Deep Sea

Chapter 29: Enough

Final chapter. Thanks for reading and your support. Stay tuned for Story 2, Money Trail coming soon.

Chapter 29: Enough

Joe sat back on the seat provided to her in the conference video room. The dual screens from the mini-subs had long been turned off, as far as Joe knew both of them had already started their two hour journey back to the surface.

However, the images that had been on the screens themselves seemed to have been burned into Joe's brain. She just couldn't manage to banish the image, even for a moment.

It's not like she hadn't seen bodies before. She worked criminal, it was just part of the job.

But a big heap of rotting bodies, almost a mass grave, that was something she had never encountered.

Who would do such a horrible thing?

The question kept running through her head, the only thing besides the images of the dead that wouldn't leave her in peace.

And it wasn't bad enough that there were so many dead, what made it that much worse was all the infants.

Was there anything more horrible than the slaughter of children?

Mr. Ozera had already excused himself from the video chat, almost right after the images of the dead had come on he had left. Joe really couldn't blame him. The Dragon captain's video screen was still rolling, but he himself was gone. He had left, forgetting to turn off the camera, once the sub started to return, as had the sub room operator.

Ilia and Josh stayed with her for a moment, then Josh turned off the feed, unable to stay any longer.

The screens just kept getting dark until only Jack was left, looking at her.

“Are you alright, Joe?” he asked.

Joe opened her mouth, an automatic 'fine' about to leave her lips. But the word just wouldn't come. The truth of it was, she wasn't fine. She wasn't fine at all.

“Good job, Joe.” Jack said after a moment when she clearly wasn't going to respond. “You completed your task as asked of you. I'll uh...I'll take care of the clean up from here on. Why don't you...and Kai go on vacation.”

The word 'vacation' had Joe looking up. “What like...leave?”

“Just temporarily.” he smiled. “You'll probably want to visit one of the MCRC therapists as well. Alright?”

Joe opened her mouth to argue, 'I'm fine' right at the base of the throat. But, again, the words just wouldn't come. Instead, with a bit of disbelief that she would so readily agree, Joe said, “Alright.”

“I have to go now.” Jack smiled at her then his video feed, too, went black.

Joe was left all alone, with only the empty screen of the Dragon captain's camera to look at.

It was too much.

She didn't want to be alone.

The silence was deafening, she wanted someone, anyone, to be there with her.

As if it suddenly became electrically charged, Joe jumped out of her seat and walked as quickly as she could out of the conference room.

It was strange, as soon as she left, it was as if she entered a different world. Comm. room 2 was a busy beehive, as it always was, filled with people completely unconcerned and unaware of the massacre just a few miles below their feet.

Joe left the room, the operator would turn off her video chat for her, and she started walking through the familiar walls of the Haltija.

She fully intended on going to the sub room. Ilia should still be there, helping retrieve the mini-subs. They could comfort each other, like friends do.