Dangerous Depths

by Colleen Coble

  They’d called Nani as they were setting out, and the dolphin met her as she entered the water. Leia grabbed Nani’s dorsal fin and let her pull her down to where Bane floated. The drop-off grew closer, and she resisted the impulse to turn and swim back to the boat. Bane couldn’t do this alone. She flipped on her halogen light, and the bright illumination reassured her.

  She let go of Nani, and the dolphin nosed rocks near the drop-off. Leia realized she was breathing too fast and made a conscious effort to control her air. It had to last. Bane saw her and motioned for her to come with him. He disappeared over the side into the blue hole. She kicked her fins and propelled herself after him, though every muscle in her body wanted to shoot for the surface. She hesitated at the edge and peered over. There was no floor in sight.

  She moved downward. Nani kept up with her. When Leia paused, Nani bumped her hand with her nostrum. Leia rubbed the dolphin, and the action settled her excitement a bit. She checked her dive computer. She was at one hundred fifty feet. Another fifty feet to go. She could see Bane from here as he approached the cave where the boat sat.

  Leia studied the cave. It was more of an overhang than a real cave, but they had to find the one that held the artifacts. While Bane searched the right side of the overhang where the fish hovered, she finned herself forward, toward the back of the cave. Her father hadn’t been certain where the cave was, because he’d never been down here. He’d only reported what Koma had told him. She swept her light over the wall and down to the floor. The hole sprang into relief, and before she could react, Nani shot through it. Leia turned around and looked for Bane. He was looking her direction, so she motioned to him and waved her light back and forth over the opening. He propelled himself toward her. Peering inside, he then stuck his head in, kicked his fins, and disappeared.

  Her ears were ringing a bit, but she didn’t feel narced. The special mix of air was helping delay the effects. Exhaling a stream of bubbles, she put her head through the opening. The fit was tight, but she could make it if Bane could. Gritting her teeth, she kicked firmly with her fins. Maybe on the other end of this tunnel-like entrance, it would get bigger. She knew it was her imagination that her air tasted more stale and tight. The walls around her gradually expanded, then she found herself in a cave about twenty feet in diameter.

  Bane was already swimming back toward her with a load in his hands. He pointed behind him, and she saw more floating boxes tethered by ropes that wrapped around a natural pillar of coral. She pulled out her knife and cut the ropes to the nearest box. It weighed practically nothing in the water. She moved back to the opening and joined Bane as he maneuvered the boxes into the basket. They secured the boxes, then swam back to the cave.

  Leia was getting her stride back. She now noticed the fish zip-ping by her mask and admired the bright coral that grew along the bow of the ship. A moray eel zipped back into its hole, then poked out its head to watch them pass. She went first this time and swam to the last of the artifacts. There was only one more box, a small one. Bane’s eyes behind his mask were warm with approval as he took the box from her, and then turned to head out.

  Nani bumped into them. She darted back and forth in a frenzied water dance. Leia paused to try to figure out what had upset the dolphin when she noticed rocks beginning to slide on the slopes of the cave around them. It seemed hotter all at once. She glanced at her dive computer and looked at the temperature gauge. At first she thought the temperature had remained the same, but then she realized it had skyrocketed ten degrees. That wasn’t possible. She showed the computer to Bane.

  He gripped her arm, then pointed. Pillow lava was dripping over the front of the cave. They had to get out. She started for the cave opening, but the water got hotter, and the lava was dripping so quickly there was no room to get by without being burned. Bane pulled her back. It was too late. They were trapped. His eyes held a terrible awareness that they were going to die. He pulled her into his arms, and she listened to the sound of his regulator. It would soon stop. He would run out of air before she did because he was a big guy and pulled a lot of air.

  Leia didn’t want to die yet. There was so much she wanted to experience, and she realized she wanted that life to include Bane. While she looked forward to heaven someday, she’d never thought that day could come so soon. Her gaze locked with Bane’s. She tried to tell him with her eyes how much she loved him and how sorry she was for everything. Bane opened his arms, and she moved into them.

