Page 66 of In Too Deep
Air.Fresh and clean.
Life.
They just had to find it before the water found them first.
Lord, help us.
If ever she needed a prayer answered, it was today.
She kept walking.
One step.
Then another.
Into the darkness.
Ten
Noah lowered Alex as gently as he could manage, his muscles quivering.His back screamed in protest.
They’d been moving for what felt like hours but was probably closer to forty minutes.They’d navigated through passages that twisted and narrowed, squeezing through gaps, and sometimes Noah had been forced to his knees while Meg guided Alex’s dangling head away from the rock walls.
This chamber was smaller than the one they’d left behind.Barely ten feet across.But the ceiling rose higher—maybe fifteen feet—and most important, it was about ten to fifteen feet higher in elevation.
Dry.
For now.
“Here.”Meg was already spreading out Noah’s jacket on the ground and smoothing the fabric.“Let me check him.”
Noah carefully maneuvered Alex off his shoulders, every movement deliberate and every muscle trembling with fatigue.
The boy was still unconscious, his face slack.His breathing was shallow but steady.
Meg immediately went to work.She checked his pulse at throat and wrist, his pupils with a penlight, and the makeshift cervical collar that had shifted during the journey.
Noah sank against the wall and slid down.His legs refused to hold him upright anymore.His muscles felt like they were on fire.The rope had dug grooves into his skin even through his shirt.
He watched Meg work.Her movements were efficient and practiced.But he could see the worry etched in the lines around her mouth.
“How is he?”
“The same.”Meg sat back on her heels.Her voice was tight and controlled.“Which is good, I guess.He’s not worse.But, Noah…” She looked up at him, her blue eyes catching his headlamp.
He saw what she was trying not to say written plainly on her face.“Say it.”
“He can’t go any farther.”The words tumbled out in a rush.“Even if he wakes up, he won’t be able to climb.And you can’t carry him indefinitely.I saw you stumbling back there, nearly falling.You’re exhausted.”
“I can manage?—”
“No, you can’t.”Meg’s voice was firm now with steel underneath.“You need to scout ahead.Find a way out while you still have the strength to do it.Then come back for us.”
Noah’s jaw tightened.“I told you, I’m not leaving you here.”
“And I’m telling you that if you don’t, we all die.”Meg moved closer and crossed the small space.Her hand found his arm, her grip warm through the wet fabric.“Noah, listen to me.If there’s a climbable shaft somewhere ahead, you need to find it.You need to get out and bring help.That’s our only chance.”
“What if I can’t find my way back?”The words tasted like failure.“What if the water?—”
