by SM Reine
“That’s the... only problem with... Arizona,” he said, gasping for air between words. “The blasted monsoons.”
“I figured someone from a rain forest would be familiar with such things,” I said, even as I peeked around my column to meet Temi’s eyes. I waved the whip. “Ready?” The water had grown too deep to wade through without assistance. We’d have to use the whip’s help to claw our way up to her next.
“It’s more gradual in rain forests,” Simon said. “A little bit each day instead of all at once.”
“Well you’re the one who thought it’d be a good idea to leave.” I cast the end of the whip toward Temi. As with Simon, it took a few tries before I got it close enough for long enough that she could snatch it. By now, the water was hugging my ribcage.
“The stupidity of youth,” Simon said.
“You go first.” I handed the grip to him. I glanced at his shoulders—he’d managed to retain his backpack. I had the food and water in mine, as if we needed the latter right now. He had most of our hiking gear. “Get that rope out when you get up there.”
“Better than a whip, eh?”
I kept my mouth shut and didn’t tell him how I intended to use it. Since he’d been struggling to keep his head above water, I doubted he’d heard my conversation with Eleriss.
Simon took a breath and left the alcove. He managed to keep his feet beneath him for the first couple of steps, but the current tugged them off the ground again. Water was still gushing through the roof, spraying everywhere. I wondered if the creature was up there somewhere watching. I also wondered how we were going to get out of the caves. I doubted anyone had moved that boulder yet.
“Worry about that later,” I muttered. If we could get back to that big chamber with the lake, we’d at least have some time to figure things out. Even with hundreds of gallons of water pouring in, it ought to take a while for it to fill the cave system completely.
“Delia?” Temi called. “Your turn.”
I leaned around the column. The end of the whip floated a couple of feet away. I took a step, reaching for it, and my heel slipped. I lunged back, flinging both arms about the column before the current could drag me away.
And here I’d thought those years on swim team would have prepared me for something like this. Amazing how few deadly currents your standard twenty-five-yard New Mexico pool had.
“Are you all right?” Simon called.
“Not really,” I responded, but I made a second more careful grab for the whip. Delaying wouldn’t improve the situation.
This time I caught the popper. As Simon had done, I pulled myself up the thong, hand over hand. The water tore at my legs, but I managed to keep my feet on the ground. Debris I could only guess at batted past my shins. A log or something else hard clunked at my knee. I winced. Maybe it’d be better to let my legs float free behind me after all.
I reached the others and Simon gripped my arms, pulling me into their alcove. The water was waist-high there as well—not much better than the situation I’d left.
“What next?” Temi asked.
We had to find a way to the mouth of the tunnel. It was hard to tell how deep the water was over there, and there was nobody waiting to catch the end of the whip and reel us in.
“Stalactite first.” I pointed at a second one, this more slender than the one Simon had dangled from and much closer to the entrance. “Then we’ll try to push off and reach the tunnel.”
“Try,” Simon said. “Yay.”
“You’re welcome to do more than try.” I waved for them to stand aside so I could attempt an actual whip crack. I didn’t have the space I needed, but I’d have to make do. The popper wouldn’t wrap itself around the tip of the stalactite without a good snap.
It took a couple of tries, but on the third, the leather wrapped around the stone without falling free. I pulled myself across before I could think better of it. We were above the spot where the deluge continued to pour through the ceiling, so the current didn’t tug at my legs as ferociously. I made it across and was able to stand on two feet, my back braced against the stalactite. I unraveled the whip and tossed the end toward the others. They pulled themselves to the same spot, and we were able to wade to the tunnel mouth from there, though the water and the sloping flooring still made the crossing treacherous.
Inside the tunnel, we paused to catch our breaths. For the moment, the water only reached our knees, though it would continue to rise.
Simon collapsed against the wall, his eyes drooping shut. “Thank, God.” He patted the side of his pack. “What did you want the rope for?”
