Chapter 130

#Day 41 — 04:05

The wreck groaned like a dying animal.

Zhao woke to darkness and the sound of metal straining against metal. The bridge was cold, the portable lamps dimmed to conserve power. Bodies lay scattered across the floor—engineers wrapped in salvaged blankets, security guards with their rifles still clutched in their hands. He had slept for two hours. Maybe less.

Kim stood at the broken window, her silhouette sharp against the gray pre-dawn. She was already dressed, her leg brace visible beneath her trousers, her face hard with concentration.

“Wake up,” she said, not turning. “We have work to do.”

The crew stirred. Groans, curses, the shuffle of stiff limbs. Zhao pushed himself up, his ribs aching from where he had hit the deck yesterday. His hand was bandaged—a cut from the creature’s claw, nothing serious. He flexed his fingers, winced, and stood.

“Status?” he asked.

Kim turned. “I checked the lower deck with Victoria while you slept. The hull is stressed. If the weather gets worse—if the sea gets any rougher—this wreck is going to break apart.”

She looked at the ceiling, toward the mast.

“I can’t climb in this wind. Not yet. So we focus on what we can reach.”

She pointed at the floor plan on her tablet. “Command room. Center of the ship. Servers, hard drives, panels. Saanvi, you’re on the med bay—more supplies, more samples. Security, empty the armory. Every bullet. We used too many on that thing.”

Maggie nodded, already checking her rifle.

“Engineers, with me. Clothing, food, tools—anything not bolted down.”

She looked at Zhao.

“You should rest. You earned it.”

He shook his head. “I’ll extract the drives. Server room and command room.”

Kim didn’t argue. She never did.

They moved.

#Day 41 — 08:22

The sun rose behind clouds, the sky a bruised grey. Zhao emerged on the main deck, his backpack heavy with hard drives, his breath fogging in the cold air. Engineers worked at the railing, lowering components to the assault boat below. The rope creaked, the pulley groaning with each load.

Zhao looked toward the horizon.

The Blue Oasis was there—a dark shape against the grey sea, its lights faint in the morning gloom. Home. He allowed himself a moment of relief, then turned back to work.

His eyes moved across the wreck.

The helicopter hangar was intact, and on its roof—the CIWS. The Phalanx close-in weapon system. Its barrel was scarred, its housing pockmarked with bullet holes. The roof around it was littered with shell casings, a carpet of brass.

They had used it. Fired until the ammunition ran low.

Zhao climbed toward it, his boots finding holds on the damaged structure. The wind pulled at him, trying to tear him from the ladder. He reached the roof, crawled to the gun, and pried open the ammunition drum.

Brass glinted in the dim light. Rounds. Not many—maybe two hundred, maybe three hundred—but enough.

He radioed down. “Engineer to the roof. I need help carrying ammo.”

A voice crackled back. “On my way.”

He looked up at the mast. Kim was there, dangling from a harness, cutting the main radar into pieces. An engineer worked beside her, their movements careful, synchronized. The wind swung the pulley violently, the salvaged components swinging like pendulums.

Zhao grabbed the rope, steadied it. Another engineer joined him, and together they held the line as the radar panel descended.

His radio crackled.

“Zhao.” Vivienne’s voice was tight. “Go inside. Somewhere quiet. Chen needs to talk to you.”

He slipped through a hatch, into the relative silence of a interior corridor. The wind faded to a distant howl.

“I’m here.”

Chen’s voice came through, calm but urgent. “I’ve analyzed the data Saanvi streamed. The Commission—or the military—runs patrols in this area once a week. The last one was a few days ago. They could return anytime.”

Zhao’s blood went cold.

“If they detect us in our current state, they won’t send another Carmona. They’ll send a warship. We cannot be found.”

“How long do we have?”

“Unknown. Hours, maybe. Leave now. Take everything you can carry and leave.”

Zhao didn’t wait. He burst back onto the deck, shouting into his radio.

“Kim! We need to go. Now. Commission patrols could be here any minute.”

Kim’s voice was sharp. “Copy. Everyone to the boats. Final load—move!”

The crew scrambled. Engineers hauled the last components to the railing. Security guards helped lower them, their rifles slung, their eyes scanning the horizon.

Zhao saw the main radar panel descending—heavy, awkward, swinging in the wind. Two crews worked the ropes, their faces tight with strain. The wreck tilted, starboard side dipping.

A crewman slipped.

