Chapter 13 #3
Percy fit the bill well, as did Sammy, the captain and even young Buddy, who had helped people meticulously.
They were soon all in the water, and the water was as beautiful as the day. Sometimes, in Chloe’s mind, the water—especially water that led to deep water—could be chilly, even on a warm day. But this water seemed to be in sync with everything else that had gone on so far.
“Tallyho!” Percy called. “Stick with your buddy! Any problems, I’m right in front and Sammy will be behind. No wandering off,
my friends. This isn’t a mobster movie—we’re not leaving anyone to sleep with the fishes!”
With a grin, he set his mouthpiece in place and went under.
They had ended up treading water near Percy while everyone entered, and Wes gave Chloe a nod.
It wouldn’t hurt to have the girl they worried about be right behind their diving guide.
“Darlene, let’s follow the guy who knows the place!” Wes said.
She nodded.
The two went down; Chloe and Bryan followed.
And it was beautiful, truly beautiful. They were led first by some of the spectacular coral reefs, places where colorful tropical
fish darted in and out of the little holes in the rocks. They didn’t encounter anything remotely dangerous as they started
out.
Chloe had always loved diving, loved the soothing sound of her own breath through the tubes, the feel of the water, the easy
glide she made through it with the slightest movement of her flippers, the strange, peaceful quiet. And for a few moments,
she let herself feel the enchantment of their movements and the aquatic world around them.
But she didn’t forget that things had happened on this cruise, and being in the water—even a mere thirty feet down—could be
dangerous.
Their party seemed to stop in unison as the great hull of the medieval ship came into view. It was something to see: surreal, a little bit magical, very much like something out of a storybook.
At the head of his crowd, Percy made a movement with his hands, indicating that the party should follow him along the hull.
People fell in line and did so.
Chloe noted that Celia and Jeff were right behind her and Bryan, and that while Daniel was diving with Gina, his brother,
his usual partner, was doubled up with another younger woman who had apparently been on her own for the excursion. Both sets
of partners were behind another married couple they had briefly met and seen about the ship. Another couple, who appeared
to be father and son, brought up the rear, followed by the ever-vigilant Sammy.
It was fascinating to see the giant hull of the medieval wreck—albeit with a massive gash along the side—in the water. It
naturally made her wonder about the people who had gone down with it in the storm. She could only imagine the fear of such
a situation, trapped with no recourse by the mercilessness that could be nature.
And so strange to think about on a day such as this one! Not a worrisome creature in sight, just all kinds of quick-moving
and beautifully colored tropical fish, rushing in and out of the coral rock and all around them.
The first part of the dive was about twenty minutes; it ended with the tour around and through the wreck.
They came around the hull with no difficulty. Toward the aft of the old ship, Percy paused again, making another expansive
hand gesture in the water that they could all easily understand.
This one indicated that they go straight. Straight through the ship. They didn’t wander into the old cabins, seek the old
cannons or any other such thing.
They stayed together.
They entered the ship.
There had been no arrangements made for lights, but on such a day, lights weren’t necessary. In fact, they might have detracted
from the surreal feel within the wreck. The sunlight tore through the ancient timbers and created fascinating shadows and
a murky gray darkness that still allowed—or perhaps more so allowed—them to see the interior of the old ship.
They didn’t need to seek out the galley; they went through it. Some shelving still stood; remnants of tables, secured to the
floor when the ship was built, still remained. They passed through the old galley and past cabins that no longer had doors;
they saw what remained of the wooden structures for bunks. It was eerie, fascinating . . .
Darlene was moving along easily with Percy in front of her and Wes following right behind, her ever-watchful dive buddy.
Behind her, Chloe heard a bit of commotion, thuds against the wood.
She turned and saw that Celia had gotten hung up . . . on something. An ancient nail protruding through a doorway?
Chloe turned back to help, but, of course, Percy had heard the strange and unusual clumping sound that carried through the
water, as well.
He turned back, coming through, determined to detach Celia from whatever it was that she’d become stuck to.
Naturally, that stopped all the movement, and they wound up gathered close with first Jeff trying to free his wife, then Wes
and Percy, who managed to disentangle her almost immediately from the strip of wood she’d gotten caught on.
Percy indicated that they move on through the ship.
As they started out again, Chloe saw that Darlene had gripped Wes’s arm. She was indicating her tank and hose and looking
distressed.
Something was off.
But their determination on positioning had been good.
Wes took out his own mouthpiece, giving it to Darlene. He glanced at Chloe and she knew that he was going to bring Darlene
immediately to the surface, something he indicated to Percy, as well.
How? How the hell had anything happened? They had all been there together, clumped up a bit, albeit everyone concerned about
Celia!
This time, however, there was never a danger of death. Not when Darlene was with Wes. He would have no problem carefully rising
the thirty-something feet to the surface while holding his breath.
But, of course, Bryan nodded at Chloe; he was naturally going after his daughter, assuring that she would be all right, with
everyone curious about what had caused the problem.
Chloe and Bryan surfaced soon after Wes and Darlene. He’d been asking her if she was all right, but of course, she was since
she’d had his air supply on the way up. The boat was near and the captain and Buddy were right there, calling out, throwing
a float and helping their foursome out of the water.
The others, of course, were just minutes behind them.
They had been at the end of the dive when Celia had been in distress and then Darlene.
Chloe couldn’t help but wonder if Celia getting caught up had been part of a plan. Cause confusion, leave a gap in there where
someone could easily put a little pinprick in an air hose, enough to cause a problem.
The way everything was done so meticulously . . .
It just seemed unlikely that she’d suddenly have a problem with a piece of equipment that had been so carefully checked.
The captain and Buddy were extremely helpful, asking, as did Chloe and Bryan, about what had happened.
“I don’t know!” Darlene said. “There was just suddenly no air coming through!”
Percy, when he’d helped the rest of the divers out of their tanks, hurried over to Darlene, anxious to ask the same question.
“I’m really fine, maybe I just panicked!” Darlene said. “And I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to ruin the tour—”
“We were at the end!” Percy assured her. “And have no fear. We’ll check out every single piece down to the atoms to find out
what failed you!”
“Hey, it’s good to have a dive captain for your dive partner!” Darlene said.
Percy looked at Wes. Wes shrugged.
“Any of us down there could have shared our air—we didn’t need to surface from being too deep. It’s all good, Percy,” Wes
told him.
“All good!” Darlene said.
“Hey, young lady, you had a real problem,” Celia said, looking over at Percy apologetically. “I did exactly what you said
not to do!”
“People get excited—they get too close to ancient rotting things,” Percy said. “It’s happened before, and . . . well, you
see why I run a tight ship! Buddy system all the way.”
“Hear, hear!” the captain’s mate, Buddy, said, causing everyone to laugh.
“Seriously! We had an amazing time, thank you!” Broderick said. “And, hey, what’s a good time without a little drama?”
A little drama. We seem to be having a lot of it lately! Chloe thought.
She looked at Wes. She knew that they were due back at the dive station where all equipment would be returned, they would gather whatever they had left there, and board the bus for their return to the ship.
But she knew, too, that before they left, Wes would be talking to someone.
And that he’d be damned if he’d leave before he knew just what had caused the problem with Darlene’s equipment.