Title: Blessed Union of Souls II: Deep Water 14/17
Author: Somogyi
Email: somogyi02@yahoo.com
Category: SRA
Rating: R for language, adult situations
Spoilers: Through Season Six
Keywords: M/S UST, S/Other Romance
Summary: Sequel to "Not the Doctor." Their partnership on shaky ground, Mulder
and Scully are called in to investigate the mysterious death of two teenagers in
a Hawaiian cave. While exploring the crime scene and its vicinity, they are
trapped by a cave-in. Will they be able to find their way out--without killing
each other first?
Disclaimer: The X-Files, Dana Scully, Fox Mulder, and all other characters
associated with the series are the property of Chris Carter, Ten-Thirteen
Productions, and the Fox Network. Characters are used without permission and no
profit is being made.
*****
Blessed Union of Souls II: Deep Water
by Somogyi
somogyi02@yahoo.com
Chapter 14
Scully was dreaming that she was relaxing in a warm bubble bath. She was aware
that it was just a dream, but she did not care. Right now, all that mattered was
the sensation of being suffused in luxurious warmth, the delicious tickle of the
bubbles that covered her skin. Ah, it was sheer and utter heaven.
"Scully." The sound of her name was a breathy whisper in her ear.
She smiled, turning her head toward the sensual voice.
"Scully," the voice repeated, this time more urgently.
"Not now," she protested. "I'm taking a bath. . . ."
"Damn straight! And you're about to drown in it if you don't wake up!" She was
suddenly shaken violently. "Goddammit, Scully, wake up!"
Scully's eyes shot open. She was no longer soaking in a hot bath. She was
definitely wet--though fully clothed--but the water was far from warm. She
looked up into the troubled face of Commander Riskey.
He let out a breathy sigh. "Christ, Scully, you scared the shit out of me. I was
afraid you had passed out, or fallen unconscious."
"No, I was just having a good dream. What's going on?" She moved her arms out to
try to sit up, and felt them splash into cold liquid. She looked around, saw she
was laying in several inches of water. "Shit! What happened?" she asked as she
struggled to get to her feet.
"I'm not sure," Riskey replied as he helped her up. "I woke up a minute or so
before you, and saw that the room was flooding."
Scully looked around frantically. "But where is the water coming from?"
"Near as I can tell--up there," he said, pointing to the gap in the wall where
they had entered the chamber.
"Fuck!"
"Jesus, Scully, my sailor's mouth is rubbing off on you," Riskey teased.
"Actually, this is a situation we SEALs would lovingly refer to as a goat fuck."
"How can you joke around at a time like this?"
"Well, panicking won't do either of us any good."
"Speak for yourself."
"See, you're making cracks too."
"We've got to do something!"
"We can try to climb back out. Although if that's where the water is coming
from, odds are the level's already up to at least that of the hole."
"Which means the whole tunnel's flooded."
"Precisely."
"Well, it's better than just waiting here like sitting ducks."
"Drowning ducks," he corrected.
She rolled her eyes. Why was she always stuck with comedians? "C'mon, let's get
out of here." She walked over to the wire and began to don the harness.
"Let me check the wire first." He gave it a firm tug.
Abruptly, it came loose, along with a big chunk of rock.
"Look out!" he shouted, shoving her aside just as the stone came crashing to the
ground, shattering into pieces and spraying water everywhere.
Scully stared down wide-eyed at the fallen hook. "Oh God. You, uhm, you don't
have another hook, do you?"
"No, that was the last one."
Her face had gone ashen. She slowly shook her head in disbelief. "Oh God!"
"Scully. . . ."
"Oh God! This is not happening," she muttered, raking her fingers through her
hair. "This is not happening!"
"Scully, calm down."
"Calm down? Calm down! How do you expect me to fucking calm down?! That was your
last fucking hook! Our only way out! This fucking room is going to fucking flood
and we're going to fucking drown like a couple of fucking rats on a sinking
ship!"
Christ, she was panicking. His first instinct was to slap her, but he did not
think that one would go over well. So he opted for the next best thing.
In two paces, he had closed the short distance between them. He grabbed her by
the shoulders and gave her a firm shake. "Scully, listen to me. We are *not*
going to drown. We are going to find a way out of here. We are *not* going to
die. I swear to you that I will not let you die."
She looked up at him, eyes shining with unshed tears. "H-How can you promise
that?"
He graced her with a bright smile. "'Coz I'm a trained Navy SEAL. Getting out of
impossible spots is what I do best. It's part of my job description. And we
*will* get out of this one, Li'l Red. I give you my word." He took her face in
his hands. "The important thing is to stay calm, and not panic. We'll figure
something out. Trust me on that. Okay?"
He was looking down at her with such tenderness, such empathy, that she felt as
though her heart would surely melt. What was more, he had a look of fierce
determination on his face. She understood then how he was able to encourage
countless men to follow him into battle despite terrible odds. With that look of
encouragement, fully aware of the bravery emanating from every pore of his body,
at that moment she would have believed him if he told her the world was flat.
"Okay," she whispered, nodding her head.
Lightly caressing her cheek with his thumb, he smiled at her again, making her
feel suddenly weak in the knees.
He let go of her, and slowly turned to look around the room.
"So, what's the game plan?" she asked.
"Well, I guess we could just let the water level rise and carry us up to the
opening. . . ."
She gave him a harsh look.
"Or maybe not. Hmm." He rubbed his stubbled chin. "For now, I think we're just
going to have to wait."
*****
And wait they did, as the water level steadily rose. Before long, it was at
their ankles. Then at their knees. Their waists. In less than an hour, they were
treading water to keep their heads above the surface.
Riskey had lost his helmet and its attached light source during their tumble off
the ravine ledge, and the remaining LED light on his belt was unfortunately not
waterproof. So he had produced several Eternalight Ergo Marine flashlights--
powerful little light sources shaped like small pieces of toast--and set them
floating in the water.
