0:03

Never leave the line. Something

0:05

we heard the diving instructors say countless

0:08

times in our cave diving class. Hello,

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o h for

1:42

terms. If you can't see the line that

1:44

leads back out the cave and then you're

1:46

in trouble. My brother

1:48

had become obsessed with cave diving. What

1:50

had been a casual hobby had turned into

1:53

a burning passion for him and because

1:55

I was his diving buddy, it didn't take

1:57

long before I found myself in the cave

1:59

diving certification class. The

2:01

first time going scuba diving was wonderful.

2:04

I never had imagined there was an entire

2:06

intricate world beneath the waves. I

2:09

could have simply done open water diving for

2:11

the rest of my life and been content. But

2:14

that was not what my brother was like.

2:16

He was always pushing to try the new

2:18

exciting challenge, and this

2:20

had gotten us into some trouble more than once.

2:23

That was when I should have known to pump the

2:25

brakes when he started talking about cave

2:27

diving. There's no doubt in my

2:30

mind that cave diving could be a wonderful, peaceful

2:32

experience if done right. But

2:34

in the combination of my brother's ego,

2:37

and the deceptively dangerous pitfalls

2:39

involved with cave diving should have sent

2:41

me running for the hills. My

2:43

brother had spent quite a bit of time searching

2:45

the different caves to dive around where we

2:47

lived. He kept saying the word

2:49

siphon over and over. And

2:52

finally, I asked him what it was. Most

2:54

people cave dive in springs, where the

2:57

water flows outward and the current

2:59

will push you towards the entrance. Aside

3:01

from, however, is when the water flows

3:04

into the cave, pulling you away from

3:06

the entrance. It seemed like

3:08

the ultimate test, which was irresistible

3:10

to my brother, who was in a constant state

3:12

of having something to prove. That

3:15

was why, before completing our certification,

3:18

we had taken off for an underwater cave

3:20

in Pennsylvania. My brother

3:22

argued that we had more than enough training

3:24

being certified in advanced open water.

3:27

For some reason, I went along

3:29

with it. We were headed to the entrance

3:31

of an underwater system referred to as

3:33

conky hole. My brother had

3:36

mentioned that it had been part of an old Native

3:38

American legend. Back when the Lenape tribe

3:40

still lived in these parts. He said

3:43

that a young man after being rejected

3:45

by his love dove into the hole

3:47

and only a pool of blood came out

3:49

the other side miles away

3:51

where the underwater cave system flowed out

3:53

into a bay. At the time,

3:55

I had laughed and rolled my eyes. After

3:58

a long car ride, we had reached the dive

4:01

site, I was surprised at how

4:03

deserted it was. It was just a

4:05

small pond in the middle of Pennsylvania. There

4:07

was a bed and breakfast in the distance and

4:10

a Christmas tree farm but other than

4:12

that, it was quiet. That's

4:14

it. I said, I was expecting

4:16

something bigger. There's an entrance

4:19

somewhere in there. There was a

4:21

fire in his eyes, which was infectious.

4:24

I was starting to see the appeal of going

4:26

exploring, but I wondered if

4:28

we really were prepared It was well

4:30

known that only those with proper cave diving

4:32

certification are allowed to go diving into

4:34

caves. We were not yet certified.

4:37

My brother kept saying that because we were

4:39

certified for advanced open water diving,

4:42

we should be fine. I was starting

4:44

to have second thoughts as we approach this murky

4:46

pond. We suited up and

4:48

began the dive. The

4:55

water was a bit cold, but I quickly

4:57

adjusted and became acclimated to my

4:59

new surroundings. As I started

5:01

to look around, my first thought was

5:04

that there was nothing that interesting and

5:06

maybe our trip had been waste of time.

5:08

The pond wasn't that big, not more

5:10

than fifty feet in diameter, and it

5:12

seemed to be mostly shallow. But

5:14

as my eyes started around towards the bottom,

5:17

I saw what looked like a small fissure.

