Page 15 (1/2)

ONCE FEAR TAKES HOLD there is no escape It surfaces to haunt the brain, to lead the eyes down corridors of terror, to taunt the senses with the presence of soirl toward the boatyard he saw that the fear had spread rapidly in the village, a fire fueled by Boniface&039;s eyes and cryptic words There were bolted doors and shuttered s everywhere; on some of the walls were hastily drawn voodoo symbols, painted there as talis about the streets, as dusk still was several hours off, and in the harbor , but the air was different The bar district was al the beaches or playing ball aates were unrepaired and Moore drove through In another few moments he steered the truck around the piles of debris and oil barrels and passed the supply shed He put on the brakes and slowed The shed doors were open; one of the large wooden doors had been ripped off its hinges and lay in the sand, and there was a jumble of barrels, splintered crates, and cans around the entrance Moore knew it should have been securely locked He continued on across the yard for the naval shelter

When they reached it he immediately saw that the dooride open, a dark entry leading toward the twisted iron hulk He stopped the truck and pointed at the shelter "It&039;s in there," he told her

Jana went around to the truck bed and began unzipping the duffel bag "Any electricity in there? Arc lights?"

"No," he said, his gaze fixed on that square of blackness, knohat lay beyond "All the juice is cut off"

She opened the bag and took out a caain, she took the Nikon from its case and fit the flash to it, then let it fall around her neck "Now," she said, "we&039;ll see your precious relic"

They stood together for a long ti darkness as their eyes slowly e craft A prehistoric hed into her hand "Chlorine gas," she said quietly, her voice echoing against e" When she was finally able to see it, froht her breath and took a step forward

Jana blinked, put out a hand as if to touch it "My God," she said, awed "My God" Sheover an empty crate reen water twelveat a depth of ninety-four feet a sublory siar shape, then as she hovered above it, as aThe hatches had been open, circular holes all clogged with growth, nothing left of the conning tower but a dark flower of iron where a bomb or shell had struck And in the center of the veins of tubing were crisscrossed pipes that now served as home to starfish and spotted eels That boat had been dead, devoid of power and menace But this one, here only a few feet away was very different It&039;s a hoax, she thought suddenly A joke No boat could be underwater that length of time and not be a rusted, broken hulk But no; it was real, the iron hull secure She had seen boats down only a few months in worse shape than this one, and she couldn&039;t believe what she was seeing She picked up her caan to take her pictures carefully and unhurriedly, ain When she called out to Moore he could hear the excitee to the superstructure, snapped sky periscope Jesus! The eighty-eight millimeter cannon&039;s still intact, so is the twenty-h in places, but un on most of the hull!" As she talked she took picture after picture, the flash outlining a jagged shadow on the opposite wall "There&039;s water inside?" she asked

"Not very h a hatch, probably If that&039;s so, the boat one down in a hurry Possibly under attack, if you say there was a depth charge near it" She ca the port side and then toward the bow "Torpedo tubes are clear," she told hi hatch is open Is that how you went in?"

"Yes" Moore nodded

She took another photograph, the flash a silent white explosion In its light Moore saw so; he took a step forward, but already she was on her way across the gangplank She stepped onto the deck, avoiding debris and rats

"Just a ure out what it was he&039;d seen

Jana was peering through broken deck timbers "Pressure hull looks unscathed" She pushed a box away and empty oil cans rolled out "I can see the explosion youit from the sand, but what made this boat surface? Compressed-air expansion? Possibly there was already air in the buoyancy tanks?" She was talking to herself, not noticing as Moore e of the concrete ay and stared over at the bow "For the ti we&039;ll have to accept your theory," she was saying, "until the Foundation co better My God, what a weapon!"

"The hatch," Moore said quietly, and the sound of his voice h there, that&039;s where the bow torpedoes were loaded," she explained "There&039;s another at the stern for the aft tube What are all these crates and cans doing here? This gun reased it"

"Kip closed this hatch," Moore said in a hollow tone, staring into the hole "And now it&039;s opened again"

Jana moved over by the hatch and snapped another picture of the conning tower "I&039;ll have to look at the h-intensity la"

"Don&039;t stand near that hole," Moore rasped, hisdown into it She hadn&039;t heard, and he raised his voice "Don&039;t stand near the hatch!" He started across the gangplank toward her

"What?" she asked, glancing over at hi on the hatch rim "What did you" And then she abruptly sucked in her breath, a half-cry escaping her lips; she stepped away fro behind hi toward hi an arm to ward it off, his teeth bared and eyes widened

The shadow stoodat the two of the here, David?" Kip asked "And who&039;s she?" He didn&039;t wait for a reply, but raised his voice "Co,orders to?" she asked indignantly

"I&039; you off that boat!" He glanced at Moore "Who is she?"

"Dr Thornton She caston to examine the submarine"

"Is that so?" Kip watched as she plank and approached hio down in that bastard by yourself?"

"That&039;s exactly right," Jana said, her guard up

"Wrong This shelter and that boat are off-limits to everyone without iven it to you" He pressed the back of his hand against his face "It set out into the sun"

When they had left the shelter Kip closed the door and looked for some way to lock it; he found a thin h the door&039;s hasp as a temporary solution

"I have a letter fro," Jana said curtly "If you like I&039;ll get it for you and then we can"