by David Wood
“I can’t believe I had to talk you into it. It’s a chance to dive in a freaking blue hole!” Bones reached out and gave Maddock a condescending pat on the head. “Don’t worry, little guy. I’ll take care of you.”
Maddock smacked his hand away and spat a half-hearted curse. At a hair under six feet tall, Maddock was hardly little, but one couldn’t help but appear diminished standing alongside the giant Cherokee. And Bones loved to rub that in.
“Seriously, though, do you know how dangerous this is?” Maddock said as he scrutinized the platform that bobbed in the water. Around it, swimmers were positioning a rope ring supported by buoys. “People die in blue holes all the time. It’s as bad as the fresh water caves back home.”
Blue holes were large marine sinkholes or caverns that formed in limestone or other carbonate bedrock. Some were as deep as three hundred meters, while others led to submerged cave passages. They were fascinating and potentially deadly.
“Sure, a few people die. Idiots who don’t know what the hell they’re doing,” Bones said. “Which is not us.”
“Also, people who take too many risks. Which is all you, buddy.”
Bones shrugged. “What you call risky, I call awesome.”
“Story of our lives.”
“Maybe we’ll find gold down there,” Bones said.
Maddock winced. The remainder of the crew had gone out to make another dive on the wreck they’d found. They were not pleased that it had not turned out to be a pirate ship laden with gold and jewels.
They made their way to the registration table. Behind it sat an impatient-looking woman with ebony skin and braids adorned with seashells that clacked when she turned her head. She was shaking her head and jabbing her finger at a sunburned man in a floral print shirt.
“Echard, I am not going to tell you again. You may not sell your trinkets here. This is a serious diving competition, not a beach party.”
Maddock looked the man up and down. So this `was the allegedly shady character who had sold Kyle the magic crystal. He didn’t look like a criminal, just a middle-aged white guy in a bucket hat, Hawaiian print shirt, and sandals. His leathery skin said he’d lived among the islands for a long time and hadn’t bothered with sunscreen.
“Come on, Val,” Echard said. “They’re going to need all the luck they can get. What harm can a simple charm do?” Echard held up a handful of carved wooden fetishes on leather cords. To Maddock they looked more like something out of the South Pacific than the Caribbean.
Bones raised his hand like an attentive pupil. “Yo, dude. Didn’t one of the kids on the Brady Bunch almost drown because he went out in the water with an idol around his neck?”
Maddock frowned at Bones. “The Brady Bunch? How old are you? Eighty?”
“Screw you, Maddock. The mom was hot.”
Maddock groaned.
With one last, forlorn look at the competitors, Echard held up his bunch of carved idols in a gesture of faint hope. “Last chance.” When no one replied, he shrugged and wandered away.
“What’s his damage?” Bones asked.
“He’s a local eccentric,” the man in line in front of them said. He was a stocky fellow in his early thirties with a shaved scalp, prominent brow, and a shortage of neck. He spoke with a slight Russian accent. “They say he is annoying but harmless. That’s what they say,” he repeated.
“You don’t think so?” Bones asked.
The man shrugged. “Something is wrong about him. I cannot say what.”
Bones flashed a side-eyed glance at Maddock. “I think it’s the shirt. He just doesn’t fill it out like Magnum P.I.”
“Your knowledge of popular culture is disturbingly dated,” Maddock said.
“Not my fault. I stopped watching TV when I realized girls were more fun.”
The Russian laughed at this and introduced himself. His name was Alexei, and he taught Russian at a small college near Tampa, Florida.
“I wouldn’t have pegged you as a schoolteacher,” Bones said.
Maddock agreed. Whatever Alexei’s current vocation, he couldn’t hide the telltale signs of military training. His posture, his manner, his way of moving all stood out to Maddock’s experienced eye.
“It is a new career for me.” Alexei didn’t elaborate.