5:19

My brother had seen it too, and he immediately

5:22

started swimming for the entrance. I

5:24

followed. Being relatively new,

5:26

we both had a single tank setup, which

5:28

only afforded us about forty five minutes

5:30

of air. The rule was to

5:33

use a third to explore, a third

5:35

to get out, and a third just in case

5:37

of emergencies. That was why

5:39

we had only agreed to be in there for fifteen

5:41

minutes before turning back. We

5:43

swam closer to the fissure and I

5:45

was expecting it to be more pronounced. It

5:48

was only a small crack just big enough

5:50

to squeeze through. These are known

5:52

as restrictions and have been known

5:54

to be the end of many a cave diver.

5:57

Get stuck in an underwater squeeze and

5:59

then you'll run out of air. Especially from

6:01

all the panic grieving which drains your tank.

6:04

These restrictions were just the type of

6:06

thing my brother loved and he

6:09

immediately began to wiggle his way into

6:11

the fissure. He began to kick

6:13

up mud that pervaded the bottom of the pond.

6:16

It was becoming difficult to see but

6:18

after a brief struggle, his body disappeared

6:20

through the fissure. I was next.

6:23

I must admit that squeezing my way

6:25

through sharp rock surfaces when sensitive

6:28

gear that my life depends on was not

6:30

my idea of good time. I

6:32

figured if I can make it through this part,

6:34

then it might be worth it. I

6:36

started wiggling my way in. The

6:39

rock face on either side was surprisingly

6:41

sharp. I shimmied on and

6:43

noticed a turn I had to rotate

6:45

my body around to be able to bend through.

6:48

I kept forcing my way deeper into the fissure

6:50

and sure enough After a time,

6:53

I broke free into a large chamber. The

6:55

only light was very faint and coming

6:58

from the tunnel I had just passed through. Only

7:00

a meter into the chamber turned to complete

7:02

darkness. I could see my brother

7:04

there shining his light around. It

7:07

was truly a wonder to behold. In

7:09

all directions going out, there was blackness

7:12

and who's to say how far it went,

7:14

I immediately understood why people did

7:16

this. I shined my light

7:19

around the entrance and along the wall,

7:21

there was mud interspersed with striking

7:23

orange rock, It felt like being on

7:25

another planet. The light eventually

7:27

tapered off into the blackness. My

7:29

brother tied off a line to the rock face,

7:32

and after making sure it was secure,

7:34

started fraud kicking along the wall.

7:37

Together, we started down what seemed

7:39

to be a large tunnel though we

7:41

could only see one side. Occasionally,

7:44

a critter would swim or crawl by

7:46

and this gave me a sense of ease at

7:48

least we weren't the only things down here,

7:50

something was able to survive. We

7:53

moved deeper into the cave, frog

7:55

kicking, careful not to kick up too much

7:57

debris, but neither of us was very

7:59

good at it. Nonetheless, we

8:01

pressed forward into a large chamber, deeper,

8:04

farther from the entrance, farther

8:07

from air, Almost all

8:09

at once, the mucky orange rocks

8:11

turned into a purplish hue. As

8:13

if we had entered what seemed like another

8:15

biome, Stalagtites by the

8:17

hundreds, barely coated the ceiling,

8:19

and I gaze with wonder as my light

8:21

passed over them, only for them to once

8:24

again, fall back into the infinite

8:26

darkness in which they dwell. I

8:28

was surprised to see the occasional smaller

8:31

pale crustacean walking by, It

8:33

seemed like a place so inhospitable to

8:35

life, yet here it was. My

8:38

brother seemed eager to see what was around

8:40

the next corner. We were getting deeper,

8:42

and I looked at my dive computer. We

8:44

still had several minutes left of air,

8:46

but my brother's kicking may be nervous. He

8:49

had started flutter kicking to get himself

8:51

deeper. It was starting to kick

8:53

up all types of debris as

8:55

the cave system went deeper, I could see

8:57

that it branched off into several directions.

9:00

My brother tied off the line he'd been laying

9:03

as we'd been instructed, but

9:05

before I could catch up to him to signal

9:07

to frog kick in. He was already off

9:09

again. I love diving,

9:11

but my brother has this nasty habit

9:13

of turning fun things into competitions. This

9:16

wasn't the first time that I felt as though he

9:18

was acting dangerously during a dive.

