Events have turned grim. Oberlin awakes from a chemically induced fog to find himself tied down in an abandoned oil rig. A strange voice begins interrogating and torturing him. The person wants to know one thing: Where is Macallan Orsel?
When they regain consciousness Macallan and Tulley are badly injured by the sudden explosion on the Cedar Elm. They find themselves trapped in a dead sub that is upside down wedged on a deep overhang in the ocean canyons. The positioning of the sub makes using the emergency lift bags impossible, and not enough power remains to attempt other rescue protocols. Macallan tries to rock the sub over on its side so that the lift bags might inflate. She believes she is unsuccessful but then suddenly (and strangely) the sub does right itself sending Macallan and Tulley racing back to the surface. But when they arrive, a deadly surprise awaits them.