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moon-walked over piles of black rock. Blackness of the darkest night surrounded him, and the yellow searchlight projected only a few feet ahead. The metal detector he held remained silent. His leaded boots grazed over the jagged rocks, and he found it difficult to remain upright as he slowly snaked around the position where the Bunyip was supposed to be.
    ‘Can’t see a thing Sam. Too much mud. We’ve started the grid. Over.’
    ‘I’ve lost radio contact.’ Sam said. ‘They’ll be scared shitless without it. Work the grid, and do it again if you have too. Out.’
    Hours later Joe had lost all sense of time and place, his body began to cramp and he was convinced Bunyip was gone. He was on the second grid when the metal detector vibrated gently. He stopped and directed the light between his feet. Deep down between a crack the light caught a yellow flash.
    He fell to his knees and heaved on the smaller surrounding rocks to widen the space. Thick mud swirled over his helmet. His heart missed a beat as he saw a small patch of yellow.
    ‘I’ve found her Sam!  I can see a small section of her hull under the rocks. Enrico! Get over here. Latitude sixty-six degrees, twenty-eight mins longitude, one sixty-eight degrees fifty-five minutes. Over.’
    Sam butted in. ‘I’m sendin’ down cables and the other ADS diver. What else do you need? Over.’
    ‘A bit of luck I’d say. It’s going to take some time.’ Joe turned to look around but it was like being in a small tomb with a lighted match, silent and eerie with nothingness at the edges. ‘Um, I’m a bit nervous about more tremors. Over.’
    ‘Don’t worry. Nick said the rumblin’ stopped three hours ago. Help’s on the way. Good job man. Standby. Out.’
    While he waited for the other divers to arrive Joe surveyed the area and assessed what had to be done. Most of the rocks he could see immediately around him gave no indication of the extent of the job they faced. The AD suit would support him for hours but it would not sustain his energy levels. He figured he would be good for six hours, then he would need to surface for a replacement. The depth here was beyond the limit an ordinary scuba diver could tolerate, so they were restricted to using only the AD suits. He had no way of knowing how long it would take, disorientation, fear of the unknown and the icy sea temperature being major hurdles.
    Enricho arrived and he and Joe began by hooking a steel cable from the Platypus around a rock that concealed the yellow flash Joe had seen. Swirling mud agitated by their every movement hampered their vision, and the Pincers although quite easy to use did not possess the senses of human hands. As a consequence the job of placing the cable securely around the rock failed several times as it fell away into the blackness.
    It was only after the third diver arrived that they were able to get enough leverage to secure the cable. Joe gave the signal to the ship above and the cable tightened and dragged the first rock away from the stricken Bunyip.
    ***
    Inside the sub the men heard a distant scrape, different to the sound of the falling rocks that had ceased hours ago, and a great cheer went up.
    ‘They’ve found us.’ Wolf cried. ‘Thank God!’
    Nick wasn’t sure and he was not about the dampen their spirits by suggesting it may be more rocks falling.
    After the radio went out he had not wanted to voice his fear, but he had been deathly afraid.  More afraid than when he and his brother stood over their father’s grave with the dreadful realisation that they were all alone in the world.
    Jeremy nursed his arm wrapped in the sling Nick has fashioned. Nick could only find aspirin in the medical kit which helped, but failed to stop the pain. Now with hope of rescue he moved without moaning.
    For hours they had been consumed by fear, and even though they were still in deadly danger, the colour returned to their ashen faces. They had no idea how deep they were buried or how