A Small Spark

Stephen

The next day, Stephen found Captain Thomas standing before the periscope, looking out at the vast ocean around them. Upon hearing Stephen enter the room, Captain Thomas stepped away from the periscope so that Stephen could see for himself. “Don’t suppose we’ll find that unknown species of fish on the first day?”

The captain chuckled, “Probably not.”

Stephen glanced back out the periscope. It was actually amazing how many different kinds of fish existed just within the periscope’s range. He felt, for a second, that he was back at the aquarium he’d once visited in Denver, especially when a shark swam by. It was truly incredible. No wonder the captain had been staring into the periscope when Stephen had entered.

“Anyway,” Stephen said, taking a step away from the periscope, “I’ve come to invite you to lunch.”

“I usually just eat in here,” Captain Thomas answered with a dismissive wave of his hand.

“Yeah, but you couldeat lunch with Mason, Julie, and me. Julie was the one who sent me in the first place. She’ll be really disappointed if you don’t join us.”

Captain Thomas smirked, “This is what happens when you let a woman control your life.” The two of them stepped into the narrow hallway to the kitchen, where Lilith was waiting with their food.

“Eh,” Stephen muttered in reply, “it’s not so bad.” They entered the kitchen. As they grabbed some food from the small buffet line, Stephen inquired more about Captain Thomas’s family.

The captain was more than willing to discuss this topic. He described, in great detail, his daughter, Sally, who was staying with her grandmother in Greece during the expedition. Sally was born to Captain Thomas when he was seventeen years old. The mother, as it happened, did not want to be a mother at sixteen years old. Captain Thomas, on the other hand, wanted Sally the moment he learned of her existence. He was given fully custody of the child upon her birth.

“She wanted to come on the submarine, but I try not to involve her I my jobs,” Captain Thomas explained, a pained expression appearing on his face.

“That makes sense,” commented Stephen. Guilt pricked at Stephen and for a moment he was tempted to tell the captain the truth of the expedition, tell him what they were really searching for. What he, Mason, and Julie had set out to do was exceedingly dangerous. Stephen couldn’t guarantee his own safety, much less the captain’s. Stephen was elated that Sally, seven-year-old Sally, was not with them in the submarine.

A week passed in that stuffy, claustrophobic metal tube. It seemed that there was nothing but water, more water, and even more water. The novelty of the fish had died around the third day, leaving them all bored and tired of the journey.

The scientists found nothing of the specific fish they were searching for. Periodically, they would put on deep sea diving suits and leave the submarine through a small hatch. Then, they would seek after the fish themselves. But a week later, they still had yet to find the fish.

Over the past week, Stephen, Julie, and Mason did their best to get to know the scientists.

Mr. Wintergreen, for example, was a short man, and who seemed to think that everyone wanted to hear his thoughts and opinions on everything. There was no subject in the world he did not have an opinion on. He was also determined that all of his opinions were completely and utterly correct. For instance, he spent hours ranting about how the submarine smelled. Or, one night, he gave a lecture about how little quality the food contained.

After befriending Mr. Wintergreen, Stephen, Julie, and Mason regretted it.

Ms. Hutchinson was around fifty years old and not in the habit of conversing with adolescents. Because of this, she spoke little to them. She did, however, on occasion, mention how Julie, Mason, and Stephen did not need to be there for the expedition. She was also forced to share a cabin with Julie, who avoided the cabin whenever she could.

Dr. Theodore Allen was the leader of the expedition. Dr. Allen was a kind man who was willing to do anything asked of him. He had a hunger for knowledge that few people in the world could ever rival. He spent most of his meals with Julie, Mason, and Stephen, wanting to know everything about them. He was particularly interested in Stephen’s story.

“An orphan, how interesting,” he said upon learning this about Stephen during one of their meals together, “and do you want to meet your biological parents?”

“Yes,” Stephen answered without hesitation.

“And do you think you’ll ever meet them?”

“I hope so,” Stephen replied.

“Marvelous. I was adopted, too, you know.”

“N-no, I didn’t know that,” Stephen answered, wondering how he could possible know this when they just met.

“Yes. Anyone can make something of themselves is what I have found, Stephen.” Stephen quite agreed with that assessment.

