Chapter 70: Chapter 70: Dock, Part 1

Tom woke from blackness into blackness. His heart started pounding as the darkness pressed in around him. He felt around frantically in the dark and found his harness still locked into place. He unhooked it and splashed through the small amount of water on the floor. His breath felt shallow and came in hard breaths. He found the back of the pilot's chairs and leaned over. The man was breathing steadily but did not stir.

Tom blindly tapped on some controls. He felt the pod swerve sideways. He pressed more buttons randomly. Finally, dim lights finally flickered on. He issued a sigh of relief.

A large starburst of cracks covered the windshield behind the latticework of carbon structure. Droplets of water seeped through and dribbled to the floor. He looked down at the newly lit controls and found one labeled "Exterior Lights". Once pushed, a small beam of light cut through the dark waters. Sharps rocks and dead reefs passed them by as the little pod chugged along on its own.