Up From The Deep Vaughn Jackson (book club suggestions TXT) 📖

before, but she still felt it tickling the back of her skull. Ashleigh was quick, not wanting to put her boots through the ringer again, she dove onto the rubber mat with Arnett and Raymond.

The blue light flashed again, dimmer, but still bright enough to white out the world. She clamped her eyes shut when they started to burn. The transport rocked. It creaked and groaned around them sounding like the end of the world. Then it rolled. The few loose pieces of cargo slid across the floor and out the open door. She felt herself begin to slide towards the open portal. Her fear kicked in and her body refused to cooperate any further as it plummeted downward.

“No, no, please!” she shouted. Her eyes darted around for something she could grab onto. Basic motor functions returned, and she began to flail. Fingers brushed metal and rubber, but she couldn’t get a grip. She clenched her eyes and waited for the freefall, when she felt a hand close around her wrist. Arnett clung to the straps of the nearest bench with one hand and clung to her with the other.

“I suggest,” he said, grunting with the effort, “not sliding into the ocean from thirty thousand feet.”

Ashleigh began to cry. “Thank you,” she kept repeating. Her head was swimming and it was all she could do to keep from shaking. She reached her other hand up and grabbed onto Arnett’s arm.

“Heavy,” he groaned.

And then Ashleigh heard what she had been hoping for: the engine.

Chaplin crackled over the headset. “Controls…and comms…but barely. Only one of… engines is…”

“Just get us out of here!” she shouted. She knew she didn’t need to tell him, but it was the first thing that came to her mind. The transport returned to its proper orientation and she slumped to the floor. Arnett stumbled over and closed the door.

“I’m never flying again,” he sighed.

“Can you guide us into the bay?” Ashleigh pressed the mic against her mouth.

Static filled her ears. She repeated what she said. Then again. And again. Still no response.

“Damn it, Chaplin, can you hear me?”

“Yes, I…now please stop …ting! …hard to…focus.”

Ashleigh breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay. Just give us some impact warning.”

“No…just let you figure it…your own.”

Ashleigh had to laugh at the frustrated sarcasm. Her body relaxed for the first time since she boarded the transport. Crashing would be easy, she thought, that involves being on the ground and not shooting at a sea dragon.

Raymond groaned and rolled onto his back. He muttered something she couldn’t hear. His breathing had grown ragged and it was harder to see the rise and fall of his chest.

“Get ready to hold your breath,” she whispered to him. “Don’t you die on me.”

#

The water battered Ashleigh as she tried to fight her way out of the plane. Raymond was strapped to her back through a series of severed aircraft seatbelts and duct tape from a police utility belt. The crash had plunged them deep into the bay, and in his condition, he wouldn’t be able to hold his breath for long. She looked back as she pushed past the onslaught of water and saw Arnett force his way out into the open expanse of green water. Chaplin followed just behind him. The transport continued to sink, as debris and fuel floated into the surrounding water. Ashleigh forced air out of her lungs and pushed down with all her might. The light at the surface barely filtered down this far, but above a strange twilight twinkled as the surface waves distorted the sunbeams and scattered them into the depths. She pushed down again. Her thoughts were fuzzy. Darkness crept in at the edges of her vision. Again. The warmth of the sun was filtering through the water here. Soothing in the cold murk. Her vision started going darker. Her eyes burned. The push was harder this time. And harder still the next. Her body felt limp. Weak. A final push and…

Air. She gulped it down greedily. Behind her she heard Raymond do the same. He coughed and sputtered. His breathing didn’t sound good, but he was breathing. She smiled as she continued to take in deep swallows of the salty air.

Arnett broke the surface moments later. “Oh Jesus,” he said. “Thank you, Jesus.” He splashed at the water. “I never want to do that again.”

Chaplin gasped. “Agreed.”

Ashleigh scanned their surroundings. She could feel her strength fading fast. Treading water for two people would take its toll quickly. They were near Alcatraz Island. Or at least what remained of it. The smoke billowed off the husk of the island, and where the prison once stood, nothing remained but a few crumbling stone walls. Before she could question the circumstances, a voice called out to her.

“Are you alive?” it asked.

“Yes!” Arnett shouted. “Please tell me that’s a boat!”

The coast guard ship slid through fog that emanated from the surface of the water. It shined a light on them.

“How many?” the voice asked again.

“Four,” Ashleigh said. “Three swimmers, and one in need of medical attention.” She felt the boat bump her and strong arms grabbed her by the soaking fabric of her fatigues. Another pair of arms assisted and hoisted her out of the water. She flopped sideways onto the floor of a small rescue boat.

“How did you know we’d crash in the bay?” she heard Chaplin ask as they pulled him onboard next.

“Didn’t,” the voice said. “We were heading to the island when your transport hit water. Almost capsized us.”

“Sorry about that,” Chaplin said.

The man attached to the voice shrugged. “You didn’t capsize us.”

Arnett climbed onto the ship.

“We would’ve pulled you out,” the ship captain said.

“Nah, I was sick of being in the water,” he said, resting against the side of the boat. “Can we please just get to solid ground?”

Raymond coughed up water onto the deck. “We have something very important to report,” he wheezed.

The men cut him free and turned him on his side so he could expel the