“I have to go after him,” Eleriss called, speaking to me. “You need to find the sword. It’s the only tool left on this world that can fight the jibtab and those that will come after.”
Ugh, did I look like I was in charge? Why?
He kept looking at me, waiting for an answer.
“I’m not sure where it went down, but I’ll try to find it.” All those years on swim team had to be good for something. I hoped.
Eleriss nodded once, then let go of his perch. The water immediately swept him toward the far wall, then pulled him under. I had no idea where it was taking him-to some underground reservoir with no oxygen for all I knew-or if I’d ever see him again.
A concern for later.
The water had climbed to my waist, and Simon was still trying to improve his hold on the stalactite.
“Here, catch the end.” I loosed the whip, hoping the popper would reach him.
A good notion in theory, but I wasn’t directly upstream from him, and the water swept the thong away from him as soon as it touched the surface. I tried again, this time trying to wrap the popper around the stalactite itself. The stone was too far away and too thick, and the whip nearly smacked Simon in the face, but he released his grip long enough to try and grab it.
His other hand slipped and fell away from the stalactite. His head disappeared beneath the water.
My breath hitched. I was about to uselessly shout his name, but then a weight on the other end of the whip almost pulled me out of the alcove. Only jamming my leg against the other column kept me from flowing out with the water. I feared I didn’t have the strength to wind Simon in, but his head popped above the surface. He gasped and started pulling himself up the whip, hand over hand.
I kept my foot braced against one column and gripped the other with my free hand. The end of my flashlight was between my teeth. If not for Temi’s beam, I wouldn’t have been able to see a thing.
It might have only taken Simon ten seconds to pull his way up to the alcove, but it seemed like minutes. Both my arm and leg were quaking, but I refused to think of letting go. With a great surge of energy, Simon hauled his body the last couple of feet and wedged himself into the corner of the alcove.
“That’s the… only problem with… Arizona,” he said, gasping for air between words. “The blasted monsoons.”
“I figured someone from a rain forest would be familiar with such things,” I said, even as I peeked around my column to meet Temi’s eyes. I waved the whip. “Ready?” The water had grown too deep to wade through without assistance. We’d have to use the whip’s help to claw our way up to her next.
“It’s more gradual in rain forests,” Simon said. “A little bit each day instead of all at once.”
“Well you’re the one who thought it’d be a good idea to leave.” I cast the end of the whip toward Temi. As with Simon, it took a few tries before I got it close enough for long enough that she could snatch it. By now, the water was hugging my ribcage.
“The stupidity of youth,” Simon said.
“You go first.” I handed the grip to him. I glanced at his shoulders-he’d managed to retain his backpack. I had the food and water in mine, as if we needed the latter right now. He had most of our hiking gear. “Get that rope out when you get up there.”
“Better than a whip, eh?”
I kept my mouth shut and didn’t tell him how I intended to use it. Since he’d been struggling to keep his head above water, I doubted he’d heard my conversation with Eleriss.
Simon took a breath and left the alcove. He managed to keep his feet beneath him for the first couple of steps, but the current tugged them off the ground again. Water was still gushing through the roof, spraying everywhere. I wondered if the creature was up there somewhere watching. I also wondered how we were going to get out of the caves. I doubted anyone had moved that boulder yet.
“Worry about that later,” I muttered. If we could get back to that big chamber with the lake, we’d at least have some time to figure things out. Even with hundreds of gallons of water pouring in, it ought to take a while for it to fill the cave system completely.
“Delia?” Temi called. “Your turn.”
I leaned around the column. The end of the whip floated a couple of feet away. I took a step, reaching for it, and my heel slipped. I lunged back, flinging both arms about the column before the current could drag me away.
And here I’d thought those years on swim team would have prepared me for something like this. Amazing how few deadly currents your standard twenty-five-yard New Mexico pool had.
“Are you all right?” Simon called.
“Not really,” I responded, but I made a second more careful grab for the whip. Delaying wouldn’t improve the situation.
This time I caught the popper. As Simon had done, I pulled myself up the thong, hand over hand. The water tore at my legs, but I managed to keep my feet on the ground. Debris I could only guess at batted past my shins. A log or something else hard clunked at my knee. I winced. Maybe it’d be better to let my legs float free behind me after all.
I reached the others and Simon gripped my arms, pulling me into their alcove. The water was waist-high there as well-not much better than the situation I’d left.
“What next?” Temi asked.
We had to find a way to the mouth of the tunnel. It was hard to tell how deep the water was over there, and there was nobody waiting to catch the end of the whip and reel us in.
“Stalactite first.” I pointed at a second one, this more slender than the one Simon had dangled from and much closer to the entrance. “Then we’ll try to push off and reach the tunnel.”
“Try,” Simon said. “Yay.”
“You’re welcome to do more than try.” I waved for them to stand aside so I could attempt an actual whip crack. I didn’t have the space I needed, but I’d have to make do. The popper wouldn’t wrap itself around the tip of the stalactite without a good snap.
It took a couple of tries, but on the third, the leather wrapped around the stone without falling free. I pulled myself across before I could think better of it. We were above the spot where the deluge continued to pour through the ceiling, so the current didn’t tug at my legs as ferociously. I made it across and was able to stand on two feet, my back braced against the stalactite. I unraveled the whip and tossed the end toward the others. They pulled themselves to the same spot, and we were able to wade to the tunnel mouth from there, though the water and the sloping flooring still made the crossing treacherous.
Inside the tunnel, we paused to catch our breaths. For the moment, the water only reached our knees, though it would continue to rise.
Simon collapsed against the wall, his eyes drooping shut. “Thank, God.” He patted the side of his pack. “What did you want the rope for?”
Temi shook her head and spoke before I could voice my plan. “You’re not going back in there.”
“Back in there?” Simon’s eyes sprang open. “Why would you?”
“Someone has to try for the sword. If it’s as important as they say…” I shrugged. “I’m the logical choice.” Unfortunately. I was beginning to wish I’d taken up badminton as a kid.
“For what?” Simon asked. “Suicide? Let it go, Del. We can come back for it later. After we figure out how we’re going to get out of here.”
“Later it might be buried beneath a thousand tons of rock and water.”
“Then we’ll get dive suits. The Dirt Viper is waterproof, you know.”
I snorted. “Yeah, and what if the monster gets to it? That’s all its been trying to do all along, isn’t it? It must know that sword is the only thing that can threaten it.”
“That’s bull. Just because those two freaks-” Simon stabbed a finger in the direction Eleriss and Jakatra had disappeared, “-believe that doesn’t mean it’s true. I bet those soldiers in town have some nice grenades or nukes that could take a monster down no problem.”