One Deep Breath

High Vista, Chapter 17

The River

“This is madness.” The words fell from Sam’s mouth as he and the rest of the group stared at the swiftly moving water beside them. The surface appeared alive under the glow of the lamplight. It threw water sporadically around the small cave and continuously drove forward with an unrelenting pace.

Neil leaned down and picked up one of the broken slats that had fallen from the ladder. He kneeled at the water’s surface and used the board to probe its depth while the others stood and watched. After quite a few seconds, he pulled his arm and the board from the river. It was much colder than the lake water above, but he feebly attempted not to convey this when shaking his arm to regain feeling.

“So, what do you think, Neil?” Sandy asked while moving to sit on the rocky floor, to take weight off of her hurt leg.

“Well…” Neil trailed off and surveyed their surroundings. They'd been fortunate to find the old lantern, but there was nothing else there except the river, the old tattered tarp, and a pile of broken boards. He felt trapped and had a moment of claustrophobia. In spite of the chill from the cold water and wet clothes, he began to feel a heat rising from deep inside him. It quickly forced its way to the surface, and Neil began to sweat all over. For a split second, he was consumed by the terror and reality of their situation; the walls were closing in on him. Looking up at the hole through which they’d descended, he saw only the two dangling old ropes, and he knew there was only one option now.

Neil dropped to one knee and wrapped his hand around the board he’d used to probe the water, and then looked at the river for a very long time. Then he stood and slid his hand into his pocket and began to smile. “I’ve got an idea.”

“What might that be exactly?” Ace stood with his hands turned out. The bleeding had stopped, but it was obvious he was in a great deal of pain.

“Well, we’re going to have to go down the river, but I think we can take a few steps to make that a bit easier.” Neil started moving toward the area beneath the hole they’d come down through.

“I don’t know, Neil. We don’t know where this thing flows or anything.” Sam said without breaking his gaze at the water beside them.

“You’re right, Sam, and I’m open to any ideas anyone might have. Sincerely.” Neil paused and looked from person to person. “This water is moving fast, and it’s at least a few feet deep. It has to go somewhere, and looking around this space I can tell it’s been here for a very, very long time—long enough to carve these rocks down to a smooth surface. I’d say we have pretty good odds that it comes out somewhere, and I’m optimistic that it runs right back outside and joins up with another river.” Neil tried to sound confident when saying this but thought that it was nothing more than their only option; he had no clue if they would be all right.

“So, what’s this plan of yours, Neil?” Ace’s tone was somber. “Help me gather these boards, and give me your shoes as well.”

Cathy spoke up for the first time since their descent. “What? How are boards and shoes going to help us?”

Neil was already pulling the wood together and setting them atop the old tarp. “We need to take off our shoes to make the swimming easier. Remember how tough it was to swim with them on?” Neil pulled his shoes off and tossed them with the wood on the tarp. “We’ll put everything in there and tie it up so we have something to hold on to in the river. It’s not much, but it should help.”

“So, we’re making a raft?” Sam asked.

“Not exactly, but we can lash the lantern to it and all hold on, which will make things a bit easier.” Neil continued pulling items together in the tarp. He stacked the broken boards as wide as possible and put shoes on each side of the gaps between the boards to help hold them in place. Once all the boards and shoes were lined up, he wrapped the tarp around them as tightly as possible and closed the ends by folding them inward.

“How are we supposed to tie this off?” Sam asked, standing beneath the opening and looking up at the frayed rope. “There’s no way we’re getting any of that rope.”

Neil slid his hand in his pocket and pulled out the ball of twine he’d taken back at the airstrip. He held it up and smiled, then went immediately to work on lashing the tarp firmly together. Thinking back to their campsite, he couldn’t believe how much had happened to them in such a relatively short period. It was unnerving, but he imagined it would be an amazing story to tell if they survived. If we survive. The thought was sobering as he worked to secure the lantern to the top of the tarp.

“So that’s it, huh?” Ace asked. The entire group had formed a small circle around their best attempt at a raft. The tarp was worn and had holes and tears, but it was wrapped tightly, and when they moved it to the water’s edge, it held its shape quite well.

“OK, gang. Let’s just do this,” Neil said matter-of-factly.

There was nothing else to discuss. Neil was the first to step barefoot into the swift water. The coldness sent a shock through his feet and up his spine. The riverbed was smooth, and while he had one foot still on the shore, he slipped on the slick bot- tom and shot forward into the current. His entire body was thrown under the surface. It happened too quickly even for panic to set in. The speed of the water’s flow was remarkable, and in only a few seconds he flew past the cave’s outer wall and into the darkness.

