Escape

by M. K. Elliott

  “Then I’m going to have to use someone’s spare regulator,” said Rudy. “We can’t swim on the surface or the waves will toss us into the cliff.”

  “I can share,” said Paulie, glancing at Lucy, his teeth still knocking together. “I’m the most experienced diver out of the two of us.”

  “You don’t know that,” Lucy shot back, immediately defensive.

  “No, but I am, aren’t I?”

  “Yeah, okay,” she admitted. “But it’s still not a good idea. If you’re suffering from hypothermia and you go without oxygen for any length of time, you could easily lose consciousness. I might not be an experienced diver, but even I know that is not a good idea.”

  “She’s right,” said Rudy. “You’ll need to take my equipment. I’ll use Lucy’s alternate regulator.” He turned to Lucy. “Is that going to be alright with you? It means we’ll need to swim close together, side by side. I’m dependent on your air, so you’ll have to keep your head about you, even when we get out in the open and the current gets stronger. We have to hang onto each other.”

  Lucy couldn’t think of anywhere she’d rather be, but her heart pounded. Rudy’s life was in her hands now. If they were twenty feet down and she messed up, he’d be out of air and have no choice but to surface. He could end up with an air embolism and it could kill him.

  “I know. I won’t do anything stupid, I promise.”

  “And Paulie. If you feel yourself starting to pass out, or you’re not feeling well at all, then try to get our attention. If the worst happens, just remember to lose your weight belt. I’d rather have you unconscious on the surface than dead on the bottom. Right?”

  Paulie nodded.

  “Hopefully it won’t come to that,” Rudy continued. “We should just be able to dive out the way we came in and reach the boat. We’ll need to take a slightly different course because the current is going to pull us away from the boat initially, but once it comes to an end, we should be able to swim straight across to where the boat is waiting for us. Got it?”

  They both nodded, obediently.

  Rudy set about taking off his tanks and vest and swapping them for Paulie’s empty ones. He helped Paulie into the new tanks.

  “Ready?”

  “Ready,” they both echoed.

  Rudy climbed back into the water first. With shaking limbs, Paulie followed. He gasped as the cold of the water hit his skin, his arms bunched tight into his chest, as if he could physically keep any remaining body heat inside.

  Lucy slid into the water after them. Her body stiffened as she made contact with the sea; the water felt so much colder going back in. She tread water, waiting for Rudy’s next move.

  Rudy swam the couple of strokes he needed to reach her. He pulled on his facemask and then took hold of Lucy’s spare regulator, plugging it into his mouth. They were connected now; him reliant on her for his air supply. However he felt before about not trusting her, he was now literally putting his life in her hands.

  He did the okay signal to both of them and they in turn, returned it. Rudy’s hand shaped into a different sign, a downward thumb: the signal to submerge.

  Lucy emptied her lungs in one steady blow, reducing her buoyancy. Beside her, the men did the same, and they quickly sunk below the water and into the dark, murky underwater world below.

  At least Paulie had been prepared for a cave dive. He’d brought a torch with him, one which strapped to his head. Even with the two lights, visibility was only a matter of a couple of feet. Lucy was terrified she would swim headfirst into the cliff face, or a rock, or that they were heading in the wrong direction and swimming deeper into the cavern rather than out. She clung close to Rudy, hanging onto his arm as they swam. Then she felt the swell increase and the water up ahead grew lighter.

  Thank God, they were almost out.

  Rays of sunlight pierced the gloom, warming the water. The now familiar tug on Lucy’s limbs told her they were back in the current. She glanced at Rudy and he pointed in the direction the current pulled them.

  Just go with it.

  She looked around for Paulie and saw him behind Rudy. The big guy was still going strong, despite what he had been through.

  Within minutes, the current ended and they were able to swim, heading back to the boat. Rudy’s dive watch gave them enough coordinates for him to know exactly where to go and he swam straight for the boat, and then underneath, to where the dive line waited for their assent.

