All things considered, the fish had not been bad. Really the worst part had been watching it die in her grasp and the scales that scratched her throat on the way down. The water dulled her taste, thankfully, which made it surprisingly neutral.

 

While Eva swam awkwardly like a newborn deer trying to learn how her body worked, Viola, on the other hand, seemed delighted by everything. Eva guessed that Viola was pleased not to have such a gap between them and Eva was inclined to agree. Viola could share things with her in a way they couldn't before.

 

Eva was a fast learner and her body was familiar enough that she was quickly catching up. Still, even after hours of swimming, she could match Viola.

 

Now they floated together, the artificial lights dim in the early morning. Despite being somewhat aware she was half asleep, literally. Orcas slept with half their brain at a time so they could ensure they didn’t drown and that they were alert. This trait had carried over as strange as it was.

 

It was not sleep as Eva had known as a human, but a weird in-between. Closer to meditation or the foggy moments between sleep and the waking world.

 

Though, as strange as this was, it let her be aware enough that she could relax. She never would have been able to fall asleep before while the crack spiderwebbed out, inching further and further until it broke. At least part of her mind could keep an eye on it.

 

A crack made them both jump but the glass did not give. Whatever strange glass it was made of, it was surprisingly strong, and if they had not been trapped down here then they would have had plenty of time to escape.

 

“Not yet,” Viola murmured.

 

They had gone over the plan a dozen times. When this place imploded the air would heat and cook everything less than a second before thousands of tons of water came crashing in crushing everything. Which meant there were two things they had to do in quick succession. Swim down to the depths of this place to avoid the force of the water as much as possible and… collapse their lungs.

 

Both options terrified Eva because her lungs should not collapse and swimming into deep water was a death sentence. Except, no longer being human it was her best means of survival.

 

Collapsing their lungs was how deep-diving mammals dove so deep without imploding and avoided the more serious effects of decompression sickness.

 

From reading data at the research facility she knew that somehow Viola could hold her breath for at least a few hours. Something that not even the most specialized deep-sea whales could do. It made absolutely no sense… but then again clearly blackfish were beyond science’s current understanding.

 

She didn’t know how fast Viola could swim, especially not while also dragging her. Because honestly there was no chance she would be coordinated enough to do it herself. Especially not for her first experience in the ocean.

 

Still, her obsession with orcas meant she knew they had a maximum speed of over 50km/h. If Talbot had been telling the truth that they were over 2000 meters down that meant that they would have no difficulty reaching the surface even slowed down by her. Viola had revealed with some embarrassment and frustration that blackfish could not swim as fast as their kin but still, Eva was doing her best to be optimistic. For once math was actually comforting her.

 

Still, Viola had not hesitated to point out what the real challenge would be. 

 

“If we survive… breaking and survive the force… challenge will be not getting lost or… separated. We will have no air to guide and if we cannot find light…”

 

Viola didn’t need to finish the sentence. If they got turned around they would not make it or at least… she wouldn’t. 

 

“Blackfish we… grow with time. More than others. I am older, so must breathe less.”

 

Viola could hold her breath for hours… but Eva couldn’t and Viola could not say how long she would have.

 

Eva was the first to admit she was terrified but floating together with Viola made everything a little more bearable. There was so much she wanted to say but it wasn’t the time. She couldn’t, not now. She had little confidence she would survive and despite Viola’s assurances, she could see her worry.

 

A last meal other than fish would have been nice.

 

What she wouldn’t give for carbs or sugar, really anything but fish. Hell, even just cooked fish would have been a nice deviation. It was a wonder she hadn’t spent days throwing up. Somehow Viola had found the safe fish.

 

She looked down at her body, barely visible in the artificial night. The fact that she didn’t have a mirror was criminal. The dome provided some reflection but she wanted to know what she really looked like. Maybe then she would have an easier time believing all this.

 

While Eva still struggled to wrap her mind around her new situation she knew that logically she had to. It would be harder to prove this wasn’t real. Even the strongest delusions and hallucinations could only do so much.

 

The sensations, the differences, the feelings, it was too complex and all-encompassing to be the result of a misfiring brain. The fact that she could question her reality and come to the conclusion that this was real was only further proof of that.

 

As time ticked by, the fear that she might never see the sky again only grew. 2000 meters, a fraction of the depth of much of the ocean but still far deeper than humans ever went. Half the depth of the Titanic, but still… the number 2000 did not give it enough credit. There was over 1000 meters of total darkness between them and the surface. Maybe a small number on well-lit ground but in this place, it seemed impossibly big.

 

Nervous energy was building within her. She hated this waiting. Not being able to do anything until the time came.

 

She had even considered trying to use the fishing net to create some kind of line between her and Viola so they couldn’t get lost but the weights would only further slow them down.

 

So caught up in her own racing mind that it took her a second to realize the glass was cracking again. This time it didn’t seem to be stopping. Oh god, it’s happening.