It took a moment before anyone realized what had taken place. Sandy was the first to make a sound when she screamed out for him. “Neil!” She had a look of terror on her face and started to scramble toward the water’s edge, but Ace stopped her.

“Hold on! We have to stick together,” he commanded. “Oh God, is he really gone?” Cathy sounded frantic. “Sam, take Cathy’s hand.” Ace had now taken charge. “What are we going to do?” Sandy was crying.

“There’s only one thing we can do. Neil made a plan, and we’re going to follow it, so everyone grab on to the tarp.” Ace took a deep breath and looked down the river into the darkness. Neil was gone; he was actually gone. “Come on. We’re going in after him.”

Chapter 18: The Raft

The four remaining friends stood in a line at the edge of the underground river. Ace and Sam flanked the group with the two ladies at the center, and all had their arms tightly wrapped around the tarp. In only a moment, they would enter the water, and no one was certain what would transpire from there. But one undeniable fact would propel them forward: their friend was lost in the darkness.

“OK. We’ve got to step forward at the same time into the water, or someone might slip away.” Ace didn’t look up when saying this; he simply stood and stared at the chilly water as if trying to intimidate his foe.

Cathy and Sandy surrounded the lantern with their arms. They'd agreed that Sam and Ace would hold the outer ends of the tarp and do their best to maintain direction while the girls would stay tight in the center and try to keep the lantern from getting too wet and going out. There was a general understanding that while entering the river was intimidating enough, going down blind would be much worse.

“Just keep that thing burning, gals.” Ace still hadn’t broken his gaze. “Let’s go.”

Sam stopped him before he made his way into the river and asked, “Are we sure this is the absolute best plan, gang? I mean, I just want to make sure we’ve really thought this through before we—”

“Neil is down there alone in the dark, Sam!” Sandy exclaimed in anger. “Now get in the dang water.” And with that she nudged the group and their makeshift raft toward the river.

Ace was the first to spring ahead, but the group instantaneously followed, and then the river had them. The chill of the water was electric; it sent immediate shocks across their bodies and took their breaths away. However, the speed of the current was more intimidating, and regardless of Ace and Sam’s initial attempts to steady things they went spiraling uncontrollably into the void.

“Keep that lantern above the water!” Ace shouted and then heavily coughed out a mouthful of water.

“We are! Can’t you two get this thing turned around? We’re going down back- ward!” Sandy replied as loudly as she could above the sound of the rushing water around them.

“We’re trying!” Ace reached for the bottom with his legs, but it was either too deep or the current was too strong for him to push fully downward against it. “Sam, you swim to the right, and I’ll pull to the left. Hopefully we can spin this thing.”

Sam was too cold and had too much adrenaline rushing through his body to entertain the panic he’d been feeling. Reaching out with his right arm and holding on tightly with his left, he dragged the swift-moving water back toward him with everything he had. The effort felt futile, but he had to try. Ace followed the plan as well, and they began to spin around to face forward.

“Now stop!” Ace shouted. They’d made it three-quarters of the way around, and the current would take them the rest of the way.

“Neil!” Sandy shouted ahead now that they were facing forward with the current. She knew it was pointless to call to him but was compelled to try something, anything. “Neil, can you hear us?” Cathy joined in, and then the rest followed suit and

shouted out a chorus of pleas for Neil’s response.

The speed of the current didn’t slow, but the water became somewhat less turbulent. Ace took the opportunity to quiet the group and assess their situation. He waved his hand in the air from high to low, signing for them to stop shouting, and after a few more calls out to Neil they acquiesced.

“We won’t hear him respond if we’re all shouting, guys,” Ace explained. “So, what should we do then?” Sandy replied.

“I don’t know. I just know we won’t hear him respond if four of us are screaming our lungs out. It’s a river in a cave. If he’s here, we’re bound to see him, right?”

“Just keep the lantern burning,” Sam offered, the panic beginning to find its place again.

It was their only turn of good fortune that they’d been able to keep the oil lantern lit through the first rough stretch of the river. Now that things had calmed a bit, the group began to look around. The lamplight cast a flurry of shapes and shadows. The cave appeared to be getting wider, but the ceiling was getting lower. There was still nowhere to get out, and the walls were smooth and slick. If Neil had made it this far, he wouldn’t have been able to stop himself.

The sidewalls became quite wide, and the river was getting shallower. Ace, being the tallest of the bunch, ran his bare feet into the rocks at the bottom, shouting out in pain with each impact. The ceiling continued to get lower and was closing in on them, now only a few feet above their heads.

“This is what I was afraid of. We’re going to run out of room.” Sam was as white as a ghost and terrified.