Zhao lunged, grabbed the rope, held it tight. The panel stopped swinging, inches from the mast. The crewman regained his footing, and together they lowered the panel to the deck.

Kim rappelled down the mast, her movements quick despite her injured leg. She landed beside Zhao, breathing hard.

“Why are you still here? You should have left with the last boat.”

“I wanted to make sure we got everything.”

Kim looked at the mast, at the stripped radar mounts, at the pulley still swaying in the wind.

“We got most of it. Servers, hard drives, the command room. Even some extras.” She shook her head. “But the pulley—I couldn’t recover it. Too dangerous in this weather. We’ll have to build a new one.”

Zhao touched her shoulder. “We will. Now let’s go.”

They helped lower the last panel. The waves slammed against the boat below, the rope going slack, then taut, then slack again. The panel was a meter above the cargo hold when a wave hit.

An engineer fell.

She slipped on the wet deck, sliding toward the edge—directly under the swinging panel.

Zhao moved without thinking. He grabbed her arm, pulled her back. The panel slammed into the deck where she had been, cracking, its frame bent.

The engineer gasped, her face pale. Kim helped her up.

“Are you okay?”

She nodded, trembling.

Kim looked at the damaged panel. “That’s going to need work.”

She didn’t have time to dwell. “Everyone on the boat. Now.”

#Day 41 — 09:45

The assault boat cut through the waves, its hull slamming against each swell. The compartment was watertight, the crew huddled among the salvaged equipment, their faces pale with cold and exhaustion. Zhao sat near the front, watching the wreck shrink behind them.

The Blue Oasis grew larger.

Vivienne’s voice came through the radio. “Kim, prepare to load the boat onto the gurney. Immediately.”

Kim’s jaw tightened. “The gurney might not hold the weight. Not with the sea this rough.”

“We don’t have a choice. Patrols detected on drone scout. They’ll be within radar range any minute. We’re already moving.”

Kim looked at the waves, at the boat rocking beneath them. “I’ve never loaded while moving. In these conditions. It’s too risky.”

“Then find another way.”

Kim thought fast. “We tow the boat. Stern deck. Don’t unload the cargo—just the people. I’ll shoot a grappling hook to the main deck, drag us closer. Get everyone off. Then we secure the boat and run.”

A pause. “Do it.”

Kim stood, bracing herself against the cabin. “Engineers, fasten the radar panel to the floor. Reinforce it. It can’t move.”

They worked quickly, lashing the damaged panel with ropes, securing it to the hull.

The Blue Oasis loomed ahead, its aft deck crowded with crew. Zhao could see them—Victoria at the railing, Maggie beside her, and behind them, Vivienne, Aida, Mei-Lin.

Home.

Kim steadied the boat, aimed the grappling hook, and fired. It sailed through the air, caught the railing, held. Engineers on the main deck secured the line, reinforced the railing with spare cables.

The boat was pulled closer, but the wake and the waves made it unstable, the hull slamming against the Blue Oasis, then pulling away.

Kim opened the front hatch. “Jump! One at a time! Go!”

The crew moved. Helene went first, landing hard, rolling to her feet. Cecilia followed. Then Saanvi, her medical bag clutched to her chest. The engineers, one by one.

Zhao watched them go. His backpack was heavy with hard drives, his hand still bleeding through the bandage.

A wave hit. The boat lurched. He grabbed the railing, held on.

Victoria was at the edge of the aft deck, her arms out. “Come on, Zhao! Jump!”

He took a breath. Ran. Jumped.

His feet hit the edge of the deck, slipped. His backpack pulled him back. He flailed—

Victoria caught his arm. Vivienne grabbed his other. Aida and Mei-Lin were there, pulling him forward, dragging him onto the deck.

He collapsed into them, his arms around Vivienne, then Aida, then Mei-Lin. They held him, and for a moment, there was nothing but the warmth of their bodies, the sound of their breathing.

Then he remembered.

“Kim!”

He pulled back, turned to the boat. Kim was still there, alone on the deck, her leg brace visible, her face pale.

“Kim! Jump!”

She hesitated. Her leg. She couldn’t make the distance.

“Throw your backpack!” Zhao shouted.

She unhooked it, tossed it. Zhao caught it, set it aside.

She limped to the edge, timed the waves, and jumped.

Too short.

Victoria lunged, caught her mid-air, her hand gripping Kim’s wrist. Zhao grabbed Victoria’s leg, held on. The other women pulled, dragging them both onto the deck.

