Willing myself to jump, I’m about to make the worst mistake of my life when a rod catches my eye. Kept off to the side, it sits neatly beside a bucket of chow that has seen better days.
A sad looking lasso hangs off the end of a cleaning stick, the thin wire just long enough to wrap around the tin bucket nearby. Pulling the cords as wide as they can go, I send up a prayer and cast the line.
The eels immediately swarm the stick, its intruder status placing them on high alert as I slowly lower it into the water. Pelts of liquid hit my pants and shoes, the cold surge making my muscles clench as I struggle to keep my grip.
“Come on...goddamn it.”
Falling a few inches short, the wire grazes the top of Finley’s head.
There’s no more rod to hold, so I risk life and limb and lie myself flat on the ground.
Nose-to-fucking-nose with the piece of metal keeping me above water.
Frigid liquid laps at my hands as I shove the rod farther down. Something slimy brushes my fingers and it takes every ounce of willpower not to drop the fucking thing and run for my life.
Just a little farther.
I can feel the weight of the chains as I wiggle and slide the wire through the back of Finley’s chair. Twisting my arm until my rotator cuff begs for mercy, I keep pushing until the loop hits the aquarium floor.
Time slows to a standstill when I start to lift him. Slowly, carefully, so the wire doesn’t come free from its position, I drag the back of the chair off the ground and up through the water.
There’s no way of knowing if there’s any oxygen left in Finley’s tank, but I carry on as if there is. Crew members don’t abandon their own and I’ll be damned if Wolf Hollow breaks the one rule that’s guided my life to this point.
Never leave anyone behind.
Sea creatures crowd the chair, the sleek bodies converging around Finley as if he’s their final meal of the day. Being eaten upside down while a stranger drags you ass-first out of the water probably isn’t the best way to go, but fuck, it’s the best I’ve got.
The angle gets too awkward until I have no choice but to free hand it. Tucking my feet along the opposite end of the bridge, I make a desperate grab for the back of Finley’s chair.
Plunging both arms into the freezing water, I manage to wrap my fingers around the chains hanging from Finley’s body.Sharp metal digs into my palms as I yank upwards, feeling the weightlessness of the water slip away.
Gravity takes hold and we both go careening forward. My head breaches the surface, sending a surge of saltwater up my nose and down my throat.
Choking and barely holding on with my lower half, I can’t see anything except the shadows swarming my vision. Something brushes the back of my neck and the unnatural texture is more than enough to freak me out.
Jerking back, I rip my face out of the water and gulp down a breath.
And then I try again.
And again.
And again.
By the time I drag Finley out of the water, the stench of sweat and failure is clinging to the shivering surface of my skin.
0 minutes. 0 seconds.
The timer beeps at me mockingly, the noise far too loud now that it’s not underwater. I stare at the red numbers, feeling nothing but the weight on my chest.
The concrete cylinder threatening to suffocate me.
Unforgiving metal digs into my knees as I sink down, staring at Finley's lifeless body.
He was so young.
Guilt knocks into me like a sledgehammer, bludgeoning me until I’m gasping for air. It’s a terrible sort of sound, one that doesn’t sound quite right coming out of my mouth.
“Did you know aquaphobia is most prevalent among adults? Having a fear of water is surprisingly common, although many do not understand the side effects associated.”
