The ropes were stubborn. The water was cold, and dark, and determined. Colin fought and thrashed against his ties. His closed-mouth screaming rang dull and frantic under the black water.

Jonathan’s fingers and arms burned with exhaustion. His lungs screamed for air.

He felt the burning in his arms and gritted his teeth. His lungs begged him to swim to the surface, to air, but he held tight to the ropes and worked at the knots.

I can do it, he told himself. Even his mind’s voice was breathless and terrified. I can save her! He shook his head and slid his fingers between the taut ropes. I can save him, he corrected himself. I can.

His fingers slid through. He hooked them around the last loop and pulled. It hung for a moment, stuck, then slid loose and the rope went slack and Colin shook his arms free and they both kicked up to the surface.

They tread water for a few ravenous breaths. He’d done it. He’d saved him. Tears were hot in Jonathan’s eyes. He wasn’t sure why. Relief, maybe.

His head bumped something hard and he jerked when he realized it was the ceiling.

“We’ve gotta get out of here!” he shouted. “Follow me.”

They swam through the complete blackness toward the doorway. The water was still flowing down the staircase, pushing them back into the room, trapping them in the rising water.

“Grab the wall with your fingers!” he hollered over his shoulder. “You can hold on to the cracks between the blocks!”

He pulled himself block by block up the staircase, against the current, kicking with his legs. His fingers and arms ached but he made it, finally hooking his hands around the edge of the upper doorway. The water was only shoulder deep there and he was able to brace his feet against the doorway and help pull Colin into the corridor.

They stood for just a moment to catch their breath.

“Do you know how to get back?” Colin asked. “Without any light?”

“I think so.” Jonathan started off, wading through the water, feeling the walls with his fingers.

“Hey,” Colin said, reaching out to stop him. “Thankth for coming back for me. For thaving me.”

“No problem.” Jonathan thought about the swim still ahead, past the Hatch. The water was even higher now. “But I’d save your thanks. We’re not out of the woods yet.”

They made their way through the twisting blackness. Jonathan ran through the mental map in his mind, retracing the path he’d taken three times now, negotiating turns and stairwells and pitch-black hallways. As they rose, the water got more shallow. Eventually, they could move quickly, with the water only splashing around their ankles.

Jonathan led them confidently down a corridor and started to turn, then stopped. Colin bumped into his back.

“Wait,” he said. “I need to warn him.”

“Warn who?”

Jonathan chewed on his lip. The water was still rising. Time was running out. They needed to get back. But he knew he had to.

“Follow me,” he said, and then turned and walked the other way. He knew exactly where he was now and he moved quickly, anticipating stairs before he got to them and turning corners confidently. Colin struggled to keep up.

“Where are we going?”

Jonathan stopped, gasping for breath. He could hear, all around him, rats splashing and flailing in the briny floodwaters.

“There,” he answered, pointing up ahead at the thin line of light gleaming just below the water, shining from under a closed door.

They jogged forward and Jonathan knocked urgently on the door.

It swung open.

“Ah,” the librarian said. “You’ve come back.” His hair was wet, stuck down to his head and over his face in a stringy mess. Wind whistled in the room behind him, tossing a blizzard of pages and papers around in the air. Ninety-Nine shivered on his shoulder, his pink tail dangling down the old man’s chest. Even soaking wet, the rat looked huge. Colin gasped and took a step back.

“Please. Come in. We can find you. Another book.”