Prodigy Eternal (book 2)

Chapter Thirty-Four

Mara’s wound was not fatal, but she needed proper medical attention immediately, otherwise she could bleed out. With a sense of urgency, Mara was helped back to her feet. Alex too had regained her bearings and was checking on her mother’s condition.

“I’ll be alright,” Mara said, “I’m more worried about you.”

“I have a hack that makes me heal fast, so I’ll be fine,” Alex said.

Some of the crew tried to go after The Fox and Taranya, but were unable to get through the locked door.

“Glitch, do you mind giving us a hand… or a foot?”

Glitch happily obliged and charged at the door. With one powerful kick, the door cracked in half and crumbled on the other side. The crew was poised for a shootout, but when they peered into the room, there was no one there.

“Where’d they go?” Curik asked.

The subtle hint of ocean water wafted in the air as six men from Mara’s crew entered the room with caution. Looking around, Curik noticed a track that ran along the ceiling and down the side of one of the walls. Following his intuition, Curik located a switch on one of the walls and decided to press it. Instantly, a large panel of the yacht opened up like a gullwing and connected with a track on the ceiling. The cool ocean breeze swept through the room, giving everyone on board a breath of fresh air after the hostile situation. The crew looked outside, but could not see The Fox.

“I think I know where The Fox went,” one of the crew said. “If you follow this track, it leads to an empty housing dock. I think there used to be a small submersible attached. The Fox must have lowered himself in the water and escaped.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“He doesn’t call himself The Fox for no reason, this guy is hard to catch.”

In the far corner of the room was a pair of jet skis. Thinking they could be of use to go after The Fox, one of the crew members strolled over to them. When he became closer, he noticed something wedged underneath one of them. Upon further inspection, a grim panic set in.

“Everyone off the boat!” the man screamed. “Bomb!”

The bomb was unmistakable. It was a small package with a timer, counting down from 10. With such little time to react, everyone ran out of the open panel and dove in the water without giving a second thought.

0:05

0:04

0:03

0:02

0:01

BOOM!

Aris had been desperately trying to stay awake, but without any action, the rhythmic rocking of the boat had gently lulled him to sleep. When the explosion went off, he nearly fell backward off his chair. The sound rumbled through the bay and could be heard throughout the city. His eyes grew wide, cascading upward to take in the full scope of the blast. A large fireball stretched skyward, colouring the night with an orange hue. Secondary explosions rocked the peaceful harbour and began to capsize the vessel.

Unsure what had happened, Aris immediately engaged the motor and steered the fishing boat toward the flaming wreckage.

“Hold on, I’m coming,” he said.

Pieces of the yacht scattered across the now choppy water, making it difficult to distinguish rubble from survivor. As Aris approached closer, the front of his boat rocked up and down on the waves, plowing through floating debris. Before the yacht fully submerged, the flames lit up the water around it, allowing Aris to see several of the stranded swimmers.

“Come on, give me your hand,” Aris said, leaning over the side of the boat. For the first time all night, he felt useful. “Are you okay?” Aris asked, pulling one man aboard.

“I’m fine,” the rescued crew members said. “We need to find the others.”

Aris went back to the controls and turned on a giant spotlight. He manoeuvered the ship through the wreckage while the first person he had rescued scooped up the others. Every bit of debris needed to be examined, and there were thousands of pieces. So far, there were no signs anywhere of Mara, Milo, or Alex.

“Glitch, welcome aboard, buddy!” Aris said, “What the hell happened out there?”

Glitch was either too exhausted or too preoccupied to give a well-thought out response so he just said one word, “Bomb.”

By now, more boats began to circle, increasing the rescue effort. To avoid a major media spectacle, it was imperative that he and the others find Alex before anyone else did.

“There!” Glitch shouted, making use of his heightened eyesight.

In the distance, two heads bobbed just above the surface nearly undetectable amid a cluster of debris. Clinging to a small piece of flotsam that was barely keeping them afloat, Alex struggled for survival while keeping Milo buoyant. As far as anyone could tell, Milo was completely unresponsive.

Aris engaged the throttle and rushed toward them, but when the boat neared, the momentum created a large wave that dislodged Milo from Alex’s weak grip. The black sea swallowed Milo as he quickly began to sink. Alex tried to scream, but ingested a mouthful of salt water instead. A hand from the boat grabbed her wrist, and together the crew pulled her onboard before she too was consumed by the ocean.

Without hesitation Aris dove in after Milo. He plunged into the cold water head first and began to kick his feet, heading deeper into the depths of the ocean. The adrenaline caused his heart to beat rapidly, which pumped blood throughout his body. His muscles and organs absorbed the oxygenated blood, stifling his ability to prolong the search. He knew he didn’t have much time before he would run out of air and drown.

Recognizing that Aris couldn’t swim, several others jumped in the water to assist him.

Aris continued his heroic effort, but wasn’t having much luck. It was his first time ever being in the ocean, and after a long day, his body was drained of energy. Nevertheless, he didn’t want to give up. Unable to see a thing, he relied on his sense of touch to feel around the water in all directions. His arms thrashed around, and eventually he felt the back of Milo’s shirt. Gripping it tightly, Aris repositioned himself and began his ascent to the surface. Three other crew members met him underwater and hauled Milo and him up. As soon as he breached the surface, his mouth opened wide as he gasped for air.

“Bring him closer!” Glitch instructed.

Several of the men grabbed Milo’s limp body and hauled him aboard. They laid him down next to Alex on the floor of the boat and began performing CPR on him. Alex rested on her back next to Milo and was still recovering from the ordeal herself. She extended her hand out to her side and connected with Milo. With her fingers interlocked with his, she squeezed him tightly. The thought of losing him was too much for her to bear, but she understood the reality of the situation — he had been unconscious for far too long.