Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 106092 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106092 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
But who will look after you?
Tyler
This is going to really suck.
But it’s also necessary for our survival. Kyle’s right. We can’t just sit around and do nothing. If there are provisions and supplies close by, we owe it to ourselves to attempt to obtain them. Without more water, at the very least, we’ll all be dead soon.
Plus, doing this task will keep my mind off other things like the demise of my brothers. I barely slept more than ten minutes straight last night because nightmares of seeing my brothers’ bodies floating in the water kept waking me up.
If there’s any silver lining in this, it’s that I didn’t have to watch them die.
The ache in my chest resurfaces, but one look at Kyle’s determined features has me remembering our task at hand.
Food. Water. First aid.
We can do this.
“Again,” Frannie says, gesturing at her three students—me, Kyle, and Brian. “Hope, start counting now.”
As instructed, we all four suck in a lungful of breath while Hope counts out loud for us. Frannie explained earlier that the average person can hold their breath thirty to sixty seconds. But Navy SEALs/BUDs and trained divers can hold their breaths much longer—typically around three to five minutes. Even some well-known celebrities can hold their breaths upward of six or seven minutes. Knowing that it’s possible helps and with her tips and suggestions, I’ve managed to squeeze more time in my own breath holding.
While we all listen to the steady cadence of Hope’s counting, I consider the plan again. Brian thinks it shouldn’t take us any more than about twenty seconds if we swim fast from the moment we dive in the submerged stairwell to make it through the doorway, down the hallway, and into the break room. Once we get there, we all have our different tasks. Kyle and Brian will break into the vending machine to take any snacks they can get their hands on, I’ll stuff my now-empty backpack with as much bottled water as I can, and Frannie will hunt down the first aid kit that is supposed to be housed under the sink.
We get in and we get out.
Easy.
But our travel time there and back is approximately forty seconds, which leaves another twenty-forty seconds for us to grab what we need. There’s not much room for error.
I gasp for air as soon as Hope says “eighty-seven,” meaning I’m good for about close to a minute and a half. Frannie goes next, a few seconds after me, and then Brian holds out until after the two-minute mark with Kyle right behind him. My lungs already ache, but we can only prepare so much before we just need to get it over with.
“If anything happens,” Kellen says, “get out of there. Forget the provisions and help your partner. No one gets left behind.”
We all solemnly nod our understanding. I adjust my empty backpack to wear in front of me. It’s already half unzipped, too. So as not to slow us down, we’ve all stripped down to our underwear and lost our shoes. It’s pretty awkward, especially seeing Frannie half-naked, but we can’t have anything, even clothes or shoes, taking precious seconds off our dive.
“It’s now or never,” I state to the others in my diving mission. “Let’s go.”
Kellen holds my gaze for a long moment and then gives me a grim smile. Everyone is counting on us to get the supplies we need. I feel like we can do this. We just have to be careful.
“Brian and Kyle, lead the way,” I say as we all descend down the stairs and splash into the water. “We’ll be right behind you.”
Kyle holds the flashlight and turns it on. He gives us each a quick glance and then he’s sucking in a huge breath. Brian does the same. They’re both gone in an instant. Frannie inhales deeply at the same time I do. We both dive into the water, her in front and me pulling up the rear.
At first, it’s alarming to swim in the darkness of the stairwell, but the bouncing beam of light gives me something to follow. Hastily, me and Frannie follow after the others. Kyle and Brian make quick work of opening the door before pushing their bodies through it. Once we make it through the doorway of the destination floor, I realize there’s much more light than in the stairwell. A quick look around me and it’s clear that all the glass on two sides of this floor are completely gone. Furniture has been sucked out too.
Rather than staring at the spooky scene for too long, I swim after Frannie down a hallway that remains standing. We pass an office door and then make our way into a large break room. Brian and Kyle are already at the vending machine, figuring out the best way to break inside. Frannie darts over to a cabinet and starts yanking doors open. I’m not sure how much time has passed, but my lungs are already starting to ache.