Spellbound (Otherworld 12)

"Do we? Great idea." I jabbed my finger up. "Our exit is gone. Buried under a few tons of rubble."

And Adam. Adam is buried under there, too. Maybe Jeremy, too.

My stomach clenched and I doubled over, face hitting the water. I gasped. The filthy water filled my mouth and I didn't care. Didn't try to spit it out. Didn't try to come up for air.

Adam was dead.

Dead.

Adam, and maybe Jeremy, and it was my fault. I'd brought them here and they'd died trying to get me out of that locked room. My fault. Just like all those deaths in Columbus. Just like my parents.

Bryce heaved me up to the surface. I fought him, but he kept me above water, even as he panted with the effort, his face now visible, a light ball glowing over our heads. Covering his mouth with one sodden sleeve, he hacked and coughed and gasped, and that was what stopped my struggles, remembering how sick he was, imagining myself dragging him underwater with me, killing him, another death on my conscience.

I pushed him away and started treading water.

"I don't believe Anita drowned," he said after a moment.

"Do you think I care--?"

"She knew there was a way out. There must be some kind of exit, maybe under the water."

I said nothing. He went quiet and I thought he was going to console me. Instead, his eyes flashed.

"So that's how it is?" he said. "Your boyfriend might be dead so you give up? I didn't think you were that kind of--"

"Adam is not my boyfriend," I said through clenched teeth. "He's my friend, okay? The guy I've known since I was twelve. My coworker. My partner. My best friend."

"Okay, I'm sorry, but you don't know he's dead--"

"The fucking building collapsed!"

"You don't know for sure. And even if you did, are you going to just stay down here? Swim until you can't stay above water and let yourself drown?"

I glowered at him.

"I take it that's a no," he said. "Good. Let's get out of here."

I made Bryce stay afloat while I dove. Otherwise, he was liable to go down and not come up. I could hear him coughing from under five feet of water.

I did a systematic search around the perimeter. I was about to repeat it when my hand reached out and didn't touch concrete.

The drain was about two and a half feet wide. Completely submerged. I resurfaced and told Bryce.

"I'll go," I said. "It could be too far to hold your breath--"

"I'm fine."

"Umm, no, from the sounds of it, you're about to start hacking up lung tissue."

"Anita wouldn't have tried swimming out if she didn't think she could make it." He paddled over to the side. "She's more than twice my age and not exactly an athlete. Anyway, at worst, we'll find out whether their experiment works. A test of my immortality. You wait here."

"I'm not--"

He dove before I could finish. I went after him, but his foot caught me in the gut. Accidentally? I'm not sure. It was enough of a blow to have me swallowing water again, which meant I shot back up, sputtering. I spat out, took a deep breath, and went under.

Bryce was already in the drain and out of reach. I kept going until my brain started screeching that I should turn back, that I'd barely make it back and--

I plowed into him. I rose into a dimly lit pocket of air to find him standing in front of me. A light ball hovered overhead.