"Somebody up there has a lousy sense of humor," Scully muttered after a long
spell of silence.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, don't you find it ironic? We survived several cave-ins, a trip across the
first ravine on that rope bridge, a fall off the ledge of the second one. And
now we're going to die trapped in this room full of water."
"I told you, Scully, we're not going to die here."
"Well, I hate to sound morbid, Commander, but I don't have any indication to the
contrary. Where's this serendipitous plan you keep promising me?"
"I'm still formulating it."
"Forgive me if I don't hold my breath." She sighed. "God, I wish I had taken
that vacation I had been planning for so long."
"Fellow workaholic, I take it?"
"Hell yeah. It's been way too long since I took some time off."
"Where would you have gone?"
"Oh, I don't know. There are so many places I've been wanting to visit. I've
been meaning to go see Charlie and his family in Florida. I have old med school
friends in Boston who have been inviting me for years."
"Have you ever been to New York?"
"Once or twice, on business."
"Have you ever taken in the sites? Done the whole tourist thing? The Empire
State, Statue of Liberty, Central Park?"
"Nope. Never had the pleasure."
"You're kidding me! Geez, Scully, you don't get out much, do you?"
She pursed her lips. "You a native New Yorker, I take it?"
"Born and raised. Lived there until I went to Annapolis. Best place on earth, as
far as I'm concerned. So many different, exciting cultures on one island."
"The great melting pot, right?"
"Hey, don't mock the Big Apple. If you saw it right, you'd speak of it with much
more respect. With reverence."
She bit back a laugh.
"You're unconvinced, I can see it. My favorite time of year in New York City is
winter. Christmastime. Ice skating in front of the tree at Rockefeller Center.
Shopping in FAO Schwartz. The window displays at Lord and Taylor. The smell of
fresh roasted chestnuts as you walk the city streets. Carriage rides through
Central Park in lightly-falling snow."
"Well, when you describe it that way, it does sound nice."
"See. I told ya so." An idea suddenly occurred to him. "I'll make ya a deal,
Red. If we get out of here alive, I'll take you to New York City for a weekend.
We can do the whole tourist thing--see all the sites. Hell, I'll even take you
to dinner and a Broadway show. Whaddaya say?"
The very idea filled his face with such pleasure, created such a wonderful
smile. How could she deny him his last request? Besides, she had to admit that
spending a weekend in New York with Riskey was not at all an unpleasant notion.
"All right, Commander. You have yourself a deal." She held her hand out to him
and they shook on it.
When she tried to pull her hand back, she found that he was still holding on
tight. "Commander, what--?" She realized then that he was staring past her, at
the surface of the water. "What is it? What are you looking at?"
"Do you see that?"
"See what?"
"The water over there--it's swirling."
"Swirling? Where?"
"Over there." He finally released her hand, and treaded a few feet to his right.
He held his hand out at his side beneath the surface. "I'll be damned."
"What? What's going on?"
"C'mere, Scully. Feel this."
"Feel what?" she asked as she treaded over to him. "I don't feel anything."
"Over here." He took her hand, directed it to the area where he had felt it.
It took her a moment, but suddenly Scully gasped as she, too, felt it. "My God!
There's a small current. Almost like a tiny whirlpool."
"The water is being pulled out somewhere near the ground."
"But from the size of that current, the opening can't be very big."
"No, but perhaps it can be enlarged. I'm going to check it out."
"What? How?"
"I'm going to go see where the current leads. I'll be right back."
"Be careful!"
Nodding, he took a deep breath and dove down beneath the surface.
Scully waited anxiously for the commander to resurface. The seconds slowly
ticked by. She debated whether to go down after him, but then had to remind
herself that as a trained SEAL, he would be rather adept at holding his breath.
By her count, two minutes had passed, and she was getting ready to panic.
Just then, he broke the surface a few yards away with a loud crash. She quickly
swam over to him.
"Commander?" she asked, touching his arm.
"Found it," he gasped, taking large gulpfuls of air. "There's . . . small
opening . . . in rockface . . . foot above floor. . . ."
"How small?"
"Inch . . . maybe two."
Scully felt her heart sink.
"Gonna try . . . to move some rocks."
"Do you really think you can?"
"Only one way to find out. Be back." Taking another breath, he once again
disappeared below the surface.
Scully allowed herself a small glimmer of hope. If Riskey could just dislodge
these rocks, perhaps they would get out of this predicament after all.
*Please, God, let us get out of here,* she thought, offering up a silent prayer.
A couple of minutes later, he resurfaced again.
"Any luck?"
"No. They're jammed in there damned tight."
"Can I help? Perhaps if we worked at it together?"
"It's worth a shot. Here, take my hand." She treaded over to him and laced her
fingers with his. "The opening is near the floor over here," he explained,
pointing out the spot. "On three, take a deep breath and dive. I'll direct us
once we're under, and when we get to the wall, we'll try to push the rock out of
the way together."
"Got it."
"You ready?"
She nodded. "Let's do it."
"On three. One . . . Two . . . Three!"
Scully took a deep breath and dove into the water with Riskey. She felt an
insistent tug on her hand, and she followed him toward the wall. It was
difficult to see in the dark, murky depths, but she held tight to his hand, and
soon they had reached their destination. She could make out his gesturing to a
specific spot on the wall. He guided her hand to the rockface, and the stone he
was attempting to dislodge. She put her whole body into it, pushing with all of
her strength, but it would not budge. They tried several times together to move
it, but still nothing. Scully did not feel it give even a fraction of an inch.
Her air was rapidly running out. She signaled upwards a moment before swimming
for the top. She broke the surface, gasping for air. It had been too lon g since
she had gone diving.
A short while later, he resurfaced beside her. Wiping the water from his eyes,
he looked over in her direction.
Scully shook her head sadly. "It's no use. That rock isn't going anywhere. Not
without a stick of dynamite, anyway."
She watched as a look of excitement suddenly filled his face. "That's it!"
"What?"
