'Did he pass out while I swam here?' Kairo thought as his arm shot out, seizing Eli by the torso.
But the instant his hand locked on—Eli moved.
The boy jerked violently, thrashing in blind panic, limbs flailing against him. His hands shoved weakly, desperately, as if Kairo himself were the enemy.
'Fuck—!' Kairo cursed inwardly, tightening his grip before Eli could slip free.
The boy's frantic struggling churned the water into a storm, bubbles bursting around them. Kairo wanted to bark at him, to shout stop, but no words could pierce the suffocating trench.
Eli's face twisted in pure despair, eyes screwed shut, chest convulsing as though he were screaming—yet all that escaped was froth and air.
His arms lashed out, fingers clawing, clutching at nothing—sometimes raking over Kairo's own arm as though mistaking him for someone else.
'Could it be the phantoms? Are they showing him something…?'
