Page 63 of Shielding Instinct

Here came the second helmet tied securely at the top with a rope.

Did she want Terry to dangle from his neck?

Heck no.

She’d at least get him into the chimney; they could add a harness under his arms from here. The helmet was to guide him out of the cave.

Please don’t have broken arms, Terry.

Petra quickly called the plan to Terry so he knew what was expected of him.

He was ready.

She was ready.

Timing was everything.

Above, they’d weighted the plastic helmet by adding a rock so she could get it past the cave’s lip.

Now, to test the theory.

With the next wave, Petra readied herself. As the wave receded, she dropped the helmet and released it to swing like a pendulum. The helmet skimmed the pool of water and under the lip.

It didn’t come back out.

“You have it, Terry? You’re putting it on?”

She didn’t get a reply. He might have been too focused on the task at hand to hear her.

Or perhaps there was something about the structure that she didn’t understand.

The wave came in.

The wave went out.

There was a hand on the line. An arm. A bright lime green helmet.

Holy shit. There was Terry.

In came the wave. Petra held the line tight. Terry’s head was near her thigh, so his mouth was out of the water.

“Hang on,” Petra encouraged. “We’ve got you.”

He reached for her leg, and Petra swatted him hard. “Don’t touch me. Terry, if you pull me down, no one is coming after us.” She believed that was true. After all, no one else had offered to go back down with the helmet.

Petra lowered the second rope and worked it over his arms in the front.

He was shaking with cold and fear.

Petra kept talking to him about Melissa and how many people were helping, and they just needed to wait for the pull of the tide to go out.

With a quick release of the rope attached to the helmet, Petra could get the lasso down around his chest and tighten the rope under his arms.

Was it the best way to get him out?

Absolutely not.

But it was the way they were going to do it.

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