Never Be The Same // Liam Dunbar

Chapter 36 ~ 56 Meters Down

"At least we got to see some sharks," Luna pointed out. Kenzie sighed sharply, nodding, as the statement was true. She was lucky enough to be able to see some sharks, and if her best friend was on the edge of having an anxiety attack, she would rather they be out of the cage and on the boat with Liam than Luna freaking out and using her oxygen. As they began to pull the cage up, there was a loud rip, and the cable had broken. "What's going on?"

The cage plummeting towards the ocean floor at incredible speeds answered Luna's question. She and Kenzie both screamed, begging for help as they swam around in the cage, freaking out. Luna's left leg slipped through the bottom of the cage, just as the cage hit the ocean floor. Luna screamed in pain as she heard a small crunch, the heavy cage pressing her leg down into the rocks.

"Are you okay!?" Kenzie exclaimed.

"I-I'm stuck," Luna stated, her voice shaking, the girl struggling to get the words out of her mouth. She pain in her leg was excruciating. Kenzie's eyes widened as she noticed her leg under the cage. "I-I can't move my leg."

Kenzie gulped. "Okay, uh. . ." She looked around. She then looked at the equipment attached to their tanks, noticing that they were fifty-six meters down into the water. "We're fifty-six meters down." Luna looked around. Everything around them was black. The only thing she could see were the lights of the cage, which were pointing towards the ground.

Luna's anxiety began to get to her. "We're gonna die down here. We're going to run out of oxygen, a-and I'm stuck. We're too far down for the radio to work."

"We're not going to die," Kenzie reassured the girl. She looked in the dark water above them, then back at her best friend, who was crying and trapped. "Luna, please, you need to stop crying. You have to save your oxygen. Take deep breaths." Luna nodded, breathing in and out. Kenzie opened the latch of the door, looking down at Luna. "I have to swim up and try to talk to them."

"No, you can't. There are sharks," Luna replied.

Kenzie shook her head. "The sharks shouldn't be this far down."

"Yes, they are," Luna argued. "Kenzie, the sharks come this far down. If they see you, they're going to go after you."

Kenzie shrugged. "We have to get in contact with them. I'll be right back, okay? I need to tell them that we need help, and quick. Your leg is bleeding, and if you keep bleeding, then a shark will come." Before Luna could argue, Kenzie swam out of the cage, shutting the door behind herself and beginning to swim up to a spot where she could get in contact with the others. "Derek? Peter? Somebody, please, do you hear me?" Not as much as a static. She continued swimming up. "Hello? Someone, help! Do you guys hear me?"

Static pierced her ears from the other line, before Derek's voice finally came through. "Kenzie? Are you guys okay?"

"Luna's stuck," Kenzie stated. "H-Her leg got stuck under the cage. You guys need to hurry, she's bleeding like crazy and the sharks will come."

"We've called Coast Guard, they're going to be here in less than an hour. How far down are you?" Derek asked.

Kenzie checked the small machine that told her. "I'm at fourty-five to talk to you. The cage is at fifty-six meters down."

"How are your oxygen levels?" Derek questioned. Kenzie looked down at the air pressure bar.

"I'm at a hundred, and I don't know about Luna," she said.

Derek sighed. "Okay. Get back in the cage, now. You need to make sure you two stay calm and don't leave the cage. Even if the sharks start circling the cage, remain calm. The Coast Guard is coming." Kenzie nodded. She began swimming back to the cage, when she could feel water waves moving behind her. She turned, screaming as a massive shark sped towards her. She raced it to the cage, opening the door and slipping in, closing it behind herself, the shark hitting its body against the cage.

Luna was having a hard time breathing, both in panic and because her oxygen level was decreasing rapidly. Kenzie grabbed the small machine that had her air pressure on it, seeing that she was at fifty. That would give her, at most, half an hour, but that would be if Luna remain extremely calm the whole time. Considering their situation, Kenzie doubted she would be able to remain that calm.

As she opened her mouth to talk to Luna, the shark circled back, grabbing a bar of the cage in its powerful teeth. Kenzie and Luna screamed as the shark pulled at the bar, opening it, creating a giant hole in the cage. It swam away, circling the cage from a distance, the scent of Luna's blood keeping it from going very far. Luna panted, looking down at her trapped leg.

"Luna, deep breaths," Kenzie reminded. Luna nodded, slowing her breathing down, knowing that if she ran out of oxygen she would drown. "Derek called Coast Guard and they're going to be here soon. You have to keep calm, okay? We're going to be okay."

"I-I don't know if I'm going to make it," Luna said quietly, her body shaking. She was beginning to feel cold as blood poured out of the flesh wounds in her leg. Her oxygen level continued decreasing as she spoke and struggled to keep her breathing calm.

Kenzie shook her head, tears pricking her eyes at her best friends words. "No, Luna, don't say that. You're going to make it. We're going to get out of here, you're going to heal, and everything is going to be okay."

"I-I'm so c-cold," Luna stuttered, her teeth clattering together slightly. Kenzie held back her tears, knowing she had to stay strong. Not just for herself, but for Luna as well. She swam closer to her friend, sitting down in the cage next to her, pressing her shoulder against Luna's.

Kenzie sighed, angry with herself. "I'm sorry that I got us into this mess. This is my fault. I wanted to do this, a-and now. . . And now we're trapped fifty-six meters down in shark infested waters, you're bleeding out, and your oxygen level is going down like crazy."

"It's not your fault," Luna argued, saying few words in attempt to save her oxygen. Small lights catching her eyes, she looked up, seeing flashlights shining through the dark waters. Kenzie quickly swam back up, yelling for them while Luna struggled to keep her eyes open. It seemed as if the near death experiences never stopped, but it was just part of being alive.

The Coast Guards got Kenzie out, one of them taking her and swimming up with her. The other three swam down to Luna, two lifting the cage up as much as they could while the other pulled her out. As he pulled her out, the cage cut further down into her leg, causing her to bleed even more. She screamed out in pain as the flesh wounds touched the fresh salt water.

The swim to the surface felt like it was going to last forever. Sharks close by, the Coast Guards got the two girls onto the boat, making it on before any sharks got them. They lay Luna gently on the boat, Derek and Peter both grabbing a first aid kit and quickly beginning to cover the horrid wounds on her left leg. They knew that if she had been stuck there any longer, she would be dead right now.

Damian wrapped a towel around Kenzie and held her close while Liam sat on the ground, one arm on Luna's back, holding her so that she was propped up slightly, her leg straight out and resting on the boat floor. Liam pushed a strain of hair behind her ear, tears glossing over his crystal blue eyes as he noticed how weak she was growing. Derek stepped on the gas, the boat speeding to land. Safety.

Luna leaned her weight into Liam's arms, struggling to keep her eyes open. Liam talked to her quietly, his voice distant in her ears.

She was almost sure she was going to die then and there.