Temi shook her head and spoke before I could voice my plan. “You’re not going back in there.”
“Back in there?” Simon’s eyes sprang open. “Why would you?”
“Someone has to try for the sword. If it’s as important as they say...” I shrugged. “I’m the logical choice.” Unfortunately. I was beginning to wish I’d taken up badminton as a kid.
“For what?” Simon asked. “Suicide? Let it go, Del. We can come back for it later. After we figure out how we’re going to get out of here.”
“Later it might be buried beneath a thousand tons of rock and water.”
“Then we’ll get dive suits. The Dirt Viper is waterproof, you know.”
I snorted. “Yeah, and what if the monster gets to it? That’s all its been trying to do all along, isn’t it? It must know that sword is the only thing that can threaten it.”
“That’s bull. Just because those two freaks—” Simon stabbed a finger in the direction Eleriss and Jakatra had disappeared, “—believe that doesn’t mean it’s true. I bet those soldiers in town have some nice grenades or nukes that could take a monster down no problem.”
Somehow I doubted nukes got checked out of the armory along with rifles. “Look, I’m not committing suicide. Pull out the rope, will you? I’ll tie one end around my ankle, and you two keep the other end. Give me a couple of minutes to hunt around, and then pull me back.”
Temi raised a hand, no doubt intending to object.
“There’s not much time,” I said. “Once the water rises in here, you won’t be able to get the leverage to pull me back.” Not to mention that the water would eventually rise to the ceiling in the alcove chamber, leaving no air for someone stuck inside. I shuddered.
“The damned sword was probably swept away in the first ten seconds,” Simon muttered, but he pulled the rope out of his pack. He unraveled it and didn’t say anything else as I tied it around my waist—I’d decided against my ankle, as I didn’t want anything to get in the way of my kicks.
“Once I go under, pull me back if I don’t pop up for air in a minute.” At one point, I’d been able to swim seventy-five yards under water before coming up for air, but I hadn’t tried that in years.
“I’ll be counting,” Simon said.
I nodded and, after checking the rope for a third time, pushed away from the tunnel. I floated along the top until I neared the waterfall. The glow from Jakatra’s sword had disappeared to the right of it, on the opposite side of the chamber from the alcoves, perhaps by the big alcove.
I took a deep breath and plunged below the surface, kicking to reach the bottom quickly. The beams from Temi and Simon’s flashlights didn’t penetrate the surface, and it was blacker than pitch down there. I struggled against panic and an urge to spin around and swim back to the tunnel as fast as I could.
My knuckles mashed against rough stone. I hoped I’d found the floor instead of a wall. In the darkness, who could tell? I tried to use the bumps and dips in the floor to brace myself against the current even as I swept one arm from left to right ahead of me, hoping to chance across the sword, preferably the hilt instead of the blade. I couldn’t tell if I’d managed to veer into that big alcove or not. I could tell that the current was sweeping me farther from the tunnel despite my efforts to halt my progress.
The rope tightened about my waist, the slack entirely gone, before I ran out of
air. Temi and Simon hauled me back the way I’d come. I didn’t fight it. If I was out of slack, I’d probably drifted too far anyway.
“No luck,” I said when I popped up next to them, pushing wet hair out of my eyes.
“This is madness,” Simon said. “The odds of you finding it, if it’s even there still...”
“I know, but let me try a couple more times. I’d feel like a jerk if more people got killed and I knew I hadn’t done everything I could to get that sword.”
“Go ahead.” Temi shook the rope. “We’ll pull you back.”
I paddled back into the chamber, almost crashing into the closest stalactite even though I knew it was there. A couple of flashlight beams didn’t illuminate much in a water-filled cave. I felt my way along the wall toward the larger alcove again. I couldn’t touch the bottom with my feet any more. One or two more tries, and we’d have to give this up.
