Wood's Honor: Action and Adventure in the Florida Keys (Mac Travis Adventure Thrillers Book 12) by Steven Becker

Author:Steven Becker [Becker, Steven]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The White Marlin Press LLC
Published: 2021-06-27T16:00:00+00:00

Mel had hit the water and stroked hard toward the steel cable. Grabbing her shirttail, she wrapped it around her hand to protect it from the frayed and rusted steel and took a deep breath. She had no time to properly prepare for the descent, but knew that taking at least a couple of oxygen-rich breaths would give her that much more time underwater.

Three breaths were all she gave herself, and as she pulled her body down the cable, she hoped it was enough to stave off the effects of the building carbon dioxide in her system. Knowing the physiology behind breath-holds helped. There was a misconception it was lack of oxygen that forced people to surface; it was actually the buildup of carbon dioxide.

The right state of mind was also important. Stressing out and rushing to the bottom would only limit her time once she reached the sub. She had the cable and knew it would bring her to her destination. Aligning her body at the same angle helped reduce the friction of the water against her, and without being able to see the bottom, she counted each deliberate hand-over-hand movement as she descended.

Twenty pulls of each arm brought her to the hard surface of the submarine. She had estimated it had taken forty seconds to reach the bottom. That was about a third of her average, untrained breath-hold.

She held onto the eye hook welded to the bow. The lack of additional weight was a disadvantage, and she regretted not taking even a wrench from the tool box—even a few pounds would have made a huge difference. Focusing on what lay ahead, she released the ring and pulled herself along the pitted surface of the sub. Thankfully, its condition was deteriorated enough to allow her handholds as she made her way to the hatch.

She had her eyes open, but there was really no point. It was pitch black at this depth, and she had to rely on waving her free hand in front of her to feel for any obstruction. Finally, her fingers struck something round and hard on the surface of the sub. Mel wasted no time, and with both hands on the hatch, started turning the wheel counterclockwise. Surprisingly, given the condition of the barge, it moved easily.

Mel figured she was about a minute into her breath-hold when she swallowed. As the hatch released, she knew she was approaching the halfway point in her dive. Her instinct was to swim into the hold and find the women, but as she started to pull herself through, she was pushed back by something floating out of the hatch. Her surprise was total and she lost her grip. As she was thrown back, she reached out and was barely able to get a finger on the wheel. She felt an object start to rise to the surface and moved away as several more packages followed.

While she waited, she checked in with her brain, trying to calm herself from the shock. Stress used almost as much oxygen as physical work, and she felt her first convulsion.

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