Shallow Breath

38

Maya




Four a.m.

Maya’s alarm is ringing under her pillow, and she hastily switches it off. She blinks herself awake, rubbing her face, and gets up with purpose, grabbing her swimsuit and pulling it on before shrugging into her wetsuit. She packed her gear last night, and now runs through her bag quickly, checking she has everything she needs.

When she opens her door, Kate is already outside, waiting.

They don’t say a word as they make their way to the beach. Maya is nervous – she knows this is a test she must pass if Kate is going to let her help. How strange that yesterday she had known so little about Kate, and nothing of her plans, and now she is consumed by her desire to be part of them.

They are navigating by the light of the moon. ‘It will be darker than this, I hope,’ Kate murmurs as they get onto the beach. ‘And we won’t have to do so much messing about with our kit – it will all be waiting for us.’



The dinghy sits on the sand. They have already attached tanks to their BCDs – all they have to do is put them on and make sure the air supply is working. They haul them into the dinghy and both move to the front, ready to drag the boat towards the ocean. When Jackson is there with Maya he takes most of the burden, so Maya is expecting them to struggle. But Kate pulls it as though it weighs nothing, and Maya focuses all her energy on keeping up with her.

Kate steadies the boat in the shallows while Maya gets in, and then climbs in herself. ‘We’ll row out,’ she says, ‘so the engine doesn’t wake anyone. We only need to go a little way.’

Maya picks up an oar, throws a quick glance at Kate, but her half-sister stares grimly ahead. They have hardly spoken about their relationship to one another, but Maya cannot help analysing Kate’s features, comparing them with her own. She thinks she can detect similarities in the curve of their eyes, and would love to ask if Kate’s noticed too. But there is an unspoken agreement between them that there will be time for all that later. And now that Maya knows the plan, she understands.

‘Okay, this will be fine,’ Kate says, throwing her oar into the bottom of the boat. She leans over the side briefly, assessing the dark water. ‘Do you remember everything you need to do?’

‘Yes,’ Maya says. ‘Quiet entry into the water, and down as quickly as possible. Only use the torch while I cut the ropes. Make sure the rope drops, or pull it away until I’m certain the hole is big enough. Then return to the boat as fast as possible. Tank unstrapped, someone will pull me in … and we go.’

‘Exactly,’ says Kate. She indicates the tanks. ‘Both of these are for you. I’m not going in.’ She grabs a thick piece of rope, ties one end to the boat, throws the other end into the water. ‘So I want you to go down there, and bring me five cut pieces of rope. I’m going to time you. You’ve got two attempts.’



‘How fast do I need to be?’

‘The fastest you can go.’

Maya looks at the opaque surface. She has done a few night dives with Jackson, but going down there on her own is a first. She thinks of sharks, considers Kate’s determined face and knows that if she even mentions them this is all over. So she pulls the tank up to the side, and Kate helps her strap it on, then gives her a hand with her fins. ‘Okay, we’ll help you this far,’ she says, ‘and after that you’re on your own. Are you ready? Go!’

Maya lies on the side of the boat, grabs the rope and swings her legs over, lowering herself into the water as quietly as she can. Immediately, she lets the air out of her jacket and sinks down. She is submerged in freezing black water, which crackles and sloshes around her, and she hears her breathing quicken as she tries not to think about what might be close by. Her torch is clipped to her BCD, and she fumbles switching it on. The light doesn’t penetrate far at all, just makes an empty grey dome in front of her.

She cannot find the rope. Shit, she thinks, swinging her torch around, losing her bearings. She shines the torch upwards to see where the dinghy is, then realises that was a bad move. However, she catches sight of the dark silhouette of the rope hanging down, and swims hard for it. She begins to saw at it with the knife. It is taking forever, but there’s no way she’s giving up.

One by one, the pieces come free. By the time she’s on her fifth and final one, she’s fed up and jittery about meeting a shark on the prowl. As soon as she has finished, she heads to the surface, throws the pieces into the dinghy, unclips her jacket, and Kate hauls the tank out. Using all her strength, Maya pulls herself up, and with Kate’s help she slides into the bottom of the dinghy.



‘Fifteen minutes,’ Kate says, her expression grim as she stops her watch. ‘You need to do it in four. And your torch is waving all over the place.’

Maya is still trying to catch her breath as she lies on the canvas when Kate says, ‘Are you ready to try again? If you can’t get under five, there’s no point.’

Half-sister or not, Maya would like to punch her. She sits up, defeated, breathing deeply. Her wetsuit presses cold against her, leaving her shivering.

‘Why do you want to be part of this, Maya?’ Kate is watching her intently. The bright moon casts a spotlit path across the inky water, all the way to the boat. There is nowhere to hide.

She remembers Luke’s story of Hayden and his friends jeering as they kicked the life out of a joey while filming it all for fun, and everything she’s witnessed since. She thinks of the way Luke spoke to her in the car, after she’d seen the first dead kangaroo. She sees the ugly scar on Caitlin’s leg, and her mother revving her engine and driving straight at Rick Carlisle.

She stands up. ‘Give me the other tank. Let’s go.’

Without a word, Kate helps her with the straps again. The second time around, once underwater, Maya’s senses are sharper. She orientates herself straight away, not even bothering with the torch. She pushes all her rage into each hack at the rope, and Kate ducks as she surfaces and throws the pieces into the boat. She waits patiently for Kate to take the tank before hauling herself over the side.

‘Six minutes,’ Kate announces. ‘Impressive.’

‘With a decent knife or some good bolt-cutters I could do it in three,’ Maya replies between pants.

‘I’m sure you could.’ Kate picks up the oars and starts to row. ‘Okay, you’re in. But time is our enemy now. How quickly can you find your passport?’