"Whoosh, whoosh..."
The submarine's bow cut through the blue waves, pale foam slowly spreading along its smooth, oval hull.
Moisture hung thick over the deck. A breeze carried the clammy chill into the vessel, where it settled on the survivors' clothes.
Click.
Xia Lun pulled the clasp at the shoulder of his spacesuit, lifted off the fishbowl-like helmet, then shrugged out of the suit.
The seven other survivors had already gone below. Green lights hummed dully on the walls, illuminating most of the submarine.
Xia Lun leaned against the wall in the shadows, quietly observing the people who had escaped with their lives.
Another patch of shadow lay against the opposite wall. The little girl crouched there, sobbing softly. She kept wiping her eyes, but tears still slipped through her fingers and fell onto the deck. Beside her, the crazed blonde woman clutched her broken leg and curled up like a maggot, muttering words no one could understand.
In the green light, the Oceanographer wore a fawning smile as he lavished sickening praise on Carson, who wore a pink suit. Carson gave no response. He sat at the controls, his face ashen, seemingly badly injured.
The green light illuminated the Attendant's handsome face. He stood beside Carson, looking coldly down at the unconscious Manhunter. Roman, meanwhile, had her head lowered over the camera, apparently sorting through the photos she had taken.
Everyone was occupied, yet no one noticed the cloth bag containing the Ashen Record by the Storage Room door. Xia Lun casually looked away.
He badly wanted to know why the Ashen Record was aboard this battered old submarine. But to avoid giving himself away, he could not bring it up. He had to wait for someone else to notice it.
And for some reason, something about that Wheel