Wes and I swim into Carter’s Drop. We’re staying off the comms for stealth and will communicate using hand signals until it’s safe to go back online. We find the dive marker Mark laid. It’s shoddy work. Has Mark even been in a cave before? Doubtful. The acid in my stomach rushes to my throat. He’s following Nathan’s line. I grip the old line, propelling myself forward with measured kicks. Wes follows closely behind.
The dive line continues into a narrow tunnel on the far side of the chamber. I signal to Wes with my hands. Stay Close. I know this trek. It’s gnarly.
He signals he understands and is ready.
We press on.
The tunnel narrows, forcing me to adjust my movements. The walls are closing in, like claws scraping our tanks. I adjust my BCD and my fins kick in short, controlled bursts. I try not to think about Maddie down here, navigating this. This is bad for an experienced cave diver. My heart drops. I glance at Wes. How well did he teach her?
Why didn’t I?
We make it to the nearly impassable squeeze that gave Jamie and me so much shit the last time. I have to remove my tanks this time to get through it. Wes is just behind me when my loose tank grates hard against the limestone, the sound jarring in the silence.
Wes taps my shoulder and signs, OK?
I respond, signing, OK.
As the passage widens again, my light catches a green glint in the sand. I freeze, my heart lurching as I pick up Maddie’s necklace. Her little elephant isn’t there to help her through this.
I squeeze my eyes shut.
I hold it up to Wes. Maddie’s?
Yes.
I clutch the chain and put it in my thigh pocket.
Tightening my grip on the line, I move. She’s close. She made it this far. I know she’s still alive.
The tunnel leads us to the vertical shaft. The chamber below is about as far as Jamie and I got the last time. I pause at the edge, shining my light downward. The dive line disappears into the black void below.
Descending. Follow me. Watch your angles.
The shaft is tight, and the walls press in as we swim. The water is so murky, the light can’t penetrate it. My breathing echoes in my ears, and the regulator’s steady hum keeps my rising panic at bay. Maddie has been dragged into this hell. I try to calm my rapid breaths. Even though the passage is tight, there are several offshoot openings that can easily cause a wrong turn.
My hand slips.
The dive line drifts out of my reach, and my light swings as I force myself not to hold my breath. Stop and think. Training takes over, and I sweep my light in wide arcs until the faint glint of the line catches my eye again. Relief floods through me as I grab it.
Wes signs again. OK? He doesn’t have a clear line of sight into what is happening.
Got it. Let’s move.
We keep going, pushing through fatigue.
Then, my light catches on a figure in the distance—a faint movement.
My heart lurches.
It has to be Maddie.
Found her.
Chapter 37
Maddie
Mark pulls me roughly as we enter the cavern. Icy water has seeped into every layer of my wetsuit, chilling me and leaving my breaths shallow and shaky. Instead of using a dry suit and rebreather, I’m diving open circuit with no extra tanks. But we are wearing full-face masks equipped with comms. Mark’s shadow looms ahead, his flashlight beam cutting through the darkness like a predator’s glare.
