Chapter 42

The shock of hitting the water was unlike anything either had ever experienced. Liv fought to keep her grasp on Finn as they were carried away by the underground river. She knew they wouldn't last long in the freezing water, but it was the only chance they had.

Both took a deep breath as they were sucked through the hole in the wall. She had to clamp her legs together to keep the Go Bag from escaping. The water completely filled the tunnel and neither could get a breath. Liv briefly wondered whether hypothermia or drowning was a more preferable way to die. If she was lucky, she thought wryly, they might get to try both deaths at the same time. As they were pounded into protruding rocks by the strong current, she focused on surviving and managed to grab the Go Bag's strap with her left hand, pulling it over her shoulder.

They were swept over the subterranean went over a waterfall, seconds later.

Like the other men in the room, Finn couldn't believe his eyes when Liv punched Mitch in the chin. He had been admiring her handiwork when, suddenly, the next thing he knew, he was plummeting over the rocky ledge into the icy water. Luckily, he had managed to take a breath before hitting the surface. He fought the panic and worked to keep a grip on Liv as they were pounded by the raging water. He tried to surface, but the water completely filled the tunnel it had carved in the rocks. He was quickly running out of air and knew it wouldn't be long before he passed out. At least he wouldn't be cold anymore. Abruptly, his body became weightless and he began to fall.

The water at the bottom was deep, but relatively calm. Finn could barely feel his limbs because of the extreme cold. They were in complete darkness- some kind of underground cave, hundreds of feet below the surface of the earth. He managed to drag Liv, who was sputtering and shivering violently, out of the water and onto a rocky beach. Her Go Bag was secured over her shoulder.

Liv knew they didn't have long to live if they couldn't get warm. They had been in the water for only a few minutes, but all she could feel was numbness as hypothermia began setting in. "Get naked, now!" she ordered through chattering teeth, as she started stripping off her sodden clothes. The last thing she removed was the Steyr, which had remained firmly in its holster at the small of her back.

"You didn't have to go through all this if that's all you wanted." Finn tried to joke, but he knew they were in deep shit and the only chance they had for survival was to warm up, immediately.

Liv's hands were shaking so hard that it was almost impossible to work the zipper on the Go Bag. She finally managed to open the bag, pull out a small LED Mini Maglight and twist it on. The powerful beam swept the cave like a drunken firefly. "Try to find some wood," she chattered, focusing on several logs that had washed up next to the underground river.