While they waited their turns, Alexei filled them in on Blue Descent. While such competitions were nothing new, this was one was special. The field was large, with top divers from around the world making the trip. The disciplines included: Constant Weight with Fins, Constant Weight No Fins, and Free Immersion. Although there were several beginners here, like Bones and Maddock, most of the competitors were serious, dedicated freedivers. All were hoping to break world records or records for their own nations. Alexei was aiming for the Russian record in Free Immersion.
“Dos Equis is actually sponsoring the contest. They provided some prize money and free t-shirts.”
“You hear that, Maddock?” Bones asked. “Dos Equis. It’s a sign.” The beer was a staple among the crew of Sea Foam.
When Alexei asked, Maddock and Bones explained that they were beginners at deep diving, and were mostly interested in the challenge and the experience of diving in a blue hole.
“We won’t be breaking any records,” Maddock said.
“Speak for yourself,” Bones said. “You never know what I might manage.”
“Isn’t that the truth.”
As they continued to chat, Maddock’s eyes drifted in the direction of the blue hole. He saw Kyle make a swan dive from the floating platform into the water. Must be getting warmed up for tomorrow, when the serious divers take their turn, Maddock thought. Categorizing Kyle as serious in any respect felt wrong. Just then, a sharp voice called out to him.
“You two, come here.” The woman called Val looked up from her work at the table and pointed at them with a cheap ballpoint pen. “I need to speak with you right now.”
Bemused, they made their way up to the table.
“Did I hear you correctly? You’re not deep divers?”
“We’re not deep divers but we’ve dived deep,” Bones said. “Even in the water, sometimes.”
“What my friend is trying to say,” Maddock began, shouldering past Bones, “is that we’re novices to competitive diving, but we’re experienced professional divers.”
Val was uncertain about the wisdom of the two men participating.
“It’s a novice competition, but we like for contestants to have some experience.”
Maddock gave her the high points of their diving experience and she eventually came around.
“If you two were SEALs, surely you’ve got at least a modicum of common sense.” She paused, glanced at Maddock. “Well, blue eyes here looks like he’s got common sense. I’m not sure about ponytail.” She pointed her pen at Bones. “I’ve got a bad feeling about you.”
Bones leaned forward, rested his elbows on the table, and smiled. “In that case, I think you should get to know me better. Drinks are on me.”
Val rolled her eyes and let out a tired sigh. “Just don’t give me any trouble. I’ve already got Dogtown to worry about.”
“You mean Kyle?” Maddock asked.
Val nodded. “That’s the one. His sister had to leave, but she asked me to keep an eye on him.” Val suddenly frowned. “Where has that dummy gone?”
“I saw him diving from the platform.” Maddock turned and scanned the water. He saw no sign of Kyle.
“Oh, no! That idiot said something about practice, but surely he wouldn’t try it when...” She rose from her chair and hurried toward the water, stripping off her shorts and t-shirt as she went.
Maddock and Bones were faster. In a matter of seconds the two men were in the water and making a beeline for the dive platform. They reached it quickly, and paused only a few moments for breath before diving.
The dark blue water seemed to go on forever. Maddock had never looked into such an abyss, at least, not a literal one. Even with Bones s
wimming beside him, the sight made him feel strangely alone.
Maddock saw no sign of Kyle, but he kept swimming, his eyes searching the darkness. He pinched his nose and forced air into his ears to equalize the pressure. Invisible coils seemed to wrap around his chest, squeezed tight. What they were doing right now was dangerous, reckless even, but they had to try.
He kicked harder, driving himself deeper and deeper. His throat was feeling tight. He could hold his breath longer than most, but everyone had their limits. Down below was unending waters of deep blue. No sign of the missing diver.
And then the young man was there, eyes closed, floating up toward him. Maddock grabbed the unconscious man around the chest and swam for the surface. Seconds later, Bones joined him. Even with their combined efforts, it was a struggle to carry the man’s weight.
Maddock saw spots in front his eyes. Oxygen deprivation was getting to him.
Almost there, he told himself.