9:21

I was going to really give it to him when we got

9:23

out. He continued unrelentingly

9:26

towards what looked like the next restriction.

9:29

He positioned his body and began to

9:31

shimmy his way into this crack. This

9:33

was the part that always made me nervous.

9:36

Many caved I is preferred to use a

9:38

side mount rig or a re breather

9:41

called a side wonder to be able to fit into

9:43

tighter spaces. Being relatively

9:45

new to this, we had tanks mounted on

9:47

our backs. This made it more difficult

9:50

to pass through restrictions. What

9:52

would happen if he got stuck and I couldn't pull

9:54

him out? Going through restrictions

9:56

while cave diving is very dangerous, yet

9:59

it allows you to blower place that

10:01

may never have been visited by humans in

10:03

the entire history of Earth. This

10:05

enticed me. It was truly the

10:07

last frontier on this planet. He

10:10

continued to shimmy deeper and soon

10:12

his fins fell into darkness. I

10:14

hovered there in the water for a moment. It

10:17

can be much more difficult to back out of

10:19

restriction than going forward. The

10:21

last thing you want to do is create a traffic

10:23

jam underwater with limited air. Still,

10:27

as I tread bare alone in the underwater

10:29

chamber, which seemed so isolated,

10:31

so far removed from the rest of humanity,

10:34

so far removed from all the comforts

10:36

and distractions of the daily minutiae

10:39

that present the illusion that being alive

10:41

in this world is somehow normal. I

10:43

began into the restriction. The

10:46

last thing I wanted to do was have an existential

10:48

crisis alone in an underwater chamber

10:51

the rocks were sharp and abraced my suit.

10:54

I carefully continued to shuffle deeper into

10:56

the squeeze. It was tight, At

10:58

one point, I could only wiggle my leg a

11:00

matter of inches up and down. I

11:02

wasn't getting used to passing these restrictions.

11:05

On the other side, I saw my brother again.

11:08

Shining the light around. He had already tied

11:10

off another line and started swimming out

11:12

into the chamber. I looked at my

11:14

dive computer We were deeper now

11:16

and we would have to turn back soon. We

11:19

continued on through what seemed like an

11:21

endless maze. It seemed to be a

11:23

large tunnel carved by an underwater

11:25

stream over millennia. There

11:27

were massive boulders that we began to weave

11:29

through. It was magnificent, The

11:32

water in this chamber was pristine and

11:34

had yet to be mucked up by our kicking.

11:37

Yeah, as I looked around, I noticed

11:39

that the silk we were kicking up seemed to

11:41

drifting, it seemed to have entered

11:43

a small current. I knew

11:45

it was time to call the dive, but in

11:47

the distance They both saw something

11:49

large but very faint as our

11:51

lights didn't reach that far. I

11:53

was just as mesmerized by the object

11:55

in the distances my brother and we

11:57

kept drifting forward. It was

11:59

then that my brother ran out of line.

12:01

He swam to the bottom and tied off the line

12:04

and looked to me wondering whether or not

12:06

I would tie a new line off. I

12:08

shook my head and tapped my computer, signaling

12:11

to him that we didn't have time go deeper.

12:13

His head pivoted back to the object and

12:16

he strained to sea stretching his

12:18

light hand as far as it could go. He

12:20

looked back at me and signaled to continue forward

12:23

and without any confirmation, he

12:25

swam out. Never leave

12:27

the line. I scrambled to tie

12:29

off my bright orange line to a small

12:31

outcrop at the floor as fast as I could.

