The Reincarnation

Victor Grey’s alarmed shout echoed back to him, haunting his ears. Johnny’s grip on his ankle slackened almost as soon as it had tightened. Jesus, Grey thought, I sound like a child who’s seen a ghost. Johnny lay lifeless again, and Grey took off his belt and tied Johnny’s hands together with it. Now to get out of here, he thought. Listening for his men, he heard nothing.

If coming in through the water hadn’t killed Johnny, going out wouldn’t either, he figured. He grabbed the belt holding Johnny’s wrists together, and walked into the cold water.

After dragging Johnny to the edge of the declivity leading down from the surface of the cave, he floated out as far as he could. Grasping the belt tight, and preparing his lungs for the dive, he submerged into the icy depths.

Swimming down, he realized it was further than he thought. When he had looked from the water’s surface, refraction must have made the outlet seem closer than it was. Undeterred, he continued his descent.

Rather than being a hindrance to Grey’s escape, Johnny’s body was helping him. It sank like a stone, making the trip to the cave’s subaqueous opening very fast. Once Grey had breached the opening however, his advantage turned into a handicap.

The opening was ragged, and Grey barely managed getting through it without cutting himself. It made him wonder how he had gotten through it on the way in without drawing blood. Johnny wasn’t as lucky. The back of his head dragged across the jagged rocks, as did his back. Grey thought for a moment that Johnny’s clothes might get caught, but they tore easily and Johnny slipped free, the rocks slicing bloodless grooves into the flesh on his back.

Desperately holding his breath in his lungs, Grey struggled to surface. He didn’t think he was going to make it. The air in his lungs burned, his body commanding him to expel it. He could see the water’s silver surface above him. It was like glass, and from underneath acted as the world’s largest mirror. Grey wondered briefly if his and Johnny’s pitiful reflections in it would be the last thing he ever saw. He considered dropping Johnny to save his life, but determinedly swam toward the mirror with Johnny in tow.

Once he was able to move upward through the frigid waters, his momentum propelled them to the surface.

Expelling the burning air in his lungs, Grey looked around the gorge. He hadn’t had the time or the inclination to look around on his way into it, and now he realized he had another problem – how to get out of the water. The walls of the lake loomed over him – sheer, vertical bluffs. He looked around for his Army and, not seeing them, figured there must be a way out.

His men were gone, but not without a trace. One of them must have escaped and come back from the van with a rope ladder for the others. They had left it behind, and Grey swam over to it.

Fastening his belt, and therefore Johnny, to the bottom rung, he scaled the lake’s wall, silently thanking his Army for either their carelessness or their thoughtfulness.

Either way, they had left him easy passage to dry land.