Chapter 3 - ABYSSAL RESCUE
The cold pressed against Elena’s chest like a iron vise, but adrenaline surged through her veins, muting the instinct to return to the surface. She reached the submerged stroller just as its heavy aluminum frame struck the tiled pool floor, kicking up a subtle halo of water turbulence.
Her fingers, slippery and numb, fought against the tangled harness straps securing the child to the seat. The plastic buckle was jammed, wedged tight by the pressure of the water and the quick descent.
Elena’s vision began to spot at the edges with blackness. Oxygen was running out. Five seconds beneath the surface felt like an eternity carved from stone. She pulled violently at the central release button of the harness, her fingernails tearing against the hard plastic.
Click.
The mechanism yielded. The black nylon straps floated away like aquatic serpents. Elena plunged her hands into the churning water, wrapping her arms securely around the wet, white-clad frame of the infant. She pulled Leo close to her chest, pushing off the pool floor with every ounce of strength remaining in her legs.
The world rushed upward in a blur of turquoise and light. The surface of the pool rippled above her like a sheet of liquid glass.
With a violent burst of spray, Elena broke through the surface, gasping frantically for air, her lungs burning as she sucked in the cool night breeze. Her dark hair was plastered wetly against her face and neck, her uniform soaked and heavy, but her grip on the child was unbreakable.
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Leo coughed violently, sputtering a mouthful of chlorinated pool water before letting out a high-pitched, desperate, piercing wail that shattered the night.
"I've got you! I've got you, Leo!" Elena sobbed, treaded water with one arm while keeping the crying child's head high above the surface. She kicked toward the shallow steps of the pool, her heart hammering wildly against her ribs, completely unaware that the real danger was waiting for her on dry land.
