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“You can’t dive Jay.” I start. “You’re not experienced.” “Kie it’s not like you have much experience either-“ Jj interrupts. “Actually, I do.” I explain. “My parents took me diving in the Bahamas a couple years ago.” “How did I never hear about this?” Jay asks. “I didn’t think it was a big deal babe.” I relent. “Anything you do is a big deal to me Kie. You’re my world.” I smile and kiss him. No matter how many times we kiss it will always set off fireworks in my mind. Kissing him is soft and loving but also needy and passionate. It’s everything. Suddenly I hear a catcall whistle behind me and reluctantly pull apart from Jay. “Dude you are so pussy-whipped.” John B laughs. “Says the one who got married at 18.” Jj remarks. “He got you there Bree.” Pope adds. We wave goodbye to Sarah and Cleo and set off to the diving location. On the boat ride I explain to the boys that I’m going to be the one diving. Jj is still reluctant but Pope agrees that it is safer for someone who is experienced to dive. After that matter is settled I sit next to Jay on the boat. “I don’t have a good feeling about this Kie, please just let me go.” Jj begs. “Jage I’ve got this. I’ve done this before. It’s a lot safer than if you were to do it Jay, please just trust me.” “It’s not that I don’t trust you Kie, it’s just that I can’t lose you. You’re my person, I can’t let you go out putting yourself in danger.” Jj admits. “Jay, you put yourself in danger all the time and it worries me just like this worries you, but I would rather we risk less by putting me in the water.” “I just wish I could go with you.” “Yeah but there’s only one suit, remember?” I remind. “Yeah but that’s never stopped us before.” He smirks. I roll my eyes and lay my head on his shoulder. “You know you’re cute when you worry.” I smile. “Excuse you! I’m not cute, I’m hot!” He says in false offense. “Okay Mr. Hot Stuff, whatever you say.” I cuddle into his chest and let him play with my hair. For a moment the rest of the world fades away and it’s just the two of us in our own little bubble. “Okay lovebirds, it’s time for Kie to suit up.” Pope explains. And just like that our bubble is popped. I slide out of Jj’s arms reluctantly and strip to my bikini. I can catch Jj staring at my butt in the corner of my eye. “Like the view?” I ask. “I prefer your tits but I am enjoying the view.” He remarks. I zip up into my suit and equip my gear. Jj loads up a spear gun and hands it to me. “What do I need this for?” I ask. “If I can’t be down there to protect you then at least take this down just in case.” “Dude, I can take care of myself.” I huff. “Just please kie? So I can have some peace of mind?” I’ve never seen him look so worried. “Okay. But if it weighs me down I’m leaving it down there at the wreck.” “Don’t forget your safety stop Kie.” Pope reminds like the mother hen he is. “Fifteen feet for three minutes.” “Yes Mother Pope, I won’t forget.” I tease. John B and Jay snicker at this. I quickly load on the rest of my gear. I look back at Jj before finishing my gear. “Diver down.” I say. I mock salute him and put on the last of my gear. “Diver down.” I dive right into the water and start to swim to the bottom. I don’t think I had realized just how deep 900 feet is. It feels like I’m swimming for hours by the time I reach the wreck. I let my flashlight shine over the golden masthead. Damn. That alone would be worth a wad of cash. Maybe I should just find a way to cut off a piece of that and be done with this. Nope, we would make a lot more for the necklace. I swim through one of the holes in the wreck and start searching the below deck. If I wasn’t in a situation where I was so short on time I would be able to appreciate the haunting beauty of the wreck itself. I shine my flashlight on every nook and cranny hoping the something red might glint back, but nothing. I know a lot of time has passed already. I look down at the clock on my air tank. It reads 15 minutes. I need to hurry up and find this thing before I run out of time. I start to run my flashlight over a beautiful design on the wall when all of a sudden I see it. A small glint of red flashing back at me. The amount of relief I feel is astounding. Now I can