12:34

What an imbecile. I finished tying

12:36

off a sloppy bow tie knot and took

12:38

off after him. My light found

12:40

him still kicking toward the object. Thank

12:42

God, I could still see him. I kicked

12:44

harder to catch up. Then all at

12:46

once, he stopped dead. His

12:48

body began to slowly sink to the bottom

12:51

as he remained perfectly still. That

12:53

was when I finally got close enough to

12:55

see what it was. Through the

12:57

darkness, The large object was

12:59

still hard to make out. The borders

13:01

were hard to discern, but over the next

13:03

couple of seconds, my brain put the

13:05

pieces together and I lurched backwards

13:08

as if overtaken by some old

13:10

mammalian defense mechanism, there

13:13

was some kind of crustacean or

13:15

at least the lifeless shell of one

13:17

that had molted, what was truly

13:20

horrifying was the size of the shell.

13:22

It must have been the size of a car It

13:24

looked to have horridly long antennae

13:27

and there seemed to be scant remains of

13:30

what must have been an enormous claw. It

13:32

looked like some kind of freakishly large

13:35

cross between a giant prawn and a

13:37

lobster, only long and

13:39

streamlined, so as to fit through the

13:41

strictions as we did. I

13:43

shuddered as I wondered whether or not this

13:45

cave system had been dug out by some

13:47

horde monster and whether or

13:49

not we had intruded upon its lair.

13:52

Who knows what types of prehistoric creatures

13:54

lay in the depths of the earth? It

13:56

was hard to make out its shape as it was just

13:58

the discarded shell and it seemed

14:00

to only be a piece. My brother

14:03

swam closer and I followed. Hovering

14:06

over it, we looked at each other. I

14:08

thumbed the dive. The dive signed

14:10

ahead to the surface. To my relief,

14:12

he nodded and we began to swim back.

14:15

Suddenly, I felt the line goes slack.

14:18

The only thing this could mean is that my knot

14:20

had come undone. My brother

14:22

noticed this and we looked at each other once

14:24

more, this time in horror. I

14:27

tried to remain calm to think of what to do.

14:29

My brother started desperately flutter kicking

14:31

his way back towards where we'd come from, but

14:34

as I looked around with my light, there were

14:36

a hundred different ways to go. Still,

14:38

we had tied another line off relatively close.

14:41

We just had to remain calm and work our

14:43

way back. I was happy that I still had

14:45

two thirds of my oxygen left. My

14:48

brother was moving fast and I was having

14:50

a tough time keeping up. The harder I

14:52

kicked, the more carbon dioxide was building

14:54

up in my body. I knew that

14:56

I should slow down and breathe, but

14:58

my brother was swimming faster still.

15:01

He seemed to be desperately looking for the other

15:03

line. I could feel my head start

15:05

to swim, and I knew that if I kept pushing

15:07

myself, I would pass out. I

15:09

slowed down and kept my light on my brother's

15:11

fins as they became fainter and fainter.

15:14

I tried yelling out through the regulator, but

15:16

it was too late. He was out of sight.

15:19

There I was drifting helplessly. My

15:21

line dangled there, limp in the water.

15:24

I remember what the cave diving instructor said,

15:27

It is panic that kills people. I

15:29

had to remain calm. I floated

15:31

there for several seconds just calming myself

15:34

down. My breath started normalizing

15:36

and I started to gather my wits. I

15:39

had to swim towards where I thought my line

15:41

had come from, The thing was

15:43

that given the slight current where

15:45

my line had come from might not be right.

15:48

Still, I had a little choice. I

15:50

kicked back in the direction I came from

15:52

straining my eyes for a side of my brother.

15:55

I continued onward checking my dive

15:57

computer. I still had time. My

16:00

light traced all of the walls and I tried

16:02

to make a mental note of any anomaly, anything

16:05

that stood out, but everything seemed

16:07

the same. I continued out

16:09

into the blackness. I could feel myself

16:11

starting to panic again. I just had to

16:13

find the other line. My heart

16:15

soared as I noticed the other line from a

16:17

distance. I swam toward it and gently

16:19

held it. Had my brother found

16:21

it, he may be causing it to move yet

16:24

the line remained limp. I

16:26

searched all around, but he was nowhere.

16:28

I knew I was going to have to make a decision

16:30

soon whether to look for him or leave

16:32

him and get help. Something inside

16:35

me told me that if I went and got help,

16:37

it would turn into a body recovery. It's

16:40

all well and good when death takes someone

16:42

you don't know, but at the prospect of losing

16:44

someone you have known your whole life and care

16:46

deeply about, it becomes very real.

