The Year I Stopped Being His novel Chapter 232

Sloane crouched and pulled out a sample tube, carefully scraping a thin layer of the bioluminescent film off the rock.

She moved deliberately, almost afraid of hurting the delicate organisms.

Inside the tube, the azure strain glowed softly under her headlamp, like a tiny beacon in the dark. She tucked the sample safely into the innermost pocket of her diving suit, pressing it right over her heart.

Her pulse hammered rapidly against her ribs, echoing the steady rhythm of the glowing forest.

*

Back on the frozen shore, time stretched thin, taut as a wire about to snap.

Silence reigned, so profound that the drop of a pin would echo.

Josh knelt at the edge of the ice hole, his headlamp slicing into the dark, illuminating an eerie blue patch of water.

The surface was dead still, resembling a slab of black obsidian. His fingers dug into the jagged edge of the ice until frost completely numbed his hands, but he couldn't feel the biting cold anymore.

"I'm going down."

He stood up abruptly and started ripping off his jacket. The zipper jammed. He yanked it violently, the harsh sound of tearing fabric slicing through the quiet air.

Diego grabbed his arm. "Josh, are you out of your mind?! You have no gear and no oxygen! You'll drown!"

Josh shoved him away with such force that Diego stumbled backward.

"So I'm supposed to just stand here and do nothing?" Josh yelled, his eyes wild and bloodshot. "Sloane is down there all by herself! No tether, no signal—and you want me to just wait?!"

He kept tearing off his layers, yanking a fleece over his head. The tight collar scraped harshly against his ears, but he didn't care. The freezing wind battered his exposed skin, making him shiver violently, yet his hands never stopped.

"That's enough."

Professor Harrison's voice came from behind him. It wasn't loud, but it carried absolute authority.

Josh ignored his mentor and bent down to unlace his boots.

"I said, that's enough."

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