  Eva didn’t like this place. The corners held spiderwebs with dead bugs hanging in them. Hotshot had promised they’d go for diving, but she didn’t see gear around. They were just in this dumpy cabin that took forever to walk to. Hotshot had brought her here and told her he’d be back later. When he left, she’d tried the door, but it was locked.

  Eva had tried to open a window and crawl through, but they were stuck shut. It was hot in here too. She wanted to go home and watch Home Alone again. She watched it every day. Sometimes she felt like Kevin in the film—invisible enough that she could be for-gotten by her family. At the same time, the film gave her hope that she could be a hero too.

  She was tired of sitting on the cot. She wished she had a book to read—maybe Black Beauty. She stood and walked around the room. On the old table she carved her name, then something scraped at the front door. She sprang to her feet and faced the door. Maybe Hotshot was back with his diving gear. She rushed to the door as Hotshot entered the cabin. His hands were empty. “No diving gear?”

  “Not yet.” His smile widened as he took a lock of her blonde hair and twisted it around his finger. “You’ve sure got pretty hair, Eva.”

  There was something about his smile that she wasn’t sure about. It made her feel funny, excited, and icky all at once. She backed away. “I think I should go home now.”

  “Not yet,” he said, kicking the door shut behind him. “We have lots to do yet.”

  They floated heart to heart for a few seconds, then Leia realized the dolphin was trying to drive them apart.

  Nani swam in circles around them. She bumped against their legs, and Nani rolled over then zipped to a rock that stuck out into the cave. She disappeared behind it. Leia hadn’t realized there was enough space back there to hold the dolphin’s body. Gesturing to Bane, she led the way to see what Nani had discovered. Leia’s light caught a small opening near the floor. Nani must have swum into it. Could there be another way out?

  Bane pushed her toward the opening. She swam into it. Nani must have brushed the sides, because it was nearly too tight for Leia to negotiate. Phosphorescent plankton glowed along the way, swirling in the current. Wait, there was actually a current? She watched and realized it was true. This water was flowing somewhere. Nani hadn’t come back either. Her light picked up starfish and translucent shrimp clinging to the walls. It almost looked like stars.

  Stars. Eva had said something about stars. In her dream, she said Bane followed the stars out of the cave. Hope resurrected, and she looked back to smile at Bane. He looked puzzled, but he smiled back, though she could see the resignation in his eyes. She paused and swept her hand through the plankton. Her motion made him frown, then he watched the plankton flow at a fast clip away from them. He took her arm in an excited grip. Nodding forward, he gave her a gentle push. She kicked off with her fins, moving faster now. Her light played along the ceiling with the glow of starfish. The corridor turned vertical, and she looked up into a tunnel that seemingly had no end.

  She turned to glance back at Bane. Right behind him came a column of pillow lava. She pointed. He turned and saw it, then grabbed her arm and shoved her upward. She shot up through the tunnel, moving as fast as she dared. They might need to find a hyperbaric chamber when they got out of here. If they got out. Bane was right on her heels, but thankfully, the pillow lava didn’t seem to be billowing after them. She paused to decompress a bit. Bane enveloped her in his arms again, and they floated like that for several minutes.

  Leia had been so conce
rned about the lava and the water temperature that she hadn’t checked their bottom time. She glanced at her computer and realized she had only fifteen minutes. If she had fifteen, Bane probably had only ten, maybe five. She pulled away from Bane and shot upward again. Bane followed after her. Starfish still glowed in the light of her lamp. The tunnel began to widen as they raced upward, then they were through the tunnel and in another cave. Leia checked her gauge, and the temperature had increased another couple of degrees. They had to find a way out of here. She glanced back at Bane and realized he had hardly any bubbles coming out of his regulator. He was almost out of air.

  She grabbed her octopus regulator and thrust it at him. He spit out his mouthpiece and slipped her auxiliary one into his mouth. In sync, they swam farther into the cave. With both of them using her tanks, they had less than five minutes to live. Her light picked up Nani swimming toward them. The dolphin slowed, and Bane grabbed her dorsal fin. Nani flipped her tail and drew them with her as she moved through the water toward an opening in the cave wall. Once they were through, Leia recognized where they were. The cave they’d just exited was the cave Bane had wanted to explore. The crack leading from the cave to a seamount at the edge of the blue hole had widened, and through the ash swirling in the water, she saw a red glow deep under the masses of pillow lava. It was about thirty feet away, too close for comfort.

