Miyako Diaries 20: The Light Ahead

<<Gggulp>>

Another stream of bubbles. But this time it was scheduled. Chihaya has now squeezed out about half of the air from her compressed air cavity, and as she was feeling the boulders below with her free hand, she noted a downward incline and they were going even deeper. This was expected as well. Now they were passing the point of no return, meaning, after this they will no longer be able to turn back without - frankly put - drowning. True, she could try to swim back slow or fast, to either save energy or save time, but once past here she would be too exhausted and/or held her breath too long to make it all the way back.  Somewhere en route, she would have wild, uncontrolled spasms, and in the sheer dark would be gorging down saltwater and fighting the piercing lung pains until her brain finally cuts her off into blackout. With the buoyancy of her lungs gone, her body would slowly sink to the bottom - and she would stay there - for how long? There was no guarantee that anyone would ever find her in the dark cave.

No, I'll be fine - Chihaya blinked a few times, and did a couple of quick kicks to propel her body back into position. She will swim forward, through the darkness. If she panicked now, Aya will try to save her - and they will both drown. As she resumed her swim, she did a brief mental shaking of her head, clutched her teeth, and started blowing air into her cheeks and gulping back in. Once. Twice. Thrice. This was her favorite rebreathing trick, and after a half dozen, she was almost sure she was breathing in fresh air. The signs of lung convulsions were gone, and her fear had subsided. Seventy-seven. Seventy-eight. She resumed her strokes count, surprised that her head had not lost track. Seventy-nine. Eighty....

www.patreon.com/posts/miyako-d…