Stef awoke with a start, realizing that no one else was sleeping in the compartment and that the area was eerily quiet, save for the hum of the engines running. Groggily rolling over the edge of the bunk and realizing that the deep sleep had led to some nightmares, Stef paused to collect thoughts. At that moment, Stef was unsure what was nightmare and what was real. Whatever.
Waking up exhausted seemed real enough and muscles ached from heavy lifting of something. Was it from the lifting of the onsite equipment pulled from the hydrothermal vents or the chimneys hauled up using the robotic arms and carried to the lab? Could it be from hanging on for dear life as the research vessel bounced along at top speed? Or maybe it was the heavy lifting of massive tissue samples from a yet unknown mutant species. Wait a minute. It was swinging the hatchet with all of the might one could muster. Saving Robin. The only way to sort it all out was to find MYKA. A friend, who was not the liar Stef imagined, maybe, but who might still be some type of con artist? There was still so much to learn about this friend, but with eyes wide open.
Hopefully, MBER, euphoric to be ending the voyage and rejoining her family, will be generous and gracious about returning Stef's journal without comment. But, in the meantime, a new journal was already started, with pages at the beginning left empty to be later filled with the scientist team editorial comments on the page taken from the 2002 issue of "National Geographic".
Stef really wished someone had come in and interrupted the crazy nightmarish dreaming . Would MYKA confirm what happened, or think StLF's imagination had gone off the deep end? Time would tell. "Going to the top deck and and watching the horizon and getting fresh air will help. I'll stay up there as much as I can, while I gather my thoughts." Stef took a deep breath and felt exhilarated to be alive.
Oceanography and marine biology are not for the faint of heart anymore. StLF could only imagine where future expeditions might lead.
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Stealth Journeys with the Steam Mapper
AdventureA 2019 Wattys entry deeply into climate change, global warming, and environmental destruction, especially the nuclear kind! A lot of true facts are embedded in this story which has both true and fictional characters. Who is to be believed is for y...
