***** Vol.1 Chap.28 Troubling news *****

From her cubicle, Kristin noticed a mayhem of people outside the office and milling around the NOAA compound. The cafeteria was filled with strangers; the grounds were filled with cars, and there were guards everywhere.

As she was daydreaming about her whirlpool and maelstrom, someone knocked on her desk.

“Kristin, are you there? Knock, knock. Earth calling Kristin! Earth calling Kristin. Come in, please. Come in, please. Over.”

Jim, a young tour guide who had just joined the department, tapped on her desk.

“Oh, hi.”

Reluctantly, she came back to reality.

“Kristin, have you heard?”

“Heard what?”

“It was on the news last night and this morning.”

“What news? I did not turn on the news. What happened?”

“Another mysterious episode of bubbles appeared yesterday, and the Bermuda Triangle claimed another lost boat. A pilot for TWA happened to be passing by and noticed the streams of gas bubbles being released and immediately radioed the Coast Guard. The pilot gave a minute-by-minute account of what happened to the small boat caught in the bubbles. Since no ships were nearby, all aboard the boat was feared lost.”

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“I am sorry about that.”

“Breaking news on CNN last night and the local morning news.”

“Really? I must have missed it.”

“Captain Jonas is all excited about the incident.”

“I am sure he is. What is with all the people around here this morning?”

“Captain Jonas wanted to take a delegation of prominent scientists out to sea to retrieve the sunken boat using the submersible and to investigate the origin of the bubbles on site.”

“Sounds like Jonas.”

“Yeah.”

“He has been waiting for this for a long time.”

“They are scheduled to leave this afternoon as soon as all the delegates from the various scientific communities arrive.”

“Well, thanks for the news, Jim.”

“Have fun on the floor with all the visitors.”

Kristin was about to return to her daydreaming. Then she snapped out of it and turned to Jim. “Oh, yes, Jim, can you take my shift this morning? I forgot I have a few errands to run today.”

“No problem. Let me first check my schedule.” Jim pulled out his pocket computer and checked his schedule for the day. “That should not be a problem. Sure, I can do it.”

“Thank you so much, Jim. I owe you one.”

“I’d better get going. Your shift, I mean my shift now, is about to start.”

“Thanks again. You saved my life.”

“Be glad to do it again.” Jim turned and walked away, leaving her alone in the cubicle.

The news of the resurgence of bubbles unsettled her to her core. She distinctly remembered the last time she had this dream; the gas bubbles came and engulfed the yacht. Last night she had the dream again, and apparently, the gas bubbles mysteriously appeared and another boat sank. Coincidences? Too many to be discarded lightly. While she still did not yet understand the link between her dreams and the actual events or if she ever would, somehow, she had the compulsion to get to the incident site. Not knowing why she had to go, she just knew she had to be on the Mayflower when it set sail this afternoon.

I have to be on the Mayflower.

I have to be on location.

I have to be inside her sub.