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Rose was trapped in an underwater maelstrom. The world no longer had edges or an up or down. Her scream echoed lonely in her ears as turbulent water hurled her around as if she weighed nothing.

A hand grabbed her with a viselike grip, locking onto her forearm.

Finn. His hand slid down her forearm, found her fingers. It took all of her strength to heave toward him, to clasp her own hand over the hand that gripped her.

She gasped. His hold verged on painful. “Finn…”

The diver holding her arm came into view, his faceplate smashing up against hers. Eyes bugging with terror stared at her. Not Finn. Harris.

Fear coursed through her veins, made real by a surge of potent adrenaline. Her heart crashed against her ribs and her blood thickened in her veins. What the hell?

His grip hardened, the whites of his eyes bright against the all-encompassing dark of the water as he grabbed her safety line, winding it around his fisted fingers.

"Harris, wait?— "

The water current snatched her, twisting her in the opposite direction. The safety line that connected her to Finn snapped taut across her throat.

"Wyndham. Help me—" Harris's voice was a whined plea in her ear. He yanked on the line as the water spun her, inadvertently looping it around her neck until she was snared like a rabbit in a trap. The rope dug into her throat, crushing her windpipe.

Can't breathe.

White stars exploded across her vision, shocking her leaden limbs into action. She stretched for the dive knife sheathed at her hip, popped it free from her holster as her pulse throbbed bloody and red across her eyelids.

The rope was unyielding against her skin as she pressed the knife edge close, attempting to gain some purchase to wedge the tip underneath. Heat bloomed in her throat as she nicked her skin.

Then she remembered—Finn had tied the other end of the safety rope to her waist.

She dropped her hand lower, relief flushing hot and cold through her system as she found a little more play around her waistline. She wiggled the knife under the rope and yanked upward with the last of her fading strength. The knife was sharp and sliced clean through. Instantly, the pressure on her throat released. Rose gagged, fighting for breath as the cut end of her safety line, the one connecting her to Finn, disappeared into the stormy silt.

She was alone, untethered. Swimming free in a freezing midnight abyss.

Panic bubbled up against her throat, but she swallowed the scream. If she lost it now, she’d be dead in minutes.

“Rose. This is Finn. I’m coming for you.” His voice was assured in her ears .

She squeezed her eyes tight, locking the tears in. She would not cry.

Breathe. Keep breathing.

Light filtered against her eyelids.

MARV.

The snakelike bio-hybrid bumped up against her, its tail locking around her in a gentle clasp.

She threw one arm around MARV, while the world tumbled around her, her teeth clenched so hard she was sure they would shatter.

God. When will this end?

“Wyndhammmmm.” Harris still clawed at her, his fingers rigid and bony against the neoprene of her dry suit. Could he pierce it? The thought of the icy cave water rushing her system made her lungs contract.

Reluctantly, she pushed free of MARV. “Harris. I’m here.” She sheathed her knife then caught his free hand, stopping it mid flail. “I’m here.” Her chest was shuddering, making it hard to speak. “Calm down. Slow your breathing.”

“I can’t. Can’t.” Even over the comms, she heard the labored suck of his lungs. His eyes bugged with the effort. Gray froth ridged the corners of his mouth.

Shit . She was no medic, but her dad had drilled dive safety into her for many hours. “Harris, you need to slow down.”

“No. I need to go back up.”

Back up? They were marooned in a hurricane of grit. Where the hell was up? She had no idea. There was no up, there was only here.

“Harris. Listen to me. Listen.” She rapped his faceplate, attempting to focus his attention. “We don’t know which way is up.” She reached for his waist, searching for the line that connected him to Luca .

She patted his waist frantically, sure she was missing it, but she wasn’t. It was gone.

Fuck.

“Harris. Your guide rope. Where’s Luca?” She seized his shoulders with aching hands.

Harris groaned, his eyes rolling upward. “Gone.” His body jerked. “I see. Light. Light.”

No.

“No, Harris, there is no light. Stay with me. Harris. Harris, listen to me.”

He faced her. The visor of his mask spittled from panic.

Her gut cramped. Shit. Where were the others? She couldn’t do this on her own.

Harris scrunched his eyes closed, his lips peeling back from his clenched teeth. “It hurts so bad.”

“Where, what hurts?” She ran a hand down one arm and then the other, searching for an injury, but found nothing.

“Make it stop.” Pain compressed his voice, and he hunched over, releasing her as his body curled into a fetal position.

“Rose.” Finn exploded out of a dirt choked cloud, his muscular form dwarfing Harris. “You okay?”

Hot needles of relief pricked her skin as he clasped her shoulders, his eyes wide.

“Finn.” Her voice wobbled as she pointed. “Harris. Something’s wrong.”

Finn released her, spinning the stricken man to face him. “Harris?—”

Harris’s face was tinged blue through the glass of his dive mask, his tongue protruding between swollen lips.

“Shit. How long has he been like this?”

Rose hugged herself. “I...I don’t know. A few minutes perhaps. He was freaking out, saying he was in pain and then he stopped…do you think it’s a heart attack?”

“Hypoxia can trigger one if the heart’s in poor condition.”

Finn pressed two fingers to Harris’s neck, while he urged his teammates to hurry on his comms.

Luca and Duke appeared seconds later, their bulky shapes powering into view as the maelstrom of dirt calmed. Duke swam straight over to Harris as the cave edges materialized out of the cloudy water.

Rose swam back a few feet to give them space as Harris disappeared from view, hidden between Duke and Finn as they worked to save his life.

Luca hovered nearby, his hands pressed to his helmet. “Fucker just untied himself. He was having trouble breathing and then just untied himself and vanished. Who the fuck does that?”

“Luca. You alright?” Ethan joined the group, placing a placating hand on Luca’s shoulder.

“Ethan? Yes. I’m fine.”

Harris’s moans filled their shared comms, then cut out, prompting Luca to shake his head and mutter something indistinct under his breath.

What if he’s already dead?

Rose pressed her eyes shut against scalding tears. God, they hadn't even made it to the habitat yet and everything was going to shit. She should have known better than to take on a dive like this one. She gripped her elbows, raw pain ripping through her. The situation felt painfully familiar—like it was only yesterday she'd found out her parents died in a car crash. She could still hear her sister Thea screaming at her when there was nothing she could do .

A gentle touch on her elbow brought her back to the here and now. “Rose.”

She opened her eyes. Finn filled her view. If nothing else, the sight of him calmed her heart a little.

“Harris?”

Pain made his brow furrow. “He’s gone. I’m sorry. There was nothing Duke could do. Most likely a heart attack, but we won’t know more until we get him to the habitat.”

Over his shoulder, Ethan and Duke were binding Harris’s arms to his body for the remaining section of the journey. Nausea burned in her throat.

Fuck.

She blew out a breath, her cheeks puffing. “Okay.” She sniffed. A man was dead. “We’re still going on then?” She tried not to sound disappointed, even though she wanted nothing more than to swim back to the surface, back to the light and the air. As far away from this dark place imbued with death as she could get.

“We’re past the point of safe return.” Finn’s tone was firm. “The landslide has delayed us, compromised our air supplies. We don’t have enough to return. From here, we can only go forward.”