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So would a cover spell, though.
I looked around the empty room. She'd escaped. Somehow, she'd escaped.
I glanced up. The ceiling was solid and twelve feet overhead. To my left, the window was bricked over, as my father said.
A door. There had to be a--
I came to on the floor without realizing I'd even blacked out. I looked around, dazed. I could smell the
gas and see it shimmering in the air.
I started pushing to my feet. Then I saw it--a partly open hatch under the third bed. Covering my mouth, I bent and yanked it open. The hole descended into darkness. As I felt around inside for a ladder, Bryce bent beside me.
"I can't find a way down," I said. "But obviously there is one if she used it."
Bryce reached inside.
"There's something over here," he said.
He leaned in farther.
"Don't--"
He lost his balance. I managed to catch his sleeve, but the sudden jolt sent me sailing over the edge with him.
thirty-seven
I clawed and kicked, desperately trying to stop myself from falling. When I realized it was too late, I tried to twist in midair, to get my head up so it wasn't the first thing to hit--
My skull slammed into something and there was a momentary flash of "Oh, my God, I'm dead" before I realized I'd plunged into water.
My hands shot over my head to break that final impact with the bottom. I hit hard enough to send pain jolting through my arms.
I felt around. Thick mud over rock or cement. I managed to get my footing and pushed off and up.
By the time my head broke through the surface, my feet had left the bottom. I treaded water and squinted around. Above I could make out the rectangle of the hatch, but it was so high it barely gave off any illumination. I was in a deep pit, with at least ten feet of water. From the sounds of it, I was alone.
"Bryce?" I called.
No answer.
"Bryce!"
I dove, got a mouthful of foul water, and shot back up again, gagging and spitting. Another deep breath and I went under.
If I couldn't see above water, I sure as hell wasn't going to be able to see under it. I swam around, praying my fingers or toes would brush against Bryce.
He'd float, wouldn't he? No, that was only after you drowned. A live body would sink.
I had to find him. He was already weak. It wouldn't take long before--
Something tickled the back of my head. I reached up and felt fabric, and let out a whoosh of relief that sent more disgusting water into my mouth. I ignored it and grabbed Bryce around the torso. I hauled him up until we finally broke through.
I could only dimly see him, his skin and light hair glowing pale in the near dark. His head lolled back. Unconscious.
I remembered Paige giving us a first aid class back when the agency opened, and I know she'd covered CPR and I know I'd been there . . . sulking because it would be a long time before I was in the field, meaning I had no use for first aid so I damned well wasn't going to listen . . .
Shit.
