As he stomped back and forth, more algae was clinging to his boots. So, he figured he’d concentrate on the last in the line of UUVs. Shoot it clean, and slowly work his way back across the bay. Force the stuff into the water. Sort of like peeling a label off a smooth surface.

Bracing himself, he started shooting down the Aquaceptor’s sleek hull, concentrating on blasting out the nooks and crannies. Which shot more water up onto the ceiling, with spray soaking the cabinets, toolboxes, benches, and underwater suits, as well as speckling them with algae.

Realizing what he was doing, Ruto groaned. That was just making more mess.

He shut the water down at that nozzle and stared glumly at the Aquaceptor. Patches of algae clung to the crevices around the camera stalks and tanks. Like it or not it was going to take a stiff brush to break the stuff loose. Then he could wash it away with the hose.

To Ruto’s surprise, his feet were heavy where algae clung to his boots. Had to be a couple of centimeters thick where it stuck together on fastenings, around the soles, and conformed to the heels.

Nevertheless, he slogged across the floor, now awash with algae and water. Got the brush and slogged back to the Aquaceptor III. Brushing and scraping, he broke most of the goo loose. So what if little bits were left here and there? He’d get what remained tomorrow.

Well, assuming Felix didn’t escape from his ad hoc prison and murder anyone else.

Ruto had been at the scraping and brushing for a good fifteen minutes. Shifting his feet, he’d barely noticed the drag. Now, when he tried to take a step, it felt like slogging his foot through wet concrete. To his surprise, the algae had thickened around his boots to become round masses. Looked more like elephant feet that extended up past his ankles.

“What the hell?”

Figuring he’d blast it off, he could see where the hose slithered down from the spool to disappear in the algae. The nozzle had vanished, buried in slime. Ruto tried to pull his right foot loose, but the thick mat of algae had sort of congealed.

“Oh, snot-sucking hell. This isn’t happening.” He bent down, used the brush to swipe at the goo, and actually managed to cut a couple of swaths before the bristles packed up solid.

Ruto straightened, feeling that first gut-deep stirring of unease. Looking back across the bay, the floor where he’d stomped his way across the trunks was now a mosaic of thick mats of algae joined by veins that continued to pump from the open water.