And they broke the surface. The heat of the sun was a welcome sensation on Maddock’s face as he emerged and sucked in precious air. Two more people came to their aid—Val and Alexei. The four of them hauled Kyle’s limp body onto the platform.
“I cannot believe this dude keeps trying to drown himself,” Bones said. “That’s two days in a row.”
Maddock performed two rescue breaths and then began chest compressions. In most cases of near-drowning, constriction of the larynx prevented much water from entering the lungs, which meant almost all of it ended up in the person’s stomach.
“Come on, you big dummy,” Val said. “Rae will kill me if I let something happen to him.”
Seconds later, to Maddock’s great relief, Kyle sucked in a long, wet breath. He rolled the young man over on his side as Kyle vomited what seemed like an ocean of sea water. Finally, he caught his breath and flopped onto his back, arms splayed.
“Whoa! That was awesome!” He opened his eyes. “Hey, guys! Long time, no see!”
“Good thing we were here...again,” Maddock said.
“Isn’t that the truth. I knew my crystal would bring me good luck.”
“Crystals,” Bones mumbled. “Looks like Rae is back.”
Maddock turned to see Rae standing on the shore, hands on hips. She wore a loose-fitting tank top over a two-piece swimsuit. He would have liked to sit and admire her for a minute, but the concern on her face urged him along.
“Let’s get back to the shore so your sister can yell at you,” Maddock said.
“I can’t wait.”
By the time they got Kyle back to the shore he was showing no ill effects of his near drowning and was, in fact, in good spirits.
“Don’t worry about me,” he said. “I’m fine. Really.”
“Yesterday was an accident, but what you did today was dumb. I thought you were an experienced diver,” Bones said.
“I am. I was just going to go down about twenty meters, just to get a feel for the place. Then I saw something.” He trailed off
“What did you see?” Rae asked.
Kyle shook his head. “Forget it. You’ll just laugh at me.”
“Bro, I hate to tell you, but that ship has sailed,” Bones said, grinning at Maddock.
Maddock gave a small shake of his head then turned to Kyle. “Go ahead. We’re listening.”
Kyle took a deep breath and sighed. He sat down on the sand, knees pulled to his chest, arms folded around his shins. He gave a small shake of his head.
“It was weird,” he said. “I was just getting ready to come back up when I looked down and there was a girl there.
“A girl?” Rae asked, her tone neutral.
Kyle nodded. “Look, I know how that sounds. But I really did see her.” He paused as if waiting for someone to argue. When no protest came, he continued. “Anyway she was, like, motioning to me like she needed my help.” He made a beckoning gesture. “I didn’t think, I just went after her. She wasn’t too far away and I thought I could get to her quickly. But the harder I swam, the farther away she seemed to get. Not, like, a long way away, but just a little. I could almost touch her and then she’d be just out of reach. Over and over again. And then, next thing I knew, I didn’t know anything,” He shrugged, held up his palms.
Maddock saw no harm in taking his story seriously. “What did the woman look like?”
“Yeah, was she hot?” Bones grinned.
“She was pretty. Really pretty. At least that’s how she looked from what I could see. It was pretty dark down there. Not much sunlight that deep.
“Can you tell us anything else about her?”
Rae flashed Maddock a frown, obviously puzzled as to why he appeared to be taking the story seriously.
Kyle squinted, concentrating. The effort appeared to be painful. “Light skin. Long hair. I’m not sure the color, but it wasn’t brown or black. Maybe red or dirty blonde.” He thought for a few more seconds and then his face brightened. “She was holding something. I think it was a knife.”
“Was she wearing scuba gear?” Bones asked
Kyle shook his head.
“Let me get this straight. You saw hot chick way the hell down under the water holding a knife and trying to get you to swim deeper. She didn’t have any scuba gear on. And you thought it would be a good idea to just swim on down to her.” Bones folded his powerful arms across his chest and waited for the reply.
