From the Deep

Climb

Ian and Nigel were the only ones there in the room with Andersen when it happened. The rest of the team was scattered about the rest of the building, which was a good thing, because otherwise Andersen might have died. 

She was unusually active that day, something that both Ian and Nigel had taken note of. Ian was brainstorming ideas as to why that could be, writing them all down in a little composition notebook. As it turned out, all of his guesses were wrong. 

Andersen's unusual activity took the form of hanging around near the bottom of the tank and swimming back and forth constantly in just that one layer of water. She was never more than an arm's length from the floor, and yet she was only looking up through the water above her. Her giant black eyes seemed to be searching for something. 

"What do you think she's trying to see?" Nigel asked Ian quietly.

"I don't know," Ian replied, his voice just as soft. 

And then out of nowhere, Andersen let out a huge wailing screech. It was so loud that both Ian and Nigel threw their hands over their ears instinctively, and that still wasn't enough to block the noise. It was the same sound she had made on the day they first brougt her to the lab, but a hundred times louder. 

"What is that?" Nigel shouted. Ian could barely hear his voice. 

Andersen kicked at the water and flipped around so her body was pointing straight up. Then she shot, like an arrow, straight to the top of the tank. 

Ian cringed away just a moment before he heard her body hit the roof of the tank with a resounding thud. Andersen's voice didn't break; she let out a single louder screech and then kept on wailing. 

"What is she doing?" Nigel yelled.

Ian stared at her. "I think..." he said. "I think she's climbing."

It was just like the time when they had first brought her in, when she had swam straight at the floor of the tank and been unable to move until they increased the water pressure. It was just like that, and she was screeching like she was in just as much pain as she was then, but her whole body was pressed up against the roof of the tank. 

Ian made a split second decision. "Go up the control room now," he shouted, "go!" And then without waiting another moment to see if Nigel heard him, he sprinted out of the room. 

Charles is here today Charles is here today Charles has got to be here today, he chanted to himself as he raced toward the staff room. Even that was a stupid, too - quick decision, Ian scolded himself in the back of his mind; he was too used to meeting with the entire team in the staff room, but there was no guarantee Charles would be there, no, Charles would most likely be where he should be, in his own office at the extreme other end of the building, but it was too late to change direction because Ian was already spinning around the corner into the staff room. 

And, miracle of miracles, Charles was there, slacking off for one rare moment in his life, chatting to Monica and the intern whith a cup of coffee held casually in his hand. He looked up -- too slow, too slow -- as Ian hurled into the room, and he barely had time to register a look of suprise before Ian was shouting at him. 

"It's Andersen she's trying to climb you need to get there you need to work the tank and lower the water because she's in pain and if you could hear the way she was screaming oh my god you need to get there now. Go!"

And to Charles's credit, he dashed off immediately with no questions asked. 

Monica and the intern followed, swept up in to the frenzy, but Monica definitely had questions to ask. "Why are you so panicked?" she puffed as she tried to keep up with Ian in a race back down the hallway. 

"If you could hear the way she was screaming, Monica," Ian repeated. "She was in pain, and she was letting us know."

Charles was a quick worker. By the time Ian got back to the lab with Monica and the intern, Charles was already up in the control room with Nigel and working the tank cover. Andersen was still wailing, but it was a bit lower now, like she realized the pain wasn't going to last for long. 

And then the water pumps really kicked into gear, and very slowly, Andersen's crying faded away. She kept on pressing up against the roof of the tank and swimming determinedly. 

"Is she..." began the intern nervously. "Is she going faster than she was last time?"

Ian narrowed his eyes. She certainly was. When she had dove, that day months ago, her swimming had been determined but nice and steady. Now there was a kind of franticness to her motions. Her quiet didn't mean that she was calm. She was simply holding herself together, on the edge of panic. 

She really really wanted to get to the "top" of the ocean. 

"I'll clock that speed later," Ian murmured, in an attempt to focus his mind on something familiar. 

If she was going faster, then that meant the time it would take her to get to the "top" would be a lot less, but it still was clearly going to be hours. Ian pulled out a chair and sat down to wait. 

Monica noticed. "Are you planning to be here the whole time?"

Ian nodded.

She nodded back. "Me too."

The intern gave a little half - nod that seemed to say that he didn't want to join in a conversationt that he clearly wasn't a part of but he was going to do the same thing too, probably because it was time spent with Monica.

"But first," Monica said, "I think I'll bring the coffee machine here."