Dead Air (Book 1 of the Biohazard Saga)

Chapter 14: Where Bluebirds Fly

Cold.

Not the cold shivers you feel when a breeze blows against your skin... but the cold that resembles an icy grip that spread across your body, numbing everything it touches.

That's what I felt as the bathroom wall behind me crumpled from the force of the impact and a surge of seawater yanked me away from Isabella and Nate.

The noise was indescribable and I felt my eardrums close to rupturing. Imagining my body to be broken apart upon the plane's impact on the water's surface, it came as a surprise that I was somehow still in one piece. On the verge of drowning... but still in one piece. Whatever the pilot did in those final few seconds, he might have just saved our lives.

All at once, the noises ceased and pin-drop silence descended.

Then, came the darkness.

If I could describe it, it felt like I was continuously falling into an endless pit with no sign of where I was falling from, or what I was falling towards. Only darkness.

For a moment, my mind blanked out. What little breath I had in my lungs were rapidly depleting and all it would take was for me to open my mouth and everything would be over.

A sharp pinch on my arm brought me to my senses. I could see Rachel, clinging tightly to my arm, looking deathly pale. Her nails dug so deeply into my arm that faint trickles of blood could be seen.

She turned to me and in desperation, tried to mouth something to me, but all that came out was a gurgle and a few bubbles that floated upwards. Immediately it clicked. The bubbles were the answer. Thank God I didn't doze off in my Physics lessons.

Using the last of my strength, I grabbed hold of Rachel and kicked my legs towards the trail of bubbles with all my strength. Bubbles naturally rise to the surface and all I had to do was to follow them and I would escape this watery tomb.

80m, 70m, 60m...

I was losing energy and losing it fast. With barely any air left, I was running – or rather, swimming – on pure adrenaline. The surface looked so close, yet so far...

50m, 40m, 30m...

Rachel's grip on my arm was loosening and I knew if we didn't reach the surface soon, she wouldn't make it. I wasn't too far off myself, as my vision started to blur and my mind became foggy.

20m, 10m...

It would have been such a cruel trick if, after all this, we ended up hitting the surface of the seabed instead. At this point, I was seriously questioning if I had actually paid attention to that lesson.

And it turns out... for once in my life, I did.

We broke the water's surface and I gulped down sweet sweet air; life slowly returning to my body. Rachel panicked and trashed around, dangerously taking in too much water.

Acting fast, I slapped her on her cheek, hoping that I managed to control my strength. Thankfully it worked, as Rachel stopped her frantic motions and allowed me to guide her behind me and hooking her arms around my neck.

Then, she started crying.

'Shh... shh... Hey there... I'm so sorry I had to do that. You were moving too much. Are you hurt anywhere?' I asked, cocking my neck back, my arms working overtime in keeping the two of us afloat.

Sniffing, Rachel responded. 'I-I'm okay. Not hurt. W-where is my brother?'

I didn't reply. Not that I didn't want to, I just had no idea how.