"Scully, I think you just figured out how we're going to get out of here."
"I did? But all I said was--" Realization suddenly dawned. "Commander, don't
tell me you have a stick of dynamite in your pocket?"
"Nope. I've got something better."
"Plastique?"
He laughed. "No, actually a grenade."
Scully's eyes widened. "Do you think that's wise? To set off a grenade in such a
small, enclosed area?"
"Do you have a better idea?"
"No, but--"
"Don't worry, Scully. All the water should blunt the force of the blast. But
with any luck, it should be sufficient to make a hole in the wall and give us a
means of escape."
"You're sure?"
"This is our best chance."
Looking him in the eyes, she saw that he believed his own pronouncement. She
took a deep breath. "All right. What can I do?"
"Once I set it, we have about fifteen seconds till it detonates. I want you to
be on the other side of the room before I even place it."
"There's nothing I can do to help you?"
"Pray."
She smiled. "You've got it."
"I'm gonna high tail it in your direction once I set the grenade, but I don't
know if I'll make it all the way over before it goes off."
"In either case, I'll see you on the other side," she stated. There was not a
glimmer of doubt in her words.
He grinned, taking in the beautiful sight of her own smile. "Well, you'd better
get moving."
"Commander," she said, reaching for his hand. "I- I just wanted to say . . . to
tell you. . . ."
He looked at her expectantly.
"Thank you. For everything."
He squeezed her hand. "It's been my pleasure. Hopefully, you'll have even more
to thank me for in a few minutes."
She nodded. "Good luck." With a final squeeze to his hand, she released her hold
and swam toward the other side of the chamber. When she reached the wall, she
raised her hand and waved at him.
He waved back. He adjusted his hold on the grenade, took a deep breath, and
dove.
Scully watched and waited with her heart in her throat. *God, please let this
work. Please let us make it out of here alive.*
Suddenly, she saw movement in the water. She could barely make out Riskey's form
beneath the surface swimming in her direction like a bat out of hell. If she had
not moved to the side at the last possible moment, he would surely have barreled
into her. As it was, he came to an abrupt stop when he crashed into the wall.
"RB!" she shouted, reaching for him. She grasped both his hands in hers, felt
him pull her close.
He locked eyes with her. "Three . . . two . . . one!"
They both braced themselves.
A moment later, water and stone went shooting upwards from the force of the
explosion. The sound was largely muffled by the huge volume of water, as was the
spray of debris.
At first, Scully feared that the plan had not worked. But then, suddenly, she
felt a powerful current tugging at her.
Apparently, the grenade had done the trick. A huge hole had been created in the
wall below the surface. The sudden negative pressure had created a powerful
whirlpool, and hundreds of gallons of water began to rush out of the newly-
formed opening.
"Hold on!" she heard Riskey shout above the sound of waves crashing against the
walls.
Before she even realized what was happening, they were pulled under. She had
barely been able to draw a breath. Panicked, she tried to release her hold on
Riskey and swim toward the surface and fresh air.
RB had had the foresight to draw a full breath before the current towed them
under. He felt Scully struggling to free herself, but refused to let go of her,
not wanting them to become separated for as long as he could prevent it. From
the way she was thrashing about, however, he knew that she was about to start
swallowing water. Which left him with only one alternative.
Still holding tight to one of her hands, he used his other to grab the back of
her head and draw it toward his. He pressed his lips to her own. The gesture had
its desired effect, and he felt her gasp in surprise. At that moment, when her
lips parted, he breathed into her mouth, sharing his oxygen with her. Scully
seemed to understand then, and she closed her mouth tightly, sealing in the
precious air.
The next thing she knew, they were being pulled toward the opening in the wall.
The grenade was a hell of a lot more powerful than she had realized: the hole
was large enough for them to pass through side-ways.
Before long, she had lost her sense of direction as they were tossed to and fro,
and spun upside-down by the current. They were pulled through what felt like
miles of tunnel, occasionally banging into the walls, but mostly being swept
straight forward at an unbelievable speed. She fought desperately to hold on to
Riskey's hand, but it was soon ripped from her grasp. She hoped that he would
end up in the same place she was headed.
Soon, she felt her precious supply of air running out. She fought the urge to
gasp, realizing that it would only result in her ingesting lungfuls of water.
Abruptly, it seemed as though her surroundings were growing brighter. She felt
herself thrust through some kind of threshold. She was suddenly blinded by
bright sunlight. She felt a cool breeze on her skin, and when she opened her
mouth, she was able to breathe. She heard a deafening roaring, as of waves
crashing against a rocky shore.
For a split second, she felt as though she had stopped moving entirely. In the
next instant, she was falling downward through the air. Disoriented, panicked,
she waved her arms and legs wildly, trying to find a purchase that was not
there. She continued to fall, until suddenly her back struck the hard surface of
water, knocking the air out of her lungs with a loud whoosh. As she sank beneath
the surface, she felt the water enter her mouth and nose. The more she
struggled, the more liquid she inhaled. She could not breathe, could barely
think. She felt the strength leaving her, felt her limbs growing sluggish.
And then everything went black. . . .
*****
When Riskey felt Scully's hand torn from his grasp, his heart sank. He hoped
there were no tributaries, and that they would both be deposited in the same
general vicinity by the raging current.
He tried to maintain his bearings as much as possible as he was cast forward and
turned topsy-turvy. From what he could tell, he was being carried straight in a
single direction. Before long, he thought he noticed a difference in the water:
there was much more light creeping in beneath the surface. That hopefully meant
that he was about to reach the outside.
He tried to rotate his body so that he was moving head-first and parallel with
the ground. He pushed his arms out in front of his head and pointed his fingers
together and forward, streamlining his body much as one would before a dive.
Abruptly, he passed through a narrow opening and was cast outside into a bright,
sunny day. Seeing that he was dozens of yards above what appeared to be a lake,
he adjusted his position until his hands were pointing directly downward.
