Tideline

Chapter Thirty

The world was shaking.

The ground continued to tip and slide against them, while through the energy barrier Caspian could see Áuliiel's brother struggling to stay in one spot as the water rippled and roiled around him. Caspian had never seen what an earthquake looked underwater, but he could see that it was just as devasting as on land. He could already hear screams from outside, shrieks of citizens above the groan of buildings under stress and then above it all came a high pitched and horribly familiar whine.

"Get down!" Caspian threw himself at Áuliiel and pushed her to the ground with his body on top to shield her from the incoming Rahky missile.

The blast tore into one side of the building, sending debris and water spraying into the air. For a minute Caspian thought his implants were broken, all he could hear was that high-pitched whine filling his ears and drilling into his head. Then a rush of cold water slammed into him and pushed him and Áuliiel into the back of the room. He kept his arms tight around her, trying to keep her safe and her head above the water as the small room started to flood.

"Captain!" Serra's voice sounded far too small and thin. "The energy barrier failed. We got water coming in."

Caspian coughed, spitting out water as he looked toward where the energy barrier had been keeping them contained. It was down and the room was quickly filling with water. A head popped up above the swirl of foam and building debris, it was Áuliiel's brother. Blood ran down his pretty face from a nasty looking gash at the temple, but otherwise he seemed fine.

"Áuliiel," Caspian said as he looked down at her, suddenly aware of how tightly he was holding her. "Are you okay?"

Áuliiel signed. *I'm okay.* She twisted around in his arms to face her brother and spoke to him in their strange, singing language. *He can lead us out.*

"I hope everyone knows how to swim," Serra said with a shaky smile.

"Can you make it, commander?" Caspian asked carefully. Serra's denser body made swimming a little more difficult.

"I've been practicing," Serra said. "What about our little mermaid? Does she know how to swim with legs?"

It quickly became clear that Áuliiel did not know how to use her legs for swimming. Lán and Caspian had to help her as they carefully made their way through the destroyed building. There were other people moving about, but they were too concerned with the earthquakes and attack to take notice of a few prisoners escaping. And the few who did stop them were simply talked to and reassured by Lán, their prince. Royalty did have its perks after all.

Outside was a disaster. Power had gone out in most of the city and many buildings had tumbled and were in the process of falling. Water was rushing this way and that, swirling in chaotic and dangerous currents. Caspian had seen little of the city when they had been imprisoned, but he had noticed the use of multiple energy barriers to keep water contained. Now those barriers were down between the constant earthquakes and Rahky fire.

It was hard to tell where the earthquakes stopped and the Rahky fire began. Both were devasting to the city. People continued to scream and tried to flee as buildings cracked and crumbled into the swirling waters. Caspian could see military-looking people attempting to bring order to the madness, but they were fighting a battle with utter chaos and terror. And then came a familiar cry over the screams of civilians and the groans of a city collapsing. It was a cry in a harsh, spitting language, but Caspian instantly understood it.

"Your Death! Our Life! Your Death! Our Life!"

"They've deployed strike forces," Caspian yelled at his team. "We got to get moving."

"How do we get a helmet, sir?" Serra was treading the water uneasily, her dark eyes worried.

"Lt. Domingo, do you have any experience with hand to hand combat?"

Lt. Domingo's face was slick with water and blood from a cut on her eyebrow. "A little sir, not in water."

"You're with me, the rest of you wait here."

Caspian and Lt. Domingo made their way through the crumbling city, following the Rahky war screams. As they rounded one mound of broken rocks, they saw a strike force. Most were arrayed on top of the rocks, shooting at anyone they could see. A few were swimming through the water after a small group of civilians attempting to flee. Caspian pointed at the two Rahky chasing the civilians and motioned at Lt. Domingo to follow. The darkness and chaos would be both an advantage and disadvantage, depending on how they used it.

Caspian and Lt. Domingo slipped around one edge of a cracked open building and ahead of where the Rahky were chasing the civilians. He could see them coming, the Rahky firing into the small group mercilessly, all the while screaming their war cry. The water continued to ripple and surge against them, making it difficult to swim in, but that meant the Rahky would have trouble too. Caspian took a deep breath and slid under the water.

Inky darkness overtook his eyes, the water stinging his open eyes slightly. Down here he could see bursts of failing power in flashes of white and yellow light. Faint streams of moonlight illuminated ruptured buildings and cracked rocks around them, but it wasn't enough light to make out any detail. But that was okay, but he didn't need detail. All he needed to see was the distinctive purple flash of a Rahky weapon. And he could feel the vibrations, the ripples in the water that let him know bodies were moving nearby.

Dark forms rushed by him as several civilians attempted to swim away, dodging falling rocks and struggling in the chaotic currents. Then came a purple flash from just above, and Caspian surged to the surface with a scream of his own. The Rahky's helmet showed no emotion as Caspian grabbed him and forced him underwater. He lay a couple of quick punches to the Rahky's gut and wrestled for the weapon before finally grabbing it and opening fire on its previous owner.

Caspian surfaced with a gasp, dragging the heavy body behind him. He looked around and saw Lt. Domingo nearby. She had fresh bruises on her face and a split lip that bled as she grinned.

"Got one," She held up a helmet

"Did you get it's weapon too?" Caspian wrestled the helmet off his Rahky and dropped the body. Better to have two, just in case.

"Aye sir."

"Keep a tight hold on that helmet and weapon and let's go."

It was harder trying to swim while holding onto the bulky helmet with one hand and a weapon with another. But they had to make it work. The world continued to shake and rattle around them, and Caspian couldn't help but feel guilty about what was happening. He had done this, shown that one Rahky ship the illusion and it must've broadcasted it back to the rest. Now this world was under attack and people were dying because of him.

"Success, sir?" Serra asked as they approached the group where they had left them.

"Got two." Caspian tossed his helmet toward Serra. "Riley get—" Caspian broke off as he heard the familiar war cry. More Rahky were coming. "We need to get moving, this is not a good defensive position." He signed to Áuliiel, *we need a safe place and access to communication equipment, where can we go?*

Áuliiel thought for a second, then her eyes widened as she signed, *the palace, there is a communications room.*

Perfect. The room would no doubt have the tech they needed. *Take us there.*

Áuliiel spoke to her brother and they began to move, with Riley and Lt. Zhao holding the helmets, Serra and Lán provided help for Áuliiel, while Caspian and Lt. Domingo kept the weapons and stayed along the edges of the group to provide protection. Slowly they made their way through the collapsing city with the Rahky close behind. Caspian couldn't help but feel guilty every time they passed another group of screaming civilians, but he knew the best help he could give this world was to keep moving.

The screams continued to follow them as they swam toward the palace at the center of the city.