She Tried to Bury Me, I Blew Her Life Up

As a dive engineer, I need to go down into the shaft to retrieve a drill bit in order to speed up construction on the 800-million-dollar construction project before Independence Day.

Little do I know that I've barely made my way down the shaft when I realize I don't have enough oxygen to last the journey.

Amid my panic, I completely lose my sense of direction. So, I dig out my wireless radio in an attempt to communicate with my fiancee, Viola Jenkins.

But all I hear is her laughter over the radio.

"Aren't you all high and mighty, Elden? I'd like to see how long you can last underwater without oxygen!"

Her first love, Ron Carey, adds, "Just sit back and watch the show, Viola! He'll definitely beg you to open the manhole cover for him when the time comes!"

That's when I realize Viola and Ron have allied together to kill me. Not only have they closed the manhole cover, but they've also cut off my life-saving oxygen supply.

After ensuring that the manhole cover cannot be moved at all, I begin crying for help weakly into the radio.

"Hurry… Open the cover for me… I'm running out of oxygen…"

Viola's contemptuous voice drifts from the radio. "It's only been five minutes. Why are you playing the pity card already? This is Ron's first time in a construction site, so he's inhaling some oxygen from the canister because he's already lacking in oxygen. You can wait for a while.

"If you have the time to moan about the lack of oxygen, you might as well use it to retrieve the drill bit. Stop dilly-dallying around, Elden! You seriously think I'll keep you around if you don't pull your weight around here?"

With gnashed teeth, I cover 65 feet downward in the shaft. With the last bit of oxygen in my lungs, I place my hands on the drill bit that's stuck in the deepest part of the shaft that can determine whether or not the 800-million-dollar construction project will be a hit or miss.

I'd like to see if Viola and Ron will be able to reap the benefits from this project just by killing me off in the shaft!

As I yanked hard to wrench the drill bit free, the chains scraped harshly with each pull.

Viola Jenkins sensed something was wrong and immediately grabbed the radio. "Elden Howard, what the hell are you doing?"

I didn't pause for a second because I was running out of oxygen.

"Have you lost your mind? That's an eight-billion-dollar structure!" she screamed in a high-pitched voice when I didn't answer.

I scoffed at her words and snapped back, "So what?"

I was nearly suffocating to death, so why should I care about her precious structure?

Viola's tone shifted instantly, and her voice carried a trace of panic as she tried to negotiate. "Don't be reckless, Elden. We're talking about eight billion dollars here!"

Catching the fear in her voice, I let out a cold laugh and spat back, "Now you're worried about me being reckless?

"Where was that concern when you cut off my oxygen? Where was it when you bolted the manhole cover shut over my head?"

Before she could respond, Ron Carey chimed in with a cold sneer. "Don't let him scare you, Viola. I doubt he has the guts to damage the site.

"This structure is worth eight billion dollars; he can't afford to pay for it even if he lives 100 lives.

"Elden, quit the drama and clean the sludge off the drill bit now!"

At his words, I worked faster, and the grating of chains echoed loudly in my ears. Now, all I could hear was the scraping metal and frantic pounding of my oxygen-starved heart.

Viola was finally terrified. Her voice trembled as she yelled, "This is a government-backed project, Elden! If this fails, we're all doomed!"

"I'm the lead dive engineer," I cut her off and snapped back. "Are you saying that I don't know how much this site is worth?"

With the project behind schedule, everyone was pushing hard to meet the deadline. If it failed, the entire company would pay the price and go down with it.

Viola pleaded in a shaky voice, "I just wanted to see how long you could hold your breath. I swear I didn't mean anything else!

"Come up now. We'll open the cover right away!"

Beside her, Ron quickly added, "She's right! Stay calm, Elden. I'm lifting the cover as we speak!"

Another two minutes passed, and I still heard nothing from above. Right now, my tank was completely empty, and the world began to spin as dizziness clouded my vision.

Holding my breath, I scoffed into the radio. "Listen to me, Viola. If I die here today, I'm taking all of you with me.

"I'm destroying this drill bit. When the investigators look at the logs, they'll find that you're the one at fault!"

With that, I resumed yanking at the drill bit with all my strength.