finally get out of here. I hit the spear in my spear gun against the necklace for a little bit before it finally comes loose. I stuff the necklace into a pocket in my diving suit. I start to head out when I notice something odd in the corner of my eye. I flash my light on it and see a modern looking backpack. But how the hell did that get down here if no one has been down here since the boat sank. Suddenly I feel an arm grab around my neck. Crap. I struggle in the arm trying to come loose. I grab at the spear gun at my side and stab back towards the arm that is strangling me. I manage to get the person to let go. I turn around and notice the guy has a knife. I take the spear gun and attempt to stab him. I manage to get him in the arm but not before he has managed to poke a hole in my air tube. Hell. I know that if I don’t get out soon I will run out of air. I drop the spear gun and haul it out of there not daring to look back. I start to swim upwards but I can feel my airsupply starting to leak some water. I can see the top of the water when I realize I’m out of air. I swim weakly towards the surface as I can feel my vision darkening around the edges. I use the last of my strength to propel upwards and get my head out of the water. I struggle to suck air as my vision starts to clear. Suddenly I look around and realize I can’t find the snapper. I throw off my mask and start yelling. “JJ! JOHN B! POPE!” “WHERE ARE YOU?” I listen for a moment until I hear a voice whisper yell to shut up and go over to the boat. I turn around and see the snapper about twenty feet from me. Though I am extremely tired I force myself to push through and swim to the ladder. By the time I reach the ladder I am wiped out. Jj and John B tug me up the ladder. “What the hell happened down there?” John B asks. “There was someone down there!” I exclaim. “What?!” Jj demands. “Just go.” “What the hell happened to your gear?” Pope asks. “As I said. Someone was down there and they poked a hole in my air. It’s okay though, I made it up.” I have Jj help me pull off my gear. Suddenly I’m hit with a sharp pain in my side. I moan slightly and try to lay down into JJ’s chest. He holds me tightly as the pain grows. Now my head is starting to throb as well. I moan louder this time. “What’s wrong?” Jj asks. “My stomach hurts like hell.” I grit out. The pain only gets worse from there. I stop holding my head up and now my weight is only supported by Jj. I don’t feel strong enough to hold my own weight. I can feel myself struggling to catch a breath. My chest feels like its on fire and my head is pounding. The pain in my stomach is unbearable. I can see the worry in Jay’s eyes as I close mine. “Hey Pope, I don’t think Kie is okay.” I feel my eyes being pulled open and a light being shined in them. It hurts my head like hell. “Her pupils are blown. Kie, did you take the safety stop?” “Like I said earlier,” I grit out, “No, my air tank was punctured, I didn’t have enough air for my stop. “She has the bends!” Pope yells. “We need to get her to the hospital.”I can feel myself being lifted to my feet as I try to push past the pain and put one foot in front of the other. “Kie you’re going to be okay.” I hear Jj promise. I’m not sure I believe him with all the pain I’m in. At this point I struggle to push each breath in and out. I am suddenly pushed into the twinkie and nearly fall face forward before Jj catches my head. I use the last of my strength to pull the amulet out of my pocket and place it into Jj’s free hand. “Kie, is this the amulet?!” He asks. I nod weakly. The motion causes my head to spin. “Guys she got it!” I hear him yell. At this point it feels like my head is underwater and every voice is muffled and far away. “You’re a rockstar, girl!” I hear faintly. I think it’s Cleo that says it. I can’t even tell everyone’s voice apart. My stomach is burning. “Jj it hurts.” I mutter weakly. I can feel my eyes start to close. “I know Kie. I’m so sorry you’re in pain baby, but I need you to keep your eyes open for me, okay?” I respond by forcing my eyes to open a little more. The pain is only getting worse. I can’t even focus anymore. I can distantly feel my body being lifted out of the Twinkie before my vision swims and everything goes dark.