16:48

I knew I had to go back and look for him.

16:51

I knew that I had to use my reserve air

16:53

to search for him even though it would likely

16:55

mean that I would die too. Still,

16:58

leaving your brother to die isn't a choice

17:00

you can make. I reeled in

17:02

my line and went to tie it off again when

17:04

I noticed another line that had been tied off

17:06

some meters away. I hadn't

17:08

noticed it before as it was blocked by

17:10

a rock on the way in. I quickly swam

17:12

over and inspected it. The first

17:15

thing that stood out to me was how old it was.

17:17

It looked like it had been laid decades ago.

17:20

I didn't have time to think too much about it,

17:22

the line let off into the blackness and

17:25

I could only wonder where it went. Then

17:27

the line moved in the tiniest amount

17:30

I grasped it gingerly with my hands.

17:32

Sure enough, there was something on the line.

17:35

I started to swim along its trail,

17:37

making sure to search all around me for my

17:39

brother. Eventually, the line

17:42

led to a hole in the bottom of the chamber.

17:44

I approached, I could feel the current start

17:46

to pick up and I realized this

17:49

was a sump. Water was pouring

17:51

into this hole and if I wasn't careful,

17:53

it would take me in. That was

17:55

when I noticed something poking out onto

17:57

the lip of the hole. It was my brother's

18:00

hand. He was there and hanging

18:02

on desperately trying to get out of the hole

18:04

My instincts told me to reach out for him,

18:06

but I knew that I would share his fate

18:08

and we would both perish. I was

18:11

his only hope. I had to use my head.

18:13

My heart was pounding and I had started breathing

18:16

faster. No doubt this would be using

18:18

up much more air than I could afford. Still,

18:21

if I was able to free him, we would both

18:23

likely get out of this unscathed. Maybe

18:25

he would even have finally had his fill of thrill

18:28

seeking. I've reeled in my line

18:30

and tied it off thoroughly to a nearby

18:32

rock. I made sure that it was tight I

18:35

then began inching toward the whole backwards,

18:38

keeping my hands on both the old line

18:40

and the new one. My brother's

18:42

hand remained clenched like his depended

18:44

on it because it did. I

18:46

continued to back up over his hand.

18:49

I could feel my legs being pulled into the

18:51

hole with a much greater force than anticipated

18:54

Just as I expected, my brother's other

18:56

hand swung around my thigh and latched on

18:59

the moment had come. I

19:01

began to pull it was working. Together,

19:04

we have started to ascend out. Just

19:06

then, I felt the old vine break,

19:09

all in a second, both me and my

19:11

brother were hanging from my one hand.

19:13

I let go of the old vine and started to pull

19:15

my way up with both hands. It

19:17

was working. I continued to inch

19:19

out little by little. I was hyper

19:22

focused just looking at my hands. I

19:24

was so fixated. I didn't notice

19:26

something else had entered the chamber. I

19:28

didn't notice until it was too late.

19:31

To my horror, the line went slack

19:33

again. My eyes darted up in disbelief,

19:36

barely visible in the darkness was

19:38

a gigantic white claw. I

19:40

only saw it for a split second as my

19:42

brother and I went tumbling down the hole.

19:45

The current was strong and we were pulled along

19:47

into a larger, wider chamber The

19:50

current in this tunnel was even stronger

19:52

and we tumbled along like debris caught

19:54

in a river. There was no way

19:56

out now even if we managed to stop

19:59

It would be impossible to fight a current this

20:01

strong. I tried to look at

20:03

my dive computer, but I was spinning around

20:05

uncontrollably. Occasionally, I

20:07

would thrust into a wall. On the

20:09

third or fourth time, the light strapped to

20:11

my hands, struck a rock, and the light went

20:13

dead. Together, almost

20:15

all at once, we were swept out of the tunnel

20:18

and into a freefall. It

20:20

was hard to say how far we fell and

20:22

it felt like hundreds of feet. In

20:24

reality, it was probably more like forty.

