“You good on theHecateroute and the jumps?”
I nod and tap my temple. “Are we focusing onHecatebecause of Finn’s heat scopes?”
“No,” he says. “Other than the branches off theMegaron,Hecateruns the deepest on sonar. Finn wants to go deep. He thinks the heat’s the most intense at the ends.”
“So what? Are we going to scrape the heat from the walls?” I’m still waiting for someone to clarify the plan. Oh, that’s right. There isn’t one. “What do you thinkthisis?” I ask.
“I’ve got no idea. That’s why we’re here. Explorers.” He grins and picks up his gear. “Today’s about data and assessment. All that science shit you nerds go crazy for.”
“Do you trust Finn?”
“No,” he says without hesitation. “But I’m not the best judge. Either way, watch your back. Margaret’s in charge today. Don’t go any farther than the lines, Nathan. Not today.”
“Got it.”
He walks toward the platform. “All right, let’s gear up,” he calls out.
Beneath the surface at the drop line, we equalize and check each other for leaks and trim. Scott and Finn decided we were going to use full-face masks with comms to make team communication easier.
We begin our descent, equalizing every few feet as we swim toward the blue hole.
My heart rate picks up as we get closer.
When I dove with Crystal and Scott the other day, it was an out-of-body experience. I felt like I was going to die. Or that I already had. As we neared the entrance to Carter’s Drop, I saw myself from a distance. I watched as I swam into the mouth, and then as it closed around me.
Then I followed myself in.
Scott gave me shit as soon as he reached me, but I’d gotten a glimpse of the thing that had killed me. Not my body, but my mind.
Now here I am again.
It looms in front of me. The same. But slightly different.
As if it’s alive.
And waiting.
Our lights illuminate the cavern’s limestone walls as we swim into the main chamber. We level off at twenty-five feet. Stalactites hang from the ceiling like crystal chandeliers, while wide stalagmites rise from the floor in columns of varying height and diameter, like ancient pillars. It’s a large, open, well-lit cavern, with seven main tunnel openings. A jagged entrance to the right leads to theMegaron. The unassuming, nearly flat opening to the left marks the start of theHecatetunnels.
Scott calls Clint on comms. “Clint, we’ve reached the cavern, and we’re about to split.”
“Copy boss. Everything’s good topside. We’re ready to check in at the sixty-minute mark.”
Scott ends his communication with Clint and turns to us.
“We regroup here in two hours max. Safety check at sixty. Stay alert.” We make eye contact, and he gives me a Shaka signal.
Then our teams split and head in opposite directions.
STOP! Prevent your death...
Our team passes the Grim Reaper cave-diving warning sign and entersHecate.
It’s gorgeous.
Most of the limestone is sculpted smooth, and the water is so clear that the passageway takes on a velvety midnight-blue hue under our lights. Per the surveys, theHecatepassages are much wider and easier to navigate than the tunnels leading to theMegaron.With a large area and limited mineral formations due to the stronger channel flow, there’s plenty of space to move around in here and avoid the walls. At least as far as it’s been explored. Sonar suggests a main flow crossroads about a thirdof the way down, where the routes start to pinch tight, and the traverse options become gnarly. But we’ll be going nowhere near that today.
I didn’t notice it in the cavern, but the water is getting uncomfortably warm in here already. I check my dive computer.
