Eventually Caleb deemed it dark enough for him to leave on his excursion.

I would have given anything to go with Caleb, to have some quality time with him, but I didn’t want to slow him down. It was better he went alone. Besides, if I went, Annora would want to go as well. She wouldn’t want me to ever be alone with Caleb.

It was with a despondent heart that I watched Caleb climb up the stairs toward the exit. Before he left, he looked down at me seriously. “Lock your door when you go to sleep.” As an afterthought, he addressed Annora. “You too.”

I nodded, watching him disappear and close the hatch behind him.

Annora and I stared at each other.

I had no reason to be out here now, so I left her and walked back to my cabin, locking myself inside.

As I flopped down on the bed, Annora’s footsteps approached my door. To my surprise, they stopped outside.

“Good night,” she called.

When I didn’t respond, her footsteps continued along the corridor toward her own cabin.

I wasn’t sure why she’d bothered to say that at the time, as I drifted off to sleep. But when I woke up a few hours later, coughing and spluttering as thick smoke choked my lungs and stung my eyes, I realized.

She was planning to make this a good night for herself. The night she got rid of me.

Chapter 9: Rose

A deafening explosion pierced my eardrums. I rolled out of bed, landing on all fours. I scrambled toward the door, reaching for the handle and pulling it open. A blast of heat scorched my face, stinging my eyes. A wall of flames engulfed the entire corridor to my left and had almost reached my door. I hurled myself out, flattening myself against the floor.

The flames were blocking the route to the exit. There was no way I would make it through there alive. The only direction I could head was right, toward the control room. Although I felt close to suffocating—my head faint—I forced my body forward with all the speed I could muster. I gripped the handle and pushed the door open before closing it behind me.

It felt like there was more oxygen in this room. The door to this room was thicker. I was able to stand. I looked around the room for any plan of the submarine, hoping I could find an emergency exit. I hadn’t noticed one since I boarded. I cursed myself for not making myself aware of all the emergency exits as soon as I boarded. I was unable to find any plan of the vessel and the temperature in the control cabin was rising by the second. It wouldn’t be long now until the flames began licking the door.

I stared at the large glass window and gasped. I had expected to see the moonlit beach. All I saw was a wall of dark water. The anchor had loosened—or been loosened—allowing the tide to claim the vessel.

I began scrambling around for a heavy object. I found a box of tools beneath one of the seats and pulled out a screwdriver. I didn’t know if I would survive the sudden rush of tons of water spilling into this room, mixing with glass. It might cut me to shreds. But it was either this or certain death by burning alive.

I found a pair of goggles in one of the drawers. Donning them, I didn’t hesitate a moment longer. Wielding the tool, I smashed it against the center of the screen.

It didn’t smash. It barely even made a scratch. This was thick glass. I slammed against it again. A slightly stronger crack. Again and again I attacked the glass until finally it gave way.

I barely had time to hold my breath before water crashed over me, smashing me back against the door. The force of it was so overwhelming as the cabin filled up with water, I could barely move my limbs. The breath I’d taken hadn’t been deep enough. As shards of glass ripped my skin, I was already feeling my lungs—weakened from the smoke—beginning to strain and only a few seconds had passed. The submarine began to creak and groan as water leaked through the door into the corridor, and the vessel began sinking.

Gripping hold of a pipe in the ceiling, I forced myself forward. Although my limbs were screaming in agony, I continued to reach for fixture after fixture until I reached the window.

I could only thank the heavens that I’d thought to put the goggles on. I could see what I was doing at least. Without them, I doubted I would have had a chance in hell of surviving.

Squeezing myself through the cracked window, and grazing myself even more in the process, I kicked wildly toward the surface. A few more seconds, and I knew my lungs would give in. The weight of the submarine sinking was causing suction, dragging me down. I felt darkness closing in on my vision. Everything was becoming hazy.

I was about to lose all hope of ever reaching the surface when a strong arm wrapped around my waist, jerking me up to the surface. As I was lifted up above the waves, I gasped for breath too early and swallowed several mouthfuls of sea water. I choked and spluttered, gasping for breath. My vision was still unfocused. My head felt like it was splitting in two. Even though I had air now, I was finding it hard to breathe properly. Each time I tried, it was only shallow breaths, not enough to satisfy my sore lungs.

I was dragged through the water. I felt sand beneath me.

“Rose.”

The goggles were torn from my head. Legs closed around my hips. Hands pumped my chest. Fingers pinched my nose. And then a cold mouth sealed over my lips, breathing life into me.

My vision came into focus for but a moment—enough to see Caleb’s chocolate-brown eyes less than an inch away. Then I lost consciousness.

Chapter 10: Rose

A warm breeze blew over me. I opened my eyes. I was staring up at a roof of glistening leaves. In the distance, waves crashed against the shore. I tried to sit up, but hands pushed me back down.