Crisscross Moon - 26. Chapter 26

26.

Once Cory got into the stream, he was able to feel how big the hole in the rock was. "I can't really see it, even with you holding the light. The shadows keep getting in the way."

I held the light differently, but the beam just made different shadows.

"It doesn't matter," he told me. "I can figure it out with my hands. I've done this blind, in muddy water."

"Sounds like great fun."

"If you really need to know, we were in a lake, trying to find a body. We were helping the police."

"Glad I didn't ask."

"I think the hole's big enough," he went on. "At least, for me to fit through."

"Don't get stuck."

"I'm not that stupid. And I'm just gonna look."

He put on his face mask, took a deep breath, and went under the water with a flashlight. We'd borrowed two waterproof ones from Amy and Bryan. Where Cory was, the water was maybe three feet deep, so he was squatting more than anything, and I could always see him pretty well.

"What did you see?" I asked when he came up.

"It's about yay wide," he said, holding his hands a couple feet apart. "But the opening's very uneven. And my beam just goes through water. It doesn't touch rock."

"You think the passage is all underwater?"

"It is straight ahead... But if I point my beam up, it seems to come out of the stream. So I think the ceiling slopes up as the floor goes down."

"Could a person breathe near the ceiling?"

"Probably, though I don't know how soon. But I'll bet I could stand pretty quickly. I didn't try 'cause I didn't want to go into the hole yet. I don't know how far the passage goes, and the only way to find out is by exploring."

"Is the hole wide enough for your shoulders?"

"It would be if the edges were smoother."

"Is it wide enough for mine?"

"You don't know how to use a tank."

"Well, you're not using one."

"But I would be if I were going in. It's my only safety."

"At least till I yank your feet."

"Yeah... well..."

"How hard is it to use a tank?" I asked. "Is it like snorkeling? Can you show me? The hardest part I remember is not forgetting to breathe through your mouth."

"That's pretty much the same... you've got to ignore your nose. But let me look first before I try and teach you to use a tank... 'specially in the dark.. I promise I won't go further than I think is safe. But if I start to kick, tug hard on my feet."

"I need to be in the water then."

"That wouldn't hurt."

I handed Cory the air tank then got in the stream behind him. It was tricky to hold my light and the tank and to see Cory, and then he didn't seem to strap the tank on his back.

"That would make me too bulky," he said. "Even with this baby tank."

"Will it float?"

"No... but I'll push it ahead of me. Kind of let it sit on the ground."

Where I was standing, the water was just past my waist. But the hole started under the surface.

"I'm only gonna stick my head and the flashlight in," Cory explained. "If it looks like there's room, I'll flatten out... like I'm swimming rather than kneeling. And I may push myself in a little way. But that'll be all."

It was the second time he'd promised, but I still had to ask, "Do you have any idea what you're doing?"

"Some," he admitted, though I swear he was shrugging. "I've been in underwater caves before... in the Caribbean. But they were already explored. And that water was warm. And I was with guides."

"Don't get hurt."

"I told you, I'm not stupid."

But he was curious. And once his head was underwater, he quickly went into swimming position. Then he went into the hole past his shoulders - way past. After waiting longer than I wanted, I tugged on his feet. I wasn't yanking. I was signaling. And he signaled back by making an OK with his fingers and holding his hand behind his back. I just caught that with my flashlight beam. Then he swam into the hole past his waist. A moment later, he backed out.

The first thing he did was turn off the tank. "No point wasting air."

"What did you see?" I asked.

"Curious? Aren't you?"

"Just tell me."

"I will."

"'Cause you're having all the fun."

"You can look for yourself if you want... it's not hard. And I was barely breathing... mostly, I was holding my breath. Just put on your mask, stick your head under the water, swim in, and take a look. I'll bet you'll go further than I can."

I thought for a moment. "You really want me to try?"

"You want to... you know it. And you're not staying there any longer than you can hold your breath."

So I put on my face mask. Neither of us had taken the wet suit hoods - me because I didn't think I was going underwater, and Cory because he said he wouldn't need it. Though the water was cold, and I really wished I wasn't getting my head wet. But I stood in front of the hole, kneeled the way Cory had, took a deep breath, aimed my flashlight so the beam pointed straight ahead, and went under the water.

It took me a moment to figure out what I was seeing, but that happened in snorkeling, too. Still, I'd mostly done that in a river or lake, where there was plenty of light. In the passage, the first thing I saw was craggy walls on both sides. Then I could see what Cory meant when he said his beam left the water if he pointed it up. But I also thought the ceiling of the passage wasn't too far above the water. Before I could explore further, and well before I'd run out of breath, Cory was pulling me by my ankles.

"People forget to breathe," he explained when we could talk.

"I've done that with snorkeling," I admitted.

"But there, you can come to the surface. Here, you could get trapped."

"I don't think so... I think, once you go through the hole, there's always air above you. In fact, if you go in face up, you might always be able to breathe."

"But then you can't see in front of you... And I'm not sure I could turn on my back inside the passage. It seems narrower than the one into your family cave."

"Maybe... but I didn't feel as cramped. Though I am smaller than you."

"A definite advantage."

"Want me to try with the tank?"

"Test it with me first. See if you can breathe comfortably."

We were pretty much talking in the dark, mainly holding our flashlight beams on each other's foreheads, trying not to blind each other. And when I tried to use the tank, it didn't seem hard at all.

"Remember," Cory warned. "If you panic... if you're suddenly trapped... you're gonna forget to breathe. You can't do that."

"I won't."

He seemed to believe me.

(continued)