The Volunteer by J. B. Cantwell

Author:J. B. Cantwell [Cantwell, J. B.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-06-30T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

The next morning, Alex, Hector, Kyle, and I gathered outside the mess hall as we had been instructed to do the night before. Tanning had alerted Hector and Kyle about the underwater mission we would be taking on in just a few days. Kyle still seemed rattled about the lesson we’d been in yesterday.

“It’s okay, man,” Hector said, slapping him on the back. “We’re going to be underwater for these explosions. No fire.”

“You’re wrong,” Kyle said. “Underwater explosions are just as deadly as those above ground. More so, even.”

This surprised me. “How?” I asked.

“It has to do with pressure. It’s no picnic to be in the vicinity of any explosive.” He paused for a moment, and his eyes went blank. Then, shaking his head a little, he went on. “When an explosion happens above ground, the pressure wave is reduced by the air surrounding the explosive. But underwater, the wave goes right through you. Our bodies are made up of sixty percent water. Imagine what the full blast of the water around you would do to your insides. They practically get liquified.”

My eyes were wide, staring. Suddenly, I was very aware of the danger of the mission before us. I had mistakenly thought that we might be safer under the surface of the lake. Clearly, I was wrong.

“If you stood at a safe distance from an explosive above ground,” he went on, “you would survive. But if you put that same explosive underwater, you would likely die, even at the same distance away from the explosion.”

He fell quiet. All of us did. Nobody said another word, not even Hector, as Tanning approached us.

“This way, soldiers,” he said, then turned to lead us toward the exit of the silo.

In a few short minutes, we were above ground watching the sun come up over the horizon.

A small, armored military vehicle was parked just outside the hatch entrance, and Tanning opened the back door for us.

“In you go. Good luck on your mission.” He looked at me as he said this.

“Thank you, Sir.”

Hector moved past me and entered the vehicle first.

The driver didn’t speak, but as Tanning banged on the roof of the vehicle, he put it in gear and sped away from the silo.

The ride was bumpy and silent. I wondered where we were going. Somewhere to learn more about the types of explosives we would be using? Maybe.

Or maybe somewhere to learn how to swim.

The wheat grass passed us by in a blur, the driver hitting the gas hard. It took several minutes riding this way before he found a paved road. I was both grateful and nervous for for this. Now we would be more exposed. There was a reason that the explosives unit had taken up residence underground, and my mind raced as I thought of what those reasons might be. I stared out the window as the ride slowly stretched into hours. Nobody spoke. Hector dozed.

Finally, we arrived at our destination, right along the edge of Lake Erie, my lens told me.

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