He plunged into the lake with a technique that would have put countless amateur
divers to shame. He quickly righted himself and swam upwards. He penetrated the
surface, and took in greedy mouthfuls of fresh air. He had never been so happy
to see the light of day.
Wiping the water from his eyes, he looked around him. He heard a familiar
roaring behind him, and turned to see a hundred-foot-high waterfall pouring out
from the side of a rocky cliff. He realized in amazement that the rushing water
cascading down the cliff was the means by which he had escaped the cave. As, he
hoped, Scully had also been freed.
He began to scan the lake's surface in search of her. Surely, she must have been
cast out of the cave by now. He did a slow three-sixty, blinking in the glare
cast by the bright sun on the water's surface.
He was about half-way through his circuit when he saw it: a figure, about thirty
feet away, floating face-down in the water.
In an instant, he was swimming towards the body. As he got closer, he recognized
the white tee-shirt and blue jeans. Reaching her, he quickly turned her over,
saw that she was unconscious.
"Shit! Hold on, Scully! Hold on!" He thought he could make out the shore several
hundred feet away. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders to help keep her head
afloat and above the surface, he started paddling for shore as quickly as he
free arm and legs would take him.
When he felt his feet strike bottom, he stopped swimming and staggered to his
feet. He lifted Scully in his arms and ran for the shore. As he reached sand
away from the water, he fell to his knees and dropped her to the ground on her
back.
Her face was pale, her lips practically blue. Placing his ear to her mouth, he
verified that she was not breathing.
"Don't do this, Scully!" he shouted as he began compressions on her chest. "Not
now! Not after all this!"
He pinched her nose, tilted back her head, and breathed into her mouth.
He repeated the compressions. "Goddammit, Red! Fight this! Don't give up on me!"
Two more breaths. Ten more compressions.
Again.
Still, she did not breathe. He felt his hope fading, but he refused to give up.
Suddenly, her eyelids started fluttering a moment before she began to cough. He
quickly rolled her onto her side as she forced quite a bit of water out of her
lungs. Before long, she was down to dry heaves, and he gently lowered her onto
her back.
"Scully? Can you hear me?"
She gazed up at him, trying to get her eyes to focus.
"Scully?"
Through the haze and the spots, she was able to make out a face. Blinking, her
vision finally cleared. She saw the distressed face of the commander staring
down at her.
She smiled up at him. "Hey there, Big Guy," she whispered, reaching to touch his
face.
His eyes closed and his body shook with an audible sigh of relief. He placed his
hand on hers and held it against his cheek.
"Told ya . . . I'd see you . . . on the . . . other side. . . ."
"That you did," he said softly. "You scared the shit out of me." He gently
reached to push soaked tendrils and patches of sand off of her face.
From the dark recesses of her memory, a phrase floated into her brain. "Had ya
big time," she murmured.
He was about to reply when he heard a noise in the distance. Shielding his eyes
from the midmorning sun, he was able to make out two figures standing on top of
a sandy hill.
"Over here! They're over here! This way! Hurry!" he heard a man shout.
"Help's on the way, Scully."
"That's good," she muttered, eyes already fluttering closed.
"Rest now, Li'l Red. Just rest."
He looked up to see Mulder sprinting towards them, Socks only a few paces
behind. The agent reached them first, and stopped short when he caught sight of
his partner's prone form.
"Oh, God! Scully! What happened?" he demanded, dropping to his knees beside her.
"We made it out of the cave riding a waterfall. I found her face-down in the
lake, not breathing. I administered CPR, and she regained consciousness."
"Scully, can you hear me?" he asked, gently touching her forehead. "Scully, it's
Mulder."
Slowly, her eyelids flickered, and she opened them enough to look up at him. "M-
Mulder. . . ?"
He smiled down at her. "Yeah, Scully, it's me. It's okay. Everything's going to
be okay now," he assured her as he took her hand in his and squeezed it. "You're
going to be fine." He kissed her hand.
Riskey got up and took a few steps back to give them some privacy.
"C'mon, assholes, move it!" Socks shouted to the paramedics who were several
yards behind him. "Shake a leg! We've got a woman down!" He hurried over to
where the others were gathered. "Mark! Good to see ya, boss-man!" he said,
enveloping his friend in a bear-hug. "We were afraid you were a goner."
"Aw, c'mon now, Socks. You know it takes more than a little cave-in to keep me
down."
"So, what happened? Is Doc okay?"
"Well, now that she's breathing again, hopefully she'll be fine."
"Stand back! Give us some room!" one of the EMS workers shouted as he and his
partner hurried over to Scully. They began to work on her, but quickly found
that Mulder was in the way. "Sir, please, you'll have to stand back."
"C'mon, Mulder, let the medics do their job," Socks said gently, putting an arm
on his shoulder.
"I'll be right nearby, Scully," he assured her before letting Socks lead him
away.
A third medic tried to convince Riskey to let her evaluate his condition, but he
brusquely refused her attempts at an examination. "I'm fine," he assured her.
"Just go help Agent Scully."
The three men watched in silence as the paramedics assessed Scully's vitals, set
up an iv line, and gave her oxygen. They loaded her onto a stretcher and began
to carry her back toward the waiting helicopter. Mulder returned to Scully's
side, keeping pace alongside the EMS workers.
"How's Robbins?" RB asked Socks as they jogged behind the medics.
"By now, he's probably in surgery. They called in their orthopedic and vascular
specialists."
Riskey smiled, remembering Scully's prognosis.
"And the canister?"
Socks shook his head. "I checked the tracker after the cave-in right before we
moved on. Buried beneath hundreds on feet of rock. There was no way to get to
it."
"Probably just as well. Damned thing caused more trouble than it could ever be
worth."
They watched the medics load Scully into the helicopter, and Mulder climbing in
along with them.
"I've got a jeep here," Socks told him. "We can take that, unless you want to
crowd into the copter."
"Jeep's fine."
As they made their way toward Socks' jeep, he watched the helicopter take off
and disappear into the bright blue sky.