“Are you sure? Oh God, I don’t want to drown down here!” Cathy said with a trembling voice.

The ceiling got lower still, and dread made its way through the group. Sandy clenched her arms tighter around the tarp raft and tried to keep her mind clear, but it was difficult in their cold and dire situation. She thought about what was happening and what was likely to come, and then she thought about Neil and how he’d made this same trip with no light and completely alone. Somehow, thinking about Neil in that capacity felt even worse to her than their actual circumstances.

“Wait, what is that?” Ace called out, wiping the water from his eyes and straining to look ahead in the dimly lit space.

“Oh my God, is that—” Cathy began to say, but Sandy interrupted her. “Neil! It’s him. It’s him!”

Thirty yards or more ahead of the group, Neil was at the river’s center, holding on to a stalactite that came down from the low ceiling and just touched the water’s surface. He was shaking visibly and staring at them with horror in his eyes.

The ceiling became extremely low as they approached their friend. The walls moved back in, and the water grew considerably more turbulent. In moments they would reach Neil, but almost certainly they would collide with him and the stalactite in the process.

“Grab on, Neil!” Ace shouted while they continued bearing down directly toward their friend. “Grab on!” he shouted a second time, realizing it was getting more difficult to hear as the cave closed in and the river became almost deafening.

The four friends, clinging to their raft, prepared for impact with Neil and the stalactite. In the final seconds before they reached him, the splashing of the river finally found its way over the top of the lantern and doused the flame. The last things everyone saw were the terrified looks on each other’s faces. And then they collided in the darkness.

Everything spun and churned with the water. Neil had found the tarp when it hit the stalactite, but then it immediately began to turn counterclockwise, and all were thrown from their one point of safety. There were shouts and screams in the black, icy water, which bounced around them in every direction. Their heads went continuously above and below the surface, and the roar of the water grew and grew until no one could identify up from down or even what direction they were heading.

“Sandy!” Neil shouted, but there was no response. His head hit the roof of the cave, which now had to be only inches above the water. “Sandy!” he shouted a second time before being forced underwater once again. Coming up for air, he met the ceiling instantly and realized there was no more than an inch or two of air remaining. He thought this would be it, the end of the road for him and his friends. He pushed his lips up above the surface of the water and pulled in a long, deep breath with the assumption that it may be his last. And then the water closed in the final gap, and the air was gone.

Chapter 19: Beneath the Surface

The water was shallow but seemed to move even faster now. Neil’s shoulder collided with the ceiling. Or was it the floor? he wondered. It had been only a moment since he’d drawn in the last available air, yet he felt like he’d been holding his breath for hours. His lungs started to burn. The violent churning of the water continued to throw him in each direction, and he knew with certainty that things were almost at their end for him and the others.

He started to become oddly calm. He could feel his body being thrown around, his lungs aching for oxygen, and the ice-cold chill of the water surrounding him, but they all became distant. He felt removed from the situation, and in spite of the intensity and severity of things, he couldn’t help but think back on his youth. His mind transitioned from facing death to sitting in the backyard of his home and watching his mother hang laundry. It was a simple memory he hadn’t thought about in many years, but now it was so clear in his mind, it was as if he were actually there. He sat on the warm grass while his mother attached wooden clothespins to bed sheets that swung wildly in the breeze. She reached down into the laundry basket and pulled out his teddy bear, which she’d just washed in the sink, and gave it a squeeze to ring the water from its furry body. Water dripped from its head when she hung the bear by its feet, and it swayed back and forth, seemingly staring right at Neil.

It was a peaceful moment, and he started to close his eyes and surrender to the situation. He watched that bear staring back at him and wanted to call out its name, but he couldn’t remember it. What was its name? he thought, and it began to irritate him. The memory started to get hazy, but he tried to focus and recall the name. Beary? Noonie? Teddy? He ran through a variety of names but to no avail, and the picture in his mind grew dimmer still. Reality was taking back over.

Neil had been bouncing off the rocks repeatedly, and in an odd way it had become almost a normal sensation, but then something different impacted him. He felt a kick to his right leg that fully drew him back into the dire circumstances at hand. He reached out to grab hold of the foot that had found him and felt it slip from his finger- tips. Neil kicked hard and propelled himself forward into the swift current, flailing wildly with hopes of finding one of his friends. The force of swimming exacerbated the need for air, but he needed desperately not to be alone in these last moments. Another series of kicks forward and he started to feel like he was flying at an incredible speed, and then he felt a foot and grabbed hold.

