He headed straight for the opening.
Almost impossible to see, he found it with his hands and pulled his body inward. On this attempt, he avoided the rocks that had slashed at him before.
But the water worked against him now.
As he used his arms and legs more, he knew his body would require extra oxygen. He emptied his mind and continued pulling at the rocks and kicking, and pushing off them with his feet.
A weak glow caught his eye.
It was a glimmer of light from the torch.
He focused on it and pulled and pushed and tugged his body through.
The difficult part was that the water wanted to expel him back into the lagoon again. He could not let it get ahold of him.
A great lunge with one foot, though and…
Yes… that sense of triumph once again.
He took a few breaths and then swam over to the other side of the pool.
“What do you think, Dev?” Harold must have heard him return. “Is it much the same?”
Dev did not want to scare Harold, and yet he didn’t wish to give him a false sense as to the level of difficulty the stunt would require.
He knew that Harold’s heart rate was going to increase dramatically as soon as he hit the water from above. It was a long, exhilarating, jump. Perhaps if Dev could mark the tunnel somehow… “I’ll be out in a moment.” He was non-committal.
* * *
Sophia had never hearda sweeter sound than Dev’s voice when it echoed out of the top of that blasted cave. She and Harold looked at each other in relief. And then, Harold was backing away, and Dev’s water-slickened head poked out.
He was like a seal, with black sultry eyes and a powerful, well-defined physique.
Her Dev.
He winked at her before turning to Harold. “It’s much the same, Harold. I think it was always tricky. We simply were too foolish to recognize the dangers.”
“But you recognize them now,” Harold said grimly.
Dev nodded. “I do.” Standing up, he gestured for both of them to follow him.
They were headed for the cliff, and when he stepped into the sunshine, she noticed the large crimson stain on the side of his shirt.
Dev was explaining something to Harold, though, and pointing downward. “There would have been a rockslide since we last dove. If you look down there…”
Harold was nodding. “I thought it looked different. Do you think the jump still possible?”
Sophia felt her heart squeeze. Harold’s determination and courage were admirable, but she would not wish him to be harmed… or worse…
Dev had pulled his dry shirt on carelessly, most likely not even realizing that he had been hurt. It was not tucked in and hung long past his waist. Sophia wanted to rush forward and examine Dev’s wound, but she knew it was not the time.
“If we jump from over here, we miss them,” Dev said walking about ten paces to the left. He then pointed again. “See that outcrop of brush, with the large rock just below it?”
Harold was nodding.
“The tunnel is about four feet to the right of it. It’s dark when you go down, so you need to search for it with your hands. And be prepared for the pull of the cove. You must not allow it to take hold of you once you are inside of the tunnel.” He then began swinging his arms back and forth as though to loosen his muscles. “The tide is still high. What do you think? Shall we do the jump together a few times, while we have the chance today?”
Sophia wished she would faint.
