161 Meters Down

Trapped In Casino Royale

The second time the loud thud resounded followed by the vibrations underwater, Kristina and Lucas knew that it was a hundred percent sure that the great white shark was back.

"Lucas, move!" Kristina pulled Lucas when the latter froze upon swallowing the information that a twelve-foot apex predator was hunting them again.

Kristina on the other hand got more experience with sharks but this was her first time dealing with such rage. Rudolph, her four-feet Mako shark was not this aggressive even when they met for the first time. There was something peculiar with this shark – it was as if this shark was hell-bent on chasing them until the end.

'But how did it escape from that room? I am sure that Lucas locked it well! I did hear the clicking of the lock, didn't I?' Kristina thought as she swam with renewed vigor.

"Damn these chairs!" Lucas, who was swimming ahead of Kristina, swiped the chairs that were floating before him. Because of this urgency, two chairs hit each other which resulted to a loud thud followed by the ripples of vibrations.

Kristina gasped as she momentarily stopped swimming. "You are practically leading the shark to us!" She hissed beneath her diving mask. A second gasp escaped from her cracked lips when Lucas pulled her wrist. 

With his strength, he was able to move her by a meter from where she was floating at originally.

"What are you–"

"Fucking swim, woman!" Lucas pushed Kristina's back, willing her to swim before him. He did not like the pounding of his heart when the loud thud ensued a few moments ago.

Lucas damn well knew why his chest tightened and it was definitely not because of the thought of drawing the attention of the shark to himself, but the flimsy possibility that the woman swimming behind him would be snatched away from him – without him knowing. The memory of him looking for under the water doubled the pace of his heart. And so, he pulled her to swim before him.

"Faster! Do you know how to swim or what?"

"I am trying! And stop panicking, it will not help you. Trust me," said Kristina.

 Her strokes and kicks were firm, but they were graceful without ripples. She looked at the frowning Lucas in her peripheral vision and imparted her knowledge about the sharks. 

"As you know, sharks are sensitive creatures. The water is their home and by some twisted fate, this part of hotel is now submerged with water along with an apex predator."

"Yeah, yeah. Tell me about something I don't know, something that actually helps us.... Right now, woman," snapped Lucas.

 He copied the long yet gentle strokes of Kristina. He could see that the ripples around her had minimized to an extent.

As they swam higher, they followed the stairs that would lead them to the Casino Royale. They dodged every floating piece of debris ranging from things with the size of Kristina's palm to medium-sized things like plastic chairs or wooden chairs. Careful not to cause another vibration anymore, Kristina and Lucas had to swim and not look back – even when the latter wanted the otherwise.

"The shark is also trapped, like us, Lucas. It is aggressive after being thrust to a new cage-like environment. And..." Kristina paused after remembering how they handled the situation. 

They were all in a panic state. 

She was in a panic state and in denial of the situation that she momentarily forgot how to handle predators. Had she not been swayed by her emotions, she could have saved Bernardo as well. Her chest tightened for a split second before she shook her head. Like she said; she should not be swayed by emotions when it came to dealing with this kind of situation – mind over matter, like always.