“I’ll go.”
Kelsey tightened her hold on his arm. “No. I will.”
He snarled, turned his head, and glared at her. “It could be dangerous.”
“I know how to swim if I need to. Be rational. The water is cold. I’m barely dressed as it is. This thin nightgown will dry faster than your clothes.” She began to unwrap the clothes from around her knees.
Crath didn’t look happy. “I’m the male.”
She rolled her eyes. “Not this shit again.” Kelsey shoved the dish towels at him. “Put these back in the bag. I have experience with exploring caves like this. You need to trust my judgement, Crath. Which means staying here and rescuing me if I get hurt. I’m not strong enough to haul your ass up and out of the water if anything happens to you. Is your wrist light waterproof?”
He grimly accepted the towels. “Yes.”
“Can I borrow it?”
He hesitated after fiddling with the bag, then adjusted to sit back on his ass. He had to keep his head tucked to avoid hitting the low ceiling. He removed the band, turning to her. “Your wrist is too small.” Crath studied her, twisted a little, then placed his alien watch around her upper arm. He did adjusted it until it fit snuggly.
“I need to be able to use the light.”
“I know, but we can’t risk losing it.” He regarded her grimly. “The tracker is the only way my littermates and cousin can locate us. This is the best I can do.”
She nodded. “Okay.”
Crath reached up and cupped her face, making her turn her head until their gazes locked. “Be careful. I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you.”
She stared into his gorgeous blue eyes, seeing the worry in his gaze. “I have no intention of dying.”
“Good.” He glanced at her lips. “Do you want a kiss for luck? I know that’s a human tradition. I would feel better if you gave me this kiss.”
Kelsey was actually tempted. But it was the worst timing. “I’ll kiss you when we’re out of here and on your ship.”
His beautiful eyes narrowed. “I will hold you to your promise.”
“You do that.” She gently pulled away and stared at the dark water ahead of her. Dread pitted in her stomach. The water was cold and alien snakes or parasites or something similar could be lurking under the surface, for all she knew.
“I would feel better if I went,” Crath offered again.
“No. That makes zero sense. I’m smaller than you, wearing much less, and know what I’m looking for. Stay here.” Then she took a few deep breaths and began to crawl forward.
The chilly water had her uttering a curse. It wasn’t absolutely freezing but it was cold enough to be dangerous if she stayed in it too long. It had been years since she’d gone cave exploring with her mother, but the lessons had stuck. Being cautious is mandatory, but so is avoiding hypothermia by not wasting time.
“What is wrong?” Crath’s voice came out more as a growl.
“Just hating the cold.” She carefully made her way forward, using her hand to always test that a solid surface remained beneath the water.
That’s the only reason she didn’t pitch headfirst when her hand eventually connected with nothing.
She stretched a bit, groping around, feeling the sudden drop off.
“What is it? Why have you stopped? I am coming to you.”
“Don’t! Stay where you are, Crath. I’m just figuring something out.”
Kelsey hated to do it, but it was safer to put her feet first to see how deep the hole went. She leaned back, sinking more of her body into the icy water and adjusting to sit on her butt. Then she pushed her foot forward where her hand hadn’t been able to feel solidness. She was grateful that she’d wrapped her feet in at least a thin layer of material, her mind imagining touching something slimy and possibly alive. The cloth wasn’t much protection but it beat having none.
There was nothing under her foot.
She scooted closer to the drop-off until she sat perched on what had to be the edge. It was too deep to find the bottom. The water was also too dark to see anything.
“Kelsey? What is it? Speak to me.”
“It’s deep here, I think. I’m going to slide off and I’ll either find the bottom or swim toward the opening ahead.”
“Come back. I’ll do it.”
She lost her temper, reverting to his level by growling. “Stay there, Crath! If we can’t get through to the next section ahead then we’re stranded here. I’m going to need you to be dry. This water is cold enough to give me hypothermia, which means it could kill me if I have no way to warm up. I’ll need your body heat. Now calm down and let me figure this out!”
Kelsey took several deep breaths, then she slid off the ledge. Her body sank and she started to doggy paddle, since it was too narrow there to do much more. It kept her head above water. Her feet didn’t touch the bottom of the pool.
The cold water made it hard for her to breathe. Shivers hit her, and her teeth began to chatter. She abruptly opened her mouth to avoid Crath hearing it. He’d probably freak out.
She swam forward carefully, using her feet as little as possible to avoid smashing into possible hidden rock under the surface. The light had dipped under the water, dropping her into darkness, and it felt like she’d been swimming forever.
Eventually, she lifted her arm above water to gauge her location. She was within a few feet of what she thought was solid wall—a dead end—and her stomach twisted with dread. But as she adjusted her arm, shining the light on the surface…she saw a rough opening where the tunnel continued. There was just inches of clearance above the water.
Kelsey used her feet to explore under it and didn’t hit rock. It was unblocked beneath the water’s surface. She swam a little closer, until she had to sink lower, tilting her head back to avoid scratching her face on the rock. She used her feet to feel around again, but the opening under the water was wide enough that she couldn’t feel the walls on either side of her.
“Kelsey!”
“Patience!” she managed to yell back, hoping he heard her. She was shivering so hard it made a single word difficult. She swam a tiny bit more, until the ceiling was suddenly farther away from her face, then straightened and lifted her arm to bring the light to the surface.
What she found had her almost shouting in relief.
She found herself in a cavern with a high ceiling. She swam forward a few more feet, twisting to move the light and get a better view. The cavern was huge, maybe sixty feet wide, and the roof rose a good two stories. She spotted what looked like floating debris…
And a possible way out of the water to her far left.
“Kelsey!”
“I’m okay. Hold on!”
She swam to the left and raised her arm, making out more of that part of the cavern. There were small branches and vegetation floating on the surface, crowded around what looked like another large tunnel entrance. There was more darkness than the light from Crath’s device could penetrate from where she swam.
Kelsey turned, swimming back toward where she’d come from. It was a relief that the new cavern was much larger, and the floating debris gave her hope that they’d be able to find a way out.