Living Legends

33) Jack's Explorations

An odd sense of déjà-vu hit Jack as soon as he ducked inside the tunnel.  Was it really only a few days ago that he had swam inside a similar tunnel, only to find the beautiful grotte d’eau? Now he was looking for treasure—what kind of treasure, he didn’t know—that might or might not have been placed here.  For all he knew, he could be wasting his time.

            To his frustration, the tunnel didn’t widen as it made its slow descent under the tidepools.  Jack’s sense of direction told him he was heading towards the sea, but would the tunnel eventually empty into the ocean, or would he reach a dead end? He had already been underwater for thirty seconds.  Just fifteen or twenty more, and he would have to turn around and work his way back to the surface.

            As the water around him grew darker and the tunnel walls became slick with moss, Jack suddenly realized the tunnel was getting wider, contrary to his expetations.  He smiled, his nerves tingling with excitement.  He was so close.  He imagined discovering another grotto, this time filled with the exploits of his pirate ancestor—an underwater treasure chest.

            But that wasn’t the case.  Though the tunnel did widen considerably, it merely emptied into a large cave that sloped towards the ocean.  Jack could tell by the slow current that the tides caused the water to ebb back and forth.  However, there was no treasure in sight—and more importantly, nowhere to resurface.

            Jack turned around, defeat crushing his spirit like a ton of bricks.  He had failed.  Unless he used his wits to save Hayley, she was a goner.  Think, man! There’s gotta be a way out of this!

            He scanned the large underwater cave one last time.  There was nothing but golden sand and brown-gray rock as far as he could see.  The current slowly pulled him away from the tunnel and into the center of the cave, and that’s when he saw it.

            There was another way out.  Jack shouted in triumph, then quickly closed his mouth after a torrent of air bubbles streamed between his lips.  He scissor-kicked over to the second tunnel, which was much larger than the one that came from the tidepool.  To his relief, the passage widened out into a shallow pool.  He broke the surface and gulped in precious air.  Once his lungs were no longer burning, he took in his surroundings.

            The pool was about four feet deep and eight feet in diameter.  Directly above him, a narrow opening let in rays of sunlight.  Jack stood in the center of the rocky pool, grateful for the golden hue that lit the cave.

            But ‘cave’ didn’t seem to be the right word.  Jack frowned.  The edges of the rock became more jagged—pointed, even—as they converged towards the narrow opening at the top.  The lower portion of the walls were streamlined and smooth.

            Just then, Jack realized a faint gurgling noise was coming from behind him.  He turned around and saw the water ebbing and flowing along the entrance.  Whenever it pulled away, it sucked at the rock and created a wet gurgling sound.  As Jack studied the ebb and flow of the tide, he realized it was steadily rising.  Before long, the entire pool would be flooded with water.

            Since his heart was still beating at a rapid pace, Jack decided to wait another minute or so and catch his breath.  To his surprise, though the water in the pool was indeed rising, it suddenly dipped back down to its original level, leaving a loud smacking gurgle in its wake.

            What the…?

            Jack’s brow creased in confusion.  For a split second, his thoughts were anywhere but on finding the treasure and saving Hayley.  He knew the ebb and flow of water, this strange pool, the narrow opening at the top, and the loud explosion/gunshot noise he had heard earlier were all linked.  The dots were there; he just had to connect them.