Sea Storm: A Thriller (Underwater Investigation Unit) by Andrew Mayne

Author:Andrew Mayne [Mayne, Andrew]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Published: 2022-03-28T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 31

DARK FOREST

The waves are a bit choppy and try to push me back into the steps, but after I move a few yards away and sink below the surface, everything grows calm. I have about twenty feet of visibility before everything turns a murky aquamarine.

The leafy stalks of the kelp forest begin a few yards farther out, so I let the air out of my BC and start to descend into them.

Copley is somewhere ahead of me. The stalks of kelp that stretch from the seafloor to just below the waves create a dense maze that’s easy to get lost in. Divers here either use boundary cables or come to the surface and search for the giant Catalina Casino in order to orient themselves.

I’m blessed with a strong sense of direction. I also pay attention to currents subconsciously and count my kicks to keep track of how far I’ve traveled. Plus I have a compass on my wrist and take frequent note of landmarks.

As I swim through the dark shafts of kelp, a school of silver and blue perch dart ahead of me, trying to get out of my way, then suddenly dart to my right when they realize I’m still headed in their direction. I pass through them without making contact, and they vanish into the underwater jungle.

Five yards below me and to my left, a dive instructor sits on the bottom with two students, communicating with a whiteboard full of written instructions. Copley is nowhere to be seen, but I keep moving forward, assuming he followed a similar path.

Boats aren’t allowed directly over this part of the underwater park, but they can come close to the edge or anchor south of here in the harbor, which is only a few hundred yards away.

If Copley is talking to someone on a boat, my guess is they would be in the harbor. While he might want to test the range of the radio, it’s likely he’d want to be able to see them when he surfaces.

I move through the forest, trying to keep from the wide-open spaces and doing my best not to collide with groups of divers coming from either direction.

You have to constantly check above and below you because you never know when someone is ascending or descending. For novice divers it takes a while to be able to navigate in this three-dimensional environment. NASA trains astronauts underwater with a mockup of the International Space Station.

Instead of a full-scale replica of a space station, I have shimmering schools of fish and giant sea bass that slowly drift along, watching me like an old man from his lawn.

The kelp begins to thin out, and I drift closer to the bottom to keep a low profile. I don’t want Copley to do a Crazy Ivan, spin backward to check if anyone’s following him, and see me.

Being an experienced diver, he’s bound to do that at some point. Even though this kelp forest is a pretty safe environment and not

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.