Sabin, A Seven Novel Read online

  There is supposed to be a dive going out tomorrow but I didn’t put myself on the list because I hadn’t planned on being here. But now …

  When I get home, I make that call. When I hear they still have room, I squeal.

  “Sounds like someone is a little excited to go.”

  “Come on, Dan, you know I live and breathe this stuff.”

  “Yeah, but I thought you were out of town this weekend.”

  Dan Robinson is the dive master I usually link up with here. “I was but I came home early.”

  “Early? It’s still Friday. Are you sure you even went at all?”

  “Yeah, but let’s not talk about it. I want to talk about something that gives me joy.”

  “Hmm, that bad, huh?”

  “Worse. So, what time does the boat leave?”

  “Early. Five forty-five. See you at the marina. I’ll have filled tanks for you. Just bring your equipment.”

  “Okies dokies. See you in the morning.”

  We’ll be diving a shipwreck off the South Carolina coast. I always love those. You never know what you’re going to find. I have all sorts of cool artifacts I’ve collected from dives, such as coins, jewelry, cups, pottery, Civil War memorabilia, etc. But mostly I like to collect information for my research, which is mainly about how environmental pollutants are impacting the sea life.

  The alarm buzzes and I hop out of bed, eager to start my day. It doesn’t take me any time at all to grab my gear and get to the marina. I only live a short mile away. Dan greets me with a hug.

  “Have you eaten?” he asks.

  “No, I’m always too keyed up before a dive.”

  “There’s coffee and some bagels. Grab something. I don’t want you heaving over the side on the way out.”

  “Come on, Dan. You know I don’t do the sea sick thing.”

  “Eat, Serena, or your ass stays on the dock.”

  Giving him a little salute, I say, “Aye, aye, Captain.”

  I choke down half the bagel, but the coffee slides down without a problem. By the time I pour my second cup, the others arrive.

  “Serena, I didn’t know you’d be here.” Greg, an associate from the marine biology program, boards the boat.

  “It was a last minute thing. My out of town plans sort of changed.”

  “Cool. Glad you could join us.”

  “Same. You know how I love this.”

  Greg laughs. “Yeah, you must’ve been a fish in your former life.”

  Then I see my friend Melody Hampton hopping onto the boat.

  “Hey Mel!”

  Her face brightens. “Serena! You’re supposed to be out of town.”

  “Ugh. Long story. I’ll tell you on the way.”

  Melody and I hang out a lot. We are in the same Ph.D. program at Duke. Two positions opened up here in Beaufort for research, so we both applied and got them. We have a lot in common, mainly diving and studying marine biology, which makes us both super geeks. But we don’t care because we love being that way. Anytime we hang out with other girls, they give us a hard time about it.

  “Okay, listen up everyone,” Dan says. “We’re headed out about sixty miles, and the seas are rough with up to six foot swells. If anyone needs drugs, take them now. We’ll be dealing with some moderate currents, too. We have wind today, people.”

  “Oh, yay, wind, sea, currents.” Sarcasm oozes from Melody as she digs around in her pack for her meclizine. She battles the inner ear phenomenon otherwise known as mal de mer. Seasickness. I’ve seen her turn as green as a tree frog. Poor girl.

  “You’ll be fine, Mel, once you get in the water,” I say.

  “Bleh,” is her only response.

  “Don’t forget to eat, Melody,” Dan reminds her.

  “Already did,” she hollers back.

  The engines roar to life and while most people hate the smell of diesel fuel, I love it. It tells me I’m getting closer to my goal. Excitement surges in my blood and my adrenaline kicks in. Even though we have a couple of hours to get to our destination, I can feel my body prepping itself. This is what I was born to do.

  “So what happened?” Greg interrupts my thoughts.

  “Huh?”

  “You’re here.”

  I have no intentions of getting into my family shit with him.

  “Nothing really. Just a simple plan change and I found myself back home, so I called Dan last night.”

  “Cool.”

