Time Loop

Part 01

She had to be strong for them, and if that meant doing the dirty work so they could get as much knowledge about the situation as possible, so be it. But Dani knew she wasn't the doctor on the team. Her younger cousin Anna was. Dani lifted her head, searching for the girl. Could she ask Anna to do this?

"Maybe we can find another way out." Tommy's offer was pathetically half-hearted as he remained sprawled out over the rock he'd fallen on.

Dani shook her head, biting her lip as she stood and walked around the large stalagmite that bulged upwards. It looked like a tree trunk of limestone had been planted in the middle of the cave and had grown large enough to connect with the dripping stalactite that had formed it. Leaping over a glossy rock that would undoubtedly prove to be slick if she stepped on it, she made her way past Tommy.

"There is only one way out. We all know that," she said.

They'd searched for hours; all five of them, taking in every nook and cranny while Uncle Frank slowly started festering and smelling up the cave. It was such a small cave too. So little, in fact, they had to hunch over or run the risk of hitting their heads against the water slicked pointed stones up above.

There was definitely not another way out.

"I know what you want and I won't do it. You can just stay over there because you can't ask me to do this. I won't," Anna said, her voice cracking.

Dani stopped midstride. Tilting her head to the side, Dani let her gaze focus on the beautiful blonde with tear-filled baby-doe blue eyes. She was in a crouched position, hugging her bent knees to her chest, huddled against one of the few dry rocks in the cave. Dani's heart clenched. She didn't want Anna to have to do this. If only there was another way.

"Anna, you have to," she said, struggling to keep her voice steady.

A strangled sob escaped Anna's throat and she scrubbed a hand over her red splotchy face. "He's my father," Anna said with a sniffle. "And I'm so cold."

Dani swallowed over the lump in her throat and dug her fingernails into her palms to stop the trembling. It was asking too much, Dani knew that, but their survival depended on the information they'd get from the examination. Normally, more than one physician would come on these dives, but this was supposed to be a recreational dive. And while Dani was the professional deep-sea diver, they all had extensive experience and expertise in a certain field. Otherwise, they wouldn't be her team. Dani had thought Anna would be enough this time. She never thought she'd be asking her to do this.

It was a quick realization. The only way to get Anna to move was to go to her, but getting to Anna was going to prove difficult. The young doctor had chosen the most closed-off area of the cave, the furthest away from Uncle Frank. Had it been Dani's father lying mangled and dead on a cave floor, she'd have done the same. Dropping to her knees, Dani crawled towards her cousin. Dipping her back just enough so that the pointed rock from above barely grazed the black diving suit clinging to her. Curving her body to the side, she lifted her right arm straight up, giving her enough room to squeeze past the slimy blocks of limestone and come face to face with Anna.

Reaching forward, Dani cupped Anna's face. With her thumb, she swiped at the wet tears clinging to Anna's check and dropped her forehead to hers, trying to contain the sobs that were threatening to erupt. "Sweetie, we need you right now. We need you to be that amazing groundbreaker you are." Placing a quick kiss against Anna's forehead for encouragement, she pulled away just enough to offer her hand to the younger woman. "You have to put aside your feelings and get this done," she said softly, but her voice was firm. As much as Anna deserved to be coddled, there wasn't time.

Anna didn't immediately take her hand, but when Dani raised an eyebrow, it was all she needed to force the trembling woman into action. Anna's clammy hand clutched Dani's tightly and the girl fumbled against her, pulling Dani into a tight hug. "I don't think I can." She whimpered through clenched teeth.

Dani instantly pulled away, knowing she was two seconds away from giving in, from just collapsing against Anna and crying her heart out. She clutched Anna's wrists, pushing her arms against her side before reaching forward to grab her face, forcing eye contact. Strands of Anna's hair tangled with her fingers as she jerked backward slightly, slipping over a sharp wet rock. "Anna, help me keep us alive. We need to know what attacked him."

Anna let out a small growl, but nodded her head and dashed at her tears. She sidestepped Dani and knelt down to crawl the path Dani had taken to get to her. Dani turned her back, inhaling sharply. Shoving her fingers through her honey blonde hair, she desperately tried to collect herself. The dank smell of wet rocks and sulfur had always been something she'd enjoyed, but now it would be imprinted on her mind as the time she told her baby cousin to cut into her father.

Anna was two years younger than Dani. She'd been the cousin that had worshiped the ground Dani walked on and Dani could honestly say she felt the same about Anna. They weren't just cousins; they were best friends who did everything together up until college. Anna had wanted to follow in Dani's footsteps, but Dani had known the girl held a secret love for medicine. Initially, Anna had refused, thinking a doctor wouldn't be of any help to Dani and her team, but Dani let her know once she'd gotten her Ph.D. she'd be a permanent addition. Since Dani had never broken a promise to Anna, she'd gone to medical school and graduated with honors.

I always keep my word, don't I? Dani clenched her jaw and punched the side of her thigh with her fist.

When Dani had gone to Anna about this freelance exploration, volunteer only, Anna had been rearing to go before Dani had even been able to explain. Anna, ever ready to follow Dani to the end, but why did that end have to be so soon?

She couldn't let her do this alone, so with one last deep breath, Dani followed. She went through the twists and turns, finally getting away from that corner Anna had been in. With Anna examining the remains of her father, Tommy not moving from his rock, and the rest of her team huddled in a corner much similar to the one Anna had been in, only on the other side, Dani stood alone in the middle. Her gaze lingering on each person for a minute, knowing she needed to go and help Anna, but not actually being able to move towards her anymore. Her limbs had been filled with cement and she was much like these stalagmites, planted to the floor of the cave.

Her gaze paused on Tommy once again. The reflection of the water that flowed down the limestone of the walls splayed across his face, making him more beautiful, almost ethereal. The droplets of water from the stalactites, which made it even harder to stand up, seemed to be falling all around him. On his eyes lashes, on those lips, against his diving suit, sliding down the slick surface and pooling in the crevice of his index and middle fingers.

How could she have done this to him, to them, her family, her friends, her co-workers? But she knew the answer. Dani really was just a spoiled, selfish little girl.