“It says ‘AUX HYD’.”

I pulled the latch, but the metal plate was seized by rust and salt.

I needed leverage.

“Hayes, the wrench!” I shouted.

Hayes kicked Miller’s legs out from under him, sending the lieutenant splashing into the shallow water.

He snatched the steel wrench from the floor plates and tossed it to me.

I caught the heavy tool, nearly dropping it into the dark water.

I jammed the flat end of the wrench into the seam of the utility hatch.

I threw my entire weight against the handle.

The metal groaned, and then the latch popped open with a sharp metallic snap.

Inside the dark recess lay a copper pipe and a heavy brass wheel.

The wheel was painted bright red, flaking with age.

“I found it!” I called out.

“Turn it!” Hayes yelled.

He was struggling to hold Miller down as the communications officer thrashed in the rising water.

“It’s seized,” I said, straining against the brass wheel.

The cold metal bit into my bare palms.

The submarine tilted further to the left, the deck sloping at a dangerous fifteen-degree angle.