Somehow I navigated it out of the lower deck and into the sea, noticed immediately by
everyone on deck due to the alarms. But it was too late, I was already out.
"Tuma you fool!" Hansel exclaimed. "What the hell do you think you're doing with Betsy?!"
"My son isn't a fool Hansel."
His exclamation and the sight of the cruiser drew the rest of the crew and the workers on
the ship closer to the helm. Cassandra had this warning look on her face when she spotted me
next to the hatch door. She was the closest thing I had to an elder sister and also my homeschool
tutor. Her elder brother Zeno on the other hand was excited at the sight of the cruiser.
"Way to go Tuma!" He grinned.
"Don't encourage him," the cook scolded. "He acted recklessly!"
Yashin didn't like me that much, probably because of Raliah, his daughter, who I was in love with.
"Oh stop it dad," Raliah smiled. "He probably had a good reason for doing it. Right?!"
I nodded.
"If I see even a dent on Betsy, I swear I'll..."
"Will you be silent!" Mother interrupted, "threatening a child in front of his mother, what are
you thinking Hansel. And you, what's the big idea?!"
"I believe we have an expenditure to complete, Mother," I replied. "If we can't go through,
then we go under!"
"That's a brilliant idea," Raliah said, nodding.
"That's a foolish idea!" Her father countered. "This murus cloud goes on for miles and I can
see whirlpools from where I stand, it's a suicide mission."
"The Sub-cruiser is one of the strongest sea craft out there," Alberto, our chief archeologist,
pointed out. "If anything is going to take us to the other side, it'll be that."
Some nodded in agreement while others shook their heads, skeptical about the idea. A
commotion ensued.
"Enough!" Mother commanded. "Those who don't want to go can stay, the rest of you board the cruiser. But just so you understand, whoever stays gets half their salaries this month."
The cook shrugged. "That's fine by ..."
"You're coming with us Mr Yashin, you don't expect me to starve the whole journey through, do you?"
"Curses!" He growled.
Within an hour mother had seven volunteers ready to embark. Most of them were the old
friends who had been with her from day one. Cassandra and her brother Zeno, the Knowles
siblings who served as her bodyguards, often mistaken as twins because of the white hair they
shared. Captain Hansel, who didn't want anyone else driving his submarine. Yashin the Cook,
whose chubby appearance spoke volumes about his profession. His daughter Raliah, whose
green eyes enchanted me everytime. Alberto, the shortest amongst us and Jimmy the chief
engineer, whose constant sarcastic look made him unreadable.
Small as they were, this was my family, distinct from the rest of the crew by the uniform jackets they wore. After our last wave of goodbye, we submerged, going straight for the Anger of Tawhiri.
#
Three days passed and yet we remained under. It felt like there was no end to this black
murus cloud. The resolve of most was getting weak, turning back seemed imminent.
"It's like we're at the end of the world." Raliah replied to her father, who grumbled in the kitchen.
The man complained bitterly while he made us dinner, and all we could do was listen as
we waited patiently in the dining lounge. Raliah suggested we played chess to pass the time. I
wasn't very good at chess. She smirked as she pushed her pawn forward.
"I wasn't expecting it to take this long," I cooed, claiming her pawn with the bishop, "this
voyage might as well have been a futile effort."
"If we really are headed for the end of the world," Yashin growled, dropping two bowls of
ramen next to the chessboard, "you better pray there's food at the bottom of the
galaxy, because I won't be cooking for anyone!"
Cassandra and Zeno were having an arm wrestling fight and Alberto stood as their referee.
He gobbled the ramen mercilessly immediately he got the bowl. Meanwhile Jimmy laid on a sofa
with a magazine over his face, waiting for the food to cool down.
"Everything has an end Tuma" said Cassandra, smashing Zeno's arm on the table, "it's
just a matter of time. Time is impartial."
Jimmy grunted, sitting up. He picked his chopsticks, looking at the bowl with disdain.
"Don't you like ham?" Alberto asked, ready to claim the meal.
"There's obviously nothing out there!" He exploded, "we should just turn…"
The alarms cut him off. Repeated flashing of red lights filled the room and the alarms kept
screaming. Something was wrong. We swiftly left the lounge, heading for the cockpit but
mother stopped us half way there.
"Find a seat and strap on!" She commanded.
"What's going on boss?" Zeno asked.
"We've been caught by a mesocyclone, it's a big one."
"A mesocyclone?" Jimmy asked. "We're three hundred feet below sea, there's no way a
mesocyclone could show up at such a distance underwater."
"Now's not the time to think about logic Jimmy!" Cassandra replied, fastening her straps.
"Get a seat and strap on Mr James!" Mother barked. "Hansel is doing his best to break us
out."
This time he did as told. Watching him fasten his third strap was the last calm moment I
remembered. Everything went berserk afterwards. There were quakes, the first one was mild like
a shove, then came the violent turmoil. Nothing could have prepared us for what was happening.
It was like a plane crash in the sea.
The mesocyclone pulled us closer and closer, the alarms were not helping anyone. It was
over, this was it. We were going to die there. Jimmy was screaming words I could not
understand, probably confessing his sins. Cassandra and Zeno had such a brave face on, you would have thought they had nothing to lose if they died. Alberto had his eyes shut, mumbling a prayer. Yashin reached for his daughter's hand and I looked at mother.