  Not cool. While I like Greg as a dive buddy, he’s been hinting around at taking it to another level, and I have no interest in him that way. He is nice and sort of attractive, I suppose. But he reminds me of how I would like my brother to be, if I had one—calm, relaxed, and just a regular guy. But there’s nothing else there, as in no fire, or chemistry if you will. In fact, the idea of even kissing him gives me the willies.

  The boat hits some big chop and I’m thrown into Greg. He grabs me and steadies me.

  “Whoa, I got you.”

  “Thanks, that was unexpected.” I’d been bending over to pull an elastic band out of my bag when it hit and I almost hit the deck. “Dan was right. This is gonna be a super rough ride, I think.”

  “Yep.”

  I look over at Mel and she’s still looking okay. “Hey, Mel, how’re you doing?”

  “So far so good.” She motions me over to her with her finger. Anxious to get away from Greg, I comply.

  “Thanks for the rescue. I like him just fine as a friend, but I think he’s trying to take it to the next level.”

  “I got that vibe, too. So what happened that you came back? And why the hell didn’t you call me?”

  “Ack. My mother. Remind me not to visit there again. It’s too depressing to talk about.”

  “That bad?”

  “Worse. They’re … I don’t know. They act like I’m their maid. It was awful. Let’s not talk about it. I don’t want it to ruin my day.”

  “No probs.”

  I glance at her to give her my thanks and notice she’s wearing her favorite necklace. It’s a family heirloom that her grandmother gave her—a locket suspended on a lovely gold chain. “You gonna wear that diving?”

  “Oh, I never take it off. I can’t. My Mimi is in here.” She opens up the locket to reveal a picture of her grandmother.

  “You always wear that diving? I’ve never noticed before. I mean I know you wear it all the time, but I guess I never paid attention to you wearing it on a dive.”

  “Oh, yeah. I always wear it.”

  “Won’t it get ruined underwater?”

  “Nope. I’ve never taken this thing off. I stick it inside my neoprene and it hangs there just fine. I had the jeweler put a tiny gasket inside so it would be safe. He told me to make sure I rinse it so the salt doesn’t linger. But I can’t ever take this off. Mimi said she would be with me every day if I wore it, so I do. And I had extra pictures of her made, just in case.”

  “That’s so cool y’all were so close. I never had that so I’m jealous. I’d wear it, too.” I am a bit envious. Melody is close to her family and I can’t imagine what that emotion feels like.

  Melody just smiles and lovingly fingers the locket.

  We have one other passenger, a guy named Finley. He’s kind of new around here, but has been on several dives with us. He smiles at me and shakes his head. He feels for Melody, too. He should see her when she’s totally green.

  “Hey, do you know Finley?” I ask Melody.

  “Nah. Why?”

  “I think he feels sorry for you. Either that, or he thinks you’re hot. He keeps eyeing you up.”

  “Well, he won’t if I start doing the barf-ola.”

  “Give me fair warning so I can get the hell out of here.”

  “Yeah, don’t worry. You’ll hear it coming.”

  “Gross.”

  We all make small talk as much as we can. The boat is noisy and with the ride being rough, it’s not easy, so after about thirty minutes, we fall silent. When we get to our
destination, I’m happy to see that Mel’s complexion has only a slight green tinge to it.

  “How’s it going, Mel?” I ask. “You’re not looking too bad.”

  “I’ll be better once I get in the water.”

  Dan anchors the boat and tells everyone to gear up. I wedge my body into my neoprene suit, check my regulator, and put on my buoyancy control device. Next comes my weight belt, and then I grab my fins, mask, snorkel, wrist light, and give a final check to my wrist dive computer. Dan waits for us aft, where all the tanks are stored, to attach an oxygen supply to each of us. When we’re all suited up, Greg assists Dan with his.

  “Listen up everyone. We will not separate on this dive. There are some sketchy areas on this ship, and I don’t want anyone to lose sight of each other. Are we all clear on this?” Dan asks.

  He gets four nodding heads in return.

  “Good. As your dive master, I’ll lead us down and back up. Our depth will be approximately one twenty. Make sure you have lights because visibility inside will be poor. We all good with that today?”

  We all nod.

