I pulled myself down the rock face, using as little energy as possible to overcome my buoyancy. This also allowed me to descend quickly until I felt my buoyancy change somewhere around thirty feet. At this depth my body stopped trying to float, the air inside my lungs compressed to half of what it had been on the surface. I let gravity pull me down for roughly another ten feet before the opening yawned wide and the slight current invited me in.
Using my ultra-efficient swim stroke, I glided through the underwater cavern, steadily covering the distance to the pocket of air. My body was beginning to tell me it wanted oxygen when I came to the shimmering pocket. There was little light in this part of the tunnel, and I could not make out any details of the air pocket from under water. I reached up with my hand and found the roof of the cave a foot higher than the water. It was enough for me to get a breath, but there wouldn't be much, and I had no way of knowing if it was oxygen or not. It could have just as easily been any number of other gasses. Any of which could probably kill me.
Glancing at the fading light on the other end of the tunnel, I made a snap evaluation of myself and my situation. I pressed on without taking a breath. Pushing myself off the rock ceiling, I settled back into my modified frog stroke. A major part of diving deep, especially without gear, was mental. Part of your mind must ignore signals from your body, keeping you completely relaxed when everything coming from your brain says otherwise. Another part of your mind must also, simultaneously, be hyper focused on the dive. It is a strange dichotomy that takes a lot of practice to master, and it was into this state that I reverted as I cruised through the underwater tunnel. Time no longer seemed to matter, and I relaxed, letting my body slip through the cool clear water.
The light in front of me grew brighter and brighter as I neared the exit of the cave. A quick glance at my watch told me I had been underwater for well over three minutes already. If I survived this dive, it was going to be a new personal record. Looking up as I cleared the cave, I could see water dancing and shimmering above me, and beyond that, I could see the sky. Ignoring the spasms in my throat and stomach, I arched my back and kicked hard to overcome gravity's grip and began my ascent. A few feet later the rise became easier as the air in my lungs, now mostly spent, expanded again. This was the most dangerous part of a dive. A blackout here, with nobody to save me, would end with me drowning.
As usual with a long dive, I could feel the euphoria set in. I ignored it, concentrating instead on reaching the surface. Finally, my head broke the surface, and I took my first breath. Looking at my Mares dive watch, I saw a max depth of fifty-five feet, and the numerals for the duration read four minutes and ten seconds. I blinked in surprise and read the numbers again, but they were correct, I had just tied Jeff's record. There's no way he'll ever believe you, I thought as I smiled to myself.
My new surroundings surprised me with how different it was from the previous chamber. It was another sinkhole, but that is where the similarities ended. Instead of sheer cliffs, the hole looked more like a crater; the sides sloping up from the depressed center. Ahead of me, what appeared to be a beach consisting of smooth pebbles rose out of the water towards yet another cave peeking out from behind the few hardy plants calling this place home. On either side of the cave entrance I could see faded paint, more artwork left by the indigenous Taino people. It couldn't be coincidence, this was all part of the same cave system.
The game isn't over yet, Jaye Mercury. I'm coming for you.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
I dragged myself up the pebble beach, grateful to be out of the water and back into the warmth of the jungle. The sky above was changing from blue to gold, dappled with clouds hanging low and pink. Nightfall was coming fast, and I needed to get moving. Hurriedly, I sat down, untied my soaking wet shoes from my belt loop, and slipped them on with a wet squelch.
No longer concerned with stealth, I pulled the flashlight from my pocket and made my way towards the cave, pushing aside the low bushy palms and vines. The cave was beyond black, pulling me in with its darkness as I approached. The opening was short and narrow, almost tunnel like. And, like the entrance above, carvings and paintings lined the walls. There was only one way to go, forward. I took two deep breaths and allowed myself to shiver against the cooler air of the cave. Then I moved into the pure darkness beyond.
My path took a few turns, first to the left and then back to the right before gradually sloping upwards. The beam from my light played back and forth from one wall to the other as I neared the top of the ramp. The walls spread farther and farther apart as I went, leaving a massive black hole in front of me.
I kept to the right wall, hoping to find a split in the path that would take me back to where Jaye had tossed me in the water. The reality of my unpreparedness struck me like a baseball bat. I knew nothing about this cave system. Nobody did. There could have been a cave-in blocking my escape, or it could be a maze with dozens of paths branching off. I only had one source of light, no food or
