30 THE STORM

CHAPTER 30 THE STORM Roz was walking along the bottom of another shallow sea. The poison tide clouded her vision, so she had to move slowly. But with each step, the changing currents swept away more dust clouds until the water was clear. Then a new problem emerged. Heavy rains began pounding the surface. Choppy waves began stirring up sand from the seafloor. The dark sky began rumbling and flashing. BOOM! A deafening sound blasted through the water. It wasn't thunder; it was lightning hitting a wave. A lightning strike could easily destroy the robot, and her Survival Instincts flared. Roz increased her speed, marching north as fast as she could, but the current was working against her. BOOM!

Another flash sizzled across the waves. Roz needed to get far away from there. So she kicked off from the ground and swam with the current, and soon she was moving at a blistering speed. BOOM! The robot pumped her arms and legs, pushing the limits of her body as she tried to escape from the storm. The seafloor passed beneath her, faster and faster, and then it suddenly dropped off. Roz glided over the edge of an undersea cliff, and with the storm still raging above, she dove straight down into the gloom. The thunder and lightning and rough water near the surface were replaced by the still, silent darkness of the deep ocean.