Charles and Tuba moved quickly, striding through the emerald, inverted kelp forest.
Charles's body was still mangled. The scant amount of blood he had left slowly diffused into the seawater.
Despite being underwater, Charles felt no sensation of suffocation. He also felt no buoyancy, as if he were standing on solid ground.
The inverted sea was exceptionally clear and bright. Walking through the green kelp forest made Charles feel like he was strolling through a deserted park at dawn.
Everything around was quiet. There were no sea urchins, sea otters, or fish—no living creatures at all.
"How much farther?" the vigilant Charlton asked, touching his chainsaw prosthetic with his right hand, which was missing two fingers.
The young Tuba, holding several pieces of paper, was folding something. "We're almost there. I can feel them. They're circling to the east. We'll catch up soon."
