Depth Perception

Present Day: Five days into the expedition

The trail had become easier to find and navigate on, now that countless divers and researchers had tromped through the Caribbean brush. The pathway to the water was worn down, making it easier to carry dive equipment and making it easier to get to the water in a timely manner. The wind had picked up today, and gray clouds blurred the blue sky above, threatening to take over.

Lot's of researchers were calling it quits today, after all, a storm was supposed to hit later that evening. But, for Chun and Charlotte, it was just what they needed. With only about four other researchers present at the water, it would only be Chun and Charlotte diving. This posed as a new opportunity to find the ship, or hints in the search. With out other divers carelessly kicking up silt and muck, they could maybe find something. The eager pair rushed to the water, laughing and hopping over brush.

Laughter accompanied the chirps of birds above head in the palm trees and thick brush. Swooping down and carelessly flying, the birds paid no mind to Charlotte and Chun who were quickly darting on and off the path. A green and blue lizard scurried from its spot on a rock as Charlotte leaped absent mindedly over it her flip-flops making loud clacking noises. Laughter ensued, and became unrelenting. Finally, as the two approached an opening in the thick tropical brush, the water was spotted.

Even under gray skies, the water shone a brilliant crystal blue and stretched out for hundreds of miles, meeting with the gentle horizon. The overhang before the water was a drop of about 30 feet, where when you looked down, you were met with the unbearable sense of wanting to jump. Researchers sat and studied the horizon, reading on laptops and continuing with the ever so boring job of cartography. Meeting the end of the land's edge, the pair of divers saw their good friend Daniel. Daniel Shaw was one of the expedition leaders, and dive instructors. When you went in, you talked with him over the radio. When you came out, you told him what you found… Even if it was nothing. Dan was a keen as ever on finding the wreckage of The Black Pearl or as he loving called it, Pearly.

As the two approached him, his mouth spread to reveal a set of white teeth. Smiling her greeted the two, his Australian accent lacing his words.

"What are you two doin' out here?" Dan paused and looked at the two, "There's a storm headed this way later."

Chun shrugged and explained, "We wanted to get some diving in before the storm hit. Besides, we've been diving in the rain before."

"Ah, well, do me a favor and be careful. I don't want anyone getting hurt today, not like yesterday at least." Dan warned the two, patting them on the shoulders. He was referring to an accident that happened yesterday.

It was around noon and one of the other divers had to search the caves below the drop off for any signs of the wreck. He radioed in and said he found something, something shiny and out of reach. Dan said to try and get it, but in the process the diver had gotten his arm stuck, right as he grabbed the object. His arm was pinned in between two pieces of stalagmites, those columns that form on the ground in caves. About three other divers had to come in and get the diver out before his air ran out. They had to cut the stalagmites and everything.

Chun was almost certain that what the diver had grabbed was the Spanish gold, and that's what caused the accident. After all, this gold did seem to leave its trail of bad luck.

Charlotte and Chun obeyed Dan, mounting up in all of the diving equipment over their bathing suits and then returning to their Australian friend for radios and guideline cable. Once they pair was set in scuba tanks, gear, flippers, rope and radios, Dan bid them farewell and into the deep blue ocean they went.

Charlotte was the first to bravely hop over the end of the drop off and into the crystal blue water. Her splash was accompanied by her laughter and happy screams and cheers. Chun followed suit, lading a few feet away from her. They pair waved up to Dan before fixing their masks and mouth pieces. With in seconds, they were under the warm blue water. The world above was forgotten in a spurt of air bubbles and they were submerged.

The water was cooler as the pair descended. Fish shimmered with brilliant silvers and reds and yellows as they swam over delicate coral. The only sound was that of the oxygen tubes and breathing of the two women. Swimming farther down, the underwater cave was spotted, and smiling to herself, Chun radioed Dan.

"Dan, we found the cave. We're going to hook up the guideline and go in." The radio crackled up above the pair on land. Dan gave the go ahead as he watched their lights fade into the water below him.

"Make sure to head back when your tank is at 2/3 empty, over."

"Copy that."

Chun swam to the sign that was placed a day before that read "Guideline Hook" and tied a secure knot around the basin of the sign. Doubling her loop, she tugged on it tightly before handing the rope back to Charlotte, where she would lead and let the rope out as they went. The guideline was extremely important with this dive, especially since it was easy to get lost in the underwater cave system.

These caves ran for miles under the islands ports and harbors. So, to Chun and Charlotte this was a field day. Watching the fish and cave life as the entered the opening, Charlie was extremely pleased with the sights. Coral decorated the underwater castle like crystals and fish as its inhabitants. Lights from their head gear shown brightly and as the two continued through the caves, not uttering a word to one another. They were slow, a careful not to disturb any of the muck and dirt.

They either lost track of time, or time lost track of them, because an hour after they originally entered the cave system, Chun noticed her air tank reading.

"Charlotte, I think my tank is broken… It's been reading 1/3rd fro the past half and hour…" Chun's voice was shaky and panicked. She knew what would happen if one of them were to run out of air down here. Charlotte swam over to Chun, and checked her tank.

"Weird. What does mine say?" Charlotte turned around so she could read it.

Chun's heart stopped.

The dial on her tank was resting half of a number away from the end of the supply.

"Shit. We need to get out of here. Now." Radioing into Dan, the only sound that Chun received was crackles and snaps. She was in a full blown panic now… Her tank was almost empty, no radio contact… The line!

"Let's try to do this… If we follow the line we should be fine." Charlotte tried to calm her friend down, and tugging on the line with her hand, Charlotte suddenly noticed the lack of tension…

"What the-" Pulling once more, all tension was gone.

The line had snapped.

"Oh my god…" Chun's voice echoed through the water. She started to panic. But remembering her dive training, she began to try to calm herself, reserving the air in her tank for needed time.

"Chun… It's ok. We'll get out of here… C'mon… I can feel a current up ahead. Maybe it leads out to the ocean." The two swam for more distance, each trying to battle their own emotion and feelings. Charlotte was constantly trying the radio to no avail. They kept swimming, their hopes diminishing with every movement. Suddenly they found a passage leading into a more spacious cavern. It was deeper too, signaling to them that the water was now being fed more and more. Darkness swallowed their feet as they swam up towards a crack in the wall.

"Wait…" Chun whispered. Her headlight had grabbed the spark of something.

A coin. It was resting on a rock above the darkness, waiting to be found. She dived down, despite Charlotte's protests from the top. As Chun grasped the coin, she was descended into darkness; the only trail was the bubbles of air from her tank. Charlotte could make out the light from her headlight as it scanned and stopped suddenly. There was no light.

Charlotte began to panic. Chun's power had died. Which meant her tank was out of air…

Swimming as fast as she could, Charlie hurried after her friend who was now nearly impossible to find under the dark, murky ocean water. As she descended, she passed through a distinct halocline, where normal water meets salt water and creates a blurry layer. That was weird, seeing that it was all salt water…

Suddenly, Charlotte's tank got snagged on something, and as she looked up, through her murky clouded vision, she saw the broken and splintered mass of a wrecked ship…

The Black Pearl.

As her tank ran out of oxygen and her lights began to fade, the last thing Charlotte saw before she fell unconscious was the haunting image of those black sails…

A/N: Sorry this one's short... But I wanted to get the dive out before the actual story begins.