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Ninety Fathoms to Anywhere

adventure◐ Teen
5 contributors · 4 paragraphs deep

Halfway down, the chain jammed. The bell stopped with a jolt and swung in the black water. "It's caught on something," Sefu said, his voice tight. Through the small window, Iyla saw a tangle of old fishing nets wrapped around the rafters of a sunken roof, holding them fast.

Sefu pulled on his diving mask and slipped into the freezing water with a knife. He cut the nets strand by strand while Iyla watched his bubbles, counting. The last rope parted and the bell jerked free, dropping toward the city again. He scrambled back inside, blue-lipped but grinning. "Let's get those seeds."

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They reached the bank and opened the vault with the key. Inside were the seed jars their father had saved. But Sefu was shaking too hard from the cold to swim. Iyla wrapped him in the spare blanket, loaded the jars alone, and got them both safely up. He owed her his life, and for once he said so.

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Hana Kim
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