Chapter Four: The Journey Through the Current

We descended again.

This time, with the weights, I went down. The pressure in my ears built. The light from above faded. My heart pounded against my ribs. But I grabbed that pipe, just as Jim had told me to, and I held on.

The current was fierce. It pushed against me, trying to sweep me back to the surface. My arms burned. My lungs screamed for air—not because I was out of oxygen, but because fear was telling me I couldn't breathe. But Jim was right there in front of me, steady and sure, pulling himself along the pipe, showing me the way.

Pull. Hold. Pull. Hold.

I kept repeating those words in my head. I just had to keep going. I just had to get through the passage. I just had to trust that there was something waiting on the other side.