"This is empty. You took empty tanks?" Kie scoffed.
The group found themselves on the HMS, back at the site of the wreck. John B ended up agreeing with JJ's plan and borrowed scuba tanks from Cameron.
"This one's a quarter full. It's enough for one of us" Lydia said
"Love it when the plan comes together" Pope muttered
"Does anyone know how to dive?" John B asked the group
Various no's were heard from the teenagers and JJ added "It's kind of a kook sport"
"I read about it," Pope added. Lydia frowned. She didn't want any of her friends to risk their lives and she figured it probably wasn't that hard. So, she did what she developed a special talent for over the past year- lying
"My mom took me a few times. You know, to get out of the house" She said, praying her friends would buy it
"That was what? At least 4 years ago?" JJ asked, hoping that it didn't come out as rude. He just wanted to protect her.
"Great. Pope read about it and Lydia did it a long time ago. Someone's gonna die" Kie worried about her friends
"Look, you put the thing in your mouth and breathe. How hard can it be?" JJ asked
"If you come up too fast, and nitrogen gets in your blood, and you get the bends-" Pope explained
"Bends like bend over?" JJ giggled. Lydia rolled her eyes:
"Actually JJ the bends kill you. But like I said, I have the most experience. I'm doing it"
JJ stopped laughing, instantly worried. Pope did the calculations and figured out that Lydia's safety stop needed to be at 10 feet for 2 minutes. Kie took off her shirt and dove into the water earning a question from the boys
"What was that about?" Pope asked
"I don't know but I liked it" John B muttered
Kie resurfaced explaining to the group that she tied her shirt to the anchor about 10 feet from the surface. JJ then explained to Lydia how to open the cargo hold. He gave her hand a squeeze as he handed over the key, silently begging her to be careful. She understood and smiled weakly.
"How much air is needed to decompress?" She asked
"Unclear. Breathe as little as possible" Pope replied.
"Uh, think zen" John B said
She finished getting the scuba gear on and asked "diver down?"
"Diver down" JJ replied
Lydia jumped into the water, quickly sinking down to the boat with the added weight of the scuba gear. Per the suggestion of her friends, she tried to take as few breaths as possible, while still moving quickly. She also had to remember to glance at the timer every so often, to keep an eye on how much air she had left. Finally, she located the cargo hold and got it open. She pulled out a black duffle bag and smiled to herself before heading towards Kie's shirt marker. When she checked the timer, she frowned seeing the blinking 45 seconds. She looked up towards the surface seeing a second boat next to the HMS. After taking her last deep breath as the timer hit zero, she prayed that her friends could get rid of the visitor. Her vision blurred and at that point, she had honestly made peace with her death. Her friends would survive as long as they had each other. She was about to give up when the second boat left. She pushed herself up to the surface, gasping as she tried to catch her breath.
"Oh my god. Don't scare us like that" Kie said
JJ and John B leaned over the side of the boat to pull the girl, still gasping, onto the floor.
YOU ARE READING
Shells
Romance"You and I both know you haven't been okay in months" "So what? It doesn't matter. Not with all the other things we have to worry about." "See that's the problem Lydia. You don't give a shit about yourself and it's going to end up killing you. You...