  “Excellent. You may or may not find anything of note. If you do, be aware that anything of significance needs to be catalogued with the South Carolina historical society since this is a recorded shipwreck. However, if you find it away from the ship itself, finders keepers. Divers, make sure your computers are calibrated to your oxygen levels. I’m taking a line down so you can have a sight on where the boat is, but it will only go to about a hundred feet. Everyone ready?”

  A bunch of “yeahs” ring out.

  “Keep in mind we have a strong current so stay close to the group. Questions, anyone?”

  No one says a word so Dan indicates we can all get in the water and begin our descent. I’ve pre-treated my mask with anti-fog spray so it’s ready for use and I place it over my face. With my regulator in my mouth, I drop backwards into the water. Since my BCD, or buoyancy control device, has been inflated with air, I push the button to release it so I can sink. Pressure builds in my inner ears as I go down so I have to equalize by pinching my nose and blowing out. This is a constant thing until I hit the depth we are going to maintain. Once there, I set my BCD to also sustain me at that level. I give my dive computer one last check, and now I’m ready for the fun to begin.

  Dan comes to each of us, checking for the A-Okay sign, and once it’s given, we head to the ship. It looms in front of us, dark and mysterious. I wonder how many secrets it still holds after all these years. It’s an old merchant marine ship that got caught in a hurricane back in the fifties. Over the years, a multitude of sea life has turned the ship into an underwater aquarium.

  The currents are wicked strong; it’s difficult to stay on course. Dan is ahead of us as we swim in a group, but staying tight is impossible. I’ve never experienced currents like these before. I look off to my right and notice Mel has drifted pretty far away. I need to get her, so I head in her direction.

  Usually when diving, swimming isn’t that difficult. Fins help propel you along and if you use your entire leg appropriately, it’s easy to cover a lot of distance. Right now I have to use all my strength just to go a couple of feet. And every few feet I move forward, the current shoves me yards backward. Melody is drifting further and further away and when I look for Dan and the rest of the group, they are far off in the opposite direction. I’ve never panicked while diving before, but at this rate, I’ll use all my oxygen in no time.

  The current pushes me so far from the group, I lose sight of the ship. A quick look at my computer tells me I’m still good on my oxygen vs. depth vs. time ratios. The question is should I try to find Melody or try to get back to the group? Melody is a less experienced diver and maybe I need to sound the alarm. Hopefully she will have had the sense to surface and go back to the boat. I turn around to try to find the rest of the group when my regulator is ripped from my mouth as a tremendous force rams me. I grapple, searching for my air supply. Without it, my oxygen tank is useless. When my hand finds the hose, the regulator piece is missing. There’s no way for me to breathe. Stay calm, Serena. I start my ascent, knowing I won’t have enough time to reach the surface. One hundred and twenty feet is a long way. Never dive alone or get separated from your fellow divers—my instructor’s voice blares in my mind. Something slams into me again, crushing my ribs. I scream, seeing my own bubbles surround me. What the hell was that? A shark? I can’t think of anything else that would butt me like that. I look around and then I see several … things … drifting in front of me. But they aren’t sharks. They look more like … men. But they aren’t wearing SCUBA gear. Am I already hypoxic?

