Unfortunately, it's getting more and more difficult as the water rises. The crowbar is now completely submerged. Even if we get the grate off, we're going to have to kneel down in raging water and try to climb through. Sounds like a nightmare, but I don't see any other options.

Church and Tobias come wading back, their lips pursed tight.

“If there are other grates, we can't see them!” Tobias calls over the raging water, holding Church’s phone up with the flashlight app on. He shines his light on the dark water, but there isn't much to see.

Time ticks past so slowly, the water rising higher and higher around us, the light from their phones and mine doing little to illuminate the darkness.

“Got it!” Ranger shouts finally, and then he grunts as the grate moves through the water and knocks his legs out from under him. Church catches him before he falls and hoists him back to his feet.

“Charlotte first,” Tobias says, and I open my mouth to argue. “No exceptions.” He grabs my phone from me and puts it in my bag before taking me by the shoulders and pulling me close. “Micah will go ahead and pull you—” he starts, but his twin interrupts him.

“Like hell I will! You go first.”

“We don't have time to argue,” Tobias snaps, curling his lip. He looks back at me, his green eyes shadowed in the darkness. “I'm going to hold onto you as long as I can; Micah will pull you into the tunnel. If you guys come across a blockage, don't try to mess it with it. Come straight back.”

Tears sting my eyes but the water's so high now that it's covering my breasts. I'm the shortest of the group; it won't be long before I'm completely submerged. The cold is starting to make my toes and fingers numb, and I'm realizing hypothermia is a real issue here. It only takes a few minutes for it to set in.

“Okay, but nobody be a martyr, alright?” Nobody answers me, but it's hard to talk in here anyway, with all the rushing water sloshing against the walls. Micah grabs my hand and squeezes so tight that it almost hurts, but I'm glad for it. He won't let me slip; I know he won't.

“Take a deep breath, Chuck. I'll count to three and then we dive.” I nod, and Tobias steps up beside me, grabbing onto my waist. “One.” I exhale. “Two.” Deep inhale. “Three!”

We all dive down, but holy shit, the water's cold, and the current's stupid strong. Micah pulls me forward and Tobias pushes from behind. If they weren't doing that, I honestly might be pulled out into the tunnels and dragged away.

We can just barely crouch in the tunnel, and while there's a tiny pocket of air above our heads, it'd require an extreme tilt of the head to even access it. If I absolutely have to, I'll take a breath. Otherwise … we just have to keep going.

Tobias' grip slips away, and I realize he's intending on going back for Ranger and Church. There's not much I can do at this point without causing more harm than good, so I forge on, using my left hand to push against the wall while Micah keeps a death grip on my right.

It feels like this damn thing goes on forever, and my lungs start to itch and then burn. It's like some vengeful god's just cursed me with strep throat and poured acid into my lungs. I'm not going to make it much longer without a breath, I think, pausing and feeling Micah yank against my head. My head tilts back and I try to breathe in some of that tiny air pocket. Only a bit of oxygen comes to me; it's mostly water.

I start to choke, but it's too late. My body inhales without my permission, and now I'm really feeling it.

I'm drowning.

I'm fucking drowning.

My left hand claws at my throat as Micah forges onward, forcefully dragging me behind him as I swallow mouthfuls of water, knowing I'm doing more harm than good.

This fuzziness starts to take over me as my brain is denied oxygen, and all these strange thoughts come to me. What if I'd told Spencer my secret sooner? We have such crazy chemistry. Maybe then I wouldn't have had to die a virgin.

I realize I'm slowly losing it, but what else can I do? I'm moving forward as fast as I can. It's just … there might not be an end in sight. Maybe this tunnel goes on forever? I should just drift back to the main cavern, so I can say goodbye to the others before I die.

Uh-oh.

Yeah, I'm definitely not thinking clearly.

Micah gives me one, final tug, and then all of a sudden, we're sliding down a slick ramp, like a waterslide. A scream escapes me as I cough in fits and spurts, the fingers of my left hand scraping against the stone wall. I’m trying to breathe, but the water’s thrashing all around me, splashing over my face. We tumble over an edge, our hands just barely clinging together, and then drop into a deep, cold pool. The current grabs us and pulls us forcefully down another tunnel. I’m going to die here, I tell myself, trying to be prepared for it. There’s no stopping the force of the water, no controlling our rapid ascent up. How we’re moving upward so quickly is beyond me, but then Micah and I are thrown out the mouth of a giant fountain and into a small pond below.

I stand up, dizzy as hell, hacking and coughing into fresh, cold air. Rain is pouring down on us like crazy as Micah drags me to the edge of the small, inset pond.

The McCarthy twin shoves me up and out of the water, so that I'm lying on my back. The feeling of drowning takes over me again as he positions himself to give me mouth-to-mouth. The hot feel of his lips seems to jolt me awake more than anything else, his hands going to my chest for compressions.

I start to cough and he rolls me over, making sure I'm breathing before he tries to pull away.

“Where are you going?” I cough out, and he looks back at me with sheer, unadulterated terror on his face.

“To get my brother,” he whispers, voice breaking, his words stolen away by the wind. Even though my chest feels like it's full of fire ants, I push up and grab onto his leg. Going down there will not help Tobias.

“There’s no feasible way you could get back to him from here if you wanted to; you can't go back.”

“I have to!” he screams at me, and even through the rain I can see that he's got tears. Not such a dickhead after all, is he? He's got big feelings, this boy. “I have to,” he whispers, but then he drops down to his knees, and I know I've made my point.

So we wait, watching the fountain on the opposite side for any sign of movement. It pours down in a thick, unending stream, and even with the drain that’s located below and to the right of it, the pond’s overflowing. The grass around us is soggy, with nearly an inch of standing water.

“There!” Micah tears away from me, and jumps back into the water, helping to pull a scowling Church out. He looks so human in that moment, sopping hair falling in his face, coughing and shaking. I stand up, teeth chattering, and wait with bated breath. “Where are they?”

“I don't fucking know!” Church screams back at him. “They shoved me in, those assholes …” His voice trails off, and the two boys wait side by side, one on either side of the drain, looking up at the big round mouth of the fountain. It’s just a decorative circle, about as tall as I am, spewing out is own never-ending waterfall.

It feels like forever before Tobias emerges and Micah lets out this sound of pure joy that makes me want to cry. Later, I will. Later. Right now, there's too much at stake.