Page 136 of Enemy Within

The stern half of theVeduschiysank quickly, the ocean bubbling as half of her was swallowed by the waves. Screams and cries filled the air, men struggling to escape and metal shearing apart. Bullets cracked overhead and slammed into the steel hull.

A second boom split the air.

K-27 rose, riding what looked like a geyser, and fell, slamming into the cracked ice cap. Her rotten hull shattered, metal splintering and bursting apart, cracking open like dropped eggs all over the fractured ice. She started to slide, her heavy stern pulled down by the water. Her hull scrapped along the ice, shearing sodden, decrepit steel from her frame. A million nails scratched across a chalkboard, steel gouging into ice. The ice cap splintered, breaking apart beneath K-27’s massive frame, plunging her stern deeper into the sea. And then, K-27’s nose tipped upward, standing high in the sky, as if in farewell, as she slipped down, her mangled hull sinking into the water before her nose finally disappeared beneath the ice.

Ethan barked out a gasp as Jack buried his face in his neck. “Holy shit,” he breathed. “I can’t believe—”

The ship bucked hard, knocking them off their feet. Ethan lost his balance, but Jack and Sasha grabbed him, supported him on both sides.

The last of the stern disappeared beneath the roiling water, feet from where they clung to theVeduschiy’sbow railing. Dark waves lapped at the deck. They had moments before where they were standing would be engulfed by the ocean

“Got to move!” Adam grunted. He hauled himself to the railing, scrambling across the nearly vertical deck. “We have to jump!”

Beneath the ship, broken ice churned in the dark, freezing water. Ice that had frozen to theVeduschiy’s hull had broken away, shattered from the blast. If they jumped now, they’d be plunging into below-freezing water.

Jack eyed Ethan. His dry suit was ruined, the top half cut away and his chest exposed. Those bruises most likely covered broken ribs. Could he survive a jump into the Arctic Ocean?

The remains of the bow lurched. He grabbed the railing, now nearly vertical, and hauled Ethan alongside. Gurgling waters swallowed theVeduschiy’s bow.

Either way, they were going into the sea.

Sasha and Sergey appeared at the railing alongside Jack and Ethan. Sergey set his jaw and climbed over the railing, holding on with both hands. They were maybe fifteen feet above the water and sinking fast.

Sasha helped Jack maneuver Ethan over the railing. Ethan still clung to Jack, leaning heavily on him, but he held himself up while Jack and Sasha clambered over.

Twelve feet to the freezing water. Churning waves roared, soaking them with frigid spray that stung like knives. The bow section was nearly vertical. Jack felt his hands slip. Felt Ethan’s body shake violently, straining to hold on. The ocean roared, theVeduschiy’ssteel frame shuddering.

“Jump as far as you can!” Adam bellowed. “Swim away, or you’ll get sucked down with the ship!”

Jack looked at Ethan. Was he strong enough to swim clear? He gripped Ethan’s hand, lacing their fingers together. Ethan squeezed back as he closed his eyes. They’d get through this together.

Beside them, Sergey did the same, grasping Sasha’s hand as he stared at the waters below.

Jack’s chest heaved, breaths coming hard and fast, almost too fast. His body tightened, his bones puckering as his stomach folded in on itself.

“Jump! Now!” Adam roared. “Now!” He let go first, throwing himself off the railing and into the waves.

Sergey and Sasha jumped together. Twin splashes rose beside Adam’s.

Jack caught Ethan’s gaze. Ethan stared back, exhaustion and terror-laced apprehension tangling together. His body kept shaking, trembling against Jack’s side.

“I’ve got you,” Jack breathed. “Always.”

Ethan nodded.

Jack gripped Ethan’s hand and took a breath. They leaped.

Freefall snatched him and Ethan and threw them down. For a moment, there was just the icy wind blowing past them, ruffling their hair and whistling past their ears.

Then, impact. Below-freezing water grabbed Jack, tearing at his skin and shredding his muscles. His lungs seized, shocked by the punch of the cold. He wanted to gasp underwater, reflexively drag in a shocked breath to satiate his terrified body. Lightning seemed to race through him, stiffening his muscles until he could barely move. His mind went flat, thoughts hammered away as if he was being sucked down a vortex, a whirlpool. Beneath him, the dark mass of the brokenVeduschiyplummeted to the depths, metal talons from her broken body reaching back for him, trying to drag him down with the ship. He felt the pull, the yank.

Ethan’s grip on his hand slackened.

No.No.Jack kicked with everything he had, straining for the surface. Fractal light shimmered above, rolling diamonds in deep turquoise waves. Ethan’s hand opened completely, going slack, but Jack gripped his wrist as Ethan’s body drifted beneath him, limp and weightless. Kicking again, Jack grit his teeth and screamed, struggling to pull them both free. Bubbles rose around him as he strained against the tug of theVeduschiy’s grave.

And then, like a rope snapping, he shot upward, free from theVeduschiy. He hauled Ethan with him, shoving him above him, kicking as fast as he’d ever kicked, up toward the light—

They broke the surface together, Jack gasping as Ethan bobbed motionless by his side. Bullets and shrieks filled the air, and the creaking, shattering ice. “Help,” he tried to croak. His voice shattered, weak as his body started to shake.