The dinghy cut across the water, the bow rising and falling with a smack. Maura let the spray hit her cheeks. It was a cold antidote to the heat and humiliation she felt.

  The Scylla was programmed with emergency measures. If damaged, it could drop weights and resurface. Maura checked her tracking device, adjusting the outboard motor to converge on the homing beacon. The boat turned into the wind, skittering over the chop. Jessie swept her hair from her face, enjoying the ocean air. Maura had avoided the crew for the most part, but Jessie had come up to her with her father’s rope, the knot undone. Maura asked her to accompany her and Amy to collect the ROV. If it was going to be a short expedition, at least she could give the girl one last thrill. And selfishly, Maura would do just about anything to avoid being alone with Amy right now. She sat at the bow refusing to speak or even look at Maura. She had worked closely enough with Amy over the years to learn that her lead scientist never yelled or lashed out. She simply went silent. Like a boat caught in a storm, it was best to wait her out, rather than approach shore and get smashed to pieces.

  The Oystercatcher had been at sea barely two weeks. Their specimens would be woefully undercounted if they couldn’t resume their dives. Her only hope was the Scylla wasn’t damaged beyond repair. She was counting on her team of technicians to improvise. Even if most of the sensors were out, just being able to maneuver the ROV and collect samples might salvage the mission and her career.

  The truth was, Maura was well past the point of burnout. The trip planning, the permits, flights, medicals, legal agreements, visas, everything fell under her jurisdiction. Long gone were the days where she just could focus on the science. When she was young, she would follow her father down to the wharf, then run off across the beach, crouching in the tide pools and plucking out whatever wiggly creature she could find. She loved the wet and salty world, and if she was really honest with herself, she’d been waiting for something like this to happen.

  “I’ve got eyes.”

  Amy nodded to a dark shadow bobbing up and down. Maura glanced over at Amy, but she was cutting the engine, bringing them closer.

  Maura had decided it was best to collect the unit herself, away from the crew. With all of them watching it would have felt like a wake. Amy slid behind the winch. As light as the Scylla was, they’d still need two of them in the water plus the winch to haul it out. Maura tugged the sleeves of her wetsuit down and smiled at Jessie.

  “You’re a decent swimmer?”

  “I was the state record holder in the hundred-meters.”

  “Where are you from again?”

  “Nebraska.”

  Maura chuckled.

  “They have water there?”

  “They have pools.”

  Maura grinned. “All right. On my signal.”

  Maura counted down with her fingers and they dropped in the water. She nodded to Jessie then swam over to the ROV and felt underneath. It was shredded. It was going to take more than just ingenuity if they hoped to get it working again. She already knew their chances of salvaging the trip were next to nil, but she clung to hope.

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  “Wow. It’s warmer than I expected.”

  Jessie held fast to the side of the ROV.

  “I guess you probably don’t get in the ocean too often, being from Nebraska.”

  “I’ve done the Pacific. The Atlantic. This is my first time in the Indian Ocean. Eventually, I’m going to swim in all five.”

  “Let me know how you like the Arctic.”

  Amy leaned over the side.

  “How’s it looking?”

  “Like you’re about to get two weeks paid severance.”

  Amy’s face hardened. She lowered the straps without much fanfare. Maura tried to keep up a cheerful expression as she handed one of the straps to Jessie.

  “We need to get these all the way around the ROV, so we’ll have to dive under. Take this end and then I’ll motion for you when I need it. Sound good?”

  “Got it.”

  “Okay, on three. One, two…”

  Off her nod they both took a big breath and submerged.

  You could really see the damage from below. The metal was jagged, sharp to the touch. Maura pointed at the palm of her hand as if to say, be careful. She took her end of the strap and began to drag it around the side. She signaled for Jessie’s end and looped it through the buckle and tightened it. As she brought her hand back, she noticed there was something on it.

  Slime.

  It pirouetted off her fingers in thick strands. She looked over at Jessie. That’s when she saw it. Over the girl’s shoulder, a familiar white ripple. For a split-second Maura treaded water, more intrigued than scared. It was coming much faster than she anticipated. Out of the turbid waters, it seemed to lift what Maura could only describe as a head… Suddenly, her better instincts kicked in and she grasped at Jessie, frantically gesturing to go up. Jessie finally noticed and both women clawed for the surface.

  Amy was starting to wonder what was taking them so long when the two of them crashed above the waves.

  “Get us out.”

  Amy reached down and Maura waved her off, signaling to help Jessie first. Amy took Jessie’s hand and started to pull when something tugged her back down and she screamed. Maura didn’t wait, using all the strength she had to pull herself over the lip of the boat. Amy held fast to Jessie as she struggled in the water. Maura hurried over, and together, they yanked Jessie over the side into the dinghy. The girl writhed in the bottom of the boat, clutching her leg.

  “Something stung me.”

  Amy could see all the blood was gone from her face.

  “What was it?”

  “Help me get her up.”

  Amy did as Maura said and they propped Jessie against the side of the hull. Amy saw a tear across the girl’s wetsuit, near her quad, like something had lashed itself around her leg. Jessie lay back, breathing in short, labored bursts.

  “What happened?”

  Maura examined the leg. A red gash ran all the way around her thigh.

  “Get me the first aid kit.”

  Amy handed it to her and hopped on the radio.

  “I’m calling base.”

  Maura looked down at Jessie. She looked even paler.

  “Just try to catch your breath. We’ll get you back to the ship.”

  Maura could hear Amy talking to the captain.

  “They’re five minutes away. Was it a box jellyfish?”

  Maura searched through the kit, grabbing a bottle and a pair of scissors. As she cut the material away from Jessie’s leg, she was immediately hit with a putrid smell. Every marine biologist was used to foul smells. It came with the territory. On one of her first jobs, Maura had to tally the number of juvenile sea turtles killed in a nest overrun with fire ants. They seemed particularly attracted to the eyes, clustering on the delicate membranes. But that was nothing next to the smell she was experiencing now. Worse, it was almost like ants were consuming the flesh around Jessie’s wound, necrotizing it so fast it was almost melting.

  Maura unscrewed the bottle and dumped vinegar all over her leg, causing Jessie to arch her back and scream. She looked down at her own leg and started to panic.

  “Oh, God. Oh, God.”

  “Just lie back.”

  Maura tried to comfort her.

  “Where’s the ship?”

  Amy clutched the radio, staring from the other end of the dinghy, speechless at what she was seeing. The wound was now a massive crater, eating through layers of skin and subcutaneous fat, until the top of the femur bone began to show.

  Jessie rattled with shock. Bubbles of froth collecting on her lips. A jagged purple discoloration traveled like lightning up her thigh.

  Maura could hear the ship’s horn in the distance.

  “What could do that?”

  Amy wasn’t really asking. Maura watched Jessie, her body convulsing one last time before becoming still. Maura continued to stare, but all she could picture was that strange almost gelatinous head, belonging to whatever had followed them all the way up from the deep.