Albert silently pointed upward, then held out two fingers toward Hayes, tapping them against the back of his other hand in a climbing gesture.
Hayes stared at him for a moment, clearly puzzled—if he went up first, what was Albert going to do?
But on second thought, just from the existence of that outer dome alone, it was obvious that Albert's hidden secrets ran far deeper than Hayes had imagined. Since Albert was so certain in urging him to do this, he must have another way.
So Hayes regained his impassive expression and, without another word, moved once more toward the opening in the exoskeleton.
The previous encounter had shown him just how dangerous those baby-faced fish were; this time, Hayes was even more cautious and alert.
This time, Albert simply braced him from below.
The buoyancy of the surrounding fluid helped Hayes float more easily.