That evening, Mason and Stephen reported to the navigation room. Captain Thomas had taught them how to use navigation tools. This way, they could help the crew with their duties. It had taken them the entire week, but they learned how to slowly navigate the submarine to where they needed it to go. So, every night when they went to relieve whoever was working, they would very subtly adjust the angle of the submarine.

It was only ever a small adjustment. Only a few degrees at a time so that no one would notice. Guilt snapped at Stephen for manipulating the crew in this manner, but as Mason was technically paying them, Stephen decided to ignore those feelings.

By the end of the week, Mason was getting pretty restless. Mason had a habit of constantly being in motion. He was always tapping something or pacing. He was a restless sort of fellow. It was better for him than it was for Julie. When the claustrophobia would get the best of Julie, she would run to her room, lay on her bunk, and force herself to sleep.

Like today, for instance, Julie had raced out of the control room in a hurry. She and Stephen had gone down there to try and coax the captain into leaving for a while to have dinner.

Only a minute had passed before the nightmare began.

The submarine, all of a sudden, tipped over in the water. Stephen flew from where he was standing against the wall. There was a noticeable crack in his arm. Well, shoot,he thought in himself.

Stephen glanced at Captain Thomas, who had been thrown to the floor and could easily depict that the captain had little idea of what had just happened. He, and the rest of the crew, looking for the problem. The submarine shook once more like it was a toy in the hands of a child. Then, the submarine sailed through the water as though it were a baseball thrown by a professional pitcher.

Stephen was thrown against the wall once more, yet, this time his escape was blocked by a chair that pinned him to the wall. Stephen kicked the chair out of his way, scurrying towards the periscope, all the while hearing the captain shout, “What’s happening?”

Stephen reached the periscope and looked around.

Nothing.

Nothing.

Nothing.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a gigantic eye appeared before Stephen’s vision. Startled, he stumbled away from the periscope. “Captain!” he yelled.

Captain Thomas ran to the periscope, shook clearly registering on his face. “What in the world is that!” He gazed back out the periscope as if it held all the answers.

Stephen regained his balance, keeping his broken arm in mind, and walked over to the periscope, prepared for what he would witness this time. He didn’t make it to the periscope before the beast flung the submarine again. He clung to the periscope with his right arm, the one that was not broken, while the people around him flew across the room to the wall.

Behind him, he heard one crew member yelp in pain as he was impaled by the sharp edge of a desk. Stephen wondered for a moment if they were all going to die tonight in that submarine.

He looked back out the periscope at the creature. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before. It was large and had greenish blue scales. Its yellow eyes had an evil intent in them. And the creature was rounding on them again. “Turn!” Stephen shouted.

One of the crew members did not even hesitate. He steered the submarine, per Stephen’s instructions, away from the beast. But it was too slow. Theywere going too slow. They were going to die, Stephen was nearly certain of it now.

“Do we have anything that could make an explosion?” Stephen asked the captain. “Anything that we could shoot at this creature?” The captain blinked at him in confusion.

“Nothing,” the captain replied. Understanding began to fall on him. “The scientists–”

Before he had even finished, Stephen was racing down the hallways to Dr. Allen’s cabin. Stephen had to dodge many toppled chairs and miscellaneous items as he ran down the corridor. On top of that, the creature was still ramming the submarine, forcing Stephen to collide with the walls every so often. Once, he tried to shield his body with his left arm, which was certainly a mistake. He might have forgotten about the break in his arm, but his arm had not. He winced in pain, but kept running.

He found Dr. Allen bracing himself against the wall, semi-pinned there by his dresser. A panic look was covering his face. It seemed the doctor was contemplating his own mortality. “I need you to make a bomb,” Stephen said hastily.

Dr. Allen opened his mouth to protest, but Stephen was preoccupies with pushing the dresser away from Dr. Allen. Then, he grabbed the good doctor by his arm and raced down to the kitchen. By then, Dr. Allen had understood what Stephen wanted to do.

When they reached the kitchen, Dr. Allen threw a bunch of ingredients together, most of which Stephen could not repeat even if he tried. He stopped in engineering for something before coming with Stephen back to the control center.

“If we can aim it at the creature at the right angle,” Dr. Allen gave his commentary, “we may be able to ride the blast out and have it propel us forward. Genius, Stephen.”

“I saw it on Star Trek,” he admitted, though no one was listening. Instead, the crew was focused on the captain, gaging his response.

