“Past hard-head fish.” Dmitry nodded, and then went back to his scope.

“And that other thing,” Greg said. “Whatever that big blip was – either a shark or a whale, it came up out of the depths, and luckily for us, went after the dunkle-whatever.”

“Wasn’t interested in us.” Jack briefly glanced at Greg. “We don’t really have a choice. Think of it as walking through a jungle – there might be a tiger in there, but we know it can’t be everywhere, and if we’re quiet and smart, it won’t even find us.”

“As quite as we can be in a fifty ton clunker of a submarine,” Greg said.

The huge Yegor turned and glared, and Greg immediately hiked his shoulders. “Not that Prusalka is a clunker.”

Yegor muttered and faced the window again.

“What are you thinking?” Cate asked Jack.

Jack looked back out at the dark void. “We descend to five hundred feet again – run hard and fast at those depths. Should keep us below any surface predators, and above anything rising up from below.” He turned in his seat. “But there’s a shelf that pushes down a thousand feet; we’ll need to dive deep to get under it.” He turned back. “There’s no other way to the first comm-buoy.”

Cate nodded slowly, and got to her feet. She walked forward, and stood beside Jack, arms folded. She could feel his eyes on her.

After moment, he reached up and placed a hand on her forearm. “We’ll be fine.”

“Of course we will.” She patted his hand, but then turned slightly, pulling away from him. “So, let’s go for it. We need to find out what the hell happened… and where we can find another way out.”

“Gets my vote,” Greg said. “Full speed ahead, Captain Nemo.” He reached back to high-five Abby.

Yegor turned to Jack, waiting.

“Let’s take her down to five hundred feet again, maximum speed until we close in on the shelf.” He half smiled. “And if we’re still in one piece, then we’ll dip under it and head for Hobart Bay.”

Yegor nodded and pushed a t-shaped joystick forward. The thrumming of the engine vibration tickled the soles of their feet as the propeller shaft spun ever faster. Jack pushed the u-shaped wheel forward, and they begin to descend down the side of the cliff.

“Take your seats and strap-in everyone.” He turned and grinned. “Coffee and tea will be served shortly.”

“But how long, until…?” Abby’s voice was barely a squeak. She cleared her throat. “Um, how long have we got, thinking about, you know, food, water, air…?”