161 Meters Down

To Casino Royale

'Damn! How long will it take me to die? It seems as if I can take a whole movie of my life flashed, huh.' With this thought wrecking his mind, mocking him, Lucas willed himself to close his eyes.

A second away before his eyes shut forever, a shadow squirmed its way toward his sinking body.

'A mermaid? A deity of the Mayan City that I condemned?'

Bubbles left Lucas's mouth when he opened his mouth once again to ask the incoming shadow if it came to take him to his parents.

But he was only met by a searing warmth in his mouth followed by an influx of air towards his oxygen-deprived lungs.

The metal waterproof clock struck the time of 11:11 PM. Two hours passed by already since an earthquake shook the Mexican coastlines this was immediately followed by a gigantic tsunami – hitting the Yucatan coastal city in the dead of the night.

The ripples brought by the surge of seawater had long been gone. There was no more room left to fill with water. And so, the waters stilled. Floating chairs floated along with the paintings and lamps that filled the storage room while wooden and metal crates had sunk along with the single metal in the small spare room. 

Had it not been from the water, nothing much changed inside the darkened room. Since this was only a storage room, the small light had long been broken after being hit by a floating chair.

It was eerily quiet. A complete contrast to what was transpiring fifty meters above the surface. With the clouds clashing each other which elicited a terrible roar followed by a series of lightning bolts, a storm had entered the Mexican Area of Responsibility. Storm surges followed the whistling winds as yachts shook from their stronghold.

Homes were left unattended after the tsunami hit the coastal city. Families were now separated from each other, some were lost forever to the waves of the deep.

Indeed. 

It was a totally different scenario compared to the stillness of the submerged floor of the Poseidon Hotel's underwater facility – one of the ten floors under the surface.

Aside from the occasional ripples brought by the sea snakes and fishes brought by the influx of seawater, a vibrating swirl would occasionally hit the locked door of the storage room. Amid the silence, two more slow vibrations ricocheted against each other.

The green flashing light made a sea snake recoil, leaving a trail of small ripples. On cue, a silhouette signaled an 'okay' sign to the one who tensed after seeing a sea snake in his one-meter radius. Bubbles continued to escape from the tubes in their masks as ripples followed their every gentle stroke.

Lucas swatted Kristina's hand which meant she should mind her own business and continue what she was good at – guiding him through the exit of this deep shit they were trapped in. One tank for each of them with only forty-six and forty-five percentiles left of oxygen for them to use, they were in need to find that damn escape route. Lucas was sure he had read the map of the Poseidon Hotel, but he could only gnash his teeth upon not remembering a damn thing!

With the presence of the hypersensitive twelve-foot great white shark behind the door of the storage room they had just recently left, communication between him and Kristina had seized. Aside from the occasional signs between them, he was mostly following her who was swimming a meter ahead of him through the water-filled hallways of the lowest floor they were trapped in.

With his gaze transfixed on the woman in front of him, Lucas could not help but swallow the clog in his throat upon remembering the time when he had fully surrendered to death. On instinct, he closed his eyes tightly.

 It was a good thing that Kristina knew the place like the back of her palm – indeed. The time that he thought she was taken by the wretched fish, she was actually preparing the tanks she located at the bottom of the storage room. 

According to her, in the throes of death due to suffocation, her eyes noticed the gleaming neon letters of the oxygen tank.

Lost in his thoughts, Lucas' eyes widened for a fraction of a minute when Kristina tapped his right shoulder which earned her a flinch from him.

Kristina cocked her head upon seeing the reaction. In her muffled voice, she asked. "Are you alright, Lucas?"

Lucas clicked his tongue before he swam past her, not sure where to go without a flashlight to guide them. "Mind your damn own business, woman."

Biting her lower lip, Kristina drew a deep breath before she pulled him – stopping him from wasting oxygen by swimming in the wrong direction. "It's this way." 

She nudged in the opposite direction he was heading at. "This is where the emergency exit is."

 Without waiting for Lucas' reply, Kristina swam to her right side. She had no intention to waste their oxygen from a mere squabble.

Lucas looked behind him and was met by the eerie darkness which immediately made him swim to where Kristina was going. As he swam side by side with her, he probed. He was sure that he heard her say 'emergency exit'. 

"And where will that lead us, woman?"

Kristina sighed. Even she did not know what to expect, but one thing was for sure: it was not locked. After all, it was an emergency exit for a reason. To calm Lucas, who was not used to this disaster – though she was not also used to it she was the employee of the hotel and it was ethical to prioritize him – she answered in a monotonous tone. 

"It will lead us to the floor above us, the Casino Royale."

Upon the mention of Casino Royale, Kristina's thoughts lingered on her friend who was supposed to be on duty tonight – Chad.

'I hope you are not there, Chad.'

Crossing the last hallway and avoiding every floating piece of debris in their way, the red illumination brought by the capitalized letters of the emergency exit letters welcomed Kristina and Lucas. Not minding the dozens of sea snakes in his midst, Lucas swam past the stunned Kristina.

The rapid swirls from the frantic kicks and strokes of Lucas snapped Kristina. A wave of relief hit her as she followed the Russian mobster. "Wait, Lucas. Do not make a vibration–"

A loud thud echoed from the path they just came from. This sound made the sea snakes and fishes stray away from the area while Kristina and Lucas slowly looked behind them before they looked at each other.

"Damn it!" Lucas whispered as he swam as fast as he could to the doorless emergency exit.

"Go, go, go! " Kristina swam towards the emergency exit, not looking back, for she was too afraid to see that the twelve-foot apex predator was hunting them again.

This time, there was a door that would stop it since the emergency exit was a staircase that would lead to the Casino Royale. She only hoped that the Casino Royale was not flooded.