“Do it,” Captain Thomas ordered. Gee loaded the bomb as the sea creature barreled after them. Stephen was terrified, but he tried to ignore it. He really didn’t have time for his fear to get in way right now.

The bomb hit the creature directly in the face. The explosion was smaller than expected, but it did throw them forward enough to jerk the submarine. Once again, Stephen was thrown to the ground. His head hit the edge of a stray table on the way down and was instantly knocked unconscious.

He was tired when he woke up on his bunk later that day. Mason was looking down at him, an unimpressed expression on his face. “So, apparently, you saved this whole submarine,” he said as though this were a normal conversation starter.

“Okay?” Stephen muttered groggily.

“I’d thank you, but I don’t want it to go to your head.”

“You’re a real hero, Mason.”

“Anytime, man.” Stephen rolled his eyes and tried to stand up. He was a little unbalanced, but overall fine. Stephen glanced over at his wounded arm. It was in immense pain and the bone was sticking it out. Well, it was official. His arm was broken.

“Where’s Julie?” Stephen wanted to know, worried for his girlfriend. Mason looked grave. She had been running to her bunk before the creature attacked them. Had something prevented her from reaching her room? Or, had she been impaled like that crewmember?

Stephen hastened to her room.

He should have known that Mason was just messing with him. Julie was lying peacefully on her bed like she did not have a care in the world. Stephen bent down and pressed his lips to her forehead. A dark, black bruise had sprouted itself on her flawless face. But other than this, she seemed fine.

“What happened?” Stephen asked aloud when he heard Mason’s footsteps approach.

“When the submarine tipped, she was thrown like the rest of us. I think she hit the side of the wall. I don’t think it’s serious, Stephen.” Stephen just nodded in answer, gently touching his girlfriend’s face. She groaned in her sleep. She’d be awake soon, there was no need to worry about her. Stephen kissed her once more. “We’ve got another issue, actually.”

Stephen frowned in confusion at Mason. His friend, always having a flare for the dramatics, simply turned and led Stephen down to the kitchen where Lilith was desperately rearranging the fallen shelves. Leaks had formed down there and she was trying her best to salvage as much food as she could.

But apparently, this was not the crisis Mason was talking about.

A little girl about seven years old was hidden in the corner, picking up the smaller foods. As Stephen looked at her, he realized he knew her, or at least knew of her. “Is that–” Stephen began to Mason. He nodded.

Gee came running into the room with his daughter, rapidly fixing the leaks before moving on.

“Does the captain know?” Mason shook his head.

“We apparently have a stole-away. She’s been hiding down here the whole time. Lilith found her when the submarine was thrown.”

“We have to tell Captain Thomas,” Stephen stated.

“Tell me what?” inquired a voice from behind them. Stephen turned slowly. Captain Thomas’s eyes flickered from Stephen and Mason to who they had been watching. The captain’s face fell. “Sally?” He swore under his breath.

Upon hearing her father’s voice, the kind folded into herself. She was frightened over how much trouble she was going to be.

“What are you doing here?” the captain wanted to know. His voice was stern and strand, like he was trying to control his temper.

“I wanted to see the fish, too,” she answered hopefully. Captain Thomas sighed and bent down to her level. He opened his arms to her. Sally ran to him, throwing her arms around her father in a warm embrace.

“I didn’t want you to come,” the captain told her. “I wanted you to stay with Grandma, remember?”

“But Daddy! I want to be with you. Don’t you want to be with me, too?” Stephen and Mason glanced at one another, equal smirks on their faces. This kid was piling on the guilt. The captain sighed once more.

“I alwayswant you to be with me, Sally. But when I tell you to do something, you have to do it, okay?” She nodded. “You could have been seriously injured down here. When I tell you to stay with your grandmother, you have to stay with her.” She nodded again.

“I’m sorry, Daddy.” The captain held his daughter tightly to him.

“It’s okay.”

Gee entered the kitchen then, mentioning to Stephen that his daughter could look at his wounded arm for him. Stephen suddenly remembered that the bone was sticking out and that he probably needed to see to it.

As they left, Stephen could not help but notice the suspicion sitting in the captain’s eyes. Stephen looked away, afraid that he had somehow learned of their plans. Guilt pried at him once more. Was this because of them? If they had stayed on course, would they have met with that creature? He had put not only the crew, but Captain Thomas’s daughter at risk because of this.

Stephen forced himself to believe it was all just a coincidence.