Chapter 4 - Breath of Life
The elevator hit the flooded pit at the bottom of the shaft with a catastrophic impact.
BOOM!
A geyser of black water and shattered acrylic exploded upward through the shaft. The force of the drop tore the blanket completely out of Daniel’s hands, but not before his fingers locked onto the back of the baby’s tiny onesie.
With a frantic, desperate yank, Daniel pulled the newborn out through the narrow gap right as the elevator cab collapsed into the murky depths below.
He pulled his son to his chest, collapsing onto the cold floor of the atrium. The baby was coughing up water, wailing at the top of his lungs.
"You're safe... you're safe," Daniel sobbed, wrapping his jacket around the shivering child.
But his eyes snapped back to the dark, water-filled shaft.
"Valeria!"
Without a second thought, Daniel handed the crying infant to a horrified, gaping servant who had just run into the hall. He grabbed a heavy metal crowbar from the emergency kit, threw himself down the maintenance ladder beside the shaft, and plunged headfirst into the flooded basement.
The water down in the pit was pitch-black and freezing.
Using the flashlight on his phone, Daniel swam toward the submerged metal cage. The glass panel was crushed, water swirling violently inside. He spotted a flash of white fabric floating in the dark.
It was Valeria. Unconscious, her body drifting lifelessly near the top of the crushed elevator frame.
Daniel jammed the crowbar into the jammed emergency door, using every ounce of strength in his body to pry it open. The metal groaned and gave way. He swam inside, wrapped his arms around Valeria's waist, and pulled her out of the watery grave.
He dragged her up onto the concrete platform of the basement, his chest heaving.
She wasn't breathing. Her lips were blue.
"No, no, no... don't you dare leave me!" Daniel screamed, slamming his hands onto her chest, initiating frantic CPR. "Breathe, Valeria! BREATHE!"
One compress. Two. Three.
He leaned down and forced air into her lungs.
For ten agonizing seconds, there was nothing.
Then, Valeria violently convulsed, coughing up a torrent of water. She gasped for air, her eyes fluttering open, blind with panic.
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"My... my baby..." she choked out, her fingers digging weakly into Daniel's arms.
Daniel collapsed against her, tears streaming down his face. "He's alive, Valeria. He's breathing. You saved him."
