Blue Fish: The War Beneath (5 page)

I was chest level deep in the gushing water. The water slowly took over the first compartment too as Taan Singh valiantly made his way in. Kamal held tight onto the latch to let us both us so that the hatch could be closed without further delay.

We were engulfed in the freezing water. It was so cold that it became difficult for us to breathe. Prathap was struggling in there. Ramana was underwater & he was not breathing. I felt pity for him. I had to let him go, I felt that there was no point in dragging the dead body.

I looked up at Prathap; he managed to come closer to me. But all of a sudden, he stops and he doesn't move. His eyes were wide open. I realized that something went terribly wrong. Blood started gushing out. A broken pipe had jammed into Prathap’s stomach. Kamal and I stared at him, stunned.

"Arjun, come back, before it's too late. Come back... Come back..." Kamal implored.

Kamal was repeatedly saying my name. I just stood there appalled at what happened to Prathap. Kamal pulled me back towards him, into the first compartment and the hatch immediately closed behind me.

2 hours later

The water was rising above our chest level imperceptibly. There was still 2 feet of distance between the water level and the compartment’s roof. This was the line that separated us from death.

I was feeling miserable for Prathap. I couldn't believe that he was no more.

Kamal sighed, helplessly.

"Sir, is there a way out now? Can we come out from this? The torpedo tubes are crushed, but we could still fit into them," Taan Singh said.

"We need oxygen apparatus. Getting out naked will kill us. We are down half kilometer now," Kamal said.

Kamal and Taan Singh were inspecting the torpedo tubes; they were not looking at me. I set my body free and was gradually sinking in. It was not that I was trying to die, but it was just that I was starkly dismayed by my fellow officers dying in front of my eyes.

Kamal and Taan Singh immediately pulled me up. I inhaled a long breath of air into my lungs.

"You have lost your senses, now tell us how to get out from here," Kamal said.

"OK, we go to the control room - third compartment, pass to the fourth compartment and get the life suits - this should be our first step", I said as the responsible officer in me woke up.

"But again, where do we leave from?" he asked in a tone of urgency.

"We will find some way," I answered.

"There is a water leak in this compartment too and it's slowly rising," Taan Singh said worryingly.

I felt the urge to hurry up now.

"Before this water rises up fully, we need to get our life suits," I said.

"How shall we go there leaving this place? We open the hatch and the water will fill this compartment. And the hatch is broken from outside we cannot open or lock it from the other side," Kamal said.

"Yes, we can do it from here inside but we need to be real quick before water fills this compartment too. We don't have any timer, so we count numbers- 1...2...3...4..."

"How many counts?"

"It will take around 100 counts I guess."

"You want to hold your breath for nearly one and a half minutes?"

"Now we don't have any option. How much time will it take to go to fourth compartment exactly?"

"If we start from where we are, it should ideally take 30-40 counts to reach the fourth compartment hatch.”

"What if the hatch doesn't open? What if it's jammed?" Taan Singh raised a valid doubt.

"I go there 40 counts - open hatch 10 counts - just open and come back within another 40 counts. If it doesn't open I will come back at the end of the count. And you open this hatch on time." I answered although I could feel my hope dwindle.

I took the first step.

"I will go, open the hatch in the fourth compartment and will come back; and again we will take a second trip."

"OK... count 90 or 100?" Kamal said.

"Count 90, ready all..."

"Don't lose your count. Just be on count - losing the count will eventually result in losing lives."

Kamal raised his hand, indicating that the count has begun. Taan Singh opened the hatch and I quickly got to the next compartment which was filled with water. Taan Singh immediately closed the hatch behind me.

I kept diving slowly towards the third compartment. It was very disturbing for me to look at Prathap's body lying over there. I closed my eyes and went straight ahead.

It was 20 counts until now.

As I got into the third compartment, I was shocked to see Sharma, and other officers floating dead over there. It was the most terrifying thing I had seen. I wanted some air; I no longer could hold my breath.