 

Viola squeezed her hand, the pair of them watching the cracks spiderweb out. A bang sounded as the lights extinguished. Plunging them into nothingness, the only sound was the cracking of glass. Viola clicked rapidly, Eva held tight feeling entirely useless.

 

Warm lips pressed against her forehead and she swallowed the lump in her throat. Eva would have been blinking back tears if her body was still capable of producing them. She wasn’t ready, but there was no more time.

 

“Breath,” Viola ordered. Eva did, sucking in as much air as she could as they dove down. Eva did her best to stay calm, the faster her heart pounded the more oxygen her body would use. As they swam down she exhaled all the air in her lungs, she could only hope this would work. Viola was clicking, glass was cracking and then… boom!

 

A wave a sound that slammed into them, making Eva’s head spin. She couldn’t see, couldn’t hear, couldn’t breathe. Her body tossed about in the total blackness. Viola was torn away from her.

 

All she could do was curl into a ball to shield herself from the vortex of surging water. Distantly she heard clicking and whistling but she was entirely helpless to do anything. Fear paralyzed her just as much as the rushing water.

 

Whatever sense of direction she had before was gone as she was spun and pulled which way and that. Viola, she had to find Viola.

 

Her body was being squeezed, a sensation she had nothing to compare it to. The water was heavy around her, compressing her and trying to smother her. The blackness around her gave no indication of where she was no matter how hard she desperately searched.

 

She whistled as loud as she could, praying to whatever gods existed that Viola would hear her. It felt like floating in the void of space but without planets or stars to guide her. Just nothing, no air, no light, no direction, the only sound was the hum of the ocean which offered her no comfort. She should not be here, she was not supposed to be here.

 

She whistled again, then resorted to clicks to try and find something. The information that returned to her was a useless jumble of things yet there was far less than on her previous attempt. From the little she knew about echolocation that meant there was barely anything for the sound to bounce off. With nothing to guide her as her body drifted, she had no idea of the direction she had checked moments ago.

 

Viola’s mother had been right. Getting lost down here was a death sentence. Her heart pounded and she frantically tried to come up with some kind of solution. She whistled again, her only hope. She could barely swim, she had never experienced the open ocean. Especially nothing like this before. She didn’t know what to do and that terrified her. They had not discussed what to do if they got separated, they should have. They hadn't understood the force of the water. She could still be in what was left of the dome or hundreds of meters away, she had no way of knowing.

 

Just as despair began to consume her, hands wrapped around her. The clicking whistles of Viola were an instant comfort as she was returned to Viola’s grasp. Letting out a whistle that was more of a whimper, Eva held on tight. Her only lifeline to… life.

 

Viola pulled her along and Eva did her best to help. Swimming as fast as she could while not loosening her grip an inch. The world was still a void of infinite darkness but Viola seemed to know what she was doing. Eva could only pray she was right.

 

Time ticked by, the pressure slowly lessening, nausea and lightheadedness beginning to build in her. If time had been difficult to tell before it was impossible now. Her only sense was the touch and sound of water around her in this place. The warmth of Viola’s skin was the only link to a world beyond.

 

The need to breathe began to build, not the achy involuntary gasp of a human but a new kind. An internal warning that she needed to surface. Yet all there was was blackness still. All she could do was slow her own movements and try to calm herself in the hope she would make it. She wouldn't inhale water but she was more than able to suffocate if they didn't make it in time. Viola sensed this shift, her worried whistle and a burst of speed confirming it.

 

And then, she began to see black. A hint of light trickling down to their depth, just enough of a hint that they were going the right way. Just enough light for Eva to see a twinge of blue in the void of darkness. They swam by something bioluminescent, the only other thing in the water to give her a sense of space as they continued. The light slowly grew, beam by beam illuminating the water.

 

Eva felt dizzy, her mind foggy and exhausted, unable to keep up with Viola. Creatures swam by, blurs of movement in her peripheral vision. A different darkness began to build, less suffocating than that of the abyss. A smothering blanket. She no longer felt the need to breathe, her only instinct was to let her eyes drift close and sleep. The only thing keeping her alert was Viola’s whistles. Meaning impossible for her to decipher.

 

Colours swam around her, the blues and greens of the ocean as disorienting as the depths. The light only grew to blinding proportions and then… her face was cold. Air licking the heat from her skin. She gasped for air automatically, her lungs aching unpleasantly as they filled. Her joints and muscles were weak. She felt horrible as she choked on the air, her whole body hurt, but they had made it.

 

“Breath,” Viola ordered, sounding weak and breathless herself.

 

Eva’s head spun, her stomach lurching as she blinked her eyes open to see the blue sky. Floating in the distance was the Rig, surrounded by voids of blue. She laughed, painfully and fatigued, they had made it.

 

“You did it,” Eva shuddered with delight. Before leaning over and vomiting into the water.