I clawed at the sand, stirring up clouds of grainy dust that made it impossible to see. Desperately, I tried to see if I could grab on to a rock or something to keep from being dragged too far away.

Because it was clear now: I was being dragged by a massive American crocodile who had half my leg clamped firmly in its jaws. I took a quick glance back and tried not to cry as I realized how much trouble I was in. Whatever you do, A, don’t move that leg! screamed my inner voice as my fingers raked through the mangroves’ silty bottom.

I’d grown up surrounded by wild animals. I knew what often happened in these scenarios: a person did not survive. I had never heard of someone being bitten while scuba diving, so this was new territory for me.

Play dead, A. Don’t let it think of you as food, my inner voice returned, a little quieter. If I moved too much, the predator could bite down harder, making this an extremely painful situation to be in. Or worse, it could launch into one of the infamous crocodile death rolls.

My mind went back to the one time I had seen a crocodile at the zoo do a death roll. The large male tensed up like a sprinter before a race. Then it exploded into action, using its hind legs to roll over and over again until the animal in its teeth was long dead.

If the croc holding on to me now did either of those things, I would surely lose my leg … or my life.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes for a split second to think. I remembered what Dad had told Feye when his hand had gotten stuck to the crocodile tag. “Keep breathing. It’s important to stay calm.”

I opened my eyes again. I was a little calmer now. I stopped raking my hands through the silty soil. I remembered now that mangroves usually didn’t have big rocks lying around in the sand. What I needed to do was try to call for help. The fancy scuba diving mask I was wearing had a microphone. Even though it had been acting up before and I couldn’t hear anyone else … maybe they could still hear me. I jammed my finger on the microphone button and hoped for the best.

“Guys, the crocodile has got me! I’m being dragged!”

There was no response other than static. But hopefully my message had gone through. I turned my attention back to controlling my breathing.

Don’t freak out, Adrianna. The croc is just curious. Right? Breathe. You just got a new tank of oxygen before starting this dive, and if you keep calm and breathe like normal, you’ll have plenty of air. Breathe.

Just as I began to rack my brain to think of what else I could do, I suddenly felt the pressure on my leg release. The crocodile had let go of my leg!

I didn’t hesitate. I filled my scuba diving vest up with air and shot to the water’s surface. I flew up quickly, as if I were strapped to a rocket, not caring about doing the safety stop I would have taken normally to help my body adjust to the pressure. No way was I staying in the water for five more minutes!

Surfacing above the water, I felt a surge of relief. But I had no idea of the level of panic and confusion that was waiting for me above the waves.

“Mom! It’s Adrianna! She’s over there!” I heard Feye yell as I desperately tried to get the full-face mask off.

My hands were shaking, and the thick gloves I had on were making it hard to grab the straps to loosen the mask. I thought I heard a dog barking. Duke? That wasn’t possible. I must be starting to hallucinate.

“Mark! Get over there!” That was my mom’s voice.

“You’ve got her?!” My dad.

I was suddenly surrounded by the crew members. Mark swam behind me to shield me with his giant, heavy camera. Another diver grabbed the back of my tank and started pulling me closer to the boat.

Everything began to get hazy. I looked up at the stars—I had no idea how long I was staring up at them until I saw the crew’s medic, Miguel, and his azul eyes looking down at me. He said something, but I couldn’t make out what it was as my eyelids began to droop. Miguel shook me by the shoulders and that seemed to do the trick.

Finally, I could make out what he was saying. “You’re going to be okay.”

I could tell he was scared. I was, too.

Without warning, I was lifted out of the water. I could hear Miguel asking for his medic bag over more barking. That was definitely Duke!

But before I could ask about him, someone piled towels on me. My mom knelt down next to me.

“Mi nena! Is she okay?!” my mom asked, wrapping me in a careful hug after people took off my scuba vest and tank. Miguel responded only by cutting into my dive suit and ripping the fabric open.

There, on my left leg, was the perfect imprint of the crocodile’s jaw. Where each tooth had gripped me were angry, gaping wounds that now oozed bright red blood against my paling skin. I couldn’t take my eyes off the marks. Was that really my leg?

Miguel blocked my view of my leg and began to ask me questions. I was about to answer when I heard someone say, “It’s at the surface! The crocodile is at the surface and looking at Adrianna!”

A spotlight was pointed somewhere close in the water. Looking around Miguel, I could see the large crocodile staring me down, as if it was trying to say something to me.

“Mr. Savage, no!” I heard my brother yell.

Then a sudden loud BANG! noise startled everyone into silence. I turned my head to see Mr. Savage holding a hunting shotgun in his hand. Feye stood nearby, horrified.

I looked back to find the crocodile, only to see a bright red spot on its head. Its eyes were now empty of any message. I felt like screaming and tried to get up, but crew members around me made sure I didn’t move.

“She’s going into shock!” a voice called.

I closed my eyes, and the darkness took over.