Chapter Text
Kiara POV:
"There was a guy that tried to kill us, Pope!"
"We saw a boat out here too. They were armed, alright we need to get out of here."
"No, you don't understand, There's a guy that's down there-"
Kiara could fell her head pounding as JJ and Pope were arguing behind her, but she could barely focus on their conversation. Blood was rushing in her ears, Kiara felt like her whole body was on fire. Every time she moved her body screamed in protest; her lungs barely able to get the air she craved. They almost died down there. When the guy lunged at her, she didn't know what to do. She felt every fiber in her body panic as water filled her lungs, if JJ hadn't been there, she would have drowned. Some might think after almost drowning twice during El Dorado, she would stop going on dangerous swims, but nope.
The boat jerked as John B. drove away, causing a wave of nausea to hit her. Kiara swayed on her feet, she tried to balance herself, but nothing worked. Her body ached as she moved to sit down and take off her wet suit. Her lungs felt heavy, each breath was harder than the last. Her arms tingle with pain as she unzipped her suit, and her mind was clouded with fatigue. She felt like she would pass out. The boat ride was only a couple of minutes, but it felt like eternity. Kiara glanced over at JJ, laying on the back of the boat. His breathing was labored, and his body shook with excursion. something was definitely wrong.
"What the hell happened?" John B. demanded, Sarah and Cleo were now back with the group. Kiara sat there, trying to get enough breath to answer him. "Someone tried to kill us," she said, her stomach churning, oh god she felt sick. The rest of the Pogue's talked around her, but she could barely keep up. Breathing was getting harder as short puffs of air left her lungs. Her body felt like when she had panic attacks during her Kook year. The lack of air and fatigue that followed. Anxiety filled her, she didn't want to feel that way again. But that wasn't what was happening, this was something else, something different. Kiara clutched her stomach, trying to breathe through it. her body was covered in a layer of sweat. This wasn't good.
"My stomach feels like shit" she breathes out.
JJ groaned in pain across from her, panting for breath just like her. That must have gotten Pope's attention because next thing she knew he walked over to JJ and peeled his eyes open. "Hey, man, did you take your safety stop?" Kiara froze, safety stop? Shit. They had completely missed it.
" I'm going to say it one more time. Someone was trying to kill us; we did not make the safety stop-"
"Shit, they have the bends. We need to get them to the hospital. Now!" Pope interrupted.
Next thing she knew, her arms were around John B and Sarah as they lifted her out of the boat. Kiara groaned in pain, and heard John B. say, "Nice and easy, you've just got a couple bubbles in your blood" Bubbles? she felt like she was hallucinating, except for all of the agony her body felt right now.
"I've got bubbles in my blood?"
"No. You're gonna be fine."
---------------------------------
"Come on John B!" Cleo yelled.
Kiara and JJ were hunched over the seats in the Twinkie. Her head resting on her arm and her hand still holding her stomach, she felt like she was dying. "Deep breaths, deep breaths" Sarah instructed, but with each breath they took it felt like a stabbing pain that echoed throughout their whole bodies. JJ moaned in pain next to her. Kiara's ears filled with static, barely able to hear the others urging John B. to drive faster.
"Hey!" Pope yelled back, "who was down there with you guys?"
"No idea, Pope" JJ groaned out, "but you are not going to believe this."
With strained effort, JJ pulled a bundle of cloth from his back pocket, handing it to Sarah. "What is that?" Kiara faintly heard Cleo ask. slowly opening the bundle, Sarah stared at the amulet. The thing JJ and Kiara risked their lives for. "You found it?"
The Pogue stared in disbelief before celebrating. They did it. They found the amulet and were about to get rich. "Fifty thousand!" Cleo laughed. John B. continued to mutter ' Holy shit' to Pope and himself.
"Fifty K," JJ groaned. Kiara peeled her eyes open to look at him. he was covered in sweat and his pupils kept jumping all over the place. But she couldn't help but think of how good he looked. Damn it, she would be lying if she said her boyfriend wasn't hot.
"It was worth it," Kiara said.
"Cha-ching."
-------------------------------
The tires of the Twinkie screeched as John B. pulled up to the emergency room. Kiara could hear sirens in the distance. She took a deep breath, mentally begging for the excruciating pain to stop, just for a second. The Pogues, except for JJ and Kiara all scrambled out of the truck. "All right. Let's go" one of them said. She could barely focus, her eyes felt heavy as John B. pulled her arms over his shoulders and gently dragged her out of the car. She felt a sharp pain in her chest as she tried to breathe. But the pain kept coming.
'JJ' she thought, 'please be okay'
Her friends busted into the emergency room. Cleo ran up to the front counter, yelling for someone to come and help. Kiara didn't think there could be anything disorienting as this. The lights felt too bright and the noise her friends were making hurt her ears. She squeezed her eyes shut. and panted, trying to calm her beating heart. She felt someone grab her other arm and carry her with John B.
"I got you," John B. said.
"Okay" I groaned.
Kiara felt like she was going to pass out again, she wasn't sure how much longer she could do this. Her legs felt like jelly, and she was stumbling over her own feet. " Just through here," and female voice said, probable one of the nurses. Kiara glanced at the room, inside was a big metal cylinder that was glowing a faint red color. The guy who held her arm opened the heavy metal door and rolled her in. She groaned in pain as she fell onto the bed. Knowing JJ wasn't far behind, she used all her strength to push herself to the side. JJ came in after, both of them panting from the trip. she could feel and his limbs shaking as he clenched his fists in pain.
"I got you. Oh, jeez" JJ said.
--------------------------------
"Their vitals and mental status are stable, and the pain scale is moving in the right direction. Though breathing seems to be a bit difficult for them right now" The nurse told John B. "But they still need time in the hyperbaric chamber. They just brought themselves 24 hours in the tank."