Chapter 16

chapter 16

ELLE

I was much more confident heading back into the lab. Cepharius picked up my cable as we returned, a feat which I did my best not to watch, but it was touch-and-go, and when the dock appeared out of the rest of the murky deep, it looked like a window into a whole other reality.

Marcus began respooling the cable after I stepped inside. I was thirsty, starving, caked with sweat—but goddamn, I felt alive. For the first time in what seemed like forever.

"Give me thirty minutes to get settled, and then come find me?" I asked Cepharius.

"As you wish, Elle of the Air," he said, and I felt him retreat.

Donna was waiting dockside to help me undress. "Well?" she asked.

"Donna!" Marcus chastised from his spot in the crane.

"I'm not asking about the research!" Donna yelled back at him, and I laughed.

"Everything's fine. Good, actually," I said, peeling out of my drysuit. I was sure to do it with my back to them, and my face to the water, until I could grab my scrub top and pull it back on. "How's the water pressure for showers here?" I asked her, hitching my scrub pants up.

"It's great!" Donna said, then leaned forward to quietly whisper, "Also there's nozzle attachments. Only thing here that's kept me sane."

I gathered her meaning and blinked, before sparing a glance at Marcus. "You sure you haven't missed three seasons?" I teased, then asked, "Is he not single?"

"Would you date him?" she countered, then sighed. "He's too serious about the mission. Won't even tell me his last name."

I blew air through my lips and gravely nodded. "Sorry, then."

"Eh, it's all right. My contract down here's only for another two months." She shrugged. "Go take your shower, and I'll bring dinner to your room—unless you're eating it with us?" She gave me a hopeful look, and I winced. I had a metric shit-ton of data to go through and limited resources.

"I'm sorry—I really need to get started."

"Yeah, yeah, that's what everyone says." She rolled her eyes but still smiled as I ejected the suit's data sleeve to upload to my tablet, and started walking away. "Just so you know, it's chipped beef tonight!" she called after me.