Escape (23 page)

The
small group
ran bac
k down the steps and jumped in
one of the resort
’s SUVs
. Rudy drove down to the port at bre
akneck speed, and Lucy sat shot
gun, clinging to the handle above the passenger door with one hand and hanging onto the side of the seat with the other.

At the port, his small boat, Patience, bobbed up and down in the swell.

“It’s a good thing
I got her
out of dry dock yesterday,” Rudy said, as he leaped from the vehicle.
“We’d be screwed right now if she
was still on dry land.”

They ran up the jetty to where she was moored. As Lucy climbed on board, Rudy took her hand to help her. The contact sent sparks through her and they locked eyes for a moment. Flustered, Rudy looked away, breaking the moment.

With all four of them on board, Rudy started the motor and skillfully guided the boat out of dock and around the other crafts moored in the port. The
sun
sat
high above
, strong and relentless in a bright blue sky.

As soon as they cleared the shelter of the bay, the waves grew higher, launching the small boat into the air for a moment of weightlessness, before crashing back down into the swell. The motion was sickening and every time the vessel fell, Lucy felt as if she’d left her stomach behind.

The two other men stood on the bow, neither of them speaking. They wore identical expressions; pale faces and tight jaws.

“What are your names?” Lucy called out to them.

“I’m Chris,” said the stockier of the two. “This is Steve.”

“And what’s your friend’s name?”

“Paul,” said Chris. “But everyone calls him Paulie.”

The name sent a shock through her.
“Paulie?
You mean big Paulie?
Sandy hair?”

“Yeah.
Why, you know him?”

Lucy remembered the argument in the back of the four-by-four and cringed. Why did she always have to get on the wrong side of people? One day she was really going to have to learn how to keep her mouth shut.

“Yeah, I know him. Not well, but I know him.”

“Then you’ll know what an idiot he can be,” said the other man, Steve.

His friend shot him a look.

“What?” he said. “We both know Paulie can be a total ass sometimes. Take this whole fiasco for example.”

“Fine, but I’d rather we didn’t talk badly about him until we know he’s alive.”

They all dropped into an uncomfortable silence. Spray hit their faces, soaking their clothes, flattening their hair. Salt stung their eyes, but it didn’t stop them from watching out for any sign of the missing diver.

Just ahead, the headland protruded into the sea. Rudy turned around to yell, “The caves are just around the corner; we’re nearly there!”

His words sparked a mix of relief and trepidation. Each person terrified about what they might find.

Within minutes, the small boat rounded the b
end. Cliffs towered above them and
deep crevasses
were
cut into the stone walls. Waves crashed dangerously against the rock and into the caves. Just outside the entrance, a small row boat had come loose from where it had been tied up. As the sea surged and lifted, it picked up the small craft and smashed it against the cliff face. There was no sign of Paulie anywhere.

Lucy’s hand went to her mouth. Paulie could never have managed to get back to the boat, even with diving equipment.

In the shadow of the cliffs, darkness swallowed the light. Rudy skillfully guided the boat around the rocks and stopped at a safe distance from the rock wall and the gaping maw of the caves.

“I can’t risk getting any closer,” he said. “Not unless I want the boat going the same way as Paulie’s.”

Lucy shivered.

He
dropped
anchor and started to pull on his own diving equipment.

“Hang on a minute,” Lucy said. “You can’t go without a buddy. You could get in trouble.”

“You’re right. Of course you’re right. One of the boys can buddy me.”

“But what about if Paulie’s hurt? I’m the only one who has the experience to move him if he’s got injuries.”

“Lucy, it’ll be easier if one of the guys come. They’ve got more diving experience than you.”

“What if Paulie is hurt?” she insisted. “I’m the best person to have with you.”

She didn’t understand her reasons for pushing, the last thing she wanted to do was go in the water. Though the sky above them was blue, the obvious danger from the rip and the waves scared her.

“Okay,” Rudy said, relenting. “You come, but you promise to stick right by me. Don’t go doing anything reckless.”

“I won’t, I promise.”

“When we go beneath the surface you won’t feel the waves. We’ll have to surface in the cave, but it should be a bit calmer in there. The cliffs will
dissipate the worst of the surge
.”

“What about us?” Steve asked. “What can we do to help?”

“Wait here. Look after the boat.”

“We should come as well,” said Chris. “Surely four people looking is better than two.”

Rudy shook his head. “I need you here. If for some reason we get into trouble, we’ll need people in the boat who can help.”

Rudy helped Lucy get into her equipment
, her whole body trembling with nerves
.
She swallowed hard. Adrenaline fired through her veins, making her mouth dry and her heart thump in little trippy beats.

