Page 66 of Tiger's Voyage

He swam around an outcropping covered with seaweed and swarming with fish. I followed and descended to swim between a rocky mound and a jutting ridge. Just at that moment, an eel of some kind darted out from the rock, passing right over my arm. I kicked backward as hard as I could, screamed, and lost my regulator. Panicking, I reached for my octopus backup regulator and slammed into the ridge behind me. I got the backup on okay but forgot all my training and tried to rise immediately away from the rocks without taking stock of my environment.

I ascended a few feet quickly and slammed the top of my head into the ridge above me. I could just make out the others swimming toward me before I blacked out.

10

Durga’s Temple

Icame to lying on a hard surface. The first thing I realized was that I couldn’t breathe. I choked and gagged and was quickly rolled to my side. After hacking up about a gallon of seawater, my lungs burned, but I could at least take in oxygen again. I took a couple of raspy breaths, was rolled onto my back again, and found myself staring up into Kishan’s worried face. He was still wearing his wet suit, and his hair was dripping.

I coughed out, “What … happened?”

Kishan responded, “Shh. Just relax and take deep breaths.”

I finally figured out where I was—on the floor of the wet garage. Wes and Mr. Kadam stood over Kishan’s bent figure, and all three of them were studying me closely. I coughed again and looked around. “Where’s Ren?”

“I’m here.”

He was standing against the wall far away from me.

“Can you sit up, Kells?” Kishan asked.

“Yes. I think so.”

I sat up but swayed dizzily, and Kishan shifted to support my weight against his chest. Wes crouched down to feel around my head. He began asking me questions like my age and my birthplace to gauge my alertness.

Satisfied, he said, “You sure gave us a scare. What happened down there?”

“An eel touched me, and I freaked. I didn’t look where I was going and slammed my head into a rock. Thanks for pulling me out of the water, Wes. You’re a good partner.”

“Wasn’t me. It was Ren over there.”

I smiled weakly at Ren. “Looks like you saved my life. How many times is it now?”

He returned my gaze with a tight expression. “I just pulled you from the water. Kishan did CPR.” After he said that, he abruptly left the garage.

Kishan helped me to stand. “Let’s get you back to your room, Kells. Kadam? Can you call for Nilima to meet us there and help Kelsey?”

“Of course.”

As I walked back to my room, I found leaning on Kishan was no longer necessary. My head hurt where I hit the rock, but it wasn’t terrible. Nothing some Tylenol wouldn’t fix. Kishan insisted that Nilima stay with me for the next hour or so, and she helped me out of my wet suit so I could shower. Kishan brought dinner to my room even though I told him I felt fine and was looking forward to diving again. They all seemed to think I should rest for a day or so. Wes said he wanted to do more drills.

I kept telling them that I made a stupid mistake and just happened to hit my head hard enough to black out. It was a fluke. It wouldn’t happen again. I’d learned my lesson. But they outvoted me, and even Mr. Kadam made excuses, saying he was too busy to dive the next day. Finally, to put their minds at ease, I told them I’d go to bed early. I went to my room hoping I could find Ren. He’d disappeared for the rest of the day, and I wanted to ask him more about what happened. Everyone was acting very strange. I just couldn’t figure out why.

Ren wasn’t in his room. I waited hours for him to come to my room and even left the connecting door open, but he never appeared.

Ren didn’t join us in any of Wes’s drills the next day. Wes partnered with Mr. Kadam and Kishan with me. When I asked Mr. Kadam or Kishan where Ren was, they admitted Ren was on the ship and was safe—and that he did not want to be found.

I became angry with Kishan and used every persuasive method at my disposal to get him to tell me why Ren was hiding, but Kishan wouldn’t budge. He said that when Ren wanted to talk with me, he would. I paced back and forth in my room, hour after hour wondering what was wrong and feeling frustrated that I couldn’t help. I begged Mr. Kadam and Nilima to assist me, but they also politely refused, saying that Ren would speak with me when he was ready.

Soon, theDeschenwas under way again and moving on to our next port city. I skipped dinner and went to bed early. Repeating the same pattern as other nights, I stood in our connecting doorway, staring dully into Ren’s dark room.

Where could he be? Is he angry with me? Is he hurt? Is something wrong?Is he stuck as a tiger somewhere? Did something happen between him andWes? Between him and Kishan?

Questions filled my mind, and my heart ached with worry. I’d promised not to use the cell phone tracker, but I still physically searched the ship, repeatedly looking in every nook and cranny. There was absolutely no sign of him.

On the third night without Ren, I went to bed but couldn’t sleep. Around midnight, I decided the cool ocean breeze might help me clear my head.

Taking the outside stairs to the sundeck, I stood at the railing near our dining area for a while. The wind was blowing hard, and when I brushed back my hair, I could hear the soft murmur of male voices that it carried. I wondered if the speakers were the captain and a crewmember and thought I might say hello. Following the sound of the voices, I walked around the outside breezeway only to freeze when I saw Ren and Kishan. They had their backs to me. I was upwind, and the weather was a bit stormy, so they didn’t hear or smell me.