Chapter 3 - The Lab (part 2)

"I'm going to do what I said I'd do." There's really no turning back for me now; I made a vow that I'm doing this not only for myself but to protect the people that I care for.

"I understand. Such a fine boy you are. I can't wait to see the man you'll become in the future." Now; This needle contains the Maze X serum and when it goes through your system, it's only going to take about 5 minutes until it kicks in. You'll soon become tired; Once you fall asleep, we'll hook these up to you; These will keep track of your vitals and body temperature; And this mask will help you breathe under the water.

"Prepare yourself, James; Here we go."

"I'll see you soon, kid."

I'll see you soon too. Don't miss me too much, aye Marcel."

1,2,3,4,5 it's been 5 minutes. Ah, there we go; "Marcel DON'T LET HIM FALL."

"Get him in the tank, now." said Marissa

"So, are you sure he will survive this?" said Marcel

"To be honest, I believe this boy can survive almost anything. There's something about him." I just can't put my finger on it yet, but it's what makes him special. So, do I think he's going to survive? I would bet my life on it.

"Haha, that's all I need to hear. I don't think I could find a better sparing partner if I tried."

"I don't know how long he'll be out for, so we're going to have to keep watch over him until then."

"Okay, we'll take shifts then. I'll watch him now so you could get some rest, and you'll take him later. I know how you are and I bet you haven't got a good night's rest in a long time."

"You're sure about this?" said Marissa

"Yes, I'm sure. Now go before I change my mind."

"Okay, I'm sorry. You know you can be very sweet sometimes."

'Marcel blushes' "Yeah whatever."

"Okay, kid, it's just you and me. I really hope you make it."

'After a few hours; Marcel falls asleep'

'BOOM, Submarine shakes, BOOM'

"Hey, what's going on? What's up with all that noise and where's that water coming from?"

"Marcel, you idiot. You fell asleep and now were under attack."

"How is that my fault?"

"Just shut up and help me with this; It made a crack in the submarine's walls. Now there's water getting inside."

'Alert, Alert'

"All hands on deck, this is Captain Gideon H Myers speaking." An enemy submarine has found our location and now we're under attack. There were two missiles fired. We have sustained damages to our upper and lower walls. We have no other option but to doc this submarine immediately or else we're all going to sink to the bottom.

'Error, error, beep, beep'

"What's happening now?" said Marcel

"Oh no. The water; It got onto the computer."

"What does that mean?" said Marcel

"It means the circuit board is malfunctioning, maybe even about to crash. This is bad because the computer is what's controlling the temperature in James' tank. If the tank stops working now, he's going to overheat and die."

"DIE; So wait a minute, don't you have a replacement or something?"

"I do, but I'm not able to repair it myself. I'll need help."

"What about Sachi? Can't she help?" Earlier today, the kid said that she was stopping by to drop off his weapon. "So, she has to be on her way here by now, right?"

"With all this commotion, I doubt it. She's probably with the captain right now. You know, she is the head of repairs and maintenance. She'll be too busy to give us a hand. Knowing there are so much lives on board, she's working harder than before."

"I don't think so. I can still get her; And you know Sachi. She's fast. She's probably already done with sealing off the submarine and heading here right now. Just trust me, I'll be right back." said Marcel

"Wait; be careful."

"Don't you worry your little head, Marissa. I'm always careful."

'Meanwhile, Marcel is sprinting up the stairs and bounces into someone'

"Ah, excuse me, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been running so carelessly. I'm just in a hurry."

"You, Idiot, are you going blind now?" "Why are you running?" You almost made me drop my package.

"AH SACHI!, IT'S YOU. I can't believe it; I had faith, but not this much"

"What are you talking about, Marcel?"

"There's no time for this. Marissa needs your help right away. It's James, he's; Well, he's kinda dying."

'Sachi heart skipped a beat'

"Let's go. You can tell me what you guys did after."

'Door opens'

"Mari, what's going on here and why is James in a tank?" "What did you guys do?"

"Didn't he tell you?" said Marissa

"Tell me what?" The only thing he said to me was that his training with Marcel was going great and he's going to be working with the captain soon; Wait, you didn't; Don't tell me what I think this is. HE'S JUST A KID, MARISSA, you know that, right?

"I know that, but."

"But nothing Marissa; The captain gave his requirements and James accepted it." said Marcel

"He understood what he was getting his self into long before we started training together. It was his decision to do so."

"Sachi, please, will talk about this later." Right now, his temperature is getting so high he can be an hour or maybe minutes away from death. said Marissa

"Okay, and we don't have to talk about this again. If it was his decision, I'm sure he had a good reason behind it."

"Tell me, what do I have to do?"

"The computer's messed up." After the second missile hit, it made a crack in the walls, allowing water to flow through. I sealed it off using one of your patches, but by the time I did; The water had already got inside the computer and onto the circuit board. It needs to be replaced so the tank can power on. His temperature will only keep rising until then.

"So, can you do it?" I have the replacement circuit board right here.

"Can I do it?" You must have forgotten who you're talking to. I'm the best engineer I can do anything; And you know I hate when people die.

'Twenty minutes later'

'I'm done.'

"Great, cause I don't think we had anymore ice bags left." said Marissa

"So, is he going to be okay?" said Marcel

"Once the computer starts up fine, we have nothing to worry about." said Sachi

'Everything powers on again'

"IT'S A MIRCALE. His vitals look fine and his temperature is going back down. Thank you so much, Sachi. He won't wake up now, but when he does, I'll tell him what you did for him. I know he'll want to thank you as much as he can, so be prepared for that."

"Great, more of him to deal with." Yay. 'she said sarcastically, of course'

"And I'm thankful too. The kid had really been growing on me lately and it would have been a pain to see something happen to him. So thank you."

"An idiot saying thank you to me. This really has to be a miracle. Haha." It's no problem at all. I'm glad to be the one to save his life.

To be continued….