Opia || Rafe Cameron

Chapter 9

"This is empty." Kie says looking at the tank. "You took empty tanks?"

"I-" John B's voice trails.

I walk over, looking at all the tanks. "This one has a quarter tank. It's enough for one of us."

"Love it when a plan comes together." Pope says sarcastically.

"Does anybody know how to dive?" Kie asks.

"I do." I state.

"How do you know how?" JJ asks. "It's kind of a Kook sport."

"Like you said, I'm always off doing my own thing. I've picked up some extra skills." I wasn't about to tell the Pogues it was something Rafe Cameron and I had done a couple times.

"Alright, you can dive." JJ says. "Look, you put the thing in your mouth and you breathe. How hard can it be?"

"If you come up to fast, nitrogen gets into your blood, and you get the bends." My brother states.

"Bends like, bend over and..." JJ bends over, sticking out his ass.

"The bends kill you." I state.

"Right."

"I can do it." I repeat.

"Hell no." John B says.

"I'm the only one that knows how." He sighs, giving in.

"Let me do some calculations real quick." Pope says standing up. "That boat's about 30 feet down."

"Okay." I nod along with him.

"So it'll take 25 minutes at that depth. Which means you need to make your safety stop at about... ten feet. All right? For two minutes."

"Okay."

Kie jumps off the edge of the boat into the water.

"What was that all about?" Pope asks.

"I don't know, but I liked it. A lot." JJ answers looking into the water, where the girl had jumped in.

"JJ, stop objectifying her." I say looking at him.

"Right, uh so, yeah. When you're down there, you look for the cargo hold. You stick this thing inside and twist and pull, okay?"

"Got it." I respond.

I turn around as I hear Kie resurface.

"My dad moved weight back in the day." JJ speaks up.

"Who didn't?" Pope retorts.

"Hey!" Kie calls, catching our attentions. "I tied my shirt to the anchor chain about ten feet down. It's where you need to do your safety stop."

"Yeah, of course." I nod.

"Keep an eye on this. You need to make sure you have enough air to decompress." Pope hands me the dive computer.

"Okay, how much does she need?" John B asks, looking over my shoulder.

"Unclear." Pope turns to me. "Breathe as little as possible."

"Oh boy." I begin to put on the scuba gear, getting ready for the dive.

"Zen. Think Zen, you know." JJ tells me. "We aren't losing the smallest member of the Pogues."

"Excuse me, I'm older than all of you." I say laughing.

"Hey, if we get caught in the Marsh, we're basically screwed so.. Better get a move on." Pope says.

"Right, okay."