  Going through the now familiar routine of checking they were all right, he gave them the thumbs up sign and slowly they began their ascent. Within a few feet of the surface, the strength of the waves made themselves known, the swell tugging on their limbs, forcing them in different directions.

  Panic clutched at Lucy and her fingers gripped tightly around Rudy’s hand. She didn’t want to reach the surface, knowing it would be violent and chaotic, with the waves still so high.

  They broke through the surface.

  Still breathing through their regulators, so it didn’t matter when a wave crashed over their heads, both Lucy and Rudy hung onto the dive line. Paulie swam toward the boat.

  The boat’s ladder was only a few feet away, and he took the regulator from his mouth before reaching for the rungs.

  Suddenly, a large wave lifted Paulie and slammed him against the side of the boat. He clung to the ladder for a moment and then, as if in slow motion, a second wave crashed up the side. When the foaming water fell away, Paulie was gone.

  Oh Shit.

  Immediately Rudy pulled the spare regulator from his mouth.

  “Hold onto the line!” he yelled at her, and dived into the waves.

  With her own regulator still in place, she couldn’t even shout his name. Fear hung like a black sheet over her, and her eyes filled with tears, though she knew she couldn’t cry because she would steam up her mask.

  Then she remembered who she was—a doctor, an emergency doctor—and pressed the panic down. Blowing all the air out of her lungs, she pulled herself back down the line.

  Terrified, Lucy looked around, trying to see either of them. With the visibility still so poor, at first she couldn’t see a thing. But then she got a flash of red only six feet or so away and knew it was Paulie.

  Propelling herself with her fins, knowing Rudy would kill her for diving alone, she swam the few feet to see Paulie, slowing sinking, his regulator floating out to the side like a spare limb.

  With another powerful kick, she reached her hand out and managed to grab his arm. Though Paulie was a big guy, she had the buoyancy of the water on her side and was able to pull him up with her.

  Though only about ten feet down, her ears shrieked with pain. Still swimming, she managed to equalize, but knew she was ascending too quickly. There were dangers in rising too fast, an air embolism, the bends, but she knew if she didn’t, Paulie would be dead.

  Her head burst through the surface and she dragged Paulie up with her, making sure his head was above water. She didn’t know if he was breathing. Waves crashed around her, threatening to put her back under. She saw Rudy, bobbing on the surface, frantically looking around.

  Lucy pulled the regulator out of her mouth and yelled to him, “Hey! Rudy! Help me!”

  Relief washed over his face and he swam over to them, fighting the waves.

  Hearing the noise, the two men on the boat leaned over the side.

  “Holy shit,” said Steve, clambering down onto the ladder to help drag Paulie up. More waves battled to push them off, but they fought against them and pulled Paulie up on deck. Lucy followed close behind and immediately took charge, pushing the men out of the way.

  Stripping off Paulie’s vest, she placed both hands on his sternum and started short, sharp compressions:

  One, two, three, four, five...

  She tilted his head back, clearing his airways. She pinched his nose and sealed his mouth with her own. Then she blew a strong steady breath into his lungs. She turned her head, her ear at his mouth, list
ening for any signs of life. The men stood around her, silent and terrified.

  Nothing.

  She started compressions again; One, two, three, four, five... and blew into his mouth once more.

  Paulie coughed, just a small cough at first, and then a great spluttering choke, water pouring from between his lips.

  Oh, thank God,” one of the men said.

  Lucy sagged with relief and quickly tilted Paulie onto his side, careful none of the water went back into his lungs.

  “He’ll be okay,” she said, her voice weak and quavering.

  Rudy was on his knees beside her, his hand on the smooth skin of her back.

  “You saved his life, Lucy. Thank you.”

  She managed a smile, though her whole body trembled. “Just doing my job.”

  “What about you? Are you okay? How deep did you dive?”

  “Not far, ten feet maximum. I’m okay. I promise.”

  “Okay, but I’ll have to keep a close eye on you for the next twenty-four hours.”

