The Moon, chapter 38: Preparation

The preparation was short lived, but fruitful. For her wounds and general weak body at the time, the puppet, who only wanted to be referred  to as such, offered healing. There was one stipulation, however. He refused to “operate on conscious patients”. He wouldn't explain why, but reassured her that she would be safe. As off putting as it originally sounded to Susie, she reluctantly accepted, and was quickly put to sleep. Just like last time, a tendril stealthily administered a dose of, according to him, non lethal poison into her bloodstream. She passed out within seconds.

When she woke up next time, she was on a different metal table, one surrounded by smaller tables with various medical tools strewn about their respective surfaces. Sitting up on the table, Susie felt a strength within her that she either never had or, after not having it for so long, forgot about. Her veins pumped with liquid determination, and she felt the effects almost instantly. There weren't even any stitches. She questioned the puppet's methods, if they were safe and if the tools he used were sterile. He assured her yet again that his methods were safe, and so was she.  She didn't feel any different, so she believed him.

The next plan of action was to get Susie into the sea safely. All the work that had been put into her revitalization would be wasted by simply jumping down the elevator shaft. However, in her unconscious state, a makeshift elevator was made by unseen creatures in the puppet's control, crafted from flesh and rusted iron. The cable was made from flesh that ran through a pulley system. One end ascended into the darkness of the prison hallway, where the operators stayed hidden. The other ended in the elevator shaft, with the cable splitting off into four smaller ones that attached to each corner of the roof of the elevator. The elevator itself was an incredibly small steel cage, only enough to fit Susie and maybe one other person. It was built in such a way that minimal electronics were used, to deter “her” from interfering.

Susie reluctantly stepped into the cage, closing the door behind her. Inside was a brown backpack that the puppet had prepared for her. He never elaborated She then sat with her knees pressed up against her chest. A static sound arose from her coat. Susie was confused for a moment before she realized that she still had the walkie talkie. Somehow, through all the commotion, it hadn't fallen out or gotten lost. She fumbled around in her coat pocket before holding it in front of her. The puppet's voice came through, although crackly.

“You hearing this?”
“Yeah, I actually forgot I had this thing.”
“Is it waterproof?”
“Don't think so.”
“When you're lowered to the sea's surface, put it in the bag. It's waterproof. You'll find other things in there that are essential for your survival.”

The elevator slowly began it's shaky descent, fleshy squelches and metallic squeaks sounding as it descended to the sea. This method was much slower than a conventional elevator, but a bit more waiting was much preferred over being blasted away by beings old beyond comprehension. Susie let her head fall back against the vertical bars that lined the cage, then spoke into the receiver.

“So, you've been pretty vague about our plan. You wanna explain what I'm doing here?”
“Yes. How the sea works is that mistakes from tests are dropped into it, then slowly degrade until nothing but ash is left. This ash sinks below the surface of the water, then deeper below, until the core, or whatever rests there, devours it. Think of it as an hourglass which never empties, nor overflows. You're going to find the middle of the hourglass, where the sand drops deeper, and find the bottom.”
“Do you think that the hourglass will over flow if the core is destroyed?”
“Perhaps. But a better future in the long term is worth the suffering it may cause.”
“You really believe that?”
“Yes. Do you not?”
“... I'm not sure. I haven't thought about it much.”
“Maybe it's time you do.”

A long, awkward silence filled the air before a thought came to Susie's mind.
“Wait, so how am I going to get to the bottom of this place without drowning?”
“Inside that backpack are various tools that should help with traversing the bottom of the sea, including weighted boots and a custom made rebreather. It's appearance may be shocking at first, but it works indefinitely, and is crucial to your success in this task. There is also a high powered waterproof flashlight, plenty of rope with a weight attached to both ends, and a few other... curiosities that I will explain the use of later. Just make sure the radio is inside the backpack and the rope, flashlight, and everything else is outside of it before descending, since you won't be able to access it underwater without ruining some of the equipment inside.”

“Alright. Understood, I guess. I really hope this works.”
“You are a valuable asset. I would not let you go to waste.”
Susie scoffed.
“'A valuable asset'. Charming.” She replied, rolling her eyes.
“I'm not here to be your friend, Moonchild. I am here to make sure a task is completed, and to assist you in completing it.”
“Yeah, yeah, I get it. The world is on my shoulders, and all that. My name is Susie, by the way.”
“You seem unwilling to save this world, and the allies you claim to be so dearly antiquated with. Or, at the very least, you seem to do so out of obligation. Are you forgetting that you will see them again if you succeed?”
“Of course I care about seeing them again. But all this information is burying me alive, I feel like I can't breathe without having some sort of weight there. I used to be directionless, lost, without a purpose or any kind of hope. Now I have all of that, all at once. It's a lot to think about.”

No reply came from the radio. Susie looked forward to see the dark elevator shaft around her disappear, replaced by an endless blue sea. The elevator came to a stop, it's bottom touching the water's surface, causing small waves to form around her.

“Looks like my ride's over.”
“Contact me once you've found dry land down there.”
“Yeah.”
“And, Moonchild?”
“Yeah?”
“... Good luck.”

Susie didn't respond.
What was there left to say? She had a job to do.