Thalassophile // JJ Maybank

Chapter 15

We all pile into the HMS, as we had been doing regularly for the last couple weeks. However, this time I sit as far away from JJ as possible instead of taking my regular seat next to him.

John B had let me drop off Flynn at my house before heading back to his house to take the boat out.

John B pulls away from the dock behind the Chateau and begins to cruise through the water, toward the wreck we found yesterday.

John B stops the boat just above the area we had found the boat. Nerves ran high for all of us due to the fact that we weren't supposed to be out here in the first place. The Marsh had been closed off because of the body that was found.

Kiara sits at the end of the boat, looking at the air tanks John B had taken from the Cameron's boat.
"This is empty. You took empty tanks?"

"I..." John B's voice trails, a hand running through his brown locks.

"Okay, this one's a quarter full." Kiara points out. "It's enough for one of us."

"Love it when a plan comes together." Pope voices sarcastically.

"Does anybody know how to dive?" Kiara questions.

"Uhhh..." JJ rubs at the back of his neck.

"Anybody?" Kie asks again.

"I do." I speak up. My voice comes out small.

The Pogues seem to not hear my comment as they keep arguing with each other. I close my mouth, staring quiet instead of interjecting.

"I've read about it." Pope adds.

"Great, Pope read about it. So someone's gonna die." Kie announces.

"Look, y-you out the thing in your mouth and breathe. How hard could it be?" JJ queries.

"Well if you come up too fast, nitrogen gets into your blood and you get the bends." Pope states.

"Bends... Like bend over and..."

"The bends kill you."

"I said I can do it!" I say louder.

"What?" John B asks me.

"I learned in Australia. I know how to do it."

"No way! No way in hell!" JJ objects.

"Dude, come on. She knows how!" John B pleads.

"I'm gonna do it." I announce, ignoring JJ's protests,

"Let me do some calculations." Pope says moving over to the steering wheel. "Okay so that boat's about 30 feet down."

"Okay." I acknowledge, stripping out of my overalls.

"So it'll take about 25 minutes at that depth. Which means you need to make a safety stop at about... Ten feet, alright. For two minutes."

"Okay, got it." I respond.

I turn around when I hear a splash come from behind me. I notice Kiara had disappeared from the boat.

"What the heck was that?" I ask the boys.

"I don't know." JJ responds before turning to me. I stare at him with a blank expression. An awkward tension fills the space between us. He clears his throughly uncomfortable. "Right, so uh... when you're down there, you look for the cargo hold." He hold up a key like object. "You stick this thing inside and twist and pull, okay?"

"Yeah." I take it from him, avoiding any possible eye contact.

"My dad pulled weight back in the day."

"Who didn't?" Pope counters.

"Hey!" Kie calls from the water. "I tied my t-shirt to the anchor chain about ten feet down. It's where you need to do your safety stop."

"Thanks, Kiara." I say.

I grab the gear and start to pull it on, up and over my shoulders. JJ reaches out to clip the straps across my chest. I flinch away, avoiding his touch. I turn to John B so that he could clip it instead. I side glance JJ, noticing his jaw tensing as he watches me.

Pope approaches me, holding up the oxygen gauge. "Keep an eye on this. You need to make sure you have enough air to decompress."

"How much does she need?" John B asks.

"Unclear." Pope answers before turning to me. "Breathe as little as possible."

"Great, okay."

"Hey, if we get caught out here in the Marsh, we're basically screwed so... Better get a move on."

"Sure thing."

"Franklin." JJ speaks up. I look at him with a stony expression. "Just- just be careful, okay?"

I ignore his comment, pulling the mask down over my face. I step backward, plunging into the water. I swim down toward the t-shirt hanging on the chain. I stop, hanging onto the chain. I float there in the water before diving back down.