End Chapter 14
*****
Author: Somogyi
Email: somogyi02@yahoo.com
Category: SRA
Rating: R for language, adult situations
Spoilers: Through Season Six
Keywords: M/S UST, S/Other Romance
Summary: Sequel to "Not the Doctor." Their partnership on shaky ground, Mulder
and Scully are called in to investigate the mysterious death of two teenagers in
a Hawaiian cave. While exploring the crime scene and its vicinity, they are
trapped by a cave-in. Will they be able to find their way out--without killing
each other first?
Disclaimer: The X-Files, Dana Scully, Fox Mulder, and all other characters
associated with the series are the property of Chris Carter, Ten-Thirteen
Productions, and the Fox Network. Characters are used without permission and no
profit is being made.
*****
Blessed Union of Souls II: Deep Water
by Somogyi
somogyi02@yahoo.com
Chapter 14
Scully was dreaming that she was relaxing in a warm bubble bath. She was aware
that it was just a dream, but she did not care. Right now, all that mattered was
the sensation of being suffused in luxurious warmth, the delicious tickle of the
bubbles that covered her skin. Ah, it was sheer and utter heaven.
"Scully." The sound of her name was a breathy whisper in her ear.
She smiled, turning her head toward the sensual voice.
"Scully," the voice repeated, this time more urgently.
"Not now," she protested. "I'm taking a bath. . . ."
"Damn straight! And you're about to drown in it if you don't wake up!" She was
suddenly shaken violently. "Goddammit, Scully, wake up!"
Scully's eyes shot open. She was no longer soaking in a hot bath. She was
definitely wet--though fully clothed--but the water was far from warm. She
looked up into the troubled face of Commander Riskey.
He let out a breathy sigh. "Christ, Scully, you scared the shit out of me. I was
afraid you had passed out, or fallen unconscious."
"No, I was just having a good dream. What's going on?" She moved her arms out to
try to sit up, and felt them splash into cold liquid. She looked around, saw she
was laying in several inches of water. "Shit! What happened?" she asked as she
struggled to get to her feet.
"I'm not sure," Riskey replied as he helped her up. "I woke up a minute or so
before you, and saw that the room was flooding."
Scully looked around frantically. "But where is the water coming from?"
"Near as I can tell--up there," he said, pointing to the gap in the wall where
they had entered the chamber.
"Fuck!"
"Jesus, Scully, my sailor's mouth is rubbing off on you," Riskey teased.
"Actually, this is a situation we SEALs would lovingly refer to as a goat fuck."
"How can you joke around at a time like this?"
"Well, panicking won't do either of us any good."
"Speak for yourself."
"See, you're making cracks too."
"We've got to do something!"
"We can try to climb back out. Although if that's where the water is coming
from, odds are the level's already up to at least that of the hole."
"Which means the whole tunnel's flooded."
"Precisely."
"Well, it's better than just waiting here like sitting ducks."
"Drowning ducks," he corrected.
She rolled her eyes. Why was she always stuck with comedians? "C'mon, let's get
out of here." She walked over to the wire and began to don the harness.
"Let me check the wire first." He gave it a firm tug.
Abruptly, it came loose, along with a big chunk of rock.
"Look out!" he shouted, shoving her aside just as the stone came crashing to the
ground, shattering into pieces and spraying water everywhere.
Scully stared down wide-eyed at the fallen hook. "Oh God. You, uhm, you don't
have another hook, do you?"
"No, that was the last one."
Her face had gone ashen. She slowly shook her head in disbelief. "Oh God!"
"Scully. . . ."
"Oh God! This is not happening," she muttered, raking her fingers through her
hair. "This is not happening!"
"Scully, calm down."
"Calm down? Calm down! How do you expect me to fucking calm down?! That was your
last fucking hook! Our only way out! This fucking room is going to fucking flood
and we're going to fucking drown like a couple of fucking rats on a sinking
ship!"
Christ, she was panicking. His first instinct was to slap her, but he did not
think that one would go over well. So he opted for the next best thing.
In two paces, he had closed the short distance between them. He grabbed her by
the shoulders and gave her a firm shake. "Scully, listen to me. We are *not*
going to drown. We are going to find a way out of here. We are *not* going to
die. I swear to you that I will not let you die."
She looked up at him, eyes shining with unshed tears. "H-How can you promise
that?"
He graced her with a bright smile. "'Coz I'm a trained Navy SEAL. Getting out of
impossible spots is what I do best. It's part of my job description. And we
*will* get out of this one, Li'l Red. I give you my word." He took her face in
his hands. "The important thing is to stay calm, and not panic. We'll figure
something out. Trust me on that. Okay?"
He was looking down at her with such tenderness, such empathy, that she felt as
though her heart would surely melt. What was more, he had a look of fierce
determination on his face. She understood then how he was able to encourage
countless men to follow him into battle despite terrible odds. With that look of
encouragement, fully aware of the bravery emanating from every pore of his body,
at that moment she would have believed him if he told her the world was flat.
"Okay," she whispered, nodding her head.
Lightly caressing her cheek with his thumb, he smiled at her again, making her
feel suddenly weak in the knees.
He let go of her, and slowly turned to look around the room.
"So, what's the game plan?" she asked.
"Well, I guess we could just let the water level rise and carry us up to the
opening. . . ."
She gave him a harsh look.
"Or maybe not. Hmm." He rubbed his stubbled chin. "For now, I think we're just
going to have to wait."
*****
And wait they did, as the water level steadily rose. Before long, it was at
their ankles. Then at their knees. Their waists. In less than an hour, they were
treading water to keep their heads above the surface.
Riskey had lost his helmet and its attached light source during their tumble off
the ravine ledge, and the remaining LED light on his belt was unfortunately not
waterproof. So he had produced several Eternalight Ergo Marine flashlights--
powerful little light sources shaped like small pieces of toast--and set them
floating in the water.
