SEVENTY-TWO
Dawn was just breaking as Thomas and Jake submerged themselves in the ocean. Thomas was worried about his friend handling the dive, because if he couldn’t... well, there was no turning back. But Jake seemed to be doing better, and entering the water seemed to revitalize him.
There was enough light now that Thomas could see the reef floor as they swam over it. The coral was bleached and long dead, and the colorful reef fish that should be here—the triggerfish, angelfish, the clownfish—were all missing. The only signs of life were a few pelagic fish here and there. The construction of the island base atop the atoll had not been kind to nature.
Thomas’s thoughts wandered to the others. Eva, Cleo, Marie. Had they made it? For now, he could only hope. He would find out when he ma