“That is this about the size of it, my angry red friend. She looked like she was in trouble so I went to help her. When somebody’s in danger, Dogtown doesn’t waste time thinking.”
“That’s redundant,” Bones said.
“I didn’t realize you even knew that word,” Maddock said.
“Screw you, Maddock.”
“Seriously, though,” Maddock went on. “You aren’t exactly known for thinking things through when action is called for.”
“Fair enough, but I’m not going to let some chick lure me to my death, no matter how hot she is.”
Maddock smothered a cough with his fist. He resisted the urge to throw in a little comment. Bones had done plenty of foolish things when an attractive woman was involved.
“I’m sure you’ll be fine,” he said to Kyle. “Just rest here for a little while.” He turned, took Rae by the hand, and they walked a short distance away until they were out of earshot.
“Do you really think he’s all right?” Rae whispered. “And please, no wisecracks about brain damage.
“I think he will be. I’ve seen people stay under much longer than he just did and end up being fine.”
“But what about this vision of a woman? Should I be worried that something happened to him?” She tapped the side of her head.
“It was probably a hallucination brought on by lack of oxygen. It’s not uncommon. It’s sort of like the supposed after-death experiences of people die briefly on the operating table. As they’re dying, the synapses in their brain begin to rapid-fire. It causes strange visions, the mind dreams the same sort of dreams they’ve heard about other dying people having. The person only believes they’ve had after death experience because they have no way of knowing at what moment the vision actually happened.”
“Should I take him to a hospital?”
“Do you think he would even agree to go? Look at him.” Maddock glanced in Kyle’s direction. He was already on his feet and asking for a beer.
Rae’s shoulders sagged. “I guess you’re right. I love the guy, but he is high maintenance. If I took him to the E.R. every time he hurt himself, I’d be bankrupt.”
Maddock consulted his dive watch. “What do you say we catch the ferry to Nassau? If we leave now we can get the early boat.”
Rae shook her head. “No way, buddy. Not until the novice contest is over. That was the deal.”
“That’s not how I remember it.”
“I don’t care how you remember it. You want the use of my lab, you compete in the contest.”
“Why do you care so much?”
“It doesn’t m
atter why. It only matters that I do care.” She winked at him and smiled.
For a moment, Maddock lost his train of thought. She was so beautiful. And then another thought came to him unbidden. Melissa. She hadn’t been gone all that long and here he was flirting with a girl. What was wrong with him?
“Are you all right? I’m sorry if I upset you. I was only teasing.”
“No, it’s fine. I want to make the dive. Who knows? Maybe there really is a mysterious woman down there.”
“Great! And I promise that as soon as the competition is over, we’ll take a peek inside this egg of yours.”
The egg! Maddock had been carrying it in a backpack, but in the excitement, had dropped it somewhere. Where was it? He looked around but didn’t see it.
“Hey, Bones! Have you seen my bag?”
“That’s not a nice thing to call your girlfriend,” Bones said. His grin vanished almost as quickly as it had appeared. “You mean the one with the egg?
“Yes. That one.”
They both began to scan the crowd. Bones’ sharp eyes quickly picked out someone moving away from the group. It was a man in a floral shirt, and he was carrying an orange and blue backpack. It was Echard
“Yo, Echard! Get back here with that!” Bones deep voice boomed across the noise of the gathered divers. The man did not pay any attention to them. He kept walking at a leisurely pace. He might not have heard Bones, but Maddock doubted it.
Maddock took off at a sprint and closed the gap quickly. He was almost on top of his quarry when Echard finally turned around.
“What the hell, man? Why are you chasing me?” Echard demanded, holding his hands up as if he were under arrest.
“That’s my bag you are stealing.”
“I’m not stealing anything.” Eckert looked down at the bag in his hand. “You mean this? This is mine.”
“I don’t think so.” Bones a caught up with him, snatched the bag away, and held it up in front of Echard’s face. “Unless your driver’s license says Maddock.” He pointed to Maddock’s name written in black marker near the top.