Chapter 12

Kate went back to fiddling with her guitar after she got rid of the radio, savoring the silence. She could hear the gently lapping of water, and smiled, enjoying the relaxing sound. She sat like that for a long time, her leg muscles getting progressively more cramped, her eyes closed as she became caught up in the sound of her soft strumming, and the gentle lapping of water. She gave a start however, when she woke up, unable to believe that she had fallen asleep. Kate shook her head, trying to clear it. It was then that she realized what had caused her abrupt return to consciousness. Her foot was wet. Kate was perched on top of a bench, sitting crossed legged, with one foot dangling off the benches edge. The dangling foot was wet. Puzzled, Kate leant forward and looked down. The cave was flooding. The bench she was perched on was about a meter high, and the water was almost reached to top. Kate swore under her breath, and began franticly shoving things into their relevant waterproof compartments in the wall, thankful that all of the compartments were still above the water line. Convinced that everything had been put away, Kate waded through the water towards the cave entrance. The protective wall was still in its lowered position, invisible beneath the swirling water. Kate knew it would be foolish to try and move the wall now, as it would make the cave airtight, and Kate didn't know how long the flooding would last. Instead, she could only watch as the water level grew higher, becoming level with her shoulders. Kate swam back into the caves center, and climbed onto the top of the bench, which was completely submerged. She gripped tightly onto one of the overhead pipes, hoping that the water would not rise that high. She cursed under her breath as she thought of how the two way radio had received that message, and how she had tossed it away in her anger. They'd been trying to contact her, warn her of the flood danger. Kate shook her head, trying to focus on the positive, but the thought remained imprinted in the back of her mind. It was her own fault she was in this situation. The water was rising quickly, swirling around her knees. She could feel the under current tugging at her feet, but she gripped tightly onto the overhead pipe.

The water was up to Kate's waist when she realized that this was not a normal high tide. She frowned. The cyclone season was over, or at least, it was usually over by this time of year. Kate knew from experience that cyclones could form at least three months on either side of the cyclone season, and as the flood waters rose, Kate suspected things were just as hairy on the surface.

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Alan, Tintin, and the remaining occupants of the Island sat in the comfort of the lounge, listening and watching through the reinforced glass as the cyclone tore its way across the island. The stormy surf pounding upon the rocks. Jeff winced as he thought of the others out in the boat, or of Kate, trapped in the cave. He could see form the others eyes, that they too were thinking of the family members conspicuously absent.

Alan and Tintin sat with their arms wrapped around each other, fear for their daughter evident in their eyes. Tintin had tears running down her pale cheeks, and Alan was finding it difficult to keep his eyes from welling up too. In his hands lay the box, the one that had started this whole incident. Half of his mind, the youthful, impulsive half, wanted to throw it out into the storm, while the other half, the caring and compassionate half, wanted to cradle it close to him, so he could imagine it was Kate, safe, and out of harms way. Alan eyed the box, and the keys that opened it curiously. Shifting slightly so Tintin could see what he was doing, he placed the right key in the lock, and carefully turned it. Tintin straightened slightly.

"Do you think we should be doing this?" she asked. He nodded, and opened the lid.

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Gordon, Peter and Virgil sat in the Tracy family boat as they fought through the rough seas towards the cave's entrance, which was completely submerged by the Storm serge. Wordlessly, Gordon and Peter began pulling on their diving equipment, while Virgil stood at the wheel, trying to get as close to the cave's mouth as he could, without gashing the boat's hull against the rocks, the waves and choppy water making his life more difficult. Eventually, the pair was ready, and after they tested their oxygen tanks, as well as the additional tank they would give to Kate when they found her. Gordon would carry that, as he was by far the more experience diver of the two.

"You two sure about this?" Virgil asked above the roar of the wind. Gordon and Peter nodded, although Peter was eyeing the ferocious waves with some anxiety. The pair pulled their goggles over their eyes and slipped into the surf.

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Kate swallowed nervously as the water swirled around her neck. Her arms ached from where she was holding the pipe. She now had her full body weight upon the pipe, having abandoned the bench top half an hour ago. The pipe, however, was groaning against the extra weight. Kate whimpered, and felt tears slide down her face. She had a maximum of 30 cm of air left before the cave would completely flood, and at the rate the water was raising at, that would last her all of five minutes, if she didn't run out of oxygen beforehand. She winced as the pipe creaked and groaned from beneath her arms, before finally giving way, and snapping under the weight.