The water was climbing past her knees. It wasn’t going to be long before sealing this chamber became impossible. If they weren’t careful, they could lose so much more than a single level of the ship.

Caledonia counted each crew member who moved past. A small pocket of dread wedged itself in the back of her mind as the number climbed. There would be no way to know if they’d trapped someone down here until it was too late.

Pisces was pulling the interior hatchway shut. “Forward chambers clear, Captain!”

“Sledge!” she shouted.

“I can get it!” His voice was thin from exertion, his face reddening with the effort.

“Hatch is getting heavy, friends!” Pine called from his station by the doorway.

“We can save the ship or your life, Sledge,” she called. “You know which one I’ll choose!”

Something snapped. The metal sheet popped away from the wall, smacking into Sledge. He stumbled. A bright red smear appeared on his head and then he was gone, his broad shoulders consumed by the dark water.

Before any of them could respond, a figure dove past Caledonia into the room. Oran.

Caledonia held her ground. The water was climbing quickly now, inching past her thighs toward her hips. Inside the room it was even deeper. With every second that passed, the danger to the rest of the ship increased exponentially.

“Captain!” Pine called. The warning in his voice was clear: if they didn’t close that hatch now, they never would. “I hate to give you orders, but I’d like to request you get the hell out of there!”

“Caledonia!” Pisces shouted. “Now!”

Anger spun in her chest. At Sledge. At Oran. At the decision they were forcing her to make. It was them or the entire ship, and she didn’t have the luxury of waiting, of saving two people who meant so much to her when the lives of so many others rested on her shoulders. Her chest squeezed and her eyes burned, but she turned and pushed through the water toward Pine’s extended hand.

Her fingers brushed his, and then his hand was a vise on her forearm. With a single tug, she was through the hatchway, crashing into Pine as she struggled to regain her feet.

“We have to seal it,” he said, face beaded with sweat, eyes pinched with the same pain she felt.

She nodded, a rock settling in her stomach as she gave the order: “Close it.”

Behind him Pisces kept her expression steely. They’d come this far by making hard decisions. Even when they didn’t agree, those decisions hadn’t come between them until Caledonia had made one on her own.

Together, they placed their shoulders against the heavy hatch and pushed. The door began to move, but slowly. Then it stopped. No matter how hard they pushed, the water was stronger than all of them.