Vladimir Todorov - Archipelago N.Y. - Flynn

“Quiet!” Duncan Roth said. “Keep your voices down!”

There was a low rumble on the raft now, as more people began to stand up.

Flynn wasn’t going to wait any longer! He grasped the side of the boat with one hand, knife in the other, and swung himself over. He landed with a thud and sprang on his feet. Pharrell was at the other end of the deck, already lunging at Duncan Roth. Flynn watched as the man moved swiftly, his foot connecting with Pharrell’s head, sending the boy back in the water.

In a flash, the Rottweiler had turned to face Flynn, his eyes narrowing on the knife in Flynn’s hand. Flynn saw a blur of rapid movement, and then Duncan Roth was on top of him. He felt the bones in his wrist shift, as the man squeezed and twisted his arm behind his back! The knife fell out of Flynn’s hand, and Duncan Roth punched him once, hard in the stomach. Flynn doubled over and dropped to his knees, gasping for air…

The sound of splashing water made Duncan Roth turn. He saw a raft coming at him, and before he knew it, it had rammed itself into the side of his boat. The jolt of the impact sent the Rottweiler sprawling across the deck. A second later, Madison had clambered on board and had thrown herself on top of Duncan Roth, sinking her teeth into his neck, with both hands clawing at his eyes. The man cursed loudly. Grabbing the girl round the waist, he flung her away from him like a rag doll. She landed with a cry, rolled up next to Flynn and sprang back up on her feet. Madison crouched and was ready to pounce again when she spotted the gun belt. It was just a few feet from where she was standing. Madison threw a quick glance back at Duncan Roth. He was coming toward her, blood running down his neck… Without thinking, she reached for the gun.

“Be still!” Duncan Roth roared. He was pointing a small revolver at her head.

Madison froze, her hand inches from the gun’s holster.

“No one’s going to die here tonight!” the man said and kicked the gun away from Madison. He turned his head and looked at the Departure raft. Everyone had gone quiet. “Listen carefully you lot!” Duncan Roth spoke in a low voice. “Do as I say. Get in the water like I told you, and it’ll be all over soon! No one’s going to get hurt… I’ll explain later…”

A few gasps came from the group and then there was silence. Madison and Flynn looked at each other, not sure if they had heard the man right.

No one moved on the Departure raft. Everyone was staring at Duncan Roth, some with fear, others with defiance and suspicion.

“I repeat…,” the man said quietly, “…I’ve no intention of killing anyone! All of you’ll be safe soon, but we need to get going!” He glanced at the lights of the Archipelago, flickering in the far distance and scowled. Then he turned to Flynn and Madison with great urgency. “Flynn, can you stand up?”

Flynn? Duncan Roth had never called Flynn by his first name before… What was wrong with the Rottweiler, wondered Flynn, rubbing his sore wrist. He managed to get up on his feet, but felt dizzy. Madison sprang up and grabbed his elbow to keep him steady.

“I wasn’t planning on your company tonight…” Duncan Roth continued as he tied his boat to Flynn and Pharrell’s rafts, “…but since you’re here, I can do with some help… I believe you’ve got your diving bells with you?”

“Err… yes!” Flynn managed to speak at last.

“How about you, Pharrell?” Duncan Roth called out, looking for the boy. He found him standing with Clay on the Departure raft.

“It’s always with me,” Pharrell answered, wiping some blood off his face.

“Sorry about that knock on the head… Can you dive?” Duncan Roth asked.

“I think so.”

“Good! Go get your bells ready!” said Duncan Roth as he began to undress again. “Madison and Clay, you’ll be working the pumps, alright?”

Flynn’s head was spinning now… Duncan Roth was standing before them in his undershorts and nothing else. It was all happening too fast for him to make sense of this new turn of events… He stared at the Rottweiler, who was now adjusting a diving harness over his shoulders… Flynn was supposed to trust this man… someone he hated so much… someone he had intended to kill only a short while back…

“Flynn,” Duncan Roth called out, attaching a big flashlight to his diving belt, “…those bells you built last week, are they here?”

“Hanging along that fence, sir. Thirty feet under water.”

“Good. We’ll split the people in groups. Two at a time in each bell. We’ll have to do several dives to get everybody down, OK?”

“Sir!” Pharrell stood still, hands on his hips. “I ain’t going nowhere, till you tell us where…”

“Keep your voice down!” Duncan Roth cut him off. He then pointed at the nearest smokestack. “There’s an old Power Plant down below. That’s where we’re all going. You’ll follow me with your bells and we’ll take these people down, one by one, through an opening at the bottom of the structure.” Duncan Roth rummaged through his satchel, took out a roll of duct tape and started taping it around the bleeding wound on his neck. “We don’t want to attract any sharks now, do we?” He gave Madison a wry smile, tucking the end of his makeshift bandage and making it secure.

“Sorry, sir,” Madison mumbled. “I was only trying to…”

“No need to apologize… Whoever’s hurt better patch up before getting in the water.” Duncan Roth turned to face the whole group. “I want to reassure everyone that you’ll be OK… It’s a short swim from the diving bells to the Power Plant’s opening, and then up to an air pocket inside the building. Once you make it in there, you’ll all be safe.” He snapped his diving mask over his eyes and said, “Leave your rations behind, you won’t need them anymore… Take only small personal stuff you can fit in your pockets. Now go… please!”

Flynn couldn’t believe the Rottweiler had just said ‘please’… This man didn’t sound like the Duncan Roth he knew… Was he really going to save everybody? Flynn knew that something extraordinary was happening! Something that was contrary to all of Flynn’s logic and expectations…

“Flynn, Pharrell! Let’s go!” Duncan’s voice made Flynn focus on the task at hand. He looked around, but the man was already gone. Flynn spotted him in the water next to the boat.

“Hurry up!” the man whispered loudly. “I’ll take the first bell down, you take the next one! No lights until you get below twenty feet, OK!” And with those words, his head disappeared underwater.

A hand touched Flynn’s shoulder. “Do you believe him?” Madison asked in a hushed voice.

“I… don’t know… Do you?”

“I think so,” Madison nodded. “Don’t ask me why… but I do.”

Their eyes met and they both smiled, then Flynn looked at the water again. He picked up his knife and jumped back on the Seeker . “Let’s hope you’re right!” he said, holding his hand out for Madison, helping her step off Duncan’s boat.

Clay was already on the other side of the Departure raft, lowering Pharrell’s diving bell into the water. Having remained speechless for so long, the raft’s passengers were now beginning to move about. There was a low murmur, then anxious whispering as they rummaged through their personal belongings, taking out small items and stuffing them in their pockets.

“Hey, amigos!” Tony Romero stepped shakily on Flynn’s raft, a wide grin on his face.

“Tony!” Madison and Flynn both threw their arms around him. A quick moment passed then Flynn pulled away… There was no time for getting all emotional now… not yet!

“You heard him…” Flynn motioned towards the water where Duncan Roth had disappeared, “What do you think?”