He was running out of time. His lungs were on fire. Neil pulled at the foot and climbed forward in the water until he found shoulders and a head. Hands pulled and tugged at him. Whomever he’d found was a girl, and he chose to believe it was Sandy, but the message coming from the frantic arms ripping at his shirt was the same either way: “I can’t breathe!”

He started to panic and embraced the body beside him. His need to breathe and the river’s relentless force had won. Neil started to open his mouth. He thought about what would happen next; he’d take in a lungful of water and cough, and soon everything would go black. He held his friend tightly and started the awful process.

Just before he drowned, panic took control and forced him to kick his way out of the water. He let go of his friend and lunged perpendicular to the current, but he had no true sense of direction. He slammed into a wall and turned and kicked across to yet another wall. Everything was closing in, and his lungs started forcing out the last remaining air.This was it, he thought. One last kick for another wall and another impact…only this was different. He hit the wall and fell back, but there had been a gap, a tiny pocket. Neil frantically found his way back to the space and forced his mouth just above the surface, sucking in a mouthful of water and air. He coughed hard, but it was air, and he was alive.

The gap expanded swiftly, and in only a few seconds Neil had his head above the turbulent and fast-moving river once again. He tried to call out for the others but couldn’t stop coughing. Between coughs he thought he heard someone else above the roar of the water, but he couldn’t be certain. All that mattered at that moment was that he was breathing, and in spite of the water still in his lungs it was wonderful.

“Guys, can anyone hear me?” he called out into the darkness. “Hey!” The male voice was not far away but still hard to hear.

“I’m here!” Cathy’s voice was distinct and high pitched, and closer than the first.

Neil swam forward into the current. He needed to find his friends and prayed silently that they were all right.

“Neil?” Sandy called out and then immediately started a fit of coughing. She was only a few yards behind him and swam frantically forward.

“Sandy!” Neil turned and pulled against the current until they collided. They held each other tightly with only their heads above the frigid water. “Are you OK?”

“I’m all right. Where is everyone else?”

“I think they’re up ahead. Come on. We have to swim with the current.”

Neil and Sandy locked arms and kicked forward, bouncing off rocks with virtu- ally all parts of their bodies in the darkness. The chill of the water had numbed them, but they were certain to be bruised from head to toe.

“Guys?” Cathy called again into the void.

“We’re here, Cathy!” Sandy shouted back. They were only a few feet away and grabbed on to her shoulder to pull her into their embrace.

“Oh God, I’m so happy you’re here. Where’s Sam and Ace?”

“We haven’t found them yet, but I’m sure they’re not far.” Neil tried to sound reassuring. “Sam! Ace!”

“I’m here!” The male voice was getting closer. “I’m here!”

A few seconds later, they collided and brought another member into the fold; it was Sam. The group huddled together in a circle and floated without control down the river, which was flowing at an incredible pace. It had grown so loud, they had to shout even to hear within inches of one another.

“Where’s Ace?” Neil called out to Sam.

“No idea, but I felt someone kick me before the ceiling opened back up. It could’ve been him.”

“Ace!” The group called out, but there was no response.

“Push forward, guys. He might be ahead of us.” Neil was back in charge and driven to find his friend.

Eight legs kicking in the same direction made the pace of the river that much faster. A few seconds into their push, Sam pulled away and shouted for them to stop. “I’ve got him!” Sam was holding on to the group with only one arm and dragging

Ace behind them. “He’s not conscious, guys!”

Neil also broke from the group and moved to assist Sam. They held Ace’s body above the water line, but he showed no sign of being awake or aware. He hung lifelessly behind them. Neil slapped his friend across the face repeatedly, shouting for him to wake up, but there was no response.

“Is he…” Cathy couldn’t force the words out.

“No!” Sam shouted. He’d become almost hysterical and started to shake Ace’s body violently back and forth. “Come on, Ace, wake up!”

There was a soft cough and a moan, and Ace stirred a bit.

“Hold him up!” Neil called to Sam, who’d stopped assaulting his friend. “Ow, what…?” Ace was barely audible above the river.

“Thank God!” Cathy called out.

“I can’t see anything.” Ace sounded very confused.

“The lantern went out, Ace.” Neil spoke into his right ear. “But you’re OK.” “It’s hard to hear you. Why is it so loud?”

The river was even louder than it had been before, and now that Ace had mentioned it the noise became obvious to them all. The water, which had been turbulent, was now utterly violent and throwing them in every direction.

“What’s going on?” Ace asked.

“Oh no.” Neil’s comment was riddled with concern. “What is it, Neil?” Sandy asked.

“Everyone pull together, now!” “What’s going on?” Cathy shouted.

“Grab each other and hold on tight.” Neil couldn’t believe their situation was about to become much worse. “We’re going over a waterfall!”