Into the Vortex by John Poidevant

Author:John Poidevant
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781632994028
Publisher: River Grove Books
Published: 2021-05-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

“Do not give up. The beginning is always the hardest.”

—Kemmy Nola

The water slowly rose in the cavern. Kayden had slumped back against the wall when he had fallen asleep. Water had slowly crept over his lips and entered his mouth. He gagged as it slid down his throat. The recurring dream ended as quickly as it had begun. Kayden’s body shook from the nightmare and the cold river water. As his mind began to clear, he anxiously leaped to his feet.

How long had he slept? Kayden remembered the weather forecast had called for rain and possibly heavy thunderstorms in the afternoon. The Opa River was known for flash flooding. This could prove disastrous. If the river level rose more than two feet, the remaining air inside the cave would be slowly pushed out by the water, and he would drown. He fought a pending sense of doom. If he panicked, he would die.

“No matter how difficult the circumstance, there is always an answer to your problem,” Dr. Johnson had said. He’d reinforced the comment during grief group sessions with several powerful stories of survival, and it had stuck with Kayden. Even in the worst circumstances, there are always alternatives to explore. He would never give up.

Kayden forced himself to take three deep breaths and think about his options. What could he do? Exactly how bad was his situation? Kayden knew he had to see his surroundings in order to plan. Light, he needed light! He pulled the watertight canister of matches from his life jacket. He carefully unscrewed the top and retrieved one match from the cylinder and struck it. A sudden radiance filled the cavern as the light displaced the darkness. The water in the cavern was continuing to rise, faster than he thought possible. More alarming was the swirl of currents not far from his seat against the wall. The additional water made the vortex much stronger. He could feel the strength of the rotating water, power in the darkness, drawing him toward the center of the vortex. He pressed his back firmly against the wall with his feet. This held him in place for now.

As the flame slowly burned down the match, Kayden shifted his gaze toward the top of the cave. He was alarmed at what he saw. The space between the swirling waters of the vortex and the top of the cavern was little more than two feet. There had been at least three feet of space before he passed out from exhaustion. This was confirmation of what he feared most. The river would soon fill the cavern, and he would be out of options. Kayden needed an escape plan. He reached for another match and struggled to keep his hands from shaking. As the match lit, Kayden again surveyed his surroundings. The vortex was gaining strength as the water continued to rise. He scanned every nook of the walls surrounding him. Was there any way of escape?

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