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Chapter 10
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I Chose the Sea Over Them Chapter 10
Eight years later, the deep-sea autonomous underwater vehicle we had helped develop completed its final sea trial at a depth of over 32,800 feet.The moment the vehicle broke the surface, the entire research vessel erupted in cheers.The live deep-sea footage streamed back to our screens, clear and steady. Without any human intervention, the vehicle had navigated around ocean trenches, rock faces, and sudden currents, returning with a complete set of exploration data.Henry stood beside me, his eyes glistening.“Welcome home, Cora.”As the coastline drew closer, I suddenly remembered the evening I had left port eight years ago.Back then, I had left with my suitcase in tow, my lungs still inflamed and every breath painful.I had believed that everyone had abandoned me. Only later did I realize I had not been left behind; I had simply taken a path no one else could ever walk in my place.After part of the project was declassified, I was invited back to my alma mater to attend it
I Chose the Sea Over Them Chapter 9
Meanwhile, back home, Mom hung up the phone and spent the entire night sitting on the couch, unable to sleep.Early the next morning, she and Dad drove to the university.They first stopped at the hospital to obtain copies of all medical records and imaging scans from my hospitalization.The diagnoses and injuries were laid out in black and white: near-drowning and asphyxiation, cardiac arrest, aspiration pneumonia, bruised knees, and a hematoma at the back of my head.Next, they went to campus security and requested the access logs for the wave tank testing area from the day of the incident.The records showed that someone had manually locked the safety door from the outside twelve minutes before the farewell ceremony began. Forty-seven minutes passed before a security patrol officer unlocked the door with his access card.I had been trapped in six-and-a-half-foot artificial waves for forty-seven minutes.Armed with the evidence, Mom went straight to the university president’
I Chose the Sea Over Them Chapter 8
Three days after the research vessel reached the overseas base, I completed all the required arrival formalities.The base stood on an island in the Northreach Ocean, surrounded by gray-blue waters. The wind always carried the sharp, salty scent of the sea.I completed registration and a medical screening, attended a security briefing, and finished with a three-hour equipment proficiency assessment. By the time I received my temporary communications device, it was already 1 a.m. local time.The device was an encrypted phone with only three preprogrammed numbers: Dad, Mom, and Henry. Calls were limited to twice a month, each lasting no more than fifteen minutes.I sat by the dormitory window, staring at the pitch-black sea as I made my first call.“Cora?”Mom’s voice trembled with emotion. She sounded as if she had been waiting by the phone for a long time.“Mom.”I had rehearsed so many things to say, but the moment I said that single word, my voice caught in my throat.Mom di
I Chose the Sea Over Them Chapter 7
On the tenth day after the research vessel left port, my life had settled into an entirely new rhythm. Meanwhile, everything was unraveling beyond my sight.Sean was the first to realize something was amiss.That day, he went to the observation station at Blackreef Bay to help Katelyn familiarize herself with the equipment. When he entered the password, a system notification appeared on the screen.[The previous administrator has revoked all remote access permissions and erased all local data. Contact the new authorization holder to reinitialize the system.]Two years of tidal data, ocean current models, and underwater footage had been wiped clean.Katelyn stood beside him and asked cautiously, “Did she forget to leave the data behind?”Sean said nothing. After a long silence, he called the number of the phone I had switched off long ago.“The number you have dialed is unavailable.”That same day, Joel received an email from the Office of International Programs.[Cora Sherma
I Chose the Sea Over Them Chapter 6
Three days after the research vessel left port, my pneumonia acted up again.The ship’s doctor said I had not fully recovered from nearly drowning, and the sudden drop in temperature at sea had caused the inflammation to flare up again. They put me on bed rest in the medical bay for observation.Beyond the window stretched an endless expanse of deep blue water, the swells moving slowly and silently across its surface. Unlike the violent waves in the wave tank that had threatened to swallow me whole, the ocean out here seemed to breathe.I stared at the shifting patches of light on the ceiling and was suddenly struck by the silence, as though the entire world had forgotten I existed. Strangely enough, the thought came as a relief.On the fifth day, my research advisor came to see me in the medical bay.His name was Henry Jarrell, a man in his early forties and the youngest chief scientist in the country’s deep-sea exploration field.He placed a project overview beside my pillo
I Chose the Sea Over Them Chapter 5
By the fifth day of my hospital stay, I could get out of bed and walk around. But the inflammation in my lungs had not completely subsided, and I became short of breath after only a few steps.Katelyn brought me food every day and cried every time she came. Sean occasionally accompanied her, but he never stayed long.Joel and Isaac came by twice, but their conversations never strayed from lab matters. Mitchell was the most frequent visitor. Yet he spent his visits quietly peeling fruit.On the seventh day, Katelyn came again.“Cora, there’s something I’d like to discuss with you.”She sat beside my bed, her voice so gentle it sounded like she was soothing a child.“You remember the marine observation station at Blackreef Bay, right?”Of course I did. During our sophomore year, the five of us had built a small marine observation station at Blackreef Bay, behind the university.Calling it an observation station was a stretch. It was more like our secret hideout.I was the on
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