Gailen had grabbed it. She’d have to ask.
Maybe when he was in a better mood.
It shook her just how intensely she noticed his feelings, his presence.
In surface time, she’d been lost over a week, but the time underwater had passed in a day.
How could so much have changed in a day?
But nothing had really changed. She had a job to do. She could think about this later. Now, she needed to focus.
She ended the shower, dried off, and pulled the damp, oversized clothes back on. When she emerged, Gailen stood.
A hopeful smile broke across his face. “You feel better.”
Her heart squeezed.
She suppressed it. “Is that a question?”
His smile faded. He looked away. “No.”
Again, things felt strange.
She’d gotten close to him so quickly that she didn’t know how to be normal.
Or his feelings had changed.
Unease shadowed her heart.
Focus on the job.
She grabbed her tool kit and one of the new cell phones and opened the door.
Warrior Xemil handed her small boots and socks. “A human brought this for you.”
“Great.” She tried them on. The socks were too big and scrunched up, but they made the boots into a good fit. She wouldn’t be running either way. “Where’s the safety briefing?”
They consulted the first platform workers they found. The workers weren’t rude, but they weren’t friendly either as they directed them across the platform. The oval had opened to let in the supply ship, and it docked close to the oil rig by stored construction equipment and a helicopter pad, even though they were way too far away from land for any helicopter to reach them.
Nine
Gailen stood behind Starr, protecting her from the new humans who had landed with the supply ship.
And waiting to do something, anything, that was useful to her.
“Here’s your safety briefing!” Bob shouted over the wind that whipped his orange coverings.
Starr’s wet hair slapped her. She hugged a small box and put her shoulder to the wind. Gailen adjusted his stance to try to shield her more. The wind didn’t bother him or the other warriors much.
“There’s an emergency, we die,” Bob shouted at the group. His soul light glowed brightly, showing his affinity for the sea. “If there’s a fire, we die. If this platform sinks, we die. So, you see anything that you’re worried about, you hit that alarm.”
He pointed at a bright yellow button affixed to a post. The post was wrapped in blue-and-yellow tape that reflected dazzling light. These posts were ranged every few hundred feet all around the oval.
“It lights up and pages me. You use the intercom there to tell us the emergency—man overboard, fire in the galley, what have you. If you hear all the sirens, you get on your lifejacket, go to the nearest exit point, and pray to God that somebody’s boat picks you up.”
The humans listened soberly. Bob pointed out where to find things called first aid equipment, an AED, fire extinguishers, and chemical showers. Everyone nodded as if they knew what those things meant.
In the end, he dismissed the new workers and turned to Starr. “Scared yet?”
She raised a hand.
“What? Questions?”
“Can we go to the network room now?”
He raised a brow. “You’re focused.”
She did not respond. The film covering her soul separated her from him with cold precision.
“This way.” He walked toward the old oil rig.
She followed him without a backward glance.
“Is bride Starr well?” Isag growled softly to Gailen. “She seems dimmer, and she dismisses us. Have we angered her?”
“No.” But hearing the other warrior echo his concern solidified that it was not in his head. “She is not angry, I think, but I will ask her.”
“And why did the human Bob say that no one survives going into the water?” Xemil asked, following into the quieter interior of the oil rig. “Humans can survive a short immersion.”
Bob snapped over his shoulder. “Because if we don’t drown or freeze, then one of your warriors picks us off.”
“A queen patrols. Enemies will not cause you harm,” Gailen assured him.
“Then we’re back to freezing or drowning. And if someone falls off the wrong side of the walls? They’ll be half a mile away before we can even start the rescue boats.”
“Why do our warriors not respond to your alarm?” Gailen asked. “Isag or Xemil know it now. They could tell the others.”
“I asked ages ago. You don’t have the manpower.”
“We do not have human men, but more warriors have joined Atlantis. Many patrol here now. And a queen.”
Bob stopped just outside a small room. Starr passed him and