  I kick my feet, trying to get away from them, but it’s no use. They grab my legs and jerk me down. The bubbles releasing from the useless air hose make it difficult to see, but then I’m free again. Something blackens my mask and my vision is blocked. Consciousness is slipping away. If this happens, death is imminent. Jesus, who would’ve thought a joy dive would turn into something like this? I fade.

  ~~~~~

  “Serena! Serena, wake up!”

  Someone pats my cheek. I open my eyes and stare into Dan’s face. He’s looking down at me as I lie on my back in, I presume, his boat.

  “What happened?”

  “I was going to ask you that.”

  “How did I get here?”

  He gives me the strangest look. “Again, I was going to ask you that. We were down at the wreck and couldn’t find you, so I signaled to the group to surface and we found you here.”

  Lifting my head, I notice I’m still wearing all my gear. The strangest thing is when I reach for my regulator, not only is it there, but it looks brand new.

  “What the—?”

  Dan notices my confusion, so I explain what happened. The rest of the group looks on like I’m fucking crazy, Melody included.

  “Mel, didn’t you get separated?”

  “Yeah, but only for a minute or two. The currents pushed me away, but I managed to get right back.”

  “I saw you way off so I followed to try to get you back. Then I lost sight of you and the ship.”

  Melody looks at me, a puzzled expression masking her face. “No, Serena, I was only a little bit away and it took me no time at all to get back. I saw you swimming away and I kept wondering where you were going.”

  I move to get up, but my whole left side is sore. “Oh, god I hurt.”

  “Let me help you up.” Greg holds out his hand. I accept his offer and stand, feeling woozy.

  “Jesus, I feel like I just went ten rounds in the ring.” My whole body kills me. What the hell happened down there?

  “What do you mean?” he asks.

  “Just that. I feel like I’ve had the shit beaten out of me.” I wrestle to get out of my neoprene suit. Underneath, I’m wearing a two-piece swimsuit and the black and purple marks are already forming on my torso.

  “Christ, what the hell happened to you?” Dan asks.

  “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. Something attacked me down there. At first I thought it was a shark. It butted me. Then my regulator was ripped from my mouth and I could’ve sworn it was torn off my air hose, but I guess I just panicked.”

  Dan and Greg stare at me. Then Dan says, “What do you mean you thought it was a shark?”

  “Yeah, here’s the crazy part. After the first hit, I looked around expecting to get hit again and that’s when I saw them. They looked like … men. I know it sounds weird, but that’s what I saw.”

  “What do you mean by men?

  “They looked like men only they were creepy and didn’t have SCUBA gear on. But then my air hose was spewing bubbles everywhere and it distorted the water so much I couldn’t get a clear view. I panicked and tried to surface, but one of them grabbed my legs and yanked me back down. That’s when I blanked out. The next thing I know I wake up here.”

  Dan, Greg, and Finley all share a glance while Melody holds my hand. It’s obvious they don’t believe m
y story.

  “Look, I know it sounds nutty, but how else would I have gotten these?”

  “Good question,” Greg responds.

  Dan says, “Serena, you may have a broken rib. Can you take a deep breath?”

  “Yeah, but it hurts.”

  “We’re heading back. I think you need to get checked out.”

  “No! I’ll be fine.”

  “Not on one of my dives. You’re going to get X-rayed. If not for your peace of mind, then for mine.”

  He strips off his suit, starts the engines, and we head back to land.

  Melody taps my arm and asks, “You sure you’re okay?”

  “I’m just glad to be on this boat, breathing in air. I didn’t think I’d be here. I seriously thought I would end up in a watery grave today.”

  “Jeez, Serena, don’t say that.”

  “It’s true, Mel. I’ve never been frightened during a dive. But I was today. I don’t know what hit me, but it wasn’t any kind of documented sea life, I can tell you that.”

  “Shit.”

  “Exactly.” I shiver as I think about it, knowing I’ll never forget that moment. What freaks me out the most are the eyes of those men, or whoever they were. Throughout all the commotion and disorder, even in my terrorized state, they were unmistakable. White irises rimmed in red with red pupils—and I know I’ll never forget the eerie way they bored into me.

  “Sabin, we have a problem.” Verus’ voice comes to me over the complink.

  “Talk.”

  “They found it.”

  “Repeat that, please.” My tone is icy.

  “The Shaurok. They found Judgment Day. And they also found who has it. Her name is Serena Callahan.”

  “Fuck. What’s the location?”

  “Currently, a dive center called Diver’s Retreat in Beaufort, South Carolina.”

  He gives me the specific coordinates of where he is. “Let’s go. We need a headquarters. Set us up, Verus.”

  “Already on it. Found a vacant warehouse.”

  My hand slams down and before I know it, I’ve nearly destroyed the desk I’m standing next to. Goddammit. How the hell did those bastards find the damn thing before my men did? Their fucking noses. They can scent out anything. Sometimes I wish I could kill every damn one of those trackers. They deserve it for what they did to … I can’t allow myself to think about that now.