I lost my count. However, I focused and made my way to the fourth compartment. I turned the latch of the fourth compartment, quickly turned around, and picked up S21’s blueprint floating over there.

While coming back I didn't dare to see any of the dead officers over there. But again, I remembered the letter written by Prathap. I went towards him, though I was not feeling comfortable, I reached his pocket - pulled the letter out and carried it with me.

I banged on the first compartment hatch, Taan Singh immediately opened it and I quickly entered. I quickly raised my head above the water, and breathed deeply and desperately.

"It was 87 counts," Kamal said.

"Commanding officer, Steering Operator, Navigational officer and others are all dead," I announced.

“That’s what I thought when we didn’t get any response. Did you open the hatch?”

"Yes Sir."

"Did you see anything there?"

"No. I immediately turned back."

I took the blueprint above the water, opened it and pointing on it "Life suits should be somewhere in these racks," I said.

"OK. Now I'll go and try to get those life suits from the fourth compartment," Kamal said.

"Sir, it will be hard for you to get two more life suits. I will come with you," Taan Singh said. "No. It will be difficult for you to stay without breathing for that much long."

"Sir, we will be wearing our suits there and we will come back."

"Arjun, you stay here and the both of us will go find the suits, wear them where we find them and we will get one for you."

"As you say Sir," I said.

"What's the count?" Kamal asked.

"Both of you going will take 50 counts. Locating the life suits, and putting them should take 50 counts and 50 more to come back.”

"Count 150..." he said.

We all agreed. I opened the hatch, they both quickly went out of the compartment, and closed the hatch with lightning speed. Water came up to my face by this time. There was little space left for me to breathe. Our time was running out.

I stood there for some time. I raised my head a bit so that the water doesn't get into my mouth or nose. The count went up to 100 as time progressed heavily.

I closed my eyes, my hands were numb, and I was just holding on to the slightest flicker of hope. Hope that I would, one day, be able to post Prathap’s letter. Count was 115.

It was getting very difficult for me to stand in that posture. I lost my balance and fell into the water. I immediately regained my control and got back onto my feet. I was still counting, it was 140. Still 10 more counts and everything will be alright, I thought.

Suddenly there was a different sound coming out in the compartment. It was the sound of a submerged telephone ringing. It took me a few seconds to decipher this strange sound.

I quickly dove in to get hold of the telephone. I tried to speak but I couldn't as the water found its way into my mouth. I swam up, took a deep breath, and cleared my throat. I dove back again towards the hatch. I opened the hatch, there was nobody nearby. So, I closed it and went back towards the telephone, I dialed back to see if I could hear any response but to no avail.

For a couple of seconds I waited underwater holding my breath and hoping I would get some response. I persevered. I went back to the hatch, drew my ear closer to the hatch, hoping to hear some noise from the other side.

I was back on my feet again, breathing heavily and realizing that the water level had risen enough to create a fatal situation. I was floating there, holding on to a ladder.

Time passed by as I lay there motionless.

I started to feel worried for Kamal and Taan Singh. Guilt washed over me because I found myself partly responsible for their deaths. The torch lights started to flicker, even those were apparently running out of their batteries.

There was hardly any room for me to move. The silence was deafening. My breathing sounded like the universe’s most primal sound. It was an obscenely long day, I was feeling terribly exhausted and my body begged my mind for a nap. I realized that there is no point in trying to look for them again.

I didn’t know when I fell asleep. I dropped the torch, which hit the lever causing it to move. As a result there was sudden drift in the water. I was struggling to hold in there, but unable to do so. I drifted into one of the torpedo tubes. I fit into it perfectly. I slipped through it and was flushed out of the tube. I was in the sea all by myself. I rose up, resembling a grain of sand in the infinite ocean.

I remained calm, and felt at peace. I was hoping that the rescue team will pick me up and also that I would find Kamal and Taan Singh on the surface.

I reached the surface finally, took a deep breath, and opened my eyes. It was a cloudy night. The clouds were rushing past. I couldn't see any stars or moon. The waves hit me and pushed me across in no particular direction; I was floating in the middle of the ocean all by myself. Raindrops fell on me. I opened my mouth to take in some water into my throat.

