Retrospect

Forty

The waterfall boomed right near my shoes and I could feel the cold wind as I zipped by everything. I was too paralyzed with terror to scream or do anything. As my clothes and hair whipped upward violently, I heard what sounded like Miles whooping and laughing down below until he was cut off abruptly.

Then I smacked into chilly water and I was sent many feet down below the surface. A fleet of bubbles escaped my mouth, reminding me of being in the tank at Frost's aquarium. Deep humming reached my ears and I spun to look down. Machinery was at work, big, brown gears and pumps turning and moving not too far underneath my feet. Red lights faded on and off on each gear and machine, signaling that they were functioning properly. It was all so haunting, the gears spinning in the murky depths. I struggled to swim to the surface faster than I'd thought I could.

An electrifying pain shot up my back and I let out a scream, clouding my vision with even more bubbles. Kicking several times, I swam up and gasped for oxygen as soon as I broke through the water and felt air.

Reeves was right. The water was rough. A white, frothy wave crashed into me, pulling me under. I was flung one way, then another, then down again, causing me to fight my way back up. I found air for the second time, inhaling as much as I could in case I was forced downward again.

The massive waterfalls spilling from the factories were still a great distance across the body of water, so this allowed me to breathe and know that as long as I was above the machines and away from the waterfalls, I was okay.

Suddenly, over the chaos of the waves and the angry, stabbing pain in my arm (I could thank Rich for part of that), I heard a noise. I couldn't tell where it was coming from at first until I started looking around for the source. To my left, I could see Reeves trying to wave to me, sticking his hand high above the water in order for me to see him better. "Cory!" he yelled.

I didn't think twice. I paddled in his direction, then paused. Reeves was drifting into a dark tunnel, the current tugging him along more quickly where he was. Then I noticed that I was also being pulled closer to the tunnel without any effort on my part.

"Cory," I heard clearly. Jumping at the sudden voice, I looked beside me and saw Miles wandering over, rising and falling with the waves. He smiled and I rolled my eyes, hoping he saw me do it. He flicked his soaked hair from his eyes then and laughed. "You lived," he told me.

"Don't ever do that again," I warned, resulting in him grinning at me. "I'm serious, Miles."

"You wouldn't have gotten off that platform if I'd gone down before you," he countered, floating closer.

"Actually, yes," I said sharply, "I would've. I was just waiting for the right time."

"Really?"

"Yes."

He held in another laugh and shook his head as if he didn't believe me. "Okay then, when was going to be the right time?" he shot back, "because we didn't have time."

I was going to respond, but nothing came to mind. He was right, but I wasn't going to tell him that after he pulled me off the platform and gave me a heart attack. So I ended up ignoring what he told me which invited him to continue on. "You wouldn't have done it," he tried to convince me. The water finally carried him over to where I was and we were both slowly heading for the tunnel.

"You don't know that," I retorted, but he just let out another laugh. I could see why Ana didn't get along with him very well.

"Admit it though," he said, "that was kinda fun."

"No," was all I could get out, shivering in the water.

He chuckled just before we entered the shadowy tunnel. At first I couldn't see a thing, that is until the walls curved and we were pulled farther in. Violet lights on the high ceilings (used for water treatment) shined down, causing the entire tunnel to glitter. I tried to make myself hate how hypnotizing and pretty the water and the walls were (since it was a tunnel that existed underneath Hale), but a small part of me still remained, acknowledging the beauty of it all.

Apparently I wasn't the only one mesmerized. "Wow," Miles breathed, his voice echoing off the shimmering walls. He whirled around and swam backwards, gazing up at the ceiling, his face drowned in the purple light with a sparkle in his eyes. "Wonder how long this goes on for," he said.

Admiring the illuminated passage, my eyes fell on Miles who was occupied with the sights surrounding us. Then his expression suddenly darkened, his interest in the tunnel fizzling out.

"Are you okay?" I asked over the sound of water dripping.

He didn't answer right away, just faced me and dismissed my question with a wave. "Yeah, I'm fine," he finally replied, though he still seemed distracted by something. A few seconds passed. "What do I do if my dad's in there?" he then said.

We both went quiet, the only noise being a strange, deep rumbling in the distance. I wasn't able to respond. We were just floating down the tunnel for several moments, Miles desperate for an answer.

"I'm...I'm not sure," I sputtered. I didn't know everything that happened between Miles and his father, and I wasn't about to pretend like I knew the solution.

Miles sighed. "I don't know why I even care if he's here or not. He didn't want me anyway," he argued, a hint of frustration in his voice. He went quiet for a minute, but I knew his thoughts were still replaying and it was like I wasn't even there. He was distant, looking right through me.

"Miles," I tried, swimming closer in order to get his attention. He came out of his daze for just a second and I could tell he actually saw me and was listening. "You'll be fine, we'll all be in there," I told him, "you'll know what to do."

He didn't seem the least bit satisfied. I wasn't too good at comforting people, but it was worth a try and just to get those words in his head could help him somehow.

We were carried farther down, arriving at the end of the long, purple passage, then drifted around a corner. The rumbling was much louder here and my heart skipped a beat when I saw it. Staring ahead, I noticed the water raced faster up ahead, white water crashing and flowing downward. No... I thought immediately, all hope leaving my body.

"Cory! Miles!" Someone called from inside the tunnel. "Up here! Quick!"

My eyes darted around the walls until I spotted Reeves and the others up on a ledge to my right, raised above the water. If we got closer to the wall, they'd easily be able to reach out and help us up to them.

Letting the current carry us a few more feet, we rapidly approached Reeves and his hand found mine, just before I was swept down the tunnel. Meanwhile, Malachi was leaning out and caught Miles hand. Miles swung his leg up onto the ledge and hoisted himself up with the help of Malachi's strength. His clothes were soggy, dripping city water onto the ground, much like mine which clung from my arms and legs, adding on a couple of pounds.

Reeves hauled me up and I collapsed to my knees in front of the others, catching my breath. If I hadn't noticed the waterfall, I probably would've drowned. The water had looked pretty rough and I didn't really want to think about where the tunnel led.

Reeves analyzed our dim surroundings, narrowing his eyes. "Alright, we should be under the section now. I don't think we're under Hale though, not yet," he explained, turning to the others. "Everyone okay?"

Ana winced as she pressed on her forearm. "I think I might have fractured something, but other than that, I'm fine."

Murl was the only one out of the others to give a tired thumbs up, though he seemed to be injured the most. Before I could say anything to him, Reeves faced me. "You good, Cory?" he asked.

I was a little caught off guard, but I nodded (even though my arm was screaming at me), so Reeves spun around and waved us on. "We should get going," he mumbled, "before we starve down here."