I prop myself up on my elbows.
Top rests his chin on my leg and gives me his Get up! grunt. Everybody’s a critic.
I guess yesterday really happened. Harding-Pencroft is gone. Dev is gone. I’m at sea … literally and emotionally. How do I feel?
‘I – I’m awake,’ I decide. ‘What’s going on?’
Nelinha gives Ester a cautionary look, like, Remember what we talked about.
‘The good news is he’s not dead,’ Ester says.
Nelinha throws her hands in the air. ‘Ester …’
‘Well, you told me to start with the good news,’ Ester protests. ‘That’s the good news. He isn’t dead. Not yet.’
‘Who …？’ A spark of hope flickers through my still-groggy mind. For half a second, I wonder if she could mean Dev. But Ester doesn’t let me dream.
‘Dr Hewett,’ she blurts out. ‘Franklin found him unresponsive in his cabin.’
Dread washes through me.
‘Show me.’ My body somehow manages to find more adrenalin. I’m still in my cotton shorts and sleep shirt, but I don’t care. My heart pounds as we hurry down the corridor.
Gemini Twain guards the door to the sickbay. He looks as if he hasn’t slept all night. Inside, Franklin Couch and Linzi Huang stand on either side of Dr Hewett, who lies unconscious on a hospital bed. He’s hooked to an IV and several monitors. The straps of his oxygen mask make his grey hair bristle like the fins of a lionfish. I’m no medic, but his vitals don’t look good on the displays. Top finds the sickbay smells very interesting … until Linzi shoos him away.
Linzi’s eyes are bloodshot, and a surgical mask hangs from her right ear. ‘We ran the most comprehensive blood panel we could with our onboard equipment. His liver function and complete blood count are both off. Blood sugar is high. Our best guess is late-stage cancer, maybe pancreatic, with type-two diabetes, but we’re not set up for advanced diagnostics, much less treatment. He needs immediate medical help.’
‘Except Gemini here,’ Franklin growls, ‘won’t let us put out an SOS.’
‘The professor’s orders.’ Gemini’s voice cracks on the word professor. ‘Complete radio silence no matter what. If Land Institute finds us …’
He doesn’t need to remind me of Caleb South’s warning. The Aronnax will send us all to the bottom of the sea. In the last twenty-four hours, I’ve heard a lot of things I had trouble believing. Caleb’s threat wasn’t one of them.
Hewett’s face is a map of pale blue veins and liver spots. I want to curse him for having medical issues now. He should have taken better care of himself. But, of course, that isn’t fair of me to think.
What would Hewett want me to do? I know the answer. Keep going. Find this secret base. But how far would that be? And is it worth him dying?
‘Can you keep him alive?’ I ask Linzi and Franklin.
Franklin shrugs helplessly. ‘We’re freshmen, Ana. We’ve had medical training, but –’
‘IF IT’S LATE-STAGE PANCREATIC CANCER,’ Ester breaks in, making everyone except Hewett jump, ‘his survival odds are bad no matter what. Even a state-of-the-art hospital won’t be able to do much for him.’
Her blunt bedside manner makes Linzi’s jaw drop. ‘Ester, we’re Orcas. We can’t just –’
‘She’s not wrong, though,’ Franklin says.
‘I don’t believe this,’ Linzi says. ‘We have to turn back!’
‘The base,’ Gem says. ‘Hewett mentioned it has our most advanced tech. They might have medical supplies. Stuff that’s better than state of the art.’
Nelinha clicks her tongue. ‘That’s a huge long shot.’
‘What base?’ Franklin demands, hope kindling in his eyes. ‘How far is it?’
Everyone looks at me for guidance. I wonder if Gem has shared the news that I am now an Important Person. I don’t have any guidance to offer. I don’t even have shoes on.
But there’s a map in the captain’s cabin that might help.
‘Do your best to keep Hewett stable,’ I tell Franklin and Linzi. ‘Gem, Ester, Nelinha – come with me. Let’s see if we can find some answers.’
Since when do my classmates follow my orders?
Without further protest, Franklin and Linzi go back to monitoring their patient. Ester and Nelinha fall in behind me like an honour guard. Even Gem seems content to join the parade as we head down the corridor to the captain’s cabin.