Seizure(57)

“It’s gone,” I said. “Bonny moved it somewhere else.”

Hi sat and dropped his head between his knees. Shelton slumped beside him and grabbed one ear.

Ben started tapping the walls, searching for an exit. Clueless what else to do, I removed the treasure map and my pen. As Ben circled the room, I copied the foreign words from the wall onto the back of the map.

Ben and I finished at the same time.

“Nothing,” he said. “The only way out is how we came in.”

“That won’t work,” I said.

“Maybe the waterfall?” Ben levered himself up on the empty platform and stepped toward the wall.

Click.

Ben froze. Pulled his foot back. Looked down at the platform. Swore.

Rumble. Pop! Pop!

Shelton and Hi sprang to their feet.

“It’s a pressure switch!” Ben shouted. “I tripped it!”

Somewhere close, water gurgled, like a giant flushing toilet.

The chamber shook, then went deathly still.

“I think we might—”

“Look!” Hi pointed frantically at the ramp we’d tumbled down moments before.

An enormous boulder now blocked the opening.

“Oh no!” Ben gestured at the roof.

A sluice gate opened overhead. The waterfall surged.

The room began to flood.

Fast.





WATER STARTED OVERFLOWING the basin.

My eyes darted, searching for escape. Found nothing but solid stone walls.

“What should we do!?” Shelton yelled.

“Stay together!” I said. “We may have to swim out!”

“How!?” Hi shouted. “Where!?”

I tried to concentrate. There had to be a way!

Ben leaped from the platform, hands outstretched, and caught the waterfall’s edge. Incredibly, though pummeled by the flow, he held and tried to pull himself up.

No good. The deluge loosened his grip and washed him to the floor. Ben popped to his feet and yelled in frustration.

We weren’t getting out that way.

“I don’t wanna drown!” Shelton wailed.

I looked down. Water swirled like a vortex inside the pool. If the roof was impossible, that left the floor.

Maybe.

I jumped into the pool and fought my way to the bottom. Water was draining through an opening no wider than a Hula-Hoop. Just not fast enough.

We could squeeze through, but there’s no turning around.

I kicked to the surface and crawled out of the basin.

“What are you doing!?” Shelton screamed.

“I have a plan.” As calm as possible.

The boys gathered close, eager for something, anything.

“We swim out through the bottom of the pool,” I said.

“What!?” Shelton was nearing full-blown panic.

Hi looked at me as if I’d proposed we grow wings and fly.

Ben stood motionless, dripping, neck veins bulging.

“It’s our only chance. The drain must lead somewhere.”

“What if there’s no air?” Hi yelped. “We could drown!”

“The pool might empty into the chasm,” Ben warned. “Straight shot, right into the abyss.”

I blinked back tears. “I don’t have another idea.”

The group stood, paralyzed by indecision. The water was up to our shins, heading for our knees.

“We can’t just wait here to die,” I said.

“Fine,” Ben said. “Let’s go for it.”

“Just like a waterslide.” Hi. Shaky.

“Don’t put me last.” Shelton’s voice cracked. “I won’t be able to do it.”

Ben tapped us, one by one, then himself. “Tory. Shelton. Hi. Then me.”

“I took skin-diving lessons,” Hi said. “Well, one. To maximize oxygen intake you take two deep breaths, then hold the third and go.”

Ben nodded. “Don’t exhale until you have to, then release the air slowly. And don’t panic. Just keep swimming no matter what.”


Inside my backpack was a Ziploc bag. I folded the treasure map, zipped it tight, and crammed the baggie in a pocket.

“Our flashlights are supposedly waterproof.” I didn’t say more. No point.

“I’ll take the lantern,” Ben said.

We’d come down to it. No one wanted to move, but we’d run out of time. The water was at waist level.

I hugged each of them. “I’ll see you in a few seconds!”

Grim faces.

I couldn’t hesitate any longer. If I did, we’d all lose our nerve. Maybe our lives.

I stepped to the pool’s edge and whispered a prayer.

Inhale. Exhale.

Inhale. Exhale.

Long inhale.

Splash.

I dove, kicked hard for the bottom, and fired through the hole. Beyond was an underwater tunnel. I dolphin kicked, hauling with my hands. The flashlight slowed me, but I had no choice. Without it I’d be in total darkness.

Seconds ticked by in my head.

Eight …

Nine …

Ten …

The tunnel veered left, then angled downward. My beam barely dented the inky black. I dragged myself forward, arms aching. To my horror, another flooded channel stretched before me.