Page 13 of Aleko
“I think I said it was useless old person shit,” said Pellos. “Soooo... I maintain that I was partially right.” Alex snorted, and Pellos flashed a grin. “The boat’s ready,” he added. “Sebastian and I are ready whenever you are.”
“Are you sure the office can manage without you?” asked Alex, and Pellos rolled his eyes.
“I imagine they’ll make it through one afternoon, and I’m not missing this.”
Alex grinned. Things were starting to straighten out. Now, he just needed to keep his mind on the mission and off the girl. He could do this.
Episode 10
The Strumwolke
Alex
“You don’t have to go down,” said Sebastian.
Alex made an inquiring head tilt.
“I can go down,” said Pellos, and Alex saw that he and Sebastian had already discussed it. “It might be safer for me,” continued Pellos. “If the spell is still active, it might not affect a human.”
“That’s very sensible,” said Alex. “No.”
Sebastian and Pellos exchanged looks.
“It doesn’t have to be you, “ Sebastian said. “I could do it. I didn’t know them.”
“The odds of there being any remains are extremely slim.”
“There don’t have to be bodies for it to be difficult,” said Pellos.
Alex sighed. “I’ve had seventy years to prepare for this. And if something goes wrong, we’ll need someone up here to get us back in one piece. I appreciate the offer, but I’ll go.”
Sebastian hesitated and then nodded. “Very well, but try to remember that we don’t actually want to have to rescue you.”
Alex chuckled. “I’ll try to keep that in mind.”
“Tell the idiots that too. That one jumped off the top of the boat earlier!” Sebastian waved at Colin as he executed a backflip and shift off the bow. Trevor popped back up in seal shape, leaping up on the deck with dolphin-like skill.
“I’m going to run one of them over,” muttered Sebastian.
“And it will mostly be an accident?” asked Pellos.
Sebastian put his hand out flat and tilted back and forth, indicating thatmostlywas the operative word. Alex laughed. He loved his pack.
Their boat was a fifty-foot, fully equipped dive boat, and Alex found himself going aft to check the equipment for the third time as Sebastian anchored them in place.
“All the gear is still there,” said Trevor, poking his head around the bulkhead.
“Yes,” agreed Alex. “But it might have moved while I wasn’t looking.”
Trevor grinned, then glanced over his shoulder and stepped fully into the cabin.
“I know you’re worried about this, but you’ve gone down a bit already, and Pellos showed us the depth chart on the air bubbles. I think we’re as prepared and safe as we can be,” said Trevor.
“Then why don’t you want Colin to hear what you’re about to say?” asked Alex.
Trevor sighed. “Colin and I are in agreement: we’re in for this. We want to know what happened down there. But Colin is… he doesn’tjustwant to know. He wants to prove that what happened wasn’t Mum and Da’s fault. I believe you’ve made this as safe as possible, but I’m telling you now that Colin will push hard to go the next step beyond.”
Alex nodded his understanding.
