Code Name: Draconis [Ace Draconis - ON HOLD; see my updated profile for info!]

Chapter 11: 5000 Miles Under the Sea

Ace:

After nearly three days consisting exclusively of training in the 'spaceman suit' I was pronounced ready for my mission. I'd been texting Clarissa constantly, and it seemed like I hadn't missed much in school. No major assignments, just a reminder of what was due.

I'd be going down into the 'drink' within in the 30 minutes. The plan looked like this: John, George, and some of the other key players on the team would go down in some submarine thing with me. They'd follow me as far as they could in the sub while I searched the cave, too. They'd be following me close, so at the end of the day they'd just have me swim back into the sub, eat, drink, sleep, and then go out again searching for this crystal. Last night, they'd equipped the 'spaceman suit' with extra oxygen, and other necessities such as radios and tracing devices, etc. John thought the colour of the crystal might be blue as he'd implied earlier, but overall it was the whole 'you'll know it when you see it' thing. At least I'd found one before, right?

"Are you sure you're ready?" John asked as I finished putting on all my water-proof gear, and strapping on all the gadgets required for the mission. I looked into the mirror of the sub, and despite what I was about to do, I couldn't help thinking: I really do look like a spaceman in this thing.

We were on the sub now, and diving. John had explained to me that I was going to be in a sealed room, with two doors. One leading inside the sub, one to the outside. The door would open once we'd gone down far enough, and then shut. Then when I wanted to come back inside, a special device inside the room would then drain the water, and a light would come on inside the sub so no one accidentally opened the door and got seawater into the main body.

The view had been amazing. We'd gone past corral reefs, schools of fish, even a small octopus. And now, we were at the level where the cave was. I could see it from the window, though we were so far down that it was dark. Its mouth gaped open, the tiny rocks on the sides making it appear as though it had teeth. I took a last deep breath, and nodded to John. "I'm ready."

He patted my back once, then led me to the room I'd nicknamed the 'loading hatch.' I stepped inside, and John locked the door securely behind me. A large metal sheet came down over the door too - an extra precaution - and I heard more locks click into place. There were no windows in the room either.

I immediately felt trapped.

A speaker chimed in. "Ace, we're going to open the door to the sea now. Remember, there's a light on your helmet, and we'll be driving right behind you while you're in the cave."

"Alright."

Slowly, the door opened, and cold water flooded the chamber. I'd been warned it would be cold this far down, but I never expected this. The door continued to open slowly, and I figured they were letting me get used to the water instead of just letting it all rush at me. For that, I was grateful. By now the water had reached my chest, and I was shivering. I felt heat rush into my suit, and I immediately imaged being surrounded by a warm blanket from the dryer. Another added feature George had no doubt played a hand in.

The water was now crawling up my neck, but I didn't panic, thanks to my time training in the pool. Finally, the door was fully open and I looked out into the underwater world I was about to explore. I don't know what I expected, maybe the colourful fish to come back, but the only creatures down here were the predators. I could handle them though, and the sub was behind me if anything went wrong. I took another deep breath and turned on the light on my helmet. I face the cave, as the beam shone on its mouth, illuminating the rocks and casting eerily shadows along the walls. With a thumbs up to the small camera I knew was inside the chamber, I took my first leap into the ominous dark waters.