20:27

Upon landing, the water crashed on

20:29

top of me and pushed me down further. I

20:31

kicked out and started swimming to the surface

20:34

in the direction I hoped it was. It

20:36

was hard to tell in the complete darkness. Breakthrough's

20:40

surface was a great feeling. I

20:42

treaded there for moment before I carefully

20:44

withdrew my backup light from a secured

20:46

pocket. I turned on my light

20:48

and looked around. I never knew

20:50

such large chambers could exist to the

20:52

surface of the earth. It must have been the

20:54

size of a gymnasium. I

20:56

saw a pile of rocks in a far corner and

20:58

swam for them and least I could rest

21:00

while I thought about what to do. I

21:03

swam for the rocks having no idea

21:05

how deep the water was below me. I

21:07

tried not to think of the creatures that could be

21:09

lurking below my feet. Thoughts

21:11

began to race through my head as I climbed out

21:13

of the water. Was that really

21:15

a claw that I saw? How did it

21:18

know to cut the line if the claw

21:20

was that big? How big was the creature

21:22

it belonged to? How could a creature of

21:24

that size live in such a place? I

21:26

swept the water with my light hoping to

21:28

see any sign of my brother. I was

21:30

alone. I finally looked

21:32

at my dive computer. I was surprised

21:34

to see that it still had a third of the tank

21:36

left. There was no way I would be

21:39

able to get back out the way I came. But

21:41

at least I was in large chamber with breathable

21:43

air. You never know how much

21:45

oxygen is in these isolated chambers

21:47

underground, but I still felt fine.

21:50

And I figured it was better to save the oxygen

21:52

in the tank for when I would need it. Though

21:55

I knew my chances were slim, it was

21:57

hard not to fixate on the fact that I was

21:59

tracked and likely dead. All

22:01

I could do was distract myself and try

22:03

to break the problem down. I

22:05

still had yet to see any signs of my brother,

22:08

I scanned the water surface with the light.

22:11

I knew I couldn't wait much longer. I

22:13

had to go in and look for him. And

22:15

what if he was trapped and running out of air?

22:18

I was almost certain he had tumbled down the

22:20

drop into this chamber. I shined

22:22

the light near the base of the waterfall. There

22:24

was nothing except the constant rush

22:26

of water. I put my mask

22:28

back on and walked with my fins back to

22:30

the water's edge and waited in. I

22:33

broke the surface and started scanning around

22:35

with my light. The chamber was

22:37

enormous above the surface, but below

22:39

it, it was even more vast For

22:42

as far as my light could see were

22:44

rooms within rooms, thresholds

22:46

which split off into what looked like a hundred

22:49

other passages Indeed,

22:51

were it not for the horrifying trip to get

22:53

here, this would have been a cave diver's

22:55

paradise. This was an entire

22:58

unexplored world something coveted

23:00

by cave divers alike. There

23:02

were several large pillars of rocks underneath

23:05

the base of the waterfall. I explored

23:07

this area further, though keeping a cautious

23:09

distance. My brother was nowhere to be

23:12

found. It was starting to feel hopeless,

23:14

but just concentrated on the task

23:16

at hand. I had to find my brother

23:18

as fast as I could without panicking or

23:20

overexerting myself. As

23:23

time went on, it became more difficult

23:25

to stave off the panic. I was breathing

23:27

too fast and I knew that I was going to run

23:29

out of air soon I knew that if I

23:31

wanted to make a real play to escape this

23:33

place, I would need every second I had

23:35

left. My only hope was to

23:37

find a way out with the oxygen I had,

23:40

and end if that failed. Well,

23:43

my eyes frantically dotted around sweeping

23:45

the different cave formations and tunnel entrances.

