Vladimir Todorov - Archipelago N.Y. - Flynn

There was a faint orange glow some twenty feet above him. Not far, but he knew he had to hurry. Swimming straight up, Flynn could feel the weight of Mrs. Voinovich now and the strain on all his muscles. They were almost there, only a few feet away from the light, when Mrs. Voinovich started trashing on his back… Flynn knew that the poor woman would open her mouth… take that dreaded involuntary breath… and fill her lungs with water… Flynn kicked his feet with all his strength, his powerful strokes breaking the surface with seconds to spare.

There was a loud gasp from behind him, as Mrs. Voinovich sucked in a huge gulp of air and began to cough. That was too damn close, Flynn thought, as he filled his screaming lungs with air. It was stale, but breathable enough. Flynn looked around and spotted a large floating deck to his left. Two people were lying on it, soaking wet and shivering. They were Duncan’s first charges and were glad to see Flynn swimming toward them. The two helped Mrs. Voinovich onto the platform then hoisted Flynn up. While they tended to Mrs. Voinovich, Flynn took a little break to get his bearings. He was in some kind of a large round shaft space, and although he had found air pockets in submerged buildings before, they were never as big as this. Flynn looked up and could see no ceiling. The shaft continued up and up, until its walls turned to black. He wondered if this was one of the four giant smokestacks of the Power Plant… Flynn studied his surroundings more carefully. The deck was moored next to a rusty staircase, leading up to a heavy metal door. There was an oil lamp burning above the door, the only source of light in the shaft. Flynn looked back at Mrs. Voinovich who now seemed fine, despite the cold.

“Thank you,” she said and smiled weakly at Flynn. “Hope the next one down treats you better.”

“You did great, Mrs. Voinovich,” Flynn said and slid back into the water.

“Well done everyone!” Duncan Roth had just finished doing his final head count. No one was missing from the Departure List. They were all huddled together on the floating deck now. Exhausted and freezing, but alive! He stood above them on the rusty staircase, water dripping from his tall frame, not showing even the slightest sign of being cold or tired.

Duncan looked like he had just come back from a leisurely swim, thought Flynn. They had all performed numerous dives, but Duncan had done the most. Flynn was more than impressed by his stamina and endurance…. The man had surprised him repeatedly in the past hour, and was continuing to do so… Unlike Duncan, Flynn was on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion… The dives had finally taken their toll… He could barely stand on his feet. Flynn had lost count of how many people he had ferried down. His last two trips had been to bring Tony and Madison. Now, they were all waiting to see what Duncan had in store for them next.

“I don’t think he brought us here just to show us this air pocket,” Madison whispered. “There must be more to this…”

Flynn had to agree with her.

“Please, come with me,” said Duncan, as if he had read their minds.

He was making his way up the flight of rusty stairs. Emotionally and physically drained, everybody had fallen silent again. No questions were asked. One by one, they all started up the stairs and followed Duncan through the heavy metal door at the top of the landing. Flynn and Madison were right behind him, both eager to find out where he was taking them.

The man led them down a dark corridor, up more flights of stairs and then into another corridor. The thick walls were made of solid concrete. There were cracks everywhere, and all surfaces were streaked with rusty stains from the metal fixtures running above their heads. Corroded pipes, broken electrical boxes and torn cables littered the floor.

Although the Power Plant appeared abandoned and completely derelict, there were lights along the passageways.

“Sir…” Flynn turned to Duncan Roth, “Where’s the electricity coming from?”

“You’ll find out in a minute… And Flynn…” Duncan stopped and turned, “you don’t have to call me sir! Not down here, anyway!”

Flynn exchanged a startled look with Madison then hurried after the man. A beam of strong light flooded the corridor as Duncan opened another metal door at its end. He held it open, but stood blocking the entrance and waiting for everybody to gather. Flynn stopped at the threshold and glanced at Duncan who gave him an encouraging nod. “Go on. We’ve arrived,” he said.

Flynn cautiously stepped through the door and onto a wide industrial walkway bridge high above a huge cavernous space. Taking another step forward, he froze in his tracks! Flynn was looking down at a brightly lit hall and at a gigantic vessel, the likes of which he had never seen before… It was suspended half-way up in the air, held by a dozen chains and hanging from a gigantic domed ceiling. Its massive hull was made out of what Flynn immediately recognized were salvaged materials: vehicle parts, pieces of corrugated metal and plastic, all welded together. The vessel was positioned above a pool of murky green water, surrounded by rafts and barges, piled high with more scavenged resources. Smaller rafts provided support for the crude scaffolding which encircled the sides of its hull. There were large holes in the vessel’s body, cables and wires sticking out of its unfinished sections. It had to be some kind of a sea-faring ship, Flynn thought. With its round tubular body, it resembled the old airplane fuselages he had seen carried by the Industrial Scavengers. But its overall shape reminded him more of a blue whale… a few years back, Flynn had seen one swim past, narrowly missing the Seeker … He felt Madison’s hand on his shoulder. She too was staring, mouth agape.

“What the hell’s that?” Flynn whispered, unable to take his eyes off the vessel.

But he was now being pushed to the side, as the rest of the group gathered behind him and Madison. The people were pressing against the railings, mesmerized by what they were seeing. A loud collective gasp of surprise could be heard. There was a ripple of excitement as everybody began to crane their necks to get a better look.

“What is it, Flynn?” Tony Romero had managed to squeeze himself through the wall of bodies.

“You tell me!” Flynn shifted sideways to make some space for his friend.

“Oh, wow!” Tony cried. “Looks like… a whale, amigo!”

“Welcome to the Ark !” Duncan Roth’s voice cut above the noise, and everyone was instantly silenced. They all turned. He stood a few feet away, leaning against the railing, studying their faces. “That’s your future home!” the man smiled, pointing at the vessel. “As you can see, she’s not finished yet. But now… with your additional help, I think we’ll be ready to sail in a couple of weeks!”

All eyes were glued on Duncan Roth, and for a long, silent moment nobody dared to react to what he had just said.

“Sail… to where?” someone asked finally.

Flynn turned. It was his father who had spoken up again.

“Dry Land.”

Duncan Roth’s words echoed around their heads.

Flynn couldn’t believe he had just heard those two forbidden words… But he wasn’t the only one who was shocked to hear them… Madison, Tony, Clay and Pharrell were just as stunned as he was… This was something nobody ever talked about… Dry Land was something that didn’t exist!