"Somebody up there has a lousy sense of humor," Scully muttered after a long
spell of silence.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, don't you find it ironic? We survived several cave-ins, a trip across the
first ravine on that rope bridge, a fall off the ledge of the second one. And
now we're going to die trapped in this room full of water."
"I told you, Scully, we're not going to die here."
"Well, I hate to sound morbid, Commander, but I don't have any indication to the
contrary. Where's this serendipitous plan you keep promising me?"
"I'm still formulating it."
"Forgive me if I don't hold my breath." She sighed. "God, I wish I had taken
that vacation I had been planning for so long."
"Fellow workaholic, I take it?"
"Hell yeah. It's been way too long since I took some time off."
"Where would you have gone?"
"Oh, I don't know. There are so many places I've been wanting to visit. I've
been meaning to go see Charlie and his family in Florida. I have old med school
friends in Boston who have been inviting me for years."
"Have you ever been to New York?"
"Once or twice, on business."
"Have you ever taken in the sites? Done the whole tourist thing? The Empire
State, Statue of Liberty, Central Park?"
"Nope. Never had the pleasure."
"You're kidding me! Geez, Scully, you don't get out much, do you?"
She pursed her lips. "You a native New Yorker, I take it?"
"Born and raised. Lived there until I went to Annapolis. Best place on earth, as
far as I'm concerned. So many different, exciting cultures on one island."
"The great melting pot, right?"
"Hey, don't mock the Big Apple. If you saw it right, you'd speak of it with much
more respect. With reverence."
She bit back a laugh.
"You're unconvinced, I can see it. My favorite time of year in New York City is
winter. Christmastime. Ice skating in front of the tree at Rockefeller Center.
Shopping in FAO Schwartz. The window displays at Lord and Taylor. The smell of
fresh roasted chestnuts as you walk the city streets. Carriage rides through
Central Park in lightly-falling snow."
"Well, when you describe it that way, it does sound nice."
"See. I told ya so." An idea suddenly occurred to him. "I'll make ya a deal,
Red. If we get out of here alive, I'll take you to New York City for a weekend.
We can do the whole tourist thing--see all the sites. Hell, I'll even take you
to dinner and a Broadway show. Whaddaya say?"
The very idea filled his face with such pleasure, created such a wonderful
smile. How could she deny him his last request? Besides, she had to admit that
spending a weekend in New York with Riskey was not at all an unpleasant notion.
"All right, Commander. You have yourself a deal." She held her hand out to him
and they shook on it.
When she tried to pull her hand back, she found that he was still holding on
tight. "Commander, what--?" She realized then that he was staring past her, at
the surface of the water. "What is it? What are you looking at?"
"Do you see that?"
"See what?"
"The water over there--it's swirling."
"Swirling? Where?"
"Over there." He finally released her hand, and treaded a few feet to his right.
He held his hand out at his side beneath the surface. "I'll be damned."
"What? What's going on?"
"C'mere, Scully. Feel this."
"Feel what?" she asked as she treaded over to him. "I don't feel anything."
"Over here." He took her hand, directed it to the area where he had felt it.
It took her a moment, but suddenly Scully gasped as she, too, felt it. "My God!
There's a small current. Almost like a tiny whirlpool."
"The water is being pulled out somewhere near the ground."
"But from the size of that current, the opening can't be very big."
"No, but perhaps it can be enlarged. I'm going to check it out."
"What? How?"
"I'm going to go see where the current leads. I'll be right back."
"Be careful!"
Nodding, he took a deep breath and dove down beneath the surface.
Scully waited anxiously for the commander to resurface. The seconds slowly
ticked by. She debated whether to go down after him, but then had to remind
herself that as a trained SEAL, he would be rather adept at holding his breath.
By her count, two minutes had passed, and she was getting ready to panic.
Just then, he broke the surface a few yards away with a loud crash. She quickly
swam over to him.
"Commander?" she asked, touching his arm.
"Found it," he gasped, taking large gulpfuls of air. "There's . . . small
opening . . . in rockface . . . foot above floor. . . ."
"How small?"
"Inch . . . maybe two."
Scully felt her heart sink.
"Gonna try . . . to move some rocks."
"Do you really think you can?"
"Only one way to find out. Be back." Taking another breath, he once again
disappeared below the surface.
Scully allowed herself a small glimmer of hope. If Riskey could just dislodge
these rocks, perhaps they would get out of this predicament after all.
*Please, God, let us get out of here,* she thought, offering up a silent prayer.
A couple of minutes later, he resurfaced again.
"Any luck?"
"No. They're jammed in there damned tight."
"Can I help? Perhaps if we worked at it together?"
"It's worth a shot. Here, take my hand." She treaded over to him and laced her
fingers with his. "The opening is near the floor over here," he explained,
pointing out the spot. "On three, take a deep breath and dive. I'll direct us
once we're under, and when we get to the wall, we'll try to push the rock out of
the way together."
"Got it."
"You ready?"
She nodded. "Let's do it."
"On three. One . . . Two . . . Three!"
Scully took a deep breath and dove into the water with Riskey. She felt an
insistent tug on her hand, and she followed him toward the wall. It was
difficult to see in the dark, murky depths, but she held tight to his hand, and
soon they had reached their destination. She could make out his gesturing to a
specific spot on the wall. He guided her hand to the rockface, and the stone he
was attempting to dislodge. She put her whole body into it, pushing with all of
her strength, but it would not budge. They tried several times together to move
it, but still nothing. Scully did not feel it give even a fraction of an inch.
Her air was rapidly running out. She signaled upwards a moment before swimming
for the top. She broke the surface, gasping for air. It had been too lon g since
she had gone diving.
A short while later, he resurfaced beside her. Wiping the water from his eyes,
he looked over in her direction.
Scully shook her head sadly. "It's no use. That rock isn't going anywhere. Not
without a stick of dynamite, anyway."
She watched as a look of excitement suddenly filled his face. "That's it!"
"What?"
"Scully, I think you just figured out how we're going to get out of here."