Jj POV:
I don’t think I’ve ever been this scared in my life. Kie is lying in my lap as John B speeds to the hospital. I can hear her moaning below me as I hold her close. I can see swear covering her face as her features are painted with exertion. “Jj it hurts.” I hear her whimper below me. I can feel my heart break. I should’ve never let her go down there, this is all my fault. I can see her eyes closing. “I know Kie. I’m so sorry you’re in pain baby, but I need you to keep your eyes open for me, okay?” At this point I’m praying to anyone that will listen that Kie makes it out of this okay. She responds to my request by opening her eyes a little wider. I can hear her strained breathing below me when the car comes to a sudden halt. Suddenly the back of the twinkie is slammed open and John B is helping me get Kie out of the trunk. We start to run her to the door when I feel her go limp in our arms. “Hell! Kie wake up.” She doesn’t respond. I can barely hear her breathing at this point and I’m panicking. Pope helps me and John B carry a now limp Kiara into the ER. “Someone help!” Sarah yells. “Whats wrong with her?” The ER nurse asks. “She has the bends.” Pope explains. The nurses grab a gurney and wheel her away. I try to follow but they make me wait in the waiting room. Now all I’m filled with is panic. I’m terrified that she might not make it out. I can’t live without her. I don’t realize I’m pacing until John B taps my shoulder. “Dude you need to sit down. It’s not going to help Kie if you wear yourself out by burning a hole in the ground.” I reluctantly sit down next to Sarah. “She’s going to make it out of this Jj.” Sarah consoles. “Yeah man, Kie’s made it through a lot worse.” Cleo adds. “You just gotta have faith.” “I can’t lose her. She’s my everything.” I say quietly. “We know Jay. And you’re not going to lose her. Kie’s a fighter.” Sarah finishes. We sit in the waiting room for another hour before the nurse comes out. “Kiara Carrera’s family?” She calls out. We rush forward. “That’s us.” We all say. She gives us a quick look over before relenting. “We had to IV her fluids and give her some high flow oxygen because of how serious her condition was. Good news is that she took that well and we were able to move her to the hyperbaric chamber. Bad news is that she still hasn’t woken up and we don’t know exactly when she will wake up. We also estimate at least 12 hours in the hyperbaric chamber.” She explains. “Can we go see her?” I ask. “Only one person can so you will have to decide on who.” “We’ll send JJ.” The rest of the pogues say without hesitation. “But what about you guys?” I ask. “We will go take the necklace to the Genrette’s. We trust you to take care of Kie.” Pope adds. “Okay well since thats settled, follow me this way to the hyperbaric chamber sir.” The woman instructs. I follow her through 10 different hallways that all look the same before she leads me into a small room with a giant glass thing in the middle. “If she needs anything or if anything goes wrong, the call button is right next to your seat. We will come back in a couple hours to check up on her.” The nurse finishes. She excuses herself as I walk up to the glass thing and look inside. I see Kie inside looking peaceful but small in the blankets. I think to myself how it’s my fault she ended up in here. I stare at her for a moment watching the rise and fall of her chest and letting it calm me. She’s still breathing. She’s alive and that’s all that matters. I sit down in the chair across from the chamber thing and start to tap my leg on the ground. I’m trying to will her to wake up. I sit there like that for what feels like hours before I hear a voice say “Jayge?” I look up and see Kie’s face near the window to her chamber looking around. I run forward. “Kie! You’re awake. I was so worried.” “Where am I?” Kie asked. “You’re in the hospital. This glass thing you’re in is supposed to help you decompress or something to get the bubbles out of your blood.” I explain. “Y’know that’s gonna be a hell of a story to tell.” She smiles. “Yeah sure is. How are you feeling Kie?” “Tired.” She mumbles. I can tell how exhausted she is by her features. “If I go to sleep you won’t leave right?” She asks. “I would never leave you Kie.” I watch her as she lays back down and pulls the covers over herself and quickly goes back to bed. Seeing her safe and sound gives me peace but it also makes me realize how tired I am. I move my chair up to her window and let myself fall asleep watching the rise and fall of her chest.