After each stop, Alison’s anxiety grew until she was well within sight of Bimini Island’s south cay. She did not know where this underwater city was, but she couldn’t be very far from it. It probably would not be long until she was right on top of it which meant she may not be able to reach Dirk and Sally until it was too late. Her heart began beating faster at the sudden prospect of now being too close to what was about to happen.
Alison quickly stood up and decided to head back away from the island. She turned the key to start the engine and listened to the battery alert, waiting to hear it go off. In a moment of confusion, she looked down at her hand thinking something did not seem right. The battery alert was still sounding, but she realized the key had already been turned. She was not sure what she did wrong, but she tried it again, twisting it back to its original position and then turning the key again. Again, nothing happened. She looked at the battery and the alarm was still ringing. The display on the battery read five minutes and forty-eight seconds, but what caused Alison to panic was that the display did not indicate that it was charging again.
She quickly examined the ignition area, thinking she hit something or flipped a switch accidentally turning something off. She could not find anything, every piece seemed firmly in place or downright immovable. She tried to start the engine again, this time a little more forcibly. All she heard was a mechanical “click” somewhere inside. She instantly felt a feeling of dread come over her and stop right in the middle of her stomach as though she was going to be sick. “Oh god,” she said, trying the key one more time. Still nothing.
“Oh god! Please, please start!” she moaned. She kicked the area beneath the steering wheel, very nearly breaking her foot. She was now in a full panic. She looked at the battery display which read five minutes and twenty one seconds left. Alison suddenly realized that if she could not start the engine this was all she had left on the server. She desperately hit the return key sending out another broadcast. The battery continued to count down. “No No NO!” she screamed. She checked the gas gauge and found the tank still a quarter full. She tried an interior light which showed the electrical was working.
As the battery kept counting down, a dark realization swept over her like a terrible nightmare. Not only was she about to lose power and the ability to call out to Dirk and Sally…but without the ability to start the engine she couldn’t leave. She was stuck and probably well within range of being killed instantly when the bomb went off. She was trapped.
“God, please no!’ she screamed again, now hitting the keyboard over and over in desperation. Below her, the sound from the speakers could be heard broadcasting the same familiar clicks in rapid succession. She stood watching helplessly as the battery display counted down past the five minute mark.
Sally followed close behind an excited Dirk who swam quickly through the emerald blue waters. Both were happy to be in the open ocean again. She stayed close to Dirk easily as the large gift on his back slowed him down. She could now detect the distant hum of the giant ring almost twenty miles away. It was then that she heard something else, a faint sound coming from another direction. Sally slowed, listening as Dirk began to pull away. The sound was familiar. She watched Dirk, intent on helping his friends, slowly fade ahead into the glimmering blue veil of the underwater sunlight.
Alison kept hitting the keyboard sending out the message again and again. The display was down to two minutes and thirty-two seconds. She was desperately digging through the storage compartments looking for a manual to the boat. Of course, it was pointless, since she did not know the first thing about boats or mechanics, but she looked anyway. She simply could not think of anything else to do. She had every cushion seat turned over and finally pulled up the last storage compartment lid. She felt a glimmer of hope when she spotted a large toolbox and pulled it out. Alison flipped the cover over and dug through the tools a quickly as she could. No manual. Her heart sank.
She looked at the battery. It read one minute and forty-five seconds. She hit the keyboard again and collapsed down onto the floor crying. She felt so utterly stupid. She hardly knew anything about what was happening and here she was running to the rescue. Except there was no rescue. Instead, she had condemned herself to die as she sat helplessly in the middle of the ocean. She even tried turning her phone’s cellular back on but there was no signal. It was hopeless.
She was crying so hard now that she did not hear IMIS relay a message. Alison. She tried to catch her breath and looked at the battery display which was now nothing more than torture. It was almost down to one minute. IMIS broadcasted again and Alison’s heart stopped. Alison.