Mark’s eyes narrow. “You look just like him.” His grin through the mask widens. “I’m going to enjoy killing you, too. Two Carters—in one hole. The island will never forget either of you. One day, they’ll find both of your little skeletons floating in the tunnels. You’ll make someone famous.”
My grip tightens on the spooled line as my panic surges. I can’t out swim him, not here—my mind races. I’m going to die. I try to swim away from him, moving back behind the limestone wall in the cavern’s center.
Mark pulls out a knife, the blade catching the light. “There’s nowhere left to go. I’m going to kill you now. It’s time.” He rushes toward me, clumsily kicking up silt along the way. The room is saturated with dark clouds, bringing our visibility so low I can barely see what’s in front of me. I can sense his approach and let him get as close as I can before I move.
I wrap the lasso of line around his hand that’s holding the knife. Before he reacts, I dive below him to wrap more linearound his left fin. He slings his arms wildly in every direction at me. After I’ve tied as many places as I can on his body, I pull with all my strength to tighten the binds. He swats at it frantically, trying to cut it, but this causes him to drop the knife. Both his arms and legs are now impossibly entangled in the yards of line and are forming their own knots like a bunch of necklaces carelessly tossed together. The more he pulls at the line to loosen it, the tighter the knots become. Entanglement 101. I pick up the knife.
“What the—” His voice is frantic as he becomes impossibly entwined. I have so much hatred for this man who took the closest person in my life away from me. He stole a lover and a father and a genius from the world.
“Cut the fucking line, bitch,” he snaps. My fingers tighten around the dive knife. I strap it to my suit. There’s no way in hell I’m going to free him. An urge for revenge consumes me, and I almost pull off his mask and regulator to end this quickly. I could take his tanks. But I don’t. Instead, I head back toward the opening we came from. I tell myself leaving him alive is a small mercy, but I know it’s not.
I leave Mark to meet his fate alone.
Chapter 38
Scott
I move quickly, not caring about safety. She’s fighting for her life. The line tugs in my hand. I signal to Wes, and together, we focus our beams. There she is.
Maddie clings to Nathan’s dive line, her body trembling, barely holding herself upright. She’s exhausted. There’s terror in her eyes. She points to another line, signaling Mark is that way. She’s alive. Relief crashes over me, but it’s fleeting. Her gas has to be critically low. She only has one tank.
I push forward. When I reach her, her wide, desperate eyes search mine. Through the mask, I see her fear and hope. She’s shaking, her breaths coming too fast, fogging the mask. I clutch her arm to steady her as Wes swims to us.
Maddie’s strength is fading fast.
“Don’t use the comms. You need to reserve your gas as much as possible. Stay calm. Take slow breaths. I love you, sweetheart.” I turn to Wes, who has moved next to us. “Wes, get her out now.”
He darts his eyes to the darkness ahead, to Mark.
“Take her back now. I’ll finish this,” I say.
He looks me in the eye and puts his hand on my shoulder.
“I’ve got her. She’ll get out alive.” Gripping her arm, he guides her back the way we came. I watch them go, the light of their dive lights fading into the distance. My chest tightens as I force myself to let her go. She’s safe now.
Nathan’s secondary line stretches deeper into the cave, leading toward the next section of the cavern. I follow it, each tug of the line pulling me closer to Mark. This ends here. Whatever it takes. When I enter it, I’m shocked. It’s the largest chamber I’ve ever been in and it’s almost unnaturally intricate in wall formations. It’s also warmer in here. Like a heated pool. This is the room we saw on Nathan’s video. I use my lamp to look for movement.
There he is. Mark thrashes near a jagged outcrop of rock, entangled in a large net of dive line. His jerky, erratic movements in the entanglement make him look like a spider caught in his own web. Bursts of bubbles escape his regulator as he struggles against the line.
“Stupid bitch! She killed me!”
I slow my approach, instincts on high alert. I signal to him, gesturing for him to stop struggling. For a moment, his wild eyes soften when we make eye contact. Recognition flickers, but vanishes just as fast, swallowed by fear. I pull out my dive knife and show it to him. Letting him know I’m going to cut him free.
He sees the knife and his hands slash wildly through the water. I yank back, narrowly avoiding his mindless grasp. He’s not thinking, only reacting.
I try again, edging closer with measured movements.
“Let me help you, Mark. It doesn’t have to end this way. Think of Crystal and Natalie. You can get out alive.”
But his struggles only intensify, and the web tightens around him with every wild twist. His panic is worsening his situation, pulling the web of line tighter and binding him more firmly.
My dive computer flashes a warning. My gas is running low. Frustration and anger swell within me, but Mark isn’t giving me a choice. I dart forward, grabbing his arm to incapacitate him until I can cut him loose. He lashes out with all his strength. His kicks stir up a thick cloud of silt. The chamber dissolves into a murky blur, leaving me with no visibility. My flashlight catches glimpses of his kicks, but his face is obscured.
Then, his regulator slips from his mouth, his body jerks violently, and his mask floods. He rips it off. I shove my octopus toward him, but he bats it away, his eyes wide and wild. He’s spiraling, caught in the grip of terror. My chest tightens as the realization crashes over me like a wave. I’m not going to save him. Mark is too far gone, his fear and rage sealing his fate. I back away, my flashlight lingering on him.
His struggles slow, the silt swirling around him as the tangled web of line holds him tight. Then he stops moving.
I thought he was a good man.
