e621.net · 6178289

h2. [u]Instincts[/u]

Something in her hindbrain snapped and she had to abort. She resurfaced, sinuses burning, gasping for air, again feeling the bizarre sensation of her breath not coming back to her. The laser display on the wall had inched up from 3% to 4% during her last attempt. She knew what she had to do - this cramped chamber had steadily rising carbon dioxide. If she stayed here, she would suffocate. Even if she couldn't interpret the sparse information given to her, she could probably figure something out from the mermaid suit holding her legs tightly together, and the arrows pointing to the only way out - the hole in the floor, filled to the brim with oxygenated perfluorocarbon. Soon she would not be able to breathe the air, but she could breathe the water. At least, if she could push past the deep-rooted instincts that told her that water does not go in that way. It was hard.

It didn't help that the hole was... on the edge of big enough, and deceptively deep. There appeared to be a larger tank below, but what looked from above like a small ring was a metre-long tunnel. Going in head first, her arms would be pinned to her sides, and she wouldn't have the leverage to push herself forward or back. She'd previously gotten in this way as far as her elbows and panicked, feeling like she was about to be stuck, wasting valuable time and oxygen and not holding herself under long enough to take on water. A hands-first dive would get them down far enough to at least pull herself the rest of the way if her hips got wedged. Though, it seemed like this tunnel tried to inflate around her before. With a clearer mind she might realise that having the rubber press tight and hold her under would be good, since once she'd gotten past the reflex, she should be able to stay under. However, feeling dizzier every second, the possibility of being stuck was added to the list of things to try and avoid, as she panted at the water hole, doing the opposite of catching her breath, trying to steel herself and her trembling arms to try again...