Once more, I took a deep breath and groped my way to the bottom, alternating stroking with patting about on the stone floor. This time, I made it into the alcove and found the current tugged at me less in there. I covered a lot of ground in the seconds I was under, but didn’t find anything. I kept my eyes open, but they couldn’t pick out anything in the darkness that stretched on all sides. Too bad that dumb sword couldn’t flash a few times when it—
My fingers brushed metal. That had to be it. I patted along it, seeking the hilt.
A thunderous crack filled my ears.
I yanked my arms and legs in, tucking for protection. Splashes and bangs surrounded me—rocks falling into the water and thudding to the floor. One struck my back and I yelped, losing precious air as a cascade of bubbles escaped my mouth. It sounded like the whole place was caving in. The instinct to flee straight back to the tunnel nearly hurled me in that direction, but I groped about for the sword again. I couldn’t leave the stupid thing when I was this close.
There. This time I found the hilt. I had to shake something heavy off the blade to pull it free, but as soon as I had it, I pushed off the bottom, angling toward the exit. I was halted with a jarring jerk less than two feet up. What the—?
I swung my free arm around me, trying to find the rope. It was still tied about my waist with the lead trailing behind me, but that lead was taut. I tugged, but it didn’t loosen. A rock must have fallen on it. More stones pelted down all around me, some glancing off me, some thudding hard. One struck my head with enough force to terrify me. If I were knocked unconscious down here...
Panic welled in my heart, and I yanked with frenzied movements. My lungs had been denied air for too long, and they burned to suck in a breath.
Stop, I shouted inside my head. Calm. Be calm. I could always cut the rope if I had to. Yes, that realization helped. Cutting myself free might land me in a worse predicament, but I had the option if I needed it. First, one more try—a rational try—at freeing myself. I found the ground with my feet again and traced my way down the rope to the rock that held it. I would have groaned if I hadn’t been desperate to save air. It was a boulder, not a rock, and my rope was squarely under it.
I pulled the sword around to cut the rope. There was no other option.
Even from an awkward angle, the blade sliced through the rope as if it were soft-serve ice cream. As soon as I was free, I pushed off the bottom, heading straight for the surface. If I hadn’t had the sword out ahead of me, I would have given myself a second head injury. The alcove had filled with water.
A new wave of panic swept over me. I’d lose control of my instincts any moment and my lungs would force a gasp, a gasp that would give me nothing except water. I paddled toward the pull of the current—in the darkness, it was the only thing telling me in which direction the larger chamber lay. I forced myself to keep a hand on the wall instead of simply stroking like mad. If I were swept into the current, I’d never touch air again.
A hint of light burned somewhere. I swam around piles of boulders that hadn’t been there before, always angling toward that light. I was in the main chamber now, the water dragging at me. Holding the sword limited the effectiveness of my strokes, but I kicked for all I was worth. My fingers broke the surface. I hauled myself up and gasped before my head was fully free. I sucked in water and sputtered, nearly choking. I clunked my forehead on a rock in my effort to push myself farther out, to get clearer air. There were only a few inches between the surface and the ceiling.
“Delia!” came two cries. With my ears filled with water, they sounded muffled, but I’d never heard such beautiful noises regardless.
Using the rough ceiling to grab onto, I kicked hard and made progress against the current. I nearly crashed into that stalactite again. Later I’d be thankful it had been out there guiding me, but now it was one more obstacle. At least I had air—I inhaled in great gasps between my strokes.
“There she is,” Simon shouted.
“Over here, Del,” Temi called. “This way. You’ve got this.”
I would have laughed if I hadn’t been so busy kicking for my life. She sounded like a teammate cheering me on at a race. Some race.
“You’re almost there,” Temi promised.
“Here,” Simon shouted, “grab my hand.”
My eyes were half blinded by their flashlights and the water streaming down my face, but I spotted Simon’s hand and reached for it, eager to be pulled free and escape the flooded chamber. I wanted so much to see the sun again.
