Nathaniel pressed his head back, straining for oxygen despite his regulator’s hiss. The whale shifted, tilting him closer to the faint glow beyond its baleen. He caught another glimpse of the shark, its fin slicing shadows with lethal precision. He shivered, suddenly aware of how small he was in this duel between giants.
Fear became dual-edged. His friends believed he was trapped in a predator’s mouth. In truth, he was being saved by one. But how could they know? Each minute stretched long, danger mounting both inside and out. If they forced intervention too soon, they might doom him without ever realizing it.