group, Nikita stretched feline-like, back deeply arched before elongating her body then remarked to Kang Soojeong conversing with Lee Jihyun nearby.  

“Everyone’s making a fuss over a little tremor and some flooding. No big deal.”  

An enormous yawn followed. Amused, Kang Soojeong jabbed a finger into Nikita’s extending waist chiding.  

“Well you lot can hang around here then. We’re leaving.” 

“You guys try fixing that stuff.”

Apparently close friends, tipsy Nikita giggled while rubbing her side where Kang Soojeong’s finger had jabbed her. Meanwhile, Nikolai pointed at the escape pods, which looked damaged, and spoke to Kang Soojeong. Several of the escape pods had alarming red indicator lights lit up. Kang Soojeong shook her head at the stunned-looking Nikolai.

“No tools or anything. You do it…How plastered did you get exactly?” 

“I came out wearing no underwear.”  

I didn’t want to know…though it seems he at least located pants. The reek of alcohol still clung to the Russians. While A Team engineers wore dark suits, everyone else appeared destitute. My soaked garb notwithstanding, all the rest were drenched below from wading through the flood and hastily throwing on whatever was closest. Victor had on just pants, brawny torso fully exposed. Sophia wore a flimsy tee with shorts, also waterlogged. She had probably fell over at some point.

Every Russian stood barefoot, apparently unable to locate shoes with belongings adrift throughout. Nikita wrung out her soggy pants leg then rolled them up grumbling. Witnessing that I likewise removed and squeezed my socks dry. Resigning myself I tugged the sticky pants up into makeshift shorts. Spotting the shivering Sophia, Yoo Geum-yi stripped off her long sleeved cardigan to offer despite initial refusal. Insisting at Sophia’s visible trembling Yoo Geum-yi added gently,

“You look very cold.”  

Sophia, who was looking at Yoo Geum-yi’s long-sleeved T-shirt and long jeans, took the cardigan and said.

“Thanks. I’ll put it to good use.”

Still trembling, Sophia swiftly donned it. Without a word I drew out a towel from my pack and passed it over for her dripping hair. Sophia nodded thanks as she blotted just enough dampness before handing off to Victor, who directly gave it to Vladimir. Vladimir lobbed the untouched towel at the boisterously noisy Nikolai. Nikolai proceeded to vigorously mop his drenched face and head with it, commenting aloud.  

“What’ll we do Team Leader? More pragmatic to head to another zone than fix all this right? I still see double of you, Team Leader.” 

“…Let’s relocate to North District. The miners may not have breached inner base so escape pods could remain.”

Kang Soojeong along with Lee Jihyun and Jung Sanghyun debated utilizing the central elevator shaft, the latter gentleman pushing that option against Jihyun’s composed objections.  

“Sanghyun-ah. The elevators can’t possibly operate normally under impacts this severe. If they get stuck midway we’re done for. Prayer’s the only answer here.”  

“What if there’s no pods left in the other zone?!”

Listening to Jung Sanghyun, Lee Jihyun pondered briefly before responding.  

“Then we find alternate escape methods. Head to East district’s submersibles, or shift zones at least. Speculation achieves nothing. Records currently show zero pods have launched yet clearly none actually remain right? Same for the nonfunctional elevators that may be running fine.”

“And if we still can’t get out?!”  

“Then we all kick it together. We’d have company, wouldn’t feel lonely eh Sanghyun-ah?”  

Kang Soojeong beamed, cheerily thumping Jung Sanghyun’s back. Sulky with no comeback, Jung Sanghyun finally just plopped down in a funk. For whatever reason he kept redirecting frustration and anger over our plight toward his teammates. No one’s thrilled to linger here. No pleasing some people.  

My mouth felt purely salty so I fished out a strawberry candy from my pack to suck on. My soaked clothes clung unpleasantly and I felt the abrupt vacancy where fled stamina used to dwell. I too settled myself on the floor. Chatting with Nikita nearby, Yoo Geum-yi approached me. I fished out some candies to pass around the others, offering the pouch to Geum-yi as well.