23:48

Something caught my eye leading into one of

23:51

the tunnels. A bunch of debris and

23:53

silt had been kicked up and it seemed to

23:55

lead into the tunnel. It was only

23:57

some thirty feet away, and though I

23:59

knew this may be the last foray into

24:01

the water I may have, I knew that

24:03

it was my best hope. I kicked

24:05

over and started into the tunnel. Visibility

24:08

was poor and the tunnel broke off into

24:10

many different directions when the trail

24:12

was clear. I simply had to follow

24:14

the trail of silk that had been kicked up by

24:17

what I was praying for and was my brother.

24:19

And I came out into a large chamber

24:21

with the floor and ceiling covered by stalag

24:24

types and stalagmites. I

24:26

remember learning that if an underwater cave

24:28

had than at some point it had been

24:30

a dry cave. This did little

24:32

to mitigate the panic that was creeping up

24:35

more and more I had abandoned

24:37

the cave diving rules at this point. I

24:39

had forgotten about running line altogether.

24:42

I suppose it was irrelevant where my

24:44

corpse would end up. I started to

24:46

lose control of my breathing. It was getting

24:48

faster and faster as it truly started

24:50

to sink in how doomed I was, I

24:53

stopped myself and sank to the bottom of the

24:55

cave floor. Just breathe,

24:57

I thought to myself, the diving instructors

24:59

couldn't have made it more clear to me during the

25:01

hours upon hours of training I had in

25:03

my life. If you panic, it's over.

25:06

I stood there at the bottom and took moment

25:08

to simply calm down. Afterwards,

25:11

regained my composure and opened my eyes.

25:14

Sometimes it is when we aren't looking for

25:16

something that we find it. If I hadn't

25:18

stopped looking, I certainly wouldn't have

25:20

noticed glimpse there. It was

25:22

my brother's light. One

25:24

of the rules of cave diving is to have at

25:26

least three lights. If your first one dies,

25:29

you have a backup If you drop your second,

25:31

you have a third. Many cave

25:33

divers take four lights, knowing my

25:35

brother, he hopefully had two, but

25:38

seeing is how I didn't see one on him when

25:40

when tumbling into the sump, it was possible

25:42

that this was his second and last light.

25:45

Where that the case, it was likely that he

25:47

was feeling around blind. The thought

25:49

of my brother panicking on his last breath

25:51

spurned me and I set out again with

25:53

vigor. The trail of debris had

25:55

subsided, and at this point, I was

25:58

flying blind. I had no idea

26:00

where he might be in this maze. I

26:02

knew I was nearing my limit and if I

26:04

wanted to make it back to the chamber with air,

26:06

I would have to turn back. I

26:08

chose to continue the likelihood that

26:10

would be found in the coming days was slim

26:12

at best and I knew it. On

26:14

the other hand, what if my brother was stuck

26:17

or worse? After choosing

26:19

to continue around the next corner,

26:21

I shined my light around and saw my brother

26:24

kicking towards me. But what was the

26:26

biggest feeling of relief I had ever felt

26:28

in my life turned to fear as

26:30

I noticed he was shrieking through his regulator.

26:32

He grabbed me and pulled me back the way I'd

26:35

come. I then looked beyond him

26:37

in my heart sink. I was overwhelmed

26:39

with the impulse to flee and did

26:41

so as fast as I could because my brother

26:44

was being followed by two giant creatures

26:46

that somewhat looked like prawns They

26:49

must have been as long as a car and they

26:51

were gaining fast. My million

26:53

instincts took over at this point It

26:56

was more reflex than anything else.

26:58

We kicked hard away from those creatures. A

27:00

shiver ran up my spine as I thought

27:02

of their long, pale, lobster

27:04

like bodies ralling along the walls

27:07

of the cave almost like a centipede.

27:09

I knew that if they caught us, we would be eaten

27:12

alive Suddenly, the prospect

27:14

of running out of air seemed almost trivial

27:17

as if it would have been a natural conclusion to

27:19

our lives. There was nothing

27:21

horrid or brutal about it. I

27:23

wasn't going to die in that hellhole and

27:25

neither was my brother. We

27:27

would fight. He was ahead of me, but

27:30

being guided by my light, but being

27:32

guided by my light as it was clear he had

27:34

lost his. We rounded the

27:36

corner into the room full of stalag types

27:38

and back out into the larger chamber. I

27:40

did not look behind me. I

27:42

pointed my light around the corner, but

27:45

there down the tunnel with three more

27:47

of the creatures, their horrible pale

27:49

bodies clawed towards us. A

27:51

terrible vouch wreath came out from behind

27:54

us. We were cut off.

