Second grip on First's neck tightened as they plunged into the water. She closed her eyes because of the excessive force of the impact. When she opened them, she saw the blue water. He lifted his head, spread both arms and legs to lift them above the water, and breathed. After a few seconds, she panicked.
She could no longer hold her breath!
"Second!" First called.
She opened her eyes and saw the wet and worried face of First. She coughed and blinked.
He patted her back and sighed. She couldn't hold her breath underwater long enough. It took both of them more time to swim above the surface because First swimming for two people weighed him down.
She smiled at him. "Let's go?" She glanced around and exclaimed, "Ah!"
She was floating. To her confusion, she held First's shoulders because she might drown. He laughed at her. "How?"
"It's okay. This water is not ordinary. It contains a high level and amount of salt, which means you can float well even if you're not a swimmer."
Because of what he said, she felt a sense of relief. They swam towards their team. It felt strange but also good because she felt like she was a swimmer.
Sixth began to ask, "What are we going to do?"
"Let's dive first. I saw something shiny underneath. If we find our base where our flags hide, that's what Author tells us to follow. Also, let's not disperse. Don't touch any sea creatures you'll encounter. We don't know if they're dangerous or not. Simply, focus on our goal." Third instructed and reminded them.
They wasted no more time and submerged themselves in the water. How could they breathe this long?
Her question was answered magically as a large glass bubble appeared on her face. There was a round transparent glass inserted around their whole heads. She breathed freely and accidentally opened her mouth—she could speak! The voice was slightly weak because they were underwater. Everyone changed from wearing their dirty tracksuits to wearing diving gear. They had long black sleeve rash guards, gloves, and fins. They could speak underwater because of the glass bubble around their heads. They could hear each other as if there was a gadget for communication inside this glass.
They dove down to where Third saw something shiny beneath. Soon, they saw a small silver flag, meaning this flag was for their team. Author said they just followed the flags that were the colors of their team. There were fish surrounding it. Not ordinary gray fish, but a Nemo! A school of clownfish was swimming. She remembered that her favorite movie character was Nemo when she was a kid. Her memories were coming back! This was good. Gradually, she was getting a grip on her identity.
They saw silver flags again, but it was not just one but two, and something was written on them. They went near the flags stuck in the sand. Seventh grabbed one end so they could read it properly. One flag had a left arrow sign; the other had a right turn sign, and both had printed words. So, they needed to choose between the two directions.
Left silver flag: sea urchin
Right silver flag: sea anemone
"Sea anemone is the answer. If the sea creatures we encounter have anything to do with it, we have encountered a school of clownfish. And in the 'Finding Nemo' cartoons, Nemo lives in a sea anemone!" Fourth answered cheerfully.
They nodded because they had no other conceivable answer, so they turned right. While swimming, they once again saw a group of gray fish swimming—it was a milkfish. They saw two more silver flags with inscriptions on them.
Left silver flag: Philippines
Right silver flag: United Kingdom
This must have to do with the school of fish they saw, just like what happened with clownfish and sea anemone. A milkfish? That was the fish they encountered earlier, so they turned left. Milkfish is a native fish and the national fish of the Philippines. This felt like a quiz game. She seemed to know the pattern of this. They would come across a sea creature and two flags that pointed in two opposite directions. Sea creatures were the answer, and flags were the directions.
"Whaaa!" Fourth shrieked. Even though there was a glass bubble, and they were underwater, she could still hear them talking.
There were three stingrays, two small and one large, passing in front of them. Third almost bumped into them. After they crossed, they also crossed and swam until they saw silver flags again, which were now three. This was not a written letter but a silhouette-type photograph.
Left silver flag: silhouette of a fish
Middle silver flag: silhouette of a bird
Right silver flag: silhouette of a dog
Everyone was a bit confused about what the answer was, but everyone considered Seventh's suggestion.
"That's fish. Stingray is a fish, isn't it?"
"Stingray? You're inventing a word?" Aeith corrected Seventh.
"Is there space?"
"None."
"You invented it, too. S-T-I-N-G space R-A-Y!"
Even though Seventh was pointing wrong, they swam to the left. They were shocked when they saw three stingrays swimming and approaching them. They swam fast and straightforwardly, coming to them. They dodged to avoid them, but the stingrays seemed to be following them. They also looked like the three stingrays that crossed them a while ago.
"Swim! Hurry!" Third charged.
Second didn't know if those stingrays had something on their minds or why they attacked out of the blue.
She swam even faster because they would never know what these stingrays would do to them. She was startled when someone took her left hand. It was Aeith. She saw First looking straight and serious. He also swam fast. She was relieved when the stingrays didn't follow them anymore, but her teammates and she spread out.
Fifth and Ninth were struggling against a stingray. They pulled its long tail to prevent the attack. Fifth embraced the stingray's back and held its wings while Ninth twisted its tail with his right hand and pulled it even harder. The stingray became more and more aggressive, and its tail separated from its body. In an instant, the stingray turned into sand that melted in water. She saw blood floating upwards, dripping into the seawater on Ninth's right hand.