From the safety of the platform atop the VS Rosanne 7 the crew watched in horror as the VS Falcon was ravaged by Vandenberg’s colossal monster. Elsie had been speaking to Jack – as he had just woken up for a moment – when Riley Dunstan poked his head into the room, demanding that she should come to the platform immediately. Of course, when she arrived and saw the vile mass of tentacles being unleashed upon the Falcon, her veins filled up with ice. Even from afar the desperate cries of the men on board carried across the sea and swept over the Rosanne. And then part of the ship erupted in flames, and the VS Falcon broke in two. It – the military ship – was snapped it half as if it were a twig.
Elsie’s heart went out to those poor sailors, and she demanded that they take the Rosanne 7 forwards to help the survivors. “There must be something we can do.”
Professor Goodwin simply shook his head. “The Rosanne won’t stand a chance against that thing in the water. If anything we’ve wasted enough time already. We should be fleeing. Perhaps if we can make it to a harbour somewhere up the coast it will give up its pursuit.”
“But what about those people! We can’t just leave them.”
“We won’t be saving anybody if our submarine is scattered in a thousand pieces on the bottom of the ocean. We have to think about our mission, Elsie. We are the only ones who can prevent more ships from being destroyed. I’ve had Mr. Dunstan send out a distress beacon – help will come for them in due time, but that is all we can do.”
Elsie argued for Goodwin to reconsider, but it was in vain, and she retreated sulking and defeated to the loneliness of her cabin.
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