You’re zero for two Nebula Cruz shouted into the empty cavern I’m still alive Alive ive ive proudly proclaimed his echo But for how long This was not how he’d planned to spend his birthday His father would be calling Maybe he’d already tried Cruz sure wished he could talk to his dad His mom too But only one of those things was truly possible He wondered if his dad had gotten him the new hover surfboard he’d been asking for Okay begging for Cruz gazed at his stone prison Home felt like a galaxy away It was his own fault Cruz had broken the two most important rules of exploring Rule number one Never go by yourself Rule number two Always tell your expedition leader where you’re headed Cruz had done neither of those things Dr Luben had been the one to first point out the unusual cave to Cruz Cruz’s only hope was that the visiting instructor would remember doing so and lead the team to the cave It was a long shot but it was all he had Cruz slid over a bit farther to avoid the dripping water which was now a steady trickle Listening to the water was making him thirsty He wished he could put his mouth under the flow but knew better The water might contain bacteria parasites or chemicals If only he had his aluminum bottle and survival kit he could purify it However the bottle along with his phone tablet and the rest of his gear were all in his backpack Cruz had no clue where that was maybe snagged on one of the pointed rocks that had jabbed him as he’d tumbled into the cave A powerful rumble came from the pit of his stomach How long could he survive without food and water Emmett would likely know the answer to that probably to the minute Cruz knew the more general one Without fresh water he could survive three to four days Four days of sitting here waiting to die No thanks Before falling asleep Cruz had searched the well for an escape tunnel tunnel He’d found nothing but he’d been sore and dazed then He might have missed something Getting on all fours Cruz began to crawl around the perimeter of the cave He went much slower this time 8
probing every inch There had to be a way out Or not He grimaced gently rolling a skull out of his path About halfway around the well he noticed a pile of rocks stacked up against the curved wall They might be blocking an outlet Cruz began to move the basketball-size stones one by one He got into a rhythm Bend lift turn toss Bend lift turn toss Ten minutes later Cruz was huffing and about to take a break when he realized his shoes were wet Water was seeping through the space he was making If water was getting in that meant A way out Cruz picked up the pace He moved several more rocks then hunching his shoulders he wriggled into the opening There were only more rocks ahead of him It was a dead end A very wet dead end Reversing course Cruz scrambled to put the stones back into place packing them in as tightly as he could But he couldn’t keep the flow of water from gushing in The grotto was quickly beginning to fill Cruz had to get to higher ground He hopped onto the only thing he could find a rocky shelf about three feet tall It was barely big enough to stand on His heels hanging off the edge and his chin inches from the wall Cruz searched for a route up so he could climb if he had to And pretty soon he had to Cruz found a couple of toeholds but had a tougher time spotting grips for his hands It was impossible to lean back and remain on the little ledge Cruz reached over his head as water sloshed into his shoes Blindly he slapped at the stone He was running out of time Cruz went up on his toes his hands pawing for a bump or notch or cranny or something to grab on to He found nothing The water was rising quickly to his ankles his calves Cruz kept slapping at the cave wall the coarse rock shredding the skin on his fingers There A knot Not a big one but big enough With the water level at his knees Cruz curled both hands around the bulge He lifted his right foot wedged it into the toehold and pulled himself up Raising his left foot he placed it where he thought the crevice should be but hit only flat 9
rock Cruz moved his foot up searching He tried making small circles but couldn’t find the gap His fingers were cramping Ugh Where was it His knuckles were slipping If he didn’t find a space soon he was going to lose his Arrggh Cruz toppled backward sending up a giant splash He was back where he’d started Cruz slapped the water in frustration Five seconds later he was on his feet again Fortunately Orion’s science tech lab chief Fanchon Quills had designed their uniforms to be waterproof but Cruz had a feeling Fanchon hadn’t expected he would have to swim in the thing In another few minutes however that’s exactly what he was going to have to do He zipped his upper-left pocket where he kept his mother’s mother’s holo-journal then made sure the lower-right pocket was tightly closed too It contained his octopod Both pockets were watertight thank goodness Closing the collar of his uniform Cruz felt something scrape the back of his neck He reached behind him his fingers closing around a metal tab That’s right Every explorer’s jacket was equipped with two critical survival items a parachute which wouldn’t help him here and a flotation device which most definitely would Except Cruz wasn’t sure how to inflate the thing He could almost hear his adviser Taryn Secliff say You’d know what to do if you hadn’t glossed over the uniform instruction manual I know Taryn I know Cruz yanked open his belt and unzipped his jacket Wrestling free of the sleeves he whipped the coat inside out He found a small tab near the collar It was engraved with a P for parachute parachute no doubt Okay so where was the one for the float Frantically he went down the lining searching for an F tab He didn’t find one Cruz moaned How in the world am I supposed to activate this dumb flotation device Personal flotation device deployment confirmed The calm female voice startled him It was Fanchon Cruz Coronado please prepare for PFD deployment said Fanchon Her instructions were coming from his OS band Smart Connecting his 10
uniform to his personal computer gave him and only him access to and control of his gear He should have known when all else failed he could count on his OS band for help What did Fanchon mean by prepare He was about to ask when the computerized Fanchon instructed Please fully secure jacket pockets and cuffs Beginning ten-second countdown sequence now Ten nine eight Hold on Cruz threw his jacket over his shoulders and shoved his arms into his sleeves The water was edging up past his knees A current was beginning to form He had to take a wider stance to remain upright in the swirling water Six five Cruz yanked the buckles tight on the bottom of each sleeve then jerked the zipper on the front of his jacket up so hard he was sure he’d broken it Two one said Fanchon PFD activation commencing The hem of Cruz’s jacket tightened against his hips His cuffs and collar were sealing too A sudden rush of air down his back sent a chill through him Cruz watched his sleeves slowly swell As they did his arms rose from his sides His chest was puffing up too His jacket took less than 15 seconds to fully inflate He felt like a giant marshmallow The water was still rising up to his hips his stomach his ribs Once the water level reached his chest Cruz lifted his feet to test if the float could hold him It did He was buoyant As the floodwaters inched upward they took Cruz with them It was strange to be going back up the very hole that had brought him down here but at least he was moving in a better direction Cruz wasn’t sure how far he had fallen into the shaft He strained looking for the gap in the rock he had fallen through Uh-oh Trouble ahead Cruz was heading for an opening on the opposite opposite side of the cave wall No He needed to go up not down Kicking he thrashed his arms to steer away from the hole but the current was too strong He was going in The force of the tide spun him through 11