Kim lay on the wet steel, her body shivering, her clothes soaked. Mei-Lin wrapped a towel around her, and Saanvi helped her to her feet.

Zhao took a breath, then another. He hugged his family—Vivienne, Aida, Mei-Lin—all of them, together.

Victoria gave him a wink and a thumbs up, then walked inside.

Vivienne’s voice was steady. “The council is waiting. Go to the bridge.”

#Day 41 — 010:08

The bridge was crowded when Zhao arrived. The council had assembled—Maggie, Victoria, Isabelle, Elena, Linh, Kim. Sophie stood near the back, her shoulder still bandaged. And Chen sat at the navigation station, her blind eyes turned toward the window.

The Blue Oasis was moving fast, its engines pushing hard, the hull slamming against the waves.

Vivienne stood at the center. “The plan has changed. We are no longer hunting seals. We are running.”

She nodded to NUWA. The main screen flickered, showing drone footage—a fleet of warships, gray and menacing, their decks busy with activity. In the center of the fleet, a platform was being constructed. Massive. Unlike any oil rig Zhao had seen.

“What is that?” he asked.

Chen’s voice was quiet. “A floating base. The Commission is setting up a choke point at the southern tip of the continent. We are right under their noses. They haven’t detected us yet—but the patrols nearby could change that at any moment.”

Kim frowned. “Our radar is passive. We’re blind except for the drones.”

“Correct.”

“Then how do we get to the South Pacific?”

Elena spoke up. “The Panama Canal.”

Vivienne shook her head. “It will be choked off. Warships everywhere.”

Sophie’s voice was cold. Sophie’s gaze hardened. “The Commission is turning the Atlantic into their private fortress. Makes you wonder what they’re trying to keep in—or out.”

Chen continued. “There is only one route left. But it carries risk.”

She paused.

“A tunnel through the Andes. From Peru to the Amazon. Large enough for ships.”

Kim’s eyes widened. “I know that project. It was Chinese—rail, maybe road. Not ship.”

“There was a secret agreement between Peru, Brazil, and China. The Commission and the US have been limiting Chinese ships through Panama. Panama is not defensible. Peru and Brazil are different. The tunnel was almost completed but never inaugurated. In theory, ships can already pass.”

“In theory?” Vivienne asked.

“Water flows through it. But the locks must be operated manually. And there is no telling how many crawlers we may encounter there or the in the tunnel.”

The room was silent. MAggie finally broke it, her voice low and controlled but unable to mask her concern. “Crawlers in a tunnel that narrow? One breach and they’ll swarm every deck before we can seal the bulkheads. We’d need to weld steel plates over the windows, reinforce every hatch, and station armed crews at each junction point.” She looked at Zhao, then back to Chen. “And even then, I’m not convinced we’d make it through.”

Kim ran her fingers through her hair, leaving it standing on end. “We can reinforce the hull with what we salvaged. The extra ammunition gives us options.” She traced a path on the digital map. “If we position defense stations here, here, and here...”

Zhao nodded, leaning forward. “I’ll have automated turrets covering every approach vector by the time we reach the inlet. The crawlers won’t find easy access.”

Linh spoke. “The Amazon is in dry season. I don’t know how navigable the upper reaches will be.”

Zhao stepped forward. “We build a small boat drone. Sonar. Scout ahead.”

Kim nodded slowly. “Possible. Use parts from the flying drones.”

Vivienne turned to Isabelle. “Supplies?”

Isabelle’s face was grim. “Without the hunt, we’re stretched thin. The wreck gave us a few days of food, at best. But the crew has been fishing—shellfish, bottom fish. The holding tank is overloaded. It’s not enough for a long journey.”

Vivienne made the call. “Limited rationing. We head north. Linh, watch for salvage opportunities.”

She looked at the screen, at the fleet of warships, at the floating base.

“The patrols?”

Linh checked her instruments. “Breaking off. They didn’t detect us.”

Vivienne nodded. “Then we go.”

She dismissed the council.

Zhao walked to the window. The sea was grey, the sky heavy. And there, on a rocky outcrop—a colony of elephant seals. Dozens of them, their bodies dark against the shore.

Vivienne stood beside him. Aida on his other side.

“So near,” Zhao said. “Yet so far.”

He watched the colony shrink as the Blue Oasis turned north, away from the seals, away from the hunt, toward the unknown.

“We’ll be back,” he said quietly. “Not if. When.”

The ship sailed on, and the seals disappeared into the mist.