Floyd knew exactly where he was going. He just hadn’t been prepared for the sight of it. Now that they were here, they might not be able to get in. Maybe only fish could get in?
He tried to answer Valerie’s questions and analyze the situation. The bits of the moon, though not all of them were there, were circling the deepest part of the Mariana Trench, Challenger Deep. A good thing, too, because molten lava was swirling all around the outside. Floyd landed on the top of a moon fragment, and stared at the exposed seabed.
“How is this happening?” Valerie whispered.
“The seabed is used to being under tremendous pressure.” Floyd helped her down so she wouldn’t fall off the cliff face. “Without the weight of the ocean keeping it down, bits of the molten core of the earth are leaking out to the surface, like when you put peanut butter between two crackers and press them together and the peanut butter comes out of the holes. This isn’t from volcanoes. Look down there.”
Valerie looked down at the sea of lava. It was difficult to tell how far they could see from up here. Possibly miles and miles of lava.
“Give me your watch for a minute.”
Valerie reached out her hand. She watched as he played with the settings, waiting for him to explain. Floyd didn’t want to. He wasn’t sure this was even going to work.
“The Smart Water is programmable, but if the control terminal is underwater, we’ll need a bit of a shield. The watches will help us each have an air bubble so we can, sort of, swim through it.”
“But if it’s underwater, wouldn’t it be broken by now?”
Floyd stopped and looked up at the horizon.
“You’ve got submarines. Technology that can survive water. It’s not so unbelievable.” He let her go, and worked on his own watch. He went into the menu and materialized a folding knife. He handed it to her.
“Here, take this knife.” He said. “It’s waterproof.”
Valerie took it. He continued to work, but she stared at him.
“What?”
“It’s a knife.” She said.
“Yes it is. 10 out of 10.” Floyd did a last check of his watch settings. Valerie was still staring at him.
“Was it ever NOT waterproof?”
“Who knows? We might have to do a little filleting once we’re down there, and you need to be prepared.” Floyd laughed to himself, but she was still staring at him. And frowning now.
“We are about to negotiate for our lives.” Valerie crossed her arms. “If you can’t speak nicely, I will have to smack some diplomacy into you.”
“I’d like to see you try.” He stood up. They were ready now. To dive down a giant hole. Hoping to sneak in, hoping he wasn’t too big because this wasn’t something he could walk her through. “But I take your point.”
He helped her back up, and let out a shuddering breath. He stomped a foot, and stared down the dark hole.
“I’ll go as slow as I can, but I won’t be able to see everything. You need to hold on tight. I can’t save you this time.”
“Will there be any light? At all?” She tugged a little at his mane, testing her grip.
“Probably.” His voice was quieter. “Maybe some form of bioluminescence.”
“But you can see a little bit.” She insisted on knowing.
“A little bit.” He said. He cut off any further revelation of his ignorance by swooping down to the chasm’s opening. Then he began to flap his wings, descending jerkily, like a helicopter dealing with updrafts.
There was no way to see where they were, or how far they’d gone. It was like being in space. No up, no down, no east or west. On Floyd’s back, only the pull of gravity kept her upright as he bucked his way down in a tight spiral. She was definitely dizzy.
Valerie kept her eyes on what she assumed was the horizon. She began to see the face of the cliffs. A soft glow began to reach them, and she saw just how tight the space was. The edges of Floyd’s wings kept hitting the sides, but it didn’t seem to slow him down. At least, not yet.
There was still very little visible light when Floyd touched down. They both stayed still, just catching their breath. Valerie looked up at where they had been. There was no visible light. Getting back out would be as time consuming as getting down was. Unless he left her. Or maybe he could just shrink her and put her in the watch, if that were possible.
Right now, there was a glow coming from the entrance of a cave. She hopped down to the uneven, rocky surface and stumbled. Not only was the ground uneven, but her legs were still wobbly from hanging on during that impossible trip down the hole. How far down were they? Seven miles? Ten? She had no way of knowing.
Floyd reached out to help steady her, but she managed on her own. She moved slowly toward the light. Inside the cave was the brightest display of ocean life she’d ever seen. Mostly bright neon and saturated colors, shining and lighting the way through the corridor. There was a thin layer of water just beyond the rock that kept the sea creatures in it’s own pocket of life. Pinks and Blues and Purples. Green every now and then, and almost sometimes orange.
Floyd popped his head in above hers.
“Think any of them are acting as security monitors?”
“Floyd!” Valerie swatted back at his neck. “Can’t you take a moment to appreciate the wonder of it all?”
“I can wonder.” He insisted. “As in ‘I wonder where we can find the solution to our problem that allows us to save all futures of friends and family’. And you didn’t answer my question.”
Valerie shook her head, and led the way. Mostly because she was in front, and, while there was enough room for Floyd’s head, there wasn’t enough to allow him to pass. She noted with a little satisfaction that the echoes of feet hitting rocks was all from Floyd, and not her rubber soles. She had a habit of moving quietly enough without them. Oh, the things she had seen when people thought they were alone…
The narrow hallway ended in a spacious chamber. At last. It was still as bright as the tunnels, but the light seemed to stay on the walls, somehow. Floyd moved decisively. He found a terminal and his foot fingers started their race against time. Valerie had no problem with being at a loose end. She was happy to just study the chamber they were in. Marine biology had never been of real interest to her. All of them probably wanted to kill her, but for now, it was pretty.
She saw what looked like a large bubble. Rolling it’s way toward them.
