Deep Water

Julie holds on to Shane and his dad, knowing it is important they stay together in the current. She thinks back to a few days before, when she and her mom had a special movie night together, the first time they had bonded in a while. When they arrived at Gulf Shores, they were shocked to find how clean Gibson’s house looked. Julie could see that he was trying to impress her mom.

Julie’s dad told her that Mother Nature wants you to know she is in control. Julie feels nature’s power as the waves grow taller. To make herself more visible above the swells, Julie creates a makeshift flag by tying her yellow mask to Mr. Jordan’s spear gun, and having Shane shove the spear gun between her back and her BCD. She thinks about what her dad taught her about sharks: They are ruthless feeders, and it is only a matter of time before they find Julie and the Jordans. Despite Mr. Jordan’s current condition, Julie does not detect any softening between father and son. By her calculations, they have been floating together for an hour. To make floating easier, Julie decides to drop their tanks and regulators, and finds that Mr. Jordan’s pony tank is full. He had plenty of air to avoid getting bent but must have panicked. Julie has Mr. Jordan breathe the tank air to avoid getting water from the waves in his mouth.

Julie regrets letting money get in the way of safety. They broke the number one dive rule: “If it doesn’t feel right for any reason, don’t go down” (62). When Julie arrived at her dad’s dive shop a few days before, she saw that things were financially dire: unpaid bills, empty shelves, and unanswered voicemails. Julie took charge and made her dad start booking some trips. Hank Jordan’s message had been the most recent, which led to him booking today’s trip.

After two hours adrift, the group can feel the effects of the ocean and sun. Julie is wildly thirsty, burning in the sun, and uncomfortable from the spear gun at her back. Shane starts shouting in a growing panic, and Julie lies to keep him calm. She suspects that Mr. Jordan’s lung may have collapsed based on symptoms her dad described to her in the past. Scared and angry at Shane’s complaints, Julie shoves the spear gun down his back to make him take a turn.

Both Shane and Julie wonder why Mr. Sims has not found them yet. Julie has Shane hold the three of them together while she uses her bottom marker to calculate their approximate speed: about one and a half miles per hour in a southeasterly direction. It has been four hours since they surfaced, so they are likely about six miles from where they came up. Julie knows they are floating out toward a sea wall where the green Gulf waters meet deep blue oceanic water. From what her dad has told her, this is where large fish travel “like beasts against a fence” (74).

Julie and Shane feel sea lice—baby jellyfish—biting at their exposed necks. Julie takes a turn with the spear gun, and Shane expresses worry that no one knows they were out diving, so no one may come looking for them. Shane speculates that something happened to Julie’s dad, and Julie knows it is the only sensible situation. Meanwhile, Mr. Jordan does not seem to be improving, and hardly talks.

Julie checks their speed again and notes they are traveling a bit slower, though still in the same direction. As the sun sets, Julie knows they are headed toward a storm on the horizon and shares her true fears with Shane when he asks: lightning, sharks, hypothermia, and death. They share a personal moment when Shane says he hardly knows his dad because he works all the time, and Julie replies that her mom does the same. Before long, the storm is upon them, and the waves start to churn as lighting cracks and exposes glowing jellyfish in the ocean beneath. Julie and Shane struggle to steer Mr. Jordan in the tumult and keep him from turning on his side. When the rain falls, Shane and Julie are tempted to open their mouths to the drops, but Julie warns that spray from the ocean will get in their mouths. As the lightning continues to explode, Julie hopes the storm will not find them and clings to the Jordans.

Once the lightning passes, Shane and Julie use their masks to collect rainwater and share with Mr. Jordan. Relief floods and energizes them. In early morning, Julie ties them together with the spool of line from her bottom marker and allows herself to sleep.

Julie’s speed calculations suggest they will likely reach blue water before long. Knowing the sun will cook their already sunburned faces, Julie takes off her skinsuit, the layer underneath her wetsuit, and cuts it to make masks for each of them. She makes Shane turn around while she removes her wetsuit and skinsuit, and she has to struggle out of—then back in to—her gear. Julie knows that without her skinsuit, she will be vulnerable to hypothermia and that the sea lice will reach her skin quicker than if she had left it on.

Julie feels attacked both internally and externally. The elements—the sun, sea lice, and salt water—are taking their toll on her body, while dehydration, a swollen throat, and the urge to panic are affecting her internally. Shane shares that he was kicked out of school for cheating, which is why he now attends boarding school. Julie accuses him of having no friends and acting like a jerk but backs off for a moment until he admits he recorded the coordinates for the Malzon tanks on his phone. Shane admits it was a mistake to take the coordinates as Julie yells that her dad worked endlessly to find the tanks and her family fell apart because of it. Despite his admission, Julie is angry and threatens to punch him again.

The passing of time feels like torture for her. The monotony is broken when a large sea turtle surfaces nearby. Julie starts to think that maybe animals could choose to communicate with humans when no one is around to hear it. She asks the turtle to talk to them, and Shane takes this as a sign that she is going crazy. The prospect of drowning starts to sound better than battling her raging thirst, yet Julie ultimately decides that if she is facing death, she “might as well fight it” (96).

By that afternoon, the group reaches the blue water wall. Julie swims to avoid lingering near the wall longer than necessary. Knowing Julie is still angry with him, Shane explains that his dad told him to write the coordinates, and that he does not want to die with her mad at him. Shane shares about his strained relationship with his father, and Julie opens up about the way money got between her mom and dad. Julie accuses Shane of being incapable of kindness, and Shane dishes insults back to Julie, but they end up laughing together over Julie’s insult of Shane’s long hair. Shane shares that he was close with his grandpa, but that his dad and grandpa had a strained relationship because of money. He wants his father to be proud of him someday, and says his dad is his only friend.

Julie feels something brush her leg: a shark. She thinks back to everything she knows about sharks and takes charge. She links arms with Mr. Jordan and Shane, all of them facing out as a small circle. Shane and Julie put on their diving masks so they can watch for more sharks, and Julie orders Shane to kick for the snout or gills if one comes close. They struggle to remove their fins, and Julie clutches the spear gun. She orders Shane not to touch his dive knife; using it would run the risk of slashing one of their BCDs. Three sharks now circle below them, and Julie and Shane try to watch them, but one shark breaks away and comes toward Mr. Jordan at the surface.

The shark passes close, and Mr. Jordan struggles against their circle and twists away from Julie’s arm. Julie tries to keep an eye on the sharks below but needs to regain their formation. Then, she sees Mr. Jordan has his dive knife out and is slashing through the water. Shane struggles to get the knife from him, but Mr. Jordan only thrashes more wildly. Julie shouts that the splashing will attract the sharks, but reasoning with Mr. Jordan is hopeless. Mr. Jordan slices his own BCD, and Julie knows she and Shane need to get away from him; he is putting them all in danger. She cuts through the rope that connects them, and kicks Mr. Jordan away while dragging Shane with her. Shane grabs for his father’s line as they separate and tries to keep hold on his as Mr. Jordan starts sinking, and eventually goes under.

Shane panics, and Julie orders him to put on his fins, but he does not respond. She goes underwater and works his foot into a fin but drops the spear gun in the process. She surfaces and yells for his help, then straps on his other fin. Shane finally snaps out of his daze and starts to kick.