War on Whimsy (Space Brigade 3)

"How are we going to see when we go through the tunnel?" said Katie. "It doesn't look like much light will get through."

Nicola suppressed a shudder (great--it would be pitch-black as well!). Tyler pushed a switch on the top of his helmet, producing a beam of strong, bright light.

"It's like a coal miner's helmet," he said with satisfaction.

"Is that it?" said Sean impatiently.

"Yes. Oh, no, one last thing, we can talk to one another underwater, which is pretty cool! Just press this Sound Transmission button." Tyler pointed to a small button on the wrist of his suit.

"Excellent. So shall we go?" said Sean eagerly, as if they were about to jump into a beautiful, crystal clear swimming pool, instead of this horrible, greasy, brown lake.

"Let's go," sighed Nicola.

They shuffled their way to the edge of the lake. Everyone snapped their glass helmets over their heads and switched on their helmet lights. Nicola thought about how she'd been the first one to parachute out of the Royal Spaceship. There was no way she was going to be first this time.

Sean went striding out into the water. One minute it was up to his knees and the next his glass helmet had vanished beneath the brown water.

Nicola gulped. It must get deep very quickly.

One by one, the others followed Sean. Only Nicola didn't move. She couldn't move.

She was a car without gas.

A toy with a flat battery.

"Nicola." Greta lifted her glass helmet slightly so she could speak.

Nicola didn't answer. She couldn't speak. Her vocal chords were frozen solid, like the rest of her body. The only part that was working was her brain. Her busy, terrified brain.

"Do you remember when we were on the Planet of Shobble and we were learning to ride our ShobGobbles?"

Nicola did remember. Greta had been terrified. Nicola had to help her along by giving Greta's ShobGobble a quick flick of the feather-whip.

"I felt like I couldn't move," said Greta. "I was frozen with fear. That's why it was good when you got my ShobGobble to move. Otherwise I might have just sat there forever."

Why is she telling me all this? thought Nicola irritably. Greta wasn't normally one for taking a trip down memory lane.

"I wondered if you were feeling the same way as I did," said Greta. "So that's why I thought you might appreciate a little nudge."

She gave Nicola a firm shove in the middle of her back that sent her toppling face-first into the cold Underground Sea.

CHAPTER 17

Nicola couldn't see anything except brown, murky water swirling in front of her eyes like a dust storm. She didn't know which way was up, down, left, or right.

I can't breathe! I'm drowning!It's so cold! How dare Greta push me! I can't breathe!

"Breathe slowly, Nicola." It was Katie's voice suddenly speaking in Nicola's ear as if they were on the phone together.

Nicola saw Katie swimming along beside her, her familiar blue eyes looking at her with concern from behind her glass bubble. She had one finger pressed to the Sound Transmission button on her wrist. Katie seemed to be moving in slow motion, like an astronaut floating through space.

Nicola's breathing slowed.

"We'll swim together," said Katie. She took hold of Nicola's hand. "No hurry. You're a good swimmer. This is just the same except you're underwater."

Nicola held on tight to Katie's hand and let her lead her to the muddy, black bottom of the Underground Sea. The others were all there, including Greta. The water wasn't quite as murky as it was near the surface, but it was still dark and shadowy, as if they'd crawled into the back of a closet. Thank goodness for the pools of light created by their helmet lights.

Although she couldn't feel the water temperature through her suit, Nicola could somehow tell it was icy cold. Long streams of tiny air bubbles floated up to the surface from near their heads. Everyone seemed to be moving in slow motion, like pieces of seaweed.