Chapter 8 – So Near and Yet So Far
Aeryn's initial reaction to scramble for the surface was
stopped by two firm hands at her waist.
It only took her a moment to realise that it was Crichton swimming above
her but by the time she had processed that information she was in the
tunnel. She became painfully aware that
there was no going back now. She froze. Concentrating on holding her breath, her
eyes searched the tunnel roof for the air pockets that Hailen had
promised. Those who had gone before had
left yellow lights behind spaced out on the tunnel floor giving the place an
eerie feel. She could see Rygel up
ahead and she could feel that Crichton had a handful of her vest, dragging her
along.
Her heart was beating loudly in her ears.
Where was the air pocket?
She couldn't wait much longer.
She could feel her lungs straining to expel the used air in
her chest and take in a fresh breath.
She could still see Rygel ahead. He showed no sign of stopping.
She suddenly realised that she wasn't going to make it.
It was happening again.
Her arms and legs began to flail wildly and she felt
Crichton lose his grip on her. She
tried desperately to get through the tunnel roof, not registering that it was
solid stone. She started to scratch at
it, the air beginning to leave her lungs.
She could feel the skin being torn from her fingers as she struggled
uselessly. Her lungs were heaving in
her chest; she would not be able to resist the need to take a breath for much
longer. She felt Crichton grab her
again and drag her away from the tunnel roof but she continued to
struggle. She closed her eyes with the
effort of not taking another breath.
Suddenly her face felt cold. She wondered whether this was the effect of the lack of
oxygen. She didn't remember this from
the last time, but maybe it meant that she was dying again. She squeezed her eyes tighter shut.
"Jesus, Aeryn, breathe!"
She felt hands on her face and heard the voice, Crichton's voice, again.
"Aeryn, come on." He slapped her gently
on the cheek. She opened her eyes
slowly to see Crichton's face right in front of her. "You gotta take a breath, baby.
Please. Come on." She did as she was told, immediately sending
her into a coughing fit. But the next
breath was easier, as was the next.
Crichton smiled at her.
"See, I told you. Easy!"
She gave him a look that suggested otherwise, but it just
made his grin wider. "Where's
Rygel?" She rasped.
Crichton was looking at one of her injured hands. "He's gone on to the next air pocket to make
sure he knows exactly where it is.
He'll be back."
As if on cue, Rygel appeared. "The next one is around the same distance, but the tunnel is
wide. Crichton will be able to swim
alongside you all the way."
"You just need to stay calm, Aeryn. And it wouldn't hurt to kick your legs a
little. You'll go faster. OK?"
She nodded. She felt
a wave of panic overtake her when Rygel took the rope from Crichton and
disappeared under the water again, but she pushed it to one side as she saw
Crichton begin to take a deep breath.
No sooner had she taken a deep breath of her own than she found herself underwater
again.
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"OK, Aeryn. This is
the last one. You've been doin' real
good, darlin'. We're nearly home and
dry." He shifted his hold on her to
keep her head above the water. This
space was cramped for two; there was nothing to hold onto so Crichton had to tread
water for both of them. "Rygel will be
back in a microt and then we can be on our way. I can't wait to get back to Moya and get dry. What about you?"
She smiled a little at him.
"Hmm. A change of clothes and
then a beaker of really hot tea. I'm
frelling cold."
"Do we have any tea left?
If we do then I'll join you."
And so they continued.
They had fallen into a pattern when they reached each air pocket. Rygel would go ahead to check the distance
and the tunnel and Crichton would stay with Aeryn, talking incessantly to her
about anything, trying to keep her calm and take her mind off the actual swim. She was getting better and better with each
stage. Although she relied heavily on
Crichton, she was kicking her feet and they were making good progress.
"Hey, Ryg." Crichton
greeted the Hynerian as he appeared by Aeryn's right shoulder. "Is it all plain
sailing ahead?"
"Well, the good news is that it's a shorter distance than
the last."
"And the bad news?"
"The tunnel gets very narrow and rocky from here onwards. It twists sharply up and down as well as
from side to side. You'll need to use
your hands a lot to help you and we'll all have to swim in single file."
Aeryn couldn't stop a look of panic passing over her face.
"This is going to be alright, Aeryn. You've been doing great and this is a
shorter distance. I'll take the rope
this time and pull you along; I'm stronger than Rygel. You just remember to keep kicking your legs
where you can to help you go faster and tug on the rope if you run into
trouble. OK?"
"You'll have to try to stay close, Aeryn. The current is strong and it will be
difficult to get to you if you fall behind or if you panic." Rygel added. " There's not much room to
manoeuvre."
"OK, thank you, Rygel." Crichton gave him a despairing look. "Stop spreading good cheer and tie the rope
around my waist, will ya?" When the
Hynerian disappeared below the water, Crichton grinned at Aeryn. "Never mind Mr
Doom and Gloom, Aeryn. This is the last
one and we're finished. Then it's
showers, dry clothes and hot tea all round." Rygel reappeared briefly before
heading off down the tunnel. "OK, here
we go. Last one to Moya's a stinky
Hynerian."
Her smile was weak, but it was there.
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"I wish they'd hurry up."
Chiana said, huddling under D'Argo's arm, watching the pool. "I'm getting really cold, sitting here."
D'Argo gave her a little squeeze. "I am certain that they
will be here soon." Looking up he saw
his son walking towards them.
"The transports are not far." Jothee said tossing Chiana and his father some blankets. "Where
are they?" He said looking down into
the pool. "Shouldn't they be here by
now?"
"Maybe they ran into trouble." Chiana said. "You barely made it through the narrow parts of that
last bit and you are a Luxan."
"Chiana, I had trouble because I was too big to fit
comfortably through some of the tighter parts of the tunnel, so I took
longer. You and Jothee had no trouble
and the others should have no trouble either."
"Rygel!" Chiana leapt to her feet when she saw the Hynerian
swim into the pool, a microt later he surfaced. Chiana picked him out of the water and wrapped him in a
blanket. "Where are Crichton and Aeryn?"
"They're right behind me."
He said. "Brr. By the Hynerian Gods! I forgot how cold water could be."
"I thought you were aquatic?"
"Only in warm climates, girl." He shivered. "Where are we?"
"Ah, Jothee says that the cave mouth comes out close to the
transports."
"Where are Girott and the rest of them?"
"They are already up above.
We're going to have to make at least two journeys to get all those
people on board Moya plus the extra food we'll need."
"Here's Crichton." Jothee announced.
D'Argo knelt by the poolside and dragged his friend from the
water gasping for air. Chiana put a
blanket over his shoulders as he lay coughing
"Where's Aeryn?"
Rygel asked Crichton. "She's
meant to be on the end of the rope."
For a microt the human was unable to answer him.
D'Argo pulled the empty rope out of the water. "John!
Where's Aeryn?" The Luxan
demanded.
Crichton looked up at him with hopeless eyes. "I lost her." He rasped.
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To Be Continued.