Thirty Nine Minutes (COMPLETE)

Chapter Twenty Six: Cold Waters

Despite Craig's warmth, a great precipice lay before them and chilled Helen's bones. Both metaphorical and literal, the chasm of unending blackness beckoned them to it, wanting to suck them into the nothing below their respective feet and fins.

They both flinched at the shot, Craig threw his arms over her and descended, just their brows showing in the choppy waters.

Helen thought Craig would be losing it this close to his greatest fear, but he was strong, steady. His tail barely moving with just enough to keep them both afloat, they surfaced once more.

"We have to do this, Helen. I won't let David get what he wants; how he manipulated me, kept me safe from this rotten world." Helen looked at him to see the tears dripping from his trembling chin, but his expression was hardened into one of stubborn determination. She embraced him.

"It's okay to feel conflicting things right now, Craig. Let's get this done, okay?" She pulled his face to hers and touched his forehead, and she heard him swallowing the large lump in his throat.

"Help me do this, please."

At his plea, she wrapped her arms about his neck and squeezed gently. "You don't have to swim to me this time, because I'm right here. Right here with you."

His hand grabbed her wrist, and he nodded through his tears. "I'm going to do this, with you."

With that, he dove and darted like a minnow downwards. Towards the inky darkness. Helen held a little tighter, adjusting her grip so he could feel her presence at all times as he swam. Before she could ask, he turned his head and cupped her cheek, guiding her lips to his. He kissed her deeply.

Her lungs had been starting to tingle, but during that kiss, it was almost as if she didn't need to breathe at all, like her lungs didn't consider oxygen as anything important. It was a curious feeling, something that took a second or two to accommodate. The kiss ended and Craig pressed on, whereas the feeling of wanting to breathe soon crept up on Helen as quickly as Craig had quenched it. She touched his chest to remind him of her presence as he swam deeper and deeper, but slower and slower. Craig kissed her once more and the desperate urge to breathe melted away once again. As long as his lips were touching hers, the need to breathe didn't seem important at all. With a quick maneuver, Craig grabbed her and swung her over his back so she was now nestled underneath him. He held her close to his chest with one arm around her, kissing her deeply as the bottom of the ship came into view. They had approached from the opposite side, so their attention was firmly on the merfolk screaming and writhing in the trawler net.

Helen opened her eyes as they slowed to a stop, but they weren't nearly close enough to the ship to enact anything. Craig's eyes were dilated. He was looking straight down, beyond her. Even with her presence, the intimacy; his fear still had a dagger lodged deep in his heart, and she felt him begin to tremble.

She had to act fast. She grabbed his neck and pulled him close, trying to shield his eyes as his arms went lax. His tail had stopped pumping, and they began to sink. Helen could only think of one thing to do.

She grabbed him under his armpits and kicked with her legs as hard as she could. If she could get to the boat, she could hang on to it and not be pulled under. Craig was getting heavier by the second, his pupils almost completely disappeared into the whites of his eyes. The surface seemed to get further and further away the harder she kicked.

She could not ignore her own physical exhaustion, the chill of the water that weighed her down. Craig was shaking, almost at the point of thrashing in her arms. Just hold on, Craig… she willed to him as she kicked. Just a few more seconds. 

It wouldn't be long before her body would inhale a lungful of deadly seawater. They ached and screamed for air and her legs would barely move.

A shadow plunged in from the boat, causing white bubbles to froth and fizz from the surface. Helen flinched at the figure as it floundered. Her vision was limited, but she could tell it was a man's figure. 

The man reached down and grabbed her, pulling her to the surface by her collar. Even though she wanted to struggle, she was too tired, and at the slightest sliver of help, all her strength seemed to just bleed right out of her.

Neil held them both as they all surfaced together, the splash barely heard among the frantic smattering around them. Helen reacted first, gasping like she hadn't taken a breath in years. Her eyes were red from keeping them open in the seawater and blood was dripping from her nose. Most remarkable however, was her throat. It pulsed with the same glow as Craig's blood threading through his body. "Fuck! This water is cold!" Neil finally found the strength to spit.

"...Neil?" Helen choked, "What, what happened? Where's David? And your mom?"

"Hell if I know: I shot a warning shot and hid like a goddamn coward. I jumped off the ship when I saw Craig in the water, I didn't really know what else to do."

"He's having a panic attack, Neil. We need to calm him down." She held him close. "Count down from ten, Craig," she urged, "I'm here. You're safe, Craig."

He wouldn't stop hyperventilating, breaths coming short and fast. Neil looked up and towards the trawler net. They were anything but safe right now: freezing cold, out in a cove and no one knew where they were. The only one with any ability to help them was Craig, who had at least stopped hyperventilating by now.

"We still have work to do. I can't stop now… Helen, let me go, and stay with Neil."

"Not a chance! You go, I go too. End of discussion, Craig. Neil! Take this knife, go cut one side of the trawler net. Me and Craig will cut the other side." Her throat was chafed and raw as she spoke.

Before he could protest, Craig had taken a deep breath and already hooked Helen in his arm, taking her back to the deep depths. Neil stared at the knife Helen had pressed into his palm, gripped its hilt and began to saw at the thick hemp rope.