The Year I Stopped Being His novel Chapter 233

In that memory, an unfamiliar sense of losing control had washed over him. He had walked over and, almost instinctively, plucked the cigarette from her fingers to take a drag.

It was cool and bitter, tasting like absolute ash.

He hadn't understood the appeal at all. Why would anyone willingly inhale that garbage?

But right now, he finally understood. When a person felt utterly helpless, grasping at a wisp of smoke was the only thing keeping them grounded.

Garrison swallowed the smoke. The bitter tang burned all the way down to his stomach, leaving him intensely nauseous.

Cassandra Jenson walked over and stood beside him.

"Dr. Foster, do you want to go in?"

She gestured over her shoulder. "I saw another set of professional diving gear and oxygen tanks in the supply station."

Garrison stared at the serene surface of the water, his gaze darkening with complicated emotions.

He desperately wanted to jump in, but...

He didn't even know how to swim, let alone dive. Throwing himself into the lake would just be a pointless suicide mission.

"Sloane said she would come back." Garrison paused, crushing the lit cigarette against his bare palm. The sharp, searing pain cut through his mounting panic, grounding him with a sliver of rationality.

"She told me to wait for her here. So I will wait here, until she returns."

"I trust her. She won't break her promise."

Cassandra didn't press the issue.

She turned her back to the ice hole, facing the endless expanse of the dark tundra. The wind whipped her short hair around, leaving her thoughts a mystery.

Tick, tock. Every agonizing second felt like a slow, deliberate torture.

Diego crouched near the edge, his face buried in his knees. His shoulders shook, though he kept perfectly silent.

Professor Harrison mindlessly flipped the sonar device on and off. The glow of the screen illuminated the deep, anxious lines etched into his face.

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