Saturday, August 13, 2011

Chapter 28: Jolts

“All right,” Ron began as he put on his mask. Nora and Tristan had already donned their equipment and Ron had just finished giving them their safety instructions. “We’re not going to be going down very far today because it’s your first lesson. You want your body to gradually adjust to the change in pressure. The farther down you go, the more pressure is on your body. Our bodies are accustomed to the pressure of the air at and around sea level. That’s why, when we go up on mountains or way down in valleys, our bodies don’t run as well as they normally do. Because of this, you’ve got to be very careful to not go down into the water too quickly or come up too quickly. A quick change in pressure and everything in your body goes haywire. You just want to take it nice and slow.” Ron finished explaining and Nora looked up at Tristan. He could tell that her worry was mounting.

“You two ready to go in?” Ron asked. Tristan nodded then glanced down at Nora again. She nodded slowly and took a deep breath. “Great! Now, just follow my lead.” Ron said. He sat down on the side of the boat, his back to the water. Nora and Tristan did the same. Ron placed the mouthpiece to his oxygen tank into his mouth and adjusted his mask. Nora and Tristan imitated his moves. Then, very suddenly, Ron leaned back and fell into the water. Nora’s eyes went wide as she watched him go under. He quickly popped back up and smiled at the two of them.

“Just lean back! Once you’re under the water, you do a little flip and come back up. It’s not hard at all!” Ron called up to the two of them. Nora looked over at Tristan. He smiled encouragingly, took a deep breath, then leaned back and fell into the water. Out of instinct, he closed his eyes on the way down, but he quickly opened them once he was under the water. He swam back up to the surface and popped his head out.

“Come on, Nora! The water’s fine!” he called up. He saw Nora’s fists clenching and unclenching. Suddenly, she tipped backwards and fell into the water, her eyes squeezed shut. Tristan smiled and watched her flip over under the water. He saw her open her eyes slowly. She looked around for a moment, her eyes wide, before she swam back up.>r> “It’s amazing under there!” Nora exclaimed, removing her mouthpiece. Tristan and Ron smiled.

“Gorgeous, isn’t it?” Ron said, also removing his mouthpiece. “Well, let’s start diving!” he said, putting his mouthpiece back in. “All right, so you two are going to follow my lead and go down just as far as I do. You don’t have to be at the exact same depth as me, but you don’t want to go too far down because--” All of a sudden, Ron was cut off by Nora’s scream. He and Tristan both turned to look at her just in time to see her hands go under the water.

“Nora!” Tristan yelled, staring down into the water. He saw her disappear beneath the dark depths. Something was dragging her down.

“What in the world--” Ron began, but Tristan cut him off.

“Something grabbed her! Something’s pulling her down!” Tristan yelled, putting his mouthpiece in.

“Well, did you--” Ron began again. Just then, Tristan dove under the water. Ron gasped.

“Wait!” Ron screamed, staring down at Tristan. “You haven’t been properly certified!” However, Tristan couldn’t hear Ron anymore, nor did he care about what Ron had to say. He only cared about saving Nora.

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