After what felt like hours, the tunnel widened. The current eased, and the rock walls opened into a small cavern. Elias’s fingers brushed against something solid beneath him, ground. He surfaced into a pocket of air, gasping.
He tore off his mask, lungs aching, and turned in the dim glow of his headlamp. The cave roof dripped in slow rhythm. The air smelled of salt and iron. Edwin stood waist-deep in the pool, frozen, staring at something near the rocks.