  Nani shot up through the water as though she understood her human friends had little time left. Leia was beginning to suck hard on her regulator, and she knew Bane must be having the same difficulty. She took another breath, and there was nothing there. Her initial reaction was to try to hang on to her last lungful of air, but she knew she had to exhale as she rose or risk the same fate as Tony. Exhaling slowly, she kicked her fins with the dolphin, trying to shoot up faster.

  Dots began to cloud her vision. She was blacking out. She peered through the haze of her fading vision at Bane and realized he was almost unconscious as well, barely hanging on to Nani. Then her head broke the surface of the water. She spit out her regulator and drew in the sweetest air she’d ever breathed. She gasped in another lungful as Bane did the same. They clung together and filled their bodies with oxygen.

  “The chamber,” Bane sputtered. He waved feebly at the ship, which had moved away, probably to avoid the danger presented by the lava. The ash in the water could foul the engines. Mano kicked off his shoes and dove into the water toward them. Annie threw two life preservers after him, and Mano swam to them, towing the preservers with him. Leia got one arm through the life preserver, and Bane managed to get an arm through the other. They had both expended nearly all their strength.

  “We need the chamber,” Bane gasped. “The bends.”

  Leia wasn’t feeling them yet, but she knew it was only a matter of minutes before the excruciating pain set in.

  Mano didn’t waste time with talk. His strong arms towed them to the ship, and the crew helped haul them aboard. “They need the chamber,” Mano barked. “Get their clothes off.”

  “The basket, get the basket raised,” Bane gasped out.

  “Already done.” Mano began to jerk off Bane’s wet suit.

  Before Leia could think, Annie hustled her into a corner, stripped her of the wet suit, and wrapped her in a warm robe. Annie rushed her into the hyperbaric chamber as Mano was shoving Bane toward it as well. Bane grabbed a thick beach towel from a hook as he passed and wrapped it around himself. His lips were blue, and Leia could see he was shaking as much as she was. The pain was starting, and Leia didn’t resist the rush. There was no time to lose. A bubble of nitrogen could hit her brain or her lungs. Bane stepped aside to let her in first then followed. Mano shut them in and began to pressurize the chamber. She just hoped they were in time.

  Twenty-five

  Bane leaned against the wall of the hyperbaric chamber. He didn’t know how long they’d slept. The air hissed through the vents in a comforting concert. Leia was sleeping. He studied her face, the planes and angles, the high cheekbones. He’d never seen a more brave and beautiful face.

  He’d been poking her about accepting God’s sovereignty, but he realized as death had stared him in the face that he hadn’t taken his own advice. God had created him the way he was—poetic parts and all. He’d been trying to be Mr. Tough Guy all his life. If there was any problem, he would handle it and squelch all the softer feelings he had inside. Or at least that’s what he’d told himself. Who said he shouldn’t let people get too close? No one in his family. His own fear had made him put on a mask and hide the real man inside. He closed his eyes and promised God he’d try to take the chains off his heart.

  Leia stirred, and he opened his eyes. “How are you feeling?” he asked her. She had a blanket wrapped around her where she huddled on the bench a few feet away.

  “Okay. No pain or anything. I’m sleepy. I can’t believe it, but I am. There’s too much to do to even rest.”

  “We can’t do anything until we get out of here anyway. You might as well rest. We’ll have our work cut out for us when we’re done decompressing.” He shuffled on the bench. What was happening outside? He could hear the throb of the engines under his feet as the ship headed to another destination.

  “I wish we knew if the artifacts had been damaged, and if my dad has heard any more from Eva.”

  “One way to find out.” He leaned over and pressed the inter-com button. “Mano, you out there?”

  His brother’s worried face appeared in the round porthole window. “I’m here.” Mano’s voice sounded crackly in the speaker. Annie peeked over his shoulder into the window too.

