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What could they do? How could he fix this?

The water was at mid-chest now, meaning soon he would need to swim to keep his head above the surface. But once the water reached the ceiling…

They would all drown in there.

“Santi, look!” Ali called out, pointing at the head of the coffin. Water had already completely submerged it, and it was up to Ali’s and Torres’s calves.

Santiago followed Ali’s line of sight.

Above the topmost edge of the coffin…spun a small whirlpool.

The water in the rest of the room was relatively still, only disturbed by the streams that entered it. But the swirling eddy above the coffin was different. Almost like the water at the bottom of a draining tub.

I get it.

“Move off the coffin!” he cried out, practically swimming to the center of the room. In a few more moments, his feet wouldn’t be able to touch the bottom. Leo, who was shorter than him, was already treading water.

“Quick, hop off!” he yelled again.

“What are you doing?” Torres demanded, but Ali jumped into the water. She sank briefly, then popped back up, sputtering a little.

“Hurry, help me!” Santiago cried, motioning Mario over to him. “We need to get the cover of the coffin off.”

“Wonderful, so we can drown next to Atahualpa’s bones?”

“Shut up, Torres. Just help me.” Santiago pushed against the heavy stone slab with his shoulder. He had to duck underwater to do so. It was too high now.

Santiago resurfaced to take a deep gulp of air, then swam back down. Torres finally listened and helped with the stone, as did Mario. Leo tried, but he didn’t remain underwater for very long, his bulk floating him back up to the surface. Santiago couldn’t even see where the remaining Rodriguez was.

The water was cold and murky, and the stone was heavy. It was difficult to get leverage underwater. But the men continued pushing hard.

Finally, the stone moved, just a little. More water was sucked into the opening.

The three of them surfaced for air. Santiago noticed with worry that they were almost at the ceiling. The room filled faster than the water was draining. They were running out of time.

Ali was nearby, so Santi took a moment to reassure her.

“We’ve almost got it,” he told her. Her good arm was pressed against the ceiling, her chin tilted up to breathe. Santiago knew that if they didn’t get it open now, they would not have another chance. “Stay here until you can’t anymore, then swim down, okay?”

She nodded, eyes wide and fearful.

Santiago took one final, deep breath, then submerged himself once more.

Mario met him at the coffin, and together they pushed as hard as they could. Santiago didn’t know where Torres was but imagined that he had stayed above to breathe for as long as possible.

Santiago strained, trying to brace his feet against the floor. They slipped and skidded across the wet stone.

He saw Mario’s muscles bunch and flex as he pushed alongside him. The slab moved again, farther this time. Pressure pulled against Santiago as water was sucked into the open space. His lungs burned and his head felt heavy, ears roaring.

Bubbles exploded from his mouth as he expelled the last bit of oxygen he had left, pushing with all his might.

And then the stone slab slid completely off the coffin, and Santiago was yanked into the dark recess within.

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Santiago was pulled downward, his body knocking against the sides of…something. A tunnel? A shaft? He didn’t know and it was too dark to see. His body only continued rushing forward, taken by the flow of the stream.

At some point, his body realized that the water no longer covered him completely. Reflexively, he coughed, spitting out liquid. He drew in frantic, gasping breaths. Then, without warning, Santiago hit the floor.