"I did? But all I said was--" Realization suddenly dawned. "Commander, don't
tell me you have a stick of dynamite in your pocket?"
"Nope. I've got something better."
"Plastique?"
He laughed. "No, actually a grenade."
Scully's eyes widened. "Do you think that's wise? To set off a grenade in such a
small, enclosed area?"
"Do you have a better idea?"
"No, but--"
"Don't worry, Scully. All the water should blunt the force of the blast. But
with any luck, it should be sufficient to make a hole in the wall and give us a
means of escape."
"You're sure?"
"This is our best chance."
Looking him in the eyes, she saw that he believed his own pronouncement. She
took a deep breath. "All right. What can I do?"
"Once I set it, we have about fifteen seconds till it detonates. I want you to
be on the other side of the room before I even place it."
"There's nothing I can do to help you?"
"Pray."
She smiled. "You've got it."
"I'm gonna high tail it in your direction once I set the grenade, but I don't
know if I'll make it all the way over before it goes off."
"In either case, I'll see you on the other side," she stated. There was not a
glimmer of doubt in her words.
He grinned, taking in the beautiful sight of her own smile. "Well, you'd better
get moving."
"Commander," she said, reaching for his hand. "I- I just wanted to say . . . to
tell you. . . ."
He looked at her expectantly.
"Thank you. For everything."
He squeezed her hand. "It's been my pleasure. Hopefully, you'll have even more
to thank me for in a few minutes."
She nodded. "Good luck." With a final squeeze to his hand, she released her hold
and swam toward the other side of the chamber. When she reached the wall, she
raised her hand and waved at him.
He waved back. He adjusted his hold on the grenade, took a deep breath, and
dove.
Scully watched and waited with her heart in her throat. *God, please let this
work. Please let us make it out of here alive.*
Suddenly, she saw movement in the water. She could barely make out Riskey's form
beneath the surface swimming in her direction like a bat out of hell. If she had
not moved to the side at the last possible moment, he would surely have barreled
into her. As it was, he came to an abrupt stop when he crashed into the wall.
"RB!" she shouted, reaching for him. She grasped both his hands in hers, felt
him pull her close.
He locked eyes with her. "Three . . . two . . . one!"
They both braced themselves.
A moment later, water and stone went shooting upwards from the force of the
explosion. The sound was largely muffled by the huge volume of water, as was the
spray of debris.
At first, Scully feared that the plan had not worked. But then, suddenly, she
felt a powerful current tugging at her.
Apparently, the grenade had done the trick. A huge hole had been created in the
wall below the surface. The sudden negative pressure had created a powerful
whirlpool, and hundreds of gallons of water began to rush out of the newly-
formed opening.
"Hold on!" she heard Riskey shout above the sound of waves crashing against the
walls.
Before she even realized what was happening, they were pulled under. She had
barely been able to draw a breath. Panicked, she tried to release her hold on
Riskey and swim toward the surface and fresh air.
RB had had the foresight to draw a full breath before the current towed them
under. He felt Scully struggling to free herself, but refused to let go of her,
not wanting them to become separated for as long as he could prevent it. From
the way she was thrashing about, however, he knew that she was about to start
swallowing water. Which left him with only one alternative.
Still holding tight to one of her hands, he used his other to grab the back of
her head and draw it toward his. He pressed his lips to her own. The gesture had
its desired effect, and he felt her gasp in surprise. At that moment, when her
lips parted, he breathed into her mouth, sharing his oxygen with her. Scully
seemed to understand then, and she closed her mouth tightly, sealing in the
precious air.
The next thing she knew, they were being pulled toward the opening in the wall.
The grenade was a hell of a lot more powerful than she had realized: the hole
was large enough for them to pass through side-ways.
Before long, she had lost her sense of direction as they were tossed to and fro,
and spun upside-down by the current. They were pulled through what felt like
miles of tunnel, occasionally banging into the walls, but mostly being swept
straight forward at an unbelievable speed. She fought desperately to hold on to
Riskey's hand, but it was soon ripped from her grasp. She hoped that he would
end up in the same place she was headed.
Soon, she felt her precious supply of air running out. She fought the urge to
gasp, realizing that it would only result in her ingesting lungfuls of water.
Abruptly, it seemed as though her surroundings were growing brighter. She felt
herself thrust through some kind of threshold. She was suddenly blinded by
bright sunlight. She felt a cool breeze on her skin, and when she opened her
mouth, she was able to breathe. She heard a deafening roaring, as of waves
crashing against a rocky shore.
For a split second, she felt as though she had stopped moving entirely. In the
next instant, she was falling downward through the air. Disoriented, panicked,
she waved her arms and legs wildly, trying to find a purchase that was not
there. She continued to fall, until suddenly her back struck the hard surface of
water, knocking the air out of her lungs with a loud whoosh. As she sank beneath
the surface, she felt the water enter her mouth and nose. The more she
struggled, the more liquid she inhaled. She could not breathe, could barely
think. She felt the strength leaving her, felt her limbs growing sluggish.
And then everything went black. . . .
*****
When Riskey felt Scully's hand torn from his grasp, his heart sank. He hoped
there were no tributaries, and that they would both be deposited in the same
general vicinity by the raging current.
He tried to maintain his bearings as much as possible as he was cast forward and
turned topsy-turvy. From what he could tell, he was being carried straight in a
single direction. Before long, he thought he noticed a difference in the water:
there was much more light creeping in beneath the surface. That hopefully meant
that he was about to reach the outside.
He tried to rotate his body so that he was moving head-first and parallel with
the ground. He pushed his arms out in front of his head and pointed his fingers
together and forward, streamlining his body much as one would before a dive.
Abruptly, he passed through a narrow opening and was cast outside into a bright,
sunny day. Seeing that he was dozens of yards above what appeared to be a lake,
he adjusted his position until his hands were pointing directly downward.
