He looked up, still only darkness above. The old man began to falter, his movements sluggish, his hand slipping from the chain wall. Bubbles escaped his lips as panic flickered in his eyes. Elias shoved the regulator back into his mouth, motioning for him to breathe.
The gauge flashed red. Elias’s lungs felt like fire. Each second stretched impossibly long. He tried to ignore the tightening in his throat, the hollow ache in his chest, the rising panic clawing its way up his spine.