  She smiled again and leaned against his solid form. “That would be nice.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Word quickly got around about what had happened and by that evening, Lucy found herself to be a minor celebrity in the resort.

  Sitting in the restaurant, with Rudy by her side, there seemed to be no end in the number of people who came and clapped her on the shoulder. Other than being a bit shaken, she’d suffered no further repercussions of surfacing so quickly. Rudy said she’d been lucky; she’d only been down for a matter of minutes, and the length of time, combined with the distance she’d gone down, weren’t enough to allow the deadly gases to build and expand in her bloodstream.

  Paulie had also come out of the experience unscathed. He’d refused to allow them to call him the emergency helicopter to take him to the mainland, insisting he was fine. Other than throwing up a couple of litres of sea water, he was quickly back to himself, although a somewhat more subdued and chastened self.

  Lucy was just glad to have Rudy with her. Since getting back, he’d been as attentive as an expectant father to his pregnant wife, running around, getting her whatever she needed. He’d barely left her for a second. Lucy clung to the vague hope he had changed his mind about them and forgiven her for Max.

  A chorus of cheers and clapping rose up around the restaurant and Lucy looked up to see Paulie walking down the pathway toward them. He put up his hands and bowed his head in a mock salute, but there was a sheepish smile on his face and a flush rose in his cheeks.

  He reached Lucy and bent down and kissed her on the cheek.

  “I can’t thank you enough for saving my life. I’m sorry for putting you all in danger and I’m sorry for being such a jerk on the way to the party the other night.”

  Rudy stared at him in surprise and turned to Lucy.

  “You guys already knew each other?”

  “Lucy told me off for littering the island.”

  A wide grin spread over Rudy’s face and he looked at her, something bordering amusement and pride in his eyes. “So she should have.”

  Lucy picked up her glass of fresh orange juice and took a sip. The noise of all the other people suddenly seemed too loud and heat rushed to her cheeks. Her hand trembled as she set her glass back down on the table.

  Rudy noticed, “What’s wrong? Are you feeling all right?”

  “Just a bit overwhelmed,” she said. “I think I just need some rest.”

  “Let me take you back to your room,” he said, standing. “It’s been a big day for all of us.”

  Lucy nodded and allowed him to take her by the arm and help her to her feet.

  “Lucy’s going to get some sleep,” he said, addressing all the expectant eyes now watching them leave.

  A chorus of ‘goodnights’ came to her, and she smiled bravely and let Rudy support her as they walked down the path and climbed the numerous steps to her room. She leaned heavily against him, her legs weak and shaky.

  “Do I need to carry you?” he said, only half-joking.

  “I’m fine,” she insisted, but even she could hear the tremor in her voice.

  Rudy reached down and scooped her up in his arms. She buried her face into the nook of his neck, feeling the smooth skin of his throat against her lips, tasting the faint trace of salt still left on his skin.

  Her grip tightened around his neck and a tight, painful ball blocked her throat. Her lower lip trembled and she bit it, trying to hold back the tears.

  “Here we are,” he said, unaware of her emotional battle. Still holding her with one arm, he pushed open her door with the other and then gently laid her down on her bed. He sat down beside her and brushed the hair away from her face.

  “You were so brave today, Lucy,” he said. “You didn’t have to go out there, but you did for a total stranger. In fact, not even a stranger. For a guy who was rude to you. Not many people would do that.”

  She shook her head. “I didn’t do it for Paulie. I did it for you.”

  “Lucy...” he started. But he didn’t finish. Instead he bent down toward her and his lips found hers, soft and firm. His fingers laced into her hair and she wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him closer, sliding him up on the bed beside her. His hard body pressed up against hers and she melted into his kiss.

  Her heart might burst with joy. All she wanted was this, just to have him with her.

  Rudy broke away, and sat up, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, Lucy. I shouldn’t have done that.”

  “Yes, you should!” she said, reaching for him.

