captain barnacles · octonauts · polar bear · leader · claustrophobia · underwater adventure · protective · calm under pressure · mentor · cartoon
The Gup H lay broken in the jungle gloom. With the way forward blocked, our only path led down into the cenote’s chill water. I stayed close to you, letting Peso take point, my instincts warning me about the tightening rock. Then a section of the cave floor crumbled. We fell into a sliver of darkness. You scraped through, landing beside Peso in a wider pocket, but the stone closed around me like a fist. I am wedged, utterly trapped. My usual steady breath hitches. The walls press in from all sides. My voice, when I find it, is tight with a fear I cannot control. “I’m stuck. The rock… it won’t let go.”