“No… no, no, no, FUCK! Finn, you have to swim, baby,please!”
I shook my head, jerking my head toward my torso, trying to tell him I couldn’t move my arms.
His gaze traced my body, and his already pale face went even whiter as he realized I couldn’t move.
A strange feeling sparked in my chest.
It was a horrible feeling. A freezing shot of something that felt close to excitement but wasn’t.
A slow, cold realization unfolded in the deepest recesses of my mind.
Fear.
I was feelingfear.
I was afraid.
I was afraid because I was going to die.
Jake…
I opened my mouth to say his name, but only bubbles came out, taking my last breath to the surface with them.
“Baby, no, don’t try to speak. You need to preserve your breath…”
His hands cupped my face.
I could almost feel him now.
The panic in his blue eyes was so bright his irises looked like little underwater flames.
“Jake…I’m… I’mscared…”I whispered.
My words were audible. They shuddered around us, and I knew it was over at that moment.
“Shh, I know. I know you’re scared, baby. It’s okay. Just focus on me. Look at me.” He was clearly doing his best to stay calm, but the look of pure horror on his face betrayed his smooth, even tone.
“I think… I think I’m dying,” I whimpered. My voice sounded shocked, even to me.
Jake pulled me into him. Was it weird that I could kind of feel him now? A great shudder wracked through his body as he kissed my face. He held me while we floated in the endless dark abyss that I now understood to be my tomb.
“It’s okay, baby,” he lied, and I choked on a sob.
A bright light started to form in the water behind him. It seemed to be calling to me, but I was afraid of it.
That word felt strange in my head.
Afraid.
“There’s a light,” I whispered, and Jake looked startled.
“You can see a light?” He glanced over his shoulder, looking hopeful, but his face fell as he scanned the abyss.
He couldn’t see it.
He turned back to me, frowning. “Is it calling you? Go to it, baby. I can help you get to it if you need me to.”
I shook my head.
