Beneath the Surface

Running out of air

Suffice to say, my head and back  hurt after bumping them on the way into the water, but I had more pressing concerns right at that moment; minor bumps didn't matter, not when I had a psychotic cousin trying to drag me deeper underwater. As it turned out, she was, in fact, in distress, trying to climb up my body to get to the surface. But I had no intentions of letting her go, at least not yet. I didn't want to drown her, of course, but if she passed out, it was her own stupid fault. 

With that in mind, I pushed her away, but as she started her desperate swim to the surface, I grabbed her foot and held on tight, ducking to avoid being kicked in the head. With the other hand, I grabbed the chain wrapped around my legs, and, surprisingly, Sarah hadn't even secured the damn thing. It didn't take me long to get a good length unwound, but even as I worked to get free, I knew I didn't have much time; my lungs were starting to burn, and the first warning contractions told me I had at least a minute and a half, if not more. Sarah, on the other hand, was already rapidly running out of air, her struggles growing more desperate, her diaphragm spasming as her need to breathe grew stronger, bubbles bursting from her mouth and nose as she flailed, trying to get to the surface before she ran out entirely. I judged she'd have about thirty seconds more in her before she took that first, fatal breath. 

My own air supply was starting to run low, but I ignored the growing spasms, focusing instead on getting the rest of the chain unwound before I joined her in drowning. My lungs were on fire as my air depleted, but I held on, silently thanking Barry for his training as I kicked up and grabbed Sarah, who was convulsing now. Ignoring her desperate gurgling, I got the chain wrapped around her waist, the burning and pain almost unbearable as I got the thing secured, but even though we were deep underwater, I knew I could get up to the surface, my spleen having delivered that fresh surge of oxygen-rich blood I needed. Sarah, on the other hand, hadn't, and as I took us both up to the surface, I felt her struggles growing more feeble, signalling she was close to passing out. I growled to myself, but decided that would teach her the lesson she needed, and though she was now almost completely dead weight when our heads broke the surface, I got her into the boat before hauling myself in after her. She immediately started coughing up seawater, and I sat back, mentally scanning to see if any of my pack had roused. But I felt nothing, and I shivered, knowing that Sarah's near-drowning hadn't been enough to remove the muffling she'd put on the area. 

"What... the... fuck did... you... do that... for?" she rasped, propping herself up on one elbow and glaring at me. 

I shrugged. "Do what for?" I said. 

Sarah glared at me. "You tried ... to kill ... me," she snapped. 

"I could have," I fired back. "And it would have served you right. But I'm not like you. I did it to teach you a lesson."

"You're ... such a stupid ... bitch," Sarah said, grimacing as she tried to sit up, only to see the chain wrapped around her waist. "I ... still have... a wolf, you know. I can ... easily snap this ... bloody chain... in half."

I sat back. "No, you can't," I said. "You may have thought yourself to have the upper hand, but I just outsmarted you."

Sarah frowned, and then her eyes went wide. "What the hell did you do?" she cried. 

I shrugged again. As it turned out, my actions under the surface had in fact gotten part of my desired outcome. "Your wolf took on the burden of taking your near-drowning in your place," I said, thanking my lucky stars Ben had taught me something useful. "They're probably passed out right now, taking the time they need to recover. That means you're on your own, cousin."

"So help me God," Sarah growled, her eyes gleaming with rage. "I am going to rip you and your misbegotten cub to shreds when I get out of here."

"If you get out of here," I corrected her. "I'd start saying your prayers right about now."

Sarah blinked, and then her eyes went wide again as finally, the sound of several boats, plus a helicopter, alerted her to the fact that her wolf had in fact passed out, thus negating her muffling spell. She opened her mouth to scream imprecations, but I'd finally had enough, and it wasn't long before I had her gagged with part of her skirt. She glared at me, but I could tell the fight had left her, and I sat back with a ragged sigh as the first of the boats pulled up. "Nail her to the bloody wall," I said, those words being the last to leave my lips as Brody - who'd been in the lead boat - proceeded to kiss me until I saw stars. It took some convincing from attending paramedics to get him to let me go long enough so they could do checks on me, but once they'd given me and our cub the all-clear, Brody took me in his arms again, and the slight growl in his throat told me he wasn't about to let me go any time soon. It was, I reflected, as we got started for home, a pity Sarah was needed alive; I'd be shedding no tears for her when she got the justice she so richly deserved for today's stunt.