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Two figures pop up on the surface behind them, and I realize they must be the two older students I spotted Cass teaching yesterday.
One of them swims forward, his arms slicing the water until he’s next to Cass, relieving her of the person she’s helping.
I get up and run out to the waterline to meet them. As I watch them steadily make their way back to land, the pulsing beat of blood in my ears quickens, a disturbing crescendo. When they get closer, I recognize the person the older male student is pulling in. It’s the loud Brit from last night who dragged Lucy away from our conversation.
But now he’s completely silent, his face pained, apparently relying entirely on the other student to get him to shore.
I wade out until the water reaches my knees and grab the Brit on his other side, helping the older student pull him farther up the beach. Even with two of us, the Brit’s weight is crushing, at least two hundred pounds of pure muscle, and it takes everything we have to get him only a few steps before we collapse on the sand.
“What the hell happened? Is he okay?” The questions come as rapidly as machine-gun fire, erupting from my mouth before my brain can even recognize the words.
“Daniel ascended too quickly,” Cass says through quick breaths, reaching the shore only a few steps behind us. As she pulls off her mask, I spot tears in her eyes. “He panicked and swam straight upward.”
I breathe out, relieved. A diving injury. It’s not great, sure. I’ve heard both Cass and Neil talk about the dangers associated with rapid ascents, but I’d been expecting worse. The other female student finally reaches the beach, her eyes as round as moons and her face paper white. And that’s when I realize who’s missing. Lucy, the girl who had cornered me outside my room last night. The fourth student I spotted in the training pool yesterday.
Around the same time, Neil and Doug come running from the dive shop. They head straight toward Daniel, clearly identifying the injured party, but two words from Cass make them stop short.
“It’s Lucy,” she says. It comes out like a croak.
“Lucy?” I turn her name into a question, my eyes desperately searching the beach as if there’s been some misunderstanding, as if she’ll pop out and surprise us at any minute.
Doug is busy taking Daniel’s pulse, but Neil turns to me. “Cass’s fourth student. She didn’t show up for the dive this morning.”
My stomach turns uneasily. And then Cass says words that make everything freeze.
“She’s…she’s dead.”
Time seems to stand still. A sob escapes Cass’s mouth, but I barely register it.
She’s dead. I replay the words over and over, my lips mouthing along silently, my tongue twisting around the syllables. My memory ricochets back to last night. Lucy’s attempt to talk to me, the stark gaze she fixed on me as she walked away.
I feel my heart rate quicken, and my fingers fold into themselves.
“We need to call the police.” It takes a moment for me to realize the unfamiliar, accented voice belongs to the older male student.
I nod, already pulling my phone from my pocket.
“We’ll do that as soon as we get to the dive shop,” Doug says, having finished taking Daniel’s pulse and apparently concluding that his condition isn’t critical. Doug’s voice is stunningly calm given the circumstances.
“I—I have my phone—” I start.
“No. We need to get back to the dive shop and take care of Ariel and Tamar. Get them out of these wet clothes,” Doug orders. “We’ll use the phone there to call. The service is more reliable from the landline.”
I clench my teeth together. Despite everything, I can tell how much Doug loves this. Being the one in charge.
“Daniel needs medical help,” Cass says, her voice nearly drowned out between sobs. I look over at Daniel, who’s still on all fours, his chest heaving.
“Already on it,” Neil says. “We saw you through the shop window, dragging Daniel in. We could tell something was wrong and called the medical center just to be cautious. They’re on their way.”
In an instant, I realize how useless I am in this situation. And just like that, I’m on the outside again. There’s no role for me to play in this group.
“I’ll stay with him,” I say suddenly, clinging to a way that I can help, a means to claw my way back in. “You go to the dive shop, call the police. I’ll wait with Daniel.”
Doug barely acknowledges me, already turning on his heel and heading toward the dive shop. Cass nods her thanks and corrals the other two students, following Doug. Neil sticks around for a second longer and turns to me.
“Thank you,” he says, his dark eyes holding mine. Before I realize what he’s doing, he’s leaned in and given me a kiss on the cheek. The movement is so natural yet so unexpected that despite the unromantic circumstances, I feel heat rise through my body. Before I have a chance to respond, Neil’s gone, jogging to catch up with the group, leaving me alone with Daniel.
“So,” I say tentatively after a few minutes, once Daniel has rolled on to his back and up to a seated position and his breathing has finally returned to something resembling normal. “Feeling better?”
