From The Deep

Chapter 7, Part Two

When the cargo elevator stopped on B Level, they said their final goodbyes and parted ways. Raleigh sincerely hoped that Anya would make it to Tatyana. The two of them could hide with the others in the Medical Center and maybe there would be a little bit of happiness on the station.

Raleigh navigated past the many laboratories on B Level. Since she was there, she was hoping to find some tech that could be useful later. Anything was possible, and the Science division was always working on something.

Raleigh was in between rooms when she spotted three scientists run into one of the labs, followed by several infected. She followed them hoping to help.

The scene inside was complete chaos. One of them had already been cornered and taken down by infected. One of the scientists, named Richard Adkins, was in the same situation. Raleigh tried to get to him.

In a desperate bid to fight off the infected, he grabbed something from the table. Raleigh knew what it was right away. The device was one of many designed with the intention of finding quick and efficient ways to breach the hulls of enemy structures and submersibles.

He's crazy! Raleigh stopped in her tracks when she realized he was going to do it. She ran back out through the door to get behind cover. Adkins activated the device, which caused a small explosion in the lab. When she stood back up, Adkins and the two infected closing in on him were gone, nothing whole left behind.

The corner of the lab was destroyed. The glass on the windows broke and sea water poured in. Ignoring the infected, the remaining scientist ran for the door. She was just feet away when the door closed automatically, and the bulkhead sealed over it.

Raleigh stood in abject horror. The scientist came to the window, putting her hand on the glass. Raleigh put her own hand up. It was seconds before the entire room was flooded. She held her breath for as long as she could. Raleigh couldn't stand there and watch a woman drown, she averted her eyes from the hopeless situation. After almost a minute, she went limp and began to float away.

The remaining infected, along with the scientist who had been cornered, were floating in the water, but they were not dead. One of them swam to the window. It opened its mouth and black substance spewed out, clouding the window and obscuring Raleigh's view.

The device left a hole the size of a person in the wall and another hole in the floor. Raleigh couldn't believe that Adkins had done that. He was so desperate not to be infected, he blew himself up, killed another scientist, and caused untold amounts of flooding to the station.

The force of the explosion had weakened the window from the hallway into the lab. She stepped back when the glass started to crack. She ran, going as fast as she could. Within seconds, she heard the glass break, and water began to flood into the hallway.

Raleigh moved fast, refusing to die that same way, that same, horrible way. The sensor went off, detecting water in the hallway. All the bulkheads leading out of there started to close. Raleigh made it in just in time. A bucket's worth of seawater came through as the bulkhead sealed. She didn't stop going, taking the stairs to A Level.

Pierce was in sector five, standing outside one of the heavy-duty security doors. Raleigh ran to him, happy to see another familiar face again. He noticed her wet legs when she got closer. "How did that happen?"

"There...was an accident in one of the labs. An explosive device went off and blasted a hole in the wall. The lab and adjacent hallway are flooded, as is the area directly below the lab on C Level."

"More to fix when this is all over." Pierce gestured to the door ahead of them, "Communications, Operations, Administration...it's all beyond this door, but I can't get in."