Rudy stood close behind her, helping her with the weight of her tanks. She trembled against his touch and he leaned in and spoke against her ear.

“I won’t let anything happen to you, Lucy. You can trust me.”

She turned toward him, her eyes filled with tears.

“You can trust me too,” she whispered.

He didn’t answer her. I
nstead
,
he bent to pick up her weight belt and slipped it
a
round her waist.

Lucy didn’t say anything else, content just to have him close for now, despite the circumstances.

Quickly
,
Rudy
finished
pull
ing
on his own equipment.

“Ready?” he asked.

“As I’ll ever be.”

He checked his diver
’
s watch. “We’ll be no more than fifteen minutes,” he told the two men. “If we’re not back by then, you’ll know we’re in trouble.”

“What then?” Chris
asked,
his voice shaky.

“Radio in for help. Don’t try to come in yourselves. If we’ve got into difficulties, there’s no point in you guys doing the same.”

They nodded.

Rud
y went first, stepping backward
off the boat, plunging into the water below. He swam the few strokes to the dive line, but he didn’t hold onto it for the moment, simply allowing himself to rise and fall with the swell of the waves. He took his regulator out of his mouth and pulled his mask off.

“Okay, Lucy?”

Already with her mask and regulator on, she gave him the
thumb and finger sign for ‘okay
.
’
Holding her equipment tight to her face, so it wouldn’t be pulled off by the resistance of the water, she stepped off the side.

The water sucked her under
and she fought against the pull, kicking her fins, powering back to the surface. She broke through and immediately a wave lifted her high up the side of the boat and dropped her back down again. Frantic, she twisted her head, searching for Rudy. The motion of the water disorientated her, but as her wave dipped and the one he rode on rose, she caught sight of his bobbing head.

Rudy lifted a hand to her and she swam, as best as she could, through the waves, thankful for the face mask and breathing apparatus.

As she reached his side, he put out his hand and caught her by the wrist.

“You okay?” he asked
, loudly
.

Lucy nodded, unwilling to try to take any of her equipment off, certain she would drop it and it would be lost to the ocean.

“The quicker
we go down the better,” he yelled
. “The water won’t be so rough. Stick close to me. The visibility will be bad, probably only a couple of feet, and it can feel quite claustrophobic, so don’t panic.”

She tried to smile around her regulator, but gave him the okay signal instead.

Rudy pulled his own mask on again and plugged his mouth around his regulator, gripping it in his teeth. He raised his hand and gave her the thumbs down sign.

With one hand, she held onto the dive line. Rudy, face to face with her, slid his hand down from her wrist and linked his fingers through hers. She gripped his fingers tightly, grateful for the contact.

Together, they pulled themselves below the surface.

Chapter Fifteen

Churned up sand and torn
pieces of seaweed floated in front of Lucy’s face. She could still see Rudy, but nothing beyond. Her breathing sounded loud and harsh in her ears. The current pulled at her limbs, and she clung to the line, terrified of having to let go and swim. At least the movement of the waves had disappeared. It was calmer down here, despite the current and the lack of visibility.

As she pulled herself deeper, a pain pierced deep in her ears and she let go of Rudy’s hand just long enough to pinch her nose and equalize, before taking his hand again. He gave her the okay sign again, checking she was all right.

She nodded, before remembering herself and flicking the sign back at him.

At fifteen feet, they finally stopped and Rudy pointed in the direction they needed to swim. Side by side, they let go of the rope, but Lucy wasn’t about to let go of his hand. Using the power of their fins, they swam toward the entrance of the caves.

The current grew worse, tugging at her limbs, threatening to drag her off course. She fought against it, trying to push down the panic clawing up at her lungs, forcing her to breathe faster.

Rudy saw her struggling and shook his head. He put his hand out flat, motioning for her to calm down. Immediately her training came back to her, how she was supposed to relax if a current caught her, allow it to carry her and then swim once the current had ended. She did as she’d been told and, still clinging to Rudy’s hand, they were slowly pulled across the front of the cave’s entrance. Rudy yanked on her hand and, with a power of their fins, they broke from of the flow of water and into the more sheltered crevasse of the caves.

With the rays of the sun no longer penetrating the already murky water, visibility was down to little more than a couple of feet. She could only just make out Rudy’s outline and her hold on his hand tightened.

Rudy pulled a torch from his diver’s belt and flicked it on. The diffused glow spread out before them, lighting their way. Grime and dirt filled the water. Even with the torchlight, they could only make out the shapes of the rock walls of the cavern rising on either side of them. Away from the warming sun, the water grew colder.

The regulator made her breathing loud and hollow in her ears. It was all she could hear. That, combined with not being able to see even a few feet ahead, made her claustrophobic.