Zina came up, sputtering, gasping.

It was there! She’d gotten a glimpse of the passage’s dark mouth under the ledge. She could make it. If her calculations were correct, the passage would be short and lead into the cave.

She filled her lungs — once, twice — then dove again, driving herself down and forward. The water darkened around her. Ahead it was pure black. She swam on, down and then up. The walls were close around her. She banged a knee, an elbow, then panicked when her head struck rock.

She reached up, searching for an opening.

Her fingers touched air.

This is an excerpt from my 2013 NaNoWriMo novel, and uses the word for this week’s 100 Word Challenge at Velvet Verbosity.