CREEPERS Chapter 15

Chapter 15
Resurrection

Calvin fumbled with the quick release buckle on his weight belt, it dropped away. Still sixty feet down the buoyancy of his BC vest slowly lifted him towards the surface but then Vanessa’s limp body slipped from his grasp and she sank, at the last second he snatched her arm and used his last ounce of strength for a few weak kicks. As a certified diver Calvin knew that if you run out of air and try to surface while holding your breath your lungs will rupture. The compressed air expands as you surface.
His face broke the surface of a small spring. He gasped, filled his lungs with air and jerked Vanessa’s limp body to the surface. Calvin cradled her in his arms while clinging to a vine, opened her mouth and started CPR. After three breaths and no response, he laid her across a partially sunken log and began awkward chest compressions. “Come on baby, don’t leave me now.” He put his mouth over her cold, blue lips and gave her three quick puffs of air. On the third breath, her body jerked and she came to coughing, kicking and spitting up water. He shed his BC and empty tank, dragged himself from the pool and hauled her out by the back of her jeans.
Vanessa lay on the forest floor coughing up water. Calvin squatted beside her. “It’s okay baby, we made it.”
Vanessa rolled over on her back, caught her breath. It hurt to breath. She reached up and stroked his face. “I knew you would save me.” She coughed again, gagged then vomited water. “I’m never going diving again.”
“That was close baby, too close.” Calvin scooped her up in his arms like a child and kissed her forehead. Then he surveyed their surroundings. To his horror he realized their situation had not improved. The forest was completely overgrown in every direction. The canopy was as high as six story building, above their heads menacing vines dangled, the ground was crisscrossed with thorny tendrils just waiting to snare their feet. Spaghetti thin runners were wound around every tree, plant, shrub and sapling.
Calvin drew his sword. “We’ll head east, towards the prison. He lifted the sword, sliced through three thick vines in one swipe and they set of on another brutal trek.
Hours passed as Calvin hacked through every vine that crossed their path or dangled above their heads. Eventually they were deep into the thickest part of the jungle. Vanessa looked up and saw something very odd, huge empty pods. “What the hell, look at those? I’ve never seen anything like them. They’re enormous. We have to find out what was inside.”
Calvin looked up, “I don’t know if we want to find out what was inside. If it was seeds they must have been the size of bowling balls but I don’t see any on the ground.”
Vanessa shook her head, “If it was seeds something must have clawed the pods open and ate them. Look how the husk on that one is shredded. What kind of creature could climb up there and do that?”
“I don’t know and I don’t want to cross paths with it, come on were almost there. The prison should be about a half mile east of here. Let’s get moving, before it gets too dark. At least we have quarter moon tonight.”