He plunged into the lake with a technique that would have put countless amateur
divers to shame. He quickly righted himself and swam upwards. He penetrated the
surface, and took in greedy mouthfuls of fresh air. He had never been so happy
to see the light of day.
Wiping the water from his eyes, he looked around him. He heard a familiar
roaring behind him, and turned to see a hundred-foot-high waterfall pouring out
from the side of a rocky cliff. He realized in amazement that the rushing water
cascading down the cliff was the means by which he had escaped the cave. As, he
hoped, Scully had also been freed.
He began to scan the lake's surface in search of her. Surely, she must have been
cast out of the cave by now. He did a slow three-sixty, blinking in the glare
cast by the bright sun on the water's surface.
He was about half-way through his circuit when he saw it: a figure, about thirty
feet away, floating face-down in the water.
In an instant, he was swimming towards the body. As he got closer, he recognized
the white tee-shirt and blue jeans. Reaching her, he quickly turned her over,
saw that she was unconscious.
"Shit! Hold on, Scully! Hold on!" He thought he could make out the shore several
hundred feet away. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders to help keep her head
afloat and above the surface, he started paddling for shore as quickly as he
free arm and legs would take him.
When he felt his feet strike bottom, he stopped swimming and staggered to his
feet. He lifted Scully in his arms and ran for the shore. As he reached sand
away from the water, he fell to his knees and dropped her to the ground on her
back.
Her face was pale, her lips practically blue. Placing his ear to her mouth, he
verified that she was not breathing.
"Don't do this, Scully!" he shouted as he began compressions on her chest. "Not
now! Not after all this!"
He pinched her nose, tilted back her head, and breathed into her mouth.
He repeated the compressions. "Goddammit, Red! Fight this! Don't give up on me!"
Two more breaths. Ten more compressions.
Again.
Still, she did not breathe. He felt his hope fading, but he refused to give up.
Suddenly, her eyelids started fluttering a moment before she began to cough. He
quickly rolled her onto her side as she forced quite a bit of water out of her
lungs. Before long, she was down to dry heaves, and he gently lowered her onto
her back.
"Scully? Can you hear me?"
She gazed up at him, trying to get her eyes to focus.
"Scully?"
Through the haze and the spots, she was able to make out a face. Blinking, her
vision finally cleared. She saw the distressed face of the commander staring
down at her.
She smiled up at him. "Hey there, Big Guy," she whispered, reaching to touch his
face.
His eyes closed and his body shook with an audible sigh of relief. He placed his
hand on hers and held it against his cheek.
"Told ya . . . I'd see you . . . on the . . . other side. . . ."
"That you did," he said softly. "You scared the shit out of me." He gently
reached to push soaked tendrils and patches of sand off of her face.
From the dark recesses of her memory, a phrase floated into her brain. "Had ya
big time," she murmured.
He was about to reply when he heard a noise in the distance. Shielding his eyes
from the midmorning sun, he was able to make out two figures standing on top of
a sandy hill.
"Over here! They're over here! This way! Hurry!" he heard a man shout.
"Help's on the way, Scully."
"That's good," she muttered, eyes already fluttering closed.
"Rest now, Li'l Red. Just rest."
He looked up to see Mulder sprinting towards them, Socks only a few paces
behind. The agent reached them first, and stopped short when he caught sight of
his partner's prone form.
"Oh, God! Scully! What happened?" he demanded, dropping to his knees beside her.
"We made it out of the cave riding a waterfall. I found her face-down in the
lake, not breathing. I administered CPR, and she regained consciousness."
"Scully, can you hear me?" he asked, gently touching her forehead. "Scully, it's
Mulder."
Slowly, her eyelids flickered, and she opened them enough to look up at him. "M-
Mulder. . . ?"
He smiled down at her. "Yeah, Scully, it's me. It's okay. Everything's going to
be okay now," he assured her as he took her hand in his and squeezed it. "You're
going to be fine." He kissed her hand.
Riskey got up and took a few steps back to give them some privacy.
"C'mon, assholes, move it!" Socks shouted to the paramedics who were several
yards behind him. "Shake a leg! We've got a woman down!" He hurried over to
where the others were gathered. "Mark! Good to see ya, boss-man!" he said,
enveloping his friend in a bear-hug. "We were afraid you were a goner."
"Aw, c'mon now, Socks. You know it takes more than a little cave-in to keep me
down."
"So, what happened? Is Doc okay?"
"Well, now that she's breathing again, hopefully she'll be fine."
"Stand back! Give us some room!" one of the EMS workers shouted as he and his
partner hurried over to Scully. They began to work on her, but quickly found
that Mulder was in the way. "Sir, please, you'll have to stand back."
"C'mon, Mulder, let the medics do their job," Socks said gently, putting an arm
on his shoulder.
"I'll be right nearby, Scully," he assured her before letting Socks lead him
away.
A third medic tried to convince Riskey to let her evaluate his condition, but he
brusquely refused her attempts at an examination. "I'm fine," he assured her.
"Just go help Agent Scully."
The three men watched in silence as the paramedics assessed Scully's vitals, set
up an iv line, and gave her oxygen. They loaded her onto a stretcher and began
to carry her back toward the waiting helicopter. Mulder returned to Scully's
side, keeping pace alongside the EMS workers.
"How's Robbins?" RB asked Socks as they jogged behind the medics.
"By now, he's probably in surgery. They called in their orthopedic and vascular
specialists."
Riskey smiled, remembering Scully's prognosis.
"And the canister?"
Socks shook his head. "I checked the tracker after the cave-in right before we
moved on. Buried beneath hundreds on feet of rock. There was no way to get to
it."
"Probably just as well. Damned thing caused more trouble than it could ever be
worth."
They watched the medics load Scully into the helicopter, and Mulder climbing in
along with them.
"I've got a jeep here," Socks told him. "We can take that, unless you want to
crowd into the copter."
"Jeep's fine."
As they made their way toward Socks' jeep, he watched the helicopter take off
and disappear into the bright blue sky.
End Chapter 14
*****