Solara cast an apologetic glance at Cassia. “He’s right.”
Though Kane agreed, he was glad someone else had said it first. He hated the idea of leaving an innocent man to die, but not enough to put his friends’ lives at risk. “It’s him or us. I don’t like it, either.”
“We have to try,” Cassia argued. Water pooled around their boots, quickly rising to their ankles, and she lifted the man’s torso to keep his head above the surface. “We can’t leave him here to drown.”
“Cassy, look.” Kane pointed at the dome wall, now half submerged. There was no finding an exit point now—they were sinking too quickly. Water gushed in at a thousand gallons per second through every possible opening, which meant the dome would have to fill up before they could escape. “Feel how heavy he is. He’ll weigh us down. If we try to save him, five people will die instead of one.”
The water had reached their thighs now, and from all around, wooden chairs and planks began to float. Cassia grabbed the leg of an upside-down conference table as it swept by. She dragged it between them and then tried to lift the man onto it. “Let me rephrase,” she said, each word strained by her efforts. “He’s coming with us. So either help me or shut up.”
Kane shared a glance with the others. Clearly, there was no arguing with her, so he hoisted the guard onto the table. “Fine, we’ll do everything we can. But if it comes down to him or one of us, he stays. Understood?”
She dipped her chin.
“We need to plan a way out.” He turned in a circle to get a feel for where the water was rushing in the fastest. Those breaks would provide an exit. He spotted a few fissures that weren’t wide enough to squeeze through and then noticed a new torrent of water flowing in from the station platform. It flooded the space with so much force he was submerged to the waist before he could blink. “Looks like the tram tube snapped in half. Once the pressure’s even, that’s probably our best bet.”
Cassia tried to speak, but she was already covered to the chin. Kane guided her hand to the edge of the table and yelled, “Everyone, hold on.” He gripped the ledge at the exact moment his boots lost contact with the floor. The four of them held on tight as the table began to swirl in a tidal pool of current. Their floatation device had solved one problem and created another. Once the dome was fully submerged, they’d have to swim back down to reach the tram station.
The higher they floated, the more amplified sounds became in their shrinking pocket of air. Metal screamed and wood groaned against the steady churn of water. The crystal-blue sea was now a cold, dark soup littered with debris that crashed into him at every turn. Salt stung his eyes and blurred his vision. Soon light began to fade, casting them in a ghostly glow. He stretched his neck to peer at the fiberglass ceiling, and what he saw made his heart slam against his ribs. The horizon was barely visible as a streak of blue through bubbles of leaking air.
Then the sky slipped away.
He felt someone squeeze his hand, and he glanced over to find Cassia watching him with a question in her eyes. He knew her well enough to understand what she wanted, to make amends so that if they died today they would go as friends. But he shook his head, refusing to let her quit. If she wanted his forgiveness, she would have to survive and ask for it.
The ceiling rose up to meet them as the dome tanked underwater, sinking toward the ocean floor with alarming speed. Kane watched the pocket of air shrink. He shouted, “Dive for the tram chute. It’ll get dark fast, so hold hands and stay together.”
“I changed my mind,” Solara hollered, clasping Doran’s palm. “I want my wish now.”
There wasn’t time to laugh. Raising his face to the ceiling, Kane filled his lungs and then dipped below the water, dragging the unconscious guard with him.
At once, noises dulled, taking on a sinister tone as the dome continued to groan under pressure. Kane kicked his legs while blinking to acclimate his eyes to the salt. Soon he was able to squint well enough to see a dim path toward the tram station. He swam with his free arm, but each forward momentum was lost as the guard’s body jerked him backward. Cassia caught up and helped tow the weight, which resulted in a clumsy tug-of-war that slowed them down even more. Panic rose in his chest, and she seemed to sense it because she shook a finger at him. She pointed at his hand and then at her own, communicating that they should work together. They tried again, this time syncing their movements, and before long they were able to make some headway.