  Bane stared into his brother’s face. He’d never been able to tell Mano or any of his family how much he loved them. Instead, he’d told Mano what to do, criticized his every move, and held him to standards no one could live up to. Mano had never called him on it—he’d just continued to do what he thought was right and to be there for everyone in the Oana family. Bane didn’t deserve a brother like him. Things needed to change.

  Bane spread his palm on the window. “Thanks for saving me out there. I love you, man.”

  Mano put his hand on the other side of the window. “Hey, I need you around to keep me in line. I love you too.” His voice was husky, and he blinked rapidly.

  There was nothing like a close brush with death to see things clearly for the first time. He’d never even been able to tell Leia clearly how he felt. He’d stumbled around like a schoolboy with his first crush. Maybe he could do better now.

  Leia leaned toward the window as Mano stepped away. “What’s going on out there? Is this a major eruption?”

  Annie moved closer to the intercom. “Not major, no. Similar to Lo’ihi, though not as large yet. The lava is oozing out, so it’s not an explosive event, though it will make swimming and diving in this area very undesirable for a long time to come. Can you tell me what you saw down there?”

  Leia shuddered. “It was awful, Annie. We were trapped in a cave when the lava began to pillow over the entrance. It grew so fast, we couldn’t get out. Then Nani found a way through to the higher cave and got us out. She’s the real hero.”

  “I’ll let Kaia know her dolphin saved the day. Again.” Mano’s worried smile turned to Bane. “How are you both feeling? Any pain?”

  “No. How much longer do we have to cook?”

  Mano glanced at the gauges by the door. “Another few minutes.”

  “What about my dad? Any word about Eva?”

  Mano nodded. “He was here. He got a phone call telling him where to take the artifacts. He’s gone there with them.”

  “No!” Leia sprang to her feet. “He can’t go alone. It isn’t safe.”

  “We tried to tell him that, but he wouldn’t listen. He lit out of here as soon as he knew you were going to be all right.”

  “Where was he going?” Bane curled his hands into fists. He needed to get out of here.

  “He wouldn’t tell me. He mumbled something about a fish-pond, then he shut
up.”

  “The cabin near the abandoned fishpond,” Leia said. “I’ve got to go after him.”

  “You can’t yet. You’re not done cooking.” Bane put his arm around her. She was trembling, and he gave her a reassuring squeeze.

  “We have to go! Something will happen to both of them.” She pulled away and tried to go to the door. “You have to let me out, Mano. Please.”

  The desperation in her voice made Bane capitulate. “Let us out, Mano. Surely we’ve been in here long enough.”

  Mano was frowning. “I don’t like it. Get back here if you get any symptoms.” He began to twist the handle, then the door creaked open.

  Ajax ran to Bane’s side. Bane rubbed the dog’s ears, then they rushed to get dressed. Ron stopped Bane by his locker. “The ship is gone, isn’t it?”

  “I’m afraid so, Ron. The lava got it,” Bane said. A piece of history gone forever, and a lot of money down the toilet.

  Ron slammed his fist against the wall and swore. “This project has been bad luck from the start. You’d better get going. You need backup?”

  “I think we can handle it. Mano will come with us. We’ll take the boat to the dock in Kalaupapa and get Leia’s cycle. You got a cell phone I can borrow? I dropped mine somewhere.”

  Ron dug in his pocket. “Here.”

  “Thanks.” Bane pulled on shorts and a T-shirt, then went to the dingy. Leia and Mano were already aboard. “Where’s Annie?”

  “Calling the observatory,” Mano said. “They’ll want to send more scientists out to take a look. This is big.”

  Bane told his dog to stay on the ship, then Mano started the motor, and the dingy pulled away from the Pomaik’i. Bane hoped they were headed in the right direction. There was no guarantee Akoni had gone to the old fishpond.

  Eva stood by the door. Her mother always told her she was too old to cry, but that’s what she wanted to do. Hotshot wasn’t fun anymore. He kept following her around, touching her hair, and she didn’t like it. When her parents or her sister caressed her hair, it felt good. Why did she feel funny when Hotshot did it? Maybe Leia would know. She would ask her when she saw her.