Leia had been so concerned about the lava and the water temperature that she hadn’t checked their bottom time. She glanced at her computer and realized she had only fifteen minutes. If she had fifteen, Bane probably had only ten, maybe five. She pulled away from Bane and shot upward again. Bane followed after her. Starfish still glowed in the light of her lamp. The tunnel began to widen as they raced upward, then they were through the tunnel and in another cave. Leia checked her gauge, and the temperature had increased another couple of degrees. They had to find a way out of here. She glanced back at Bane and realized he had hardly any bubbles coming out of his regulator. He was almost out of air.
She grabbed her octopus regulator and thrust it at him. He spit out his mouthpiece and slipped her auxiliary one into his mouth. In sync, they swam farther into the cave. With both of them using her tanks, they had less than five minutes to live. Her light picked up Nani swimming toward them. The dolphin slowed, and Bane grabbed her dorsal fin. Nani flipped her tail and drew them with her as she moved through the water toward an opening in the cave wall. Once they were through, Leia recognized where they were. The cave they’d just exited was the cave Bane had wanted to explore. The crack leading from the cave to a seamount at the edge of the blue hole had widened, and through the ash swirling in the water, she saw a red glow deep under the masses of pillow lava. It was about thirty feet away, too close for comfort.
Nani shot up through the water as though she understood her human friends had little time left. Leia was beginning to suck hard on her regulator, and she knew Bane must be having the same difficulty. She took another breath, and there was nothing there. Her initial reaction was to try to hang on to her last lungful of air, but she knew she had to exhale as she rose or risk the same fate as Tony. Exhaling slowly, she kicked her fins with the dolphin, trying to shoot up faster.
Dots began to cloud her vision. She was blacking out. She peered through the haze of her fading vision at Bane and realized he was almost unconscious as well, barely hanging on to Nani. Then her head broke the surface of the water. She spit out her regulator and drew in the sweetest air she’d ever breathed. She gasped in another lungful as Bane did the same. They clung together and filled their bodies with oxygen.
“The chamber,” Bane sputtered. He waved feebly at the ship, which had moved away, probably to avoid the danger presented by the lava. The ash in the water could foul the engines. Mano kicked off his shoes and dove into the water toward them. Annie threw two life preservers after him, and Mano swam to them, towing the preservers with him. Leia got one arm through the life preserver, and Bane managed to get an arm through the other. They had both expended nearly all their strength.
“We need the chamber,” Bane gasped. “The bends.”
Leia wasn’t feeling them yet, but she knew it was only a matter of minutes before the excruciating pain set in.
Mano didn’t waste time with talk. His strong arms towed them to the ship, and the crew helped haul them aboard. “They need the chamber,” Mano barked. “Get their clothes off.”
“The basket, get the basket raised,” Bane gasped out.
“Already done.” Mano began to jerk off Bane’s wet suit.
Before Leia could think, Annie hustled her into a corner, stripped her of the wet suit, and wrapped her in a warm robe. Annie rushed her into the hyperbaric chamber as Mano was shoving Bane toward it as well. Bane grabbed a thick beach towel from a hook as he passed and wrapped it around himself. His lips were blue, and Leia could see he was shaking as much as she was. The pain was starting, and Leia didn’t resist the rush. There was no time to lose. A bubble of nitrogen could hit her brain or her lungs. Bane stepped aside to let her in first then followed. Mano shut them in and began to pressurize the chamber. She just hoped they were in time.
Twenty-five
Bane leaned against the wall of the hyperbaric chamber. He didn’t know how long they’d slept. The air hissed through the vents in a comforting concert. Leia was sleeping. He studied her face, the planes and angles, the high cheekbones. He’d never seen a more brave and beautiful face.
He’d been poking her about accepting God’s sovereignty, but he realized as death had stared him in the face that he hadn’t taken his own advice. God had created him the way he was—poetic parts and all. He’d been trying to be Mr. Tough Guy all his life. If there was any problem, he would handle it and squelch all the softer feelings he had inside. Or at least that’s what he’d told himself. Who said he shouldn’t let people get too close? No one in his family. His own fear had made him put on a mask and hide the real man inside. He closed his eyes and promised God he’d try to take the chains off his heart.
Leia stirred, and he opened his eyes. “How are you feeling?” he asked her. She had a blanket wrapped around her where she huddled on the bench a few feet away.
“Okay. No pain or anything. I’m sleepy. I can’t believe it, but I am. There’s too much to do to even rest.”
“We can’t do anything until we get out of here anyway. You might as well rest. We’ll have our work cut out for us when we’re done decompressing.” He shuffled on the bench. What was happening outside? He could hear the throb of the engines under his feet as the ship headed to another destination.