where water flowed from one place to another. Why, though, was she not underwater right now? Had the tunnel drained for some reason? She wiggled around to free one of her arms. She ran her hand over the walls holding her and overhead.
If she were in a tunnel, theoretically, the space above her would be open-air, but instead, she felt more rock. Sliding her fingers around the rounded shape, she realized what was above her. A boulder. She dangled a few feet below a rock wedged in like she was. What if the boulder succumbed to gravity? She wouldn’t have to worry about breathing then, just a smashed brain.
Shit. She had to get out of there, but how? Could she swim her way out? Could she hold her breath long enough? Hell, she just got it back. She didn’t want to lose it again. What a fucking mess.
As if this wasn’t bad enough, the walls began to shake. Earthquake? No fucking way. Her body slipped an inch before it jammed again. This time, her empty air tank was the reason she was stuck. Pebbles rained on her head. The boulder above her started slipping.
Not many choices at the moment. She unhooked the gear from around her chest and let herself fall. She heard the rock scrape free of its binds followed by a clang and crunch.
Her lungs took in as much air as they could in anticipation of hitting the water. She guessed correctly. She landed in the water and went under. Light filtered in from below so she could at least see where she was. That also meant she wasn’t that far from the opening.
Remembering the rock, her arms shot up to help prevent her head from being smashed into her shoulders, but it never came. Her body floated up till she bobbed, half in, half out of the water. Looking up, she noted that the large stone sat on her air canister that was jammed sideways along the walls. She let out the breath she’d been holding.
The walls vibrated again, shifting the rock and the air container. Shit. She still needed to get out now.
The only choice was down into the light. Fortunately, it wasn’t that light yet, but could be before this was all said and done. All she had to do was hold her breath long enough to push herself down the tunnel and out. Though there was light, the bottom still looked damn far away.
Pebbles rained down on her again. Time to get moving. Centering herself, she breathed in, letting her stomach push out. The bottom of her lungs filled first, then up to her sternum, and finally, her chest rising.
She thrust herself down as far as she could before using her arms and legs to crab crawl her way through the tunnel. Staying focused, she alternated hands and feet. She fought her body’s natural buoyancy. So much for Tom and his fucking weights. Bastard could strap himself down and sink to the bottom as far as she cared.
Braving a glance down, she saw a bright spot, which meant she was closer to being out. But her lungs burned, and she wasn’t there yet. The palms of her hands and the balls of her feet felt raw from rubbing down the rough walls. But she had to keep going.
It felt like forever had gone by. She worked her limbs rhythmically—right hand down, left foot down, left hand, right foot. Right hand, left foot, left hand, right foot.
Her body jerked, needing air, but she clamped her lips tighter and fought to keep moving. Right hand, left foot, left hand, right foot. She was quickly reaching critical stage once again.
The rock shook, and she looked up to see the canister and rock plunging toward her face.
Losing her focus, she tried to scramble faster, hoping she was far enough down that the rock wouldn’t slam into her. Then again, it could be the force she needed to move faster.
Her arms straightened above her in time for the air tank to push against her hands. Elbows bending, Valentina used all the strength she could to not let her arms collapse. But again, her body was quickly weakening with a lack of oxygen to her muscles. Her vision started closing in. She went down, down, down.
The boulder’s momentum slowed too far from the end. She wouldn’t make it out. The need to breathe was overwhelmingly strong. She couldn’t hold it anymore.
She regretted that she didn’t get to say goodbye to