I yelled out for help. Another wave crashed into me, and I was pulled into the water. I was struggling to stay afloat but I couldn't help myself. I was rapidly sinking into the water.

I struggled and rose up; all of a sudden I hit a piece of metal. I opened my eyes. I was still in the first compartment. I had hit the ceiling of the compartment, and was badly hurt.

I realized that it was a dream. I woke up, and screamed out for someone to hear me. I felt naked, and completely terrified. I felt as if my body was about to rot in the universe’s loneliest parts.

Left without other options holding the torch, I dove in, and pushed myself towards the hatch; I opened it. I realized that the water had filled up this compartment too and there was no breathing space in the entire submarine. Everything was filled with water. It was like an overweight water balloon that’d sunk. However the weight comprised of dead bodies of Indian patriots. This realization almost made me wish I was gone too.

I paused for a second, everything was calm. I looked up at the torches lying in the corner carried by Kamal and Taan Singh; I felt that something terrible had happened to them.

Without wasting any time, I pushed myself towards the third compartment. This time I examined the damage caused to the control panel - the indicators were broken, and its pointers were positioned at extreme levels.

As I went a bit ahead in the third compartment, I saw the corpses of Kamal and Taan Singh near the telephone. Disheartened, I turned my face away from them and reached the fourth compartment hatch. The hatch was closed; it was not opened by Kamal or Taan Singh. I was curious about what really happened to them.

The hatch refused to open when I tried, me fitting through it being far from possible. I applied some force on it, and felt an obstruction. This was probably the cause of the deaths of Kamal and Taan Singh.

I felt that I needed something to clear the obstacles from the rear of the hatch. I kept looking for something which could solve that purpose. While looking around, I bumped into the dead bodies which terrified me, and I crashed against the walls. The impact was so strong that it almost brought me onto my knees. I controlled myself holding the side handles, and made my way to the navigational room.

There was this one last oxygen mask strangled in its wires. Its cylinder was completely rolled up by the cables. I fixed the mask on to my mouth, turned the knob on and began inhaling the life gas again. I felt like I was breathing after a long gap.

After couple of seconds of heavy breathing, I shut the knob, and went straight to the periscope to see what exactly was outside the sunken submarine. I pulled the periscope out, positioned the lenses, and looked around only to see sand and rocks.

I went back to the oxygen mask, turned on the knob and begun to breathe again. I looked up at a stick in the corner, picked it up and went straight towards the jammed hatch. With the help of the stick, I forced my hand through the little aperture and cleared the obstacles on the other side that stopped the hatch from opening fully. The hatch fully opened. I entered in, went to the emergency rack and pulled out one of the life suits. For a second I felt relieved, only to be haunted again by the task of escape.

I went towards the radio operator room, checking the radio device. I knew that it would run only with a power supply, but still I pressed couple of buttons hoping that it would miraculously work. As I pressed the buttons, the water bubbles popped out, I could hear the tapping sounds. I pointed my torch towards the clock - the hands were stopped at 02:15.

The temperature was at 6
0
Celsius. I continued to explore the compartment hoping to find some way out. I looked at the crack on the side of the radio room. I pointed the torch towards it and saw the light passing through the gap into the sea. I felt hopeful for the first time after many excruciating hours of hopelessness & lifelessness. I realized that the metal can be opened up widely by using a jack.

My eyes full of hope, I felt victorious for a moment. But again, I felt disheartened remembering the officers died in this 'S21'.

I scanned the entire fourth compartment for a jack and I could find one at the corner of the radio room. I picked the jack up, placed it in position, where one end was placed on the gap, and the other firmly gripped the flat surface. I grabbed the jack's handle and began rotating it. Gradually the length of the jack begun to increase, along with the size of the gap. My eyes were all swollen up; I wanted to close my eyes. But I was equally determined to be alive forever than to fall asleep for a while. That helped me to hold my breath and hang in there.