27:56

Our only hope was to dive deeper. The

27:58

next stretch was the time that seem to last

28:01

forever. It was simple. There

28:03

was one goal, stay away from the creatures,

28:06

around another corner, and into a vertical

28:08

shaft. It got smaller and as

28:10

it did, I could start to feel a current

28:12

pulling us deeper. We came to

28:14

a restriction and I flashed my light

28:16

back and saw the creatures tearing toward us

28:19

This was it. My brother and I

28:21

started desperately squeezing ourselves into

28:23

the restriction, forcing our way in

28:25

as fast as we could. It felt like

28:27

getting out of the water with a shark nipping

28:29

at your heels. Sure enough, as

28:31

if things couldn't get worse, we both became

28:34

wedged. My brother pointed

28:36

to his tank and I knew what he meant.

28:38

We had to ditch the tanks to fit. Together,

28:41

we unclasped and I was surprised to see

28:43

that it worked. He managed to pull his

28:45

through, but mine became wedged in between

28:48

the restriction. I ripped at

28:50

it, but soon the creatures were on it, though

28:52

the hole was too small for them to squeeze through.

28:55

To our horror, they started digging. It

28:57

suddenly became clear these creatures had

28:59

built this lair. My brother

29:01

signaled for me to let it go and we would

29:03

buddy breathe sharing what was left

29:05

of his tank. We let go

29:07

and began drifting together in current,

29:09

it seemed even stronger than before. We

29:12

continued buddy breathing even though I

29:14

could see the tank was almost empty. Breathing

29:17

started to become more difficult as we exchanged

29:20

glances. He took a long

29:22

deep breath and handed me the regulator indicating

29:24

I do the same. Together,

29:27

we tumbled down this underwater chamber

29:29

on our last breath. The tank had

29:31

run out. We ditched it to the bottom

29:33

of the floor. At least, maybe

29:35

in the next couple hundred years, this cave

29:37

system might be mapped out and we might be found.

29:40

At least our fates might be known It

29:43

was strange, but there was some comfort

29:45

in this. Everything started

29:47

to become cloudy as the carbon dioxide started

29:50

to build up in our bodies my brain

29:52

started to desperately cry out for air

29:54

after only about thirty seconds. A

29:56

headache started to creep in. The

29:59

current carried us around another corner and

30:01

I couldn't believe what I saw. It

30:03

was light. It was a light at the end of

30:05

the tunnel. I thought about where

30:07

I was in some underground chamber

30:09

below the earth, below the surface,

30:12

soon about to be drowned. How

30:14

could I have guessed what they said about seeing

30:16

a light at the end of the tunnel would be so literal.

30:19

Though as I tumbled closer, the details

30:21

became clearer. It looks so real.

30:24

That was when I noticed the ceiling had changed.

30:26

There were air bubbles around the top,

30:29

then there was a larger pocket. Then

30:31

there it was. The surface. Together,

30:34

we swam up and breathe. How

30:36

foolish it is to not appreciate something

30:38

so wonderful is air. We filled

30:41

our lungs as the current brought us the rest

30:43

of the way and dumped us out of the cave system

30:45

altogether into a large body of water.

30:48

The sun was shining over what seemed to be

30:50

a large desolate lake. I

30:52

can't remember if my brother started it or

30:54

if I did, but once we were out of the

30:56

water, we both started laughing hysterically.

30:59

Neither of us took our eyes off the water

31:02

out of fear that those monsters would have

31:04

somehow wiggled their way out of their underwater

31:06

lair. It is often said that

31:08

the earth has been mapped, but I can tell

31:11

you from my own experience that there is still

31:13

much we do not know about our planet. There

31:15

are still many forgotten nooks and crannies

31:18

that lay in the depths into

31:21

Maybe they're better left alone.