  He shook his head. “This is pointless, Lucy. It can’t go anywhere. You’re leaving in a matter of days and then what? Don’t try to say we’ll stay in touch, or that we’ll make it work, because you know that’s bullshit.”

  “Can’t we just enjoy the time we’ve got left?” she asked, desperate, her eyes filling with tears.

  “Don’t make this even harder. It’s better if we say goodbye now and leave it at that. This is never going to work and we both need to admit it.”

  She opened her mouth to argue with him, but what was there left to say? Only one thought went through her mind, but she wasn’t going to say the words out loud.

  But I think I love you.

  He bent down and put his arms around her, his face buried in her hair. She clung to him and he kissed the top of her head, before pulling away.

  “It’s better this way,” he said, his voice breaking. He turned and walked out of the room, and out of her life.

  The next morning, Rudy got to the resort and checked the log book to discover Lucy had already got a ride down to the port.

  She must be getting the morning boat out of here.

  Rudy sat down heavily on the chair behind him, his fist bunched at his mouth. What the hell was he doing, just allowing her to leave like this, allowing her to think he didn’t care? How was he going to spend every single day here, knowing he would probably never see her again? Everywhere he looked there were reminders of the time they spent together—the beach, his boat, his bed.

  Pain balled deep inside his gut, bending him double. His jaw tightened, every muscle in his back and shoulders tensed. Lucy was so totally unlike any woman he’d ever met. She was brave, she was intelligent, and she was incredibly beautiful in a completely non-obvious way. He couldn’t let her go; he would regret it for the rest of his life.

  Not allowing himself the chance to change his mind, he leaped to his feet. His bike was parked outside reception, the keys still in the ignition. He climbed on and kicked the machine to life.

  One of the young Thai boys ran out of the reception calling his name, but Rudy wasn’t going to allow himself to be distracted.

  The bike thrummed beneath him and he kicked the clutch, sending it roaring up the hill. Wind whipped around his head and he suddenly realized he’d forgotten to put his helmet on—something he was always chastising visitors to the island about.

  Pushing the bike as fast as he
dared, Rudy sped down the rough roads, toward the port. The boat was due to leave at ten a.m. and it was almost that now. If he didn’t get there on time, he would never forgive himself.

  As he reached the crest of the hill, he saw the boat was still in dock.

  He spotted Lucy struggling with her over-sized suitcase and the sight of her brought the first smile to his face that day. Careful not to propel himself over the handlebars, he nursed the bike down the hill. Not bothering to park it up, he simply stopped the bike and climbed off. The bike fell to the ground with a crash.

  Rudy didn’t even give it a backwards glance. He ran down the concrete dock and toward the wooden pier Lucy was now dragging her bag across.

  “Lucy!” he called out her name. She paused in her struggles with her bag, but did not look up. “Lucy, wait!”

  She turned around, hope lighting her blue-green eyes. Then she saw him running toward her and her face broke into a smile.

  He came to a stop only a couple of feet from her.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked, her eyes wide.

  “I couldn’t let you go like this. It’s all wrong.”

  “What do you mean? You said...”

  “I know what I said,” he interrupted her. “Look, I’ve still got money from the business set aside and it has always worried me that we don’t have a decent clinic here—for the tourists and the locals. We need somewhere we can take divers for decompression and any of the number of other accidents and illnesses that happen here. One day we will have someone who can’t wait the time it takes to get the chopper over and then they’ll need someone like you.”

  “What are you saying, Rudy?”

  “Stay here. Help me set up a clinic.”

  “But the resort?” she said. “It hasn’t got any money—not after the storm. How do you think you can afford to do that?”

  “I don’t know,” he laughed. “I’ll get all the other resorts to chip in as well. We’ll make it work. And you know what, even if it doesn’t work, I’ll find you another job. Anything! We’ll work it out. Just stay here with me. I can’t stand the thought of letting you go, Lucy. I don’t want this to be just a holiday romance, I want it to go on. I want us to have a future. I’m in love with you, Lucy Grey.”