The Sowing

A second later he shakes his head and lets go of me, kicking his feet as he glides upward with Tristin’s pod. He disappears in a trail of bubbles.

My Bio-Pod bounces to a rest on the ocean floor once again.

At least Cage will be pleased he made the right choice.

Oxygen level: sixty-eight percent. I squeeze my eyes shut as another wave of claustrophobia slams into me. I focus on the monitors and readouts.

Drusilla and Crowley are already making their way back to the surface, each towing Bio-Pods of their own. It could mean that Dahlia and Arrah are safe, but the bio-readouts for the Incentives are impossible to interpret. The racing heartbeats could mean elation at being rescued or terror at being left behind.

Boaz is in last place, just having picked one of his Incentive’s Bio-Pods before scrambling after the others. Since that pod is smaller than the others it means that at least poor Corin is safe.

I hear a quiet sound. And then a steady stream, like the sewage sloshing through the sewer tunnels back home.

An even deeper cold slices through the numbness in my lower extremities and I force myself to look down. Ocean water is seeping into my pod, climbing past my feet, my ankles, my calves. The Establishment isn’t taking any chances. At this rate, they’ll drown us before the oxygen levels are depleted.

My anxiety levels kick into overdrive. The door in my mind blasts open, letting in a tsunami of ice-cold panic that engulfs everything in its path. “Get me out of here!” I screech, buckling against the confines of the capsule.

But it’s no use. My throat’s raw, my stomach twisted like a wrung-out washcloth.

Oxygen level: thirty-eight percent.

My breaths are quick rasps bursting through my ears like the chugging of a steam engine, growing faster and faster. I’m starting to feel dizzy, like I’m going to pass out. Lightning jets through my hands, feet, and lips. I’m hyperventilating, losing too much carbon dioxide. The realization makes me feel floaty.

Oxygen level: nineteen percent.

I think of Digory. Instead of the dark, cold waters drowning me, I’m bobbing in the warm blue of his eyes. He smiles, his flawless lips forming words that travel in concentric circles of perfect ripples until they cozy up to my ears and fill them with bliss.

Never give up.

My heart surges—

Until I remember Digory’s betrayal and how much it hurts. I’ve tried my best not to think of it during these weeks in Purgatorium.

But the rage works just as well.

Frosty sea water laps against my chin, jarring me back to reality. Control yourself, damn it! Cole needs you to survive and get back to him!

I force myself to imagine that each breath I’m expelling is pushing me farther and farther away from Cole, and I feel them begin to slow.

Oxygen level: ten percent.

On the monitors, Boaz has overtaken Drusilla and Crowley and is racing ahead of them to pick up his second Incentive. Seawater seeps past my lower lip, filling my mouth with salty ice that I spit back out.

Boaz scoops up his remaining Incentive and heads for the surface, followed by Drusilla. At least that guarantees that Corin, Leander, Arrah, and Mr. Ryland will make it through to the next round.

Crowley’s left behind, trying to untangle his remaining Bio-Pod from debris. From the way his face is contorting, he looks like he’s struggling to breathe.

My mouth’s now completely submerged and I tilt my head up as far as I can, struggling to keep my nostrils free.

Crowley finally pulls the last of the debris free and grips his Incentive’s Bio-Pod.

Cage darts into view, propelling himself like a fish. Gripping my pod, he heaves me from the ocean floor and begins the trek to the surface. Crowley’s just a little farther ahead with his Incentive.

Oxygen level: four percent.

The water spewing into my pod is trickling past my nostrils.

Then Cage pulls ahead and takes the lead. Oxygen level: two percent.

An oblong shape zooms into view, dissecting the shafts of surface glow. It’s a fish. A big fish with a long pointed snout, angular fin, gills like slashes in its side, and the blackest eyes I’ve ever seen.

A carcharian.

Crowley lets go of his Incentive and swims away, but Cage just freezes. Wham! The predator slams into me, teeth chomping through the monitors and gauges as it rips a large hole in my pod.

I manage to avoid the creature’s teeth and slip through the opening. Cage grabs my arm and starts to pull me up with him to the surface. Beside us, Crowley’s recovered his Incentive and is swimming neck-in-neck with us, just as the carcharian rips free of the remnants of my Bio-Pod and shoots toward us like a silver bullet. Its maw grazes one of Crowley’s legs as it zooms by him, then circles around to attack him full force. Crowley clutches his wound and shoves his remaining pod toward the predator.