Leviathan

Collins shook his head and fought his way through the chest-high water. He didn't have to go far when the flooding and current grabbed him and threw him toward the hatchway. He grabbed for the coming and held on. Then he gained his feet and struggled with the heavy hatch, attempting to close it as the water rushed out of engineering. The torrent was just too much, and he knew that the next compartment and companionway would soon flood and be too much for Leviathan's pumps to shed.

Collins was losing the entire deck.

ICE PALACE

The large Zodiac was loaded. All the children, using blankets found in the supply room, huddled against the rubber sides. Sarah was the last one to enter beside the Frenchman. She turned just as a rumbling from the south started to roll over the remaining mile-thick ice.

"Come on, Henri, that sounds like a damn tidal wave!"

Farbeaux looked from Sarah to the dissolving Ice Palace. Before he could comment, the wave from the nuclear detonation two hundred miles to the north struck the broken ice shelf. Ice Palace started to fall over away from the main shelf, breaking free and turning bottomside-up.

Farbeaux shoved Sarah down into the Zodiac and then pushed it away from the small shelf lining the rising end of the carved-out platform.

"Damn it, Colonel, get in!" Sarah called out.

Farbeaux allowed gravity to take him where he needed to go. He slid down until he hit the rear wall of the building, then rolled to the open ice stairs and slid on his belly down into the basement. He struggled to gain his feet as he pulled the inflation cords on three of the rubber boats. Then he turned and looked into the water-filled corridor.

"No, sister Sarah, where I am going, you cannot follow."

Colonel Henri Farbeaux disappeared into the treasure room, dragging the three giant rubber boats with him.

Sarah took a paddle from Niles and started getting them as far away from the drifting ice floe as possible. She gasped when she saw Ice Palace roll completely over, fill with water, and then bob in the rising sea.

"I'll never figure that French son of a bitch," Senator Lee said as he and Alice paddled toward the remains of the once-greatest ice shelf on earth.

Sarah saw the remains of the ancient seismic chamber fill with water until three quarters of it went under.

"Don't confuse Henri with Dr. Robbins. I suspect the colonel knew just what he was doing."

LEVIATHAN

Jack knew he couldn't close the large hatch himself. Millions of gallons of water had already spread throughout the deck, and he could hear the reactor alarms screaming. The current of passing water started to tear his grip from the coming, when suddenly there were hands on the hatch, pushing it away from the bulkhead. "One, two, three--push!"

The three bodies gave it their all and the hatch finally slammed shut. Its sheer weight coupled with momentum was enough to cut through the rushing water and slam home.

Jack collapsed into the water and momentarily went under, weakened from his fight with Tyler and his brush with drowning.

"What is it with you and water, Colonel?" Ryan said, pulling him to his feet.

Jack looked at the diminutive naval lieutenant and shook his head.

"The army better stick to land operations; you don't do all that well with water."

Jack placed hands on both Ryan's and Mendenhall's shoulders, leaning heavily against them as the water settled to one level, and stayed.

"Yeah--I will take that under advisement."

"Tyler?" Mendenhall asked.

Jack shook his head negatively. "He wasn't a very good swimmer," he said as he reached for the nearest intercom. "Engineering hatch sealed, Captain."

There was no answer as Jack tried again.

"Come on. In case you haven't noticed, we're still heading for the bottom."

Heirthall knew if they didn't shed more weight, they would lose Leviathan.

The giant submarine was level but still going down--she was at two miles, and the sound of her composite hull giving way to the pressure was audible throughout the ship.

"Alex, is there anything we can do?" Virginia asked, unclasping her restraint and going to assist a lieutenant with a sprung valve.

Alexandria didn't answer. She closed her eyes in thought, running the schematics of Leviathanthrough her head. She willed the crushing pain to the far reaches while she thought.

"Maneuvering, stand by to go to one hundred and fifty percent power on all four reactors."

"Captain, number three is already in the initial phase of scramming. She's shutting down!"

Heirthall looked down at the young rector officer and fixed him with her now-green eyes.

"Command safety override: Octavian one-six-four Zulu. Enter the code--now!"

The young officer did as he was told and entered the safety release on all the reactors.

"Reactors are answering one hundred and fifty percent, Captain."