Our fingers brushed. I made another snatch for him and our hands clasped.
Then something clamped onto my leg.
CHAPTER 28
When claws bit through my soggy jeans and into my calf, I screeched like a dying hog. I hung onto Simon’s hand and foisted the sword at Temi.
“Stab it,” I sputtered. “Get it off.”
The tunnel had filled almost as quickly as the chamber, and only their heads and shoulders were above the water. But Temi managed to clasp the sword. I grabbed the ceiling with my other hand and kicked with my free leg. I connected with something, but it didn’t let go. I couldn’t see anything—the creature was submerged—but it was impossible to miss those claws. My kicks only made them sink deeper. Pain blasted from my leg to my brain as I twisted and writhed, struggling to shake the paw free. Simon was trying to pull me away at the same time as the monster tried to pull me deeper.
“I don’t have the sword any more, you stupid— Gah!” I kicked harder and was surprised when my blow worked—the grip released, and I had my leg back.
I stroked away so quickly I almost mowed over Simon. I grabbed him and tried to push him ahead of me, up the tunnel away from that creature.
“Temi,” I called, “come on. We have to get away while...” I trailed off, confused as I twisted my neck to check on her. The tunnel had grown oddly brighter, especially given that I couldn’t see anyone’s flashlights.
It was the sword. Glowing.
“Go ahead, I’ll give you time,” Temi called over her shoulder. She was standing in the tunnel, the blade thrust before her, holding the creature at bay. Only the iridescent eyes of the smooth black head were visible between the ceiling of the lower chamber and the surface, but it was enough to see the murderous intent there.
“We’re not leaving you,” I said.
“Then figure out a way to kill it,” Temi said without looking back.
The creature advanced and she swiped at it again, almost losing her footing. Simon grabbed her by the back of the shirt. The monster howled and drew back. Why it was glowing for Temi, I couldn’t guess, but that was a question we could worry about later.
“Maybe we can drown it in there,” I said.
“What if it doesn’t need air?” Simon asked. “It’s been holding its breath forever.”
“Then what if we trap it? That stalactite—if we could knock it down and it fell across the tunnel entrance...” That was a big if. It was just as likely to fall in the other direction. Not to mention we’d be trapping it in there with Jakatra and Eleriss—if they were s
till alive.
“With what?” Simon asked. “The TNT’s back in Phoenix, remember?”
The creature lunged for Temi. Again, she swiped with the blade, the silvery reflection bouncing on the gleaming walls with its movement, like candlelight in a draft. The sword clacked against stone, and shards flew free.
“I should have taken fencing classes when I was in Europe,” she yelled. “At least I’m keeping it at bay.”
I barely heard her. I was staring at the rock that sword had cut. “Did you see that?” I jostled Simon’s shoulder. “Maybe we don’t need dynamite. The sword can cut stone.”
“Uh, that stalactite is thick,” Simon said.
I wasn’t sure he’d seen the blow. He was still holding onto Temi’s shirt to keep her from being pulled away. At the same time, he was holding onto a bump in the wall to keep himself from being pulled away.
“Do you have any more of that rope?” I asked. “Did it ever come free after I cut it?”
“Yeah, we finally yanked it out, figuring we were yanking you out. It’s tied around my waist.”
He didn’t look like he was in a position to untie it, so I patted him down until I found it. Without waiting for questions as to what I was trying, I swam up the tunnel, searching for something promising to tie the rope to. The uneven walls had numerous bumps and divots. If I could find one that formed something close to a hook...
“There you are,” I said, spotting a formation similar to an eyelet. “Even better.”
I tied the rope through the hole and gave it a good yank to make sure it would hold, then let the current sweep me back toward my friends.
Temi cried out in pain at the same time as Simon shouted, “Look out!”
By the time I reached them, she’d batted the monster back again, but had switched the sword to her left hand. She was shaking her right hand. Blood streamed down it and into the water.