The second time the loud thud resounded followed by the vibrations underwater, Kristina and Lucas knew that it was a hundred percent sure that the great white shark was back.

"Lucas, move!" Kristina pulled Lucas when the latter froze upon swallowing the information that a twelve-foot apex predator was hunting them again.

Kristina on the other hand got more experience with sharks but this was her first time dealing with such rage. Rudolph, her four-feet Mako shark was not this aggressive even when they met for the first time. There was something peculiar with this shark – it was as if this shark was hell-bent on chasing them until the end.

'But how did it escape from that room? I am sure that Lucas locked it well! I did hear the clicking of the lock, didn't I?' Kristina thought as she swam with renewed vigor.

"Damn these chairs!" Lucas, who was swimming ahead of Kristina, swiped the chairs that were floating before him. Because of this urgency, two chairs hit each other which resulted to a loud thud followed by the ripples of vibrations.

Kristina gasped as she momentarily stopped swimming. "You are practically leading the shark to us!" She hissed beneath her diving mask. A second gasp escaped from her cracked lips when Lucas pulled her wrist. 

With his strength, he was able to move her by a meter from where she was floating at originally.

"What are you–"

"Fucking swim, woman!" Lucas pushed Kristina's back, willing her to swim before him. He did not like the pounding of his heart when the loud thud ensued a few moments ago.

Lucas damn well knew why his chest tightened and it was definitely not because of the thought of drawing the attention of the shark to himself, but the flimsy possibility that the woman swimming behind him would be snatched away from him – without him knowing. The memory of him looking for under the water doubled the pace of his heart. And so, he pulled her to swim before him.

"Faster! Do you know how to swim or what?"

"I am trying! And stop panicking, it will not help you. Trust me," said Kristina.

 Her strokes and kicks were firm, but they were graceful without ripples. She looked at the frowning Lucas in her peripheral vision and imparted her knowledge about the sharks. 

"As you know, sharks are sensitive creatures. The water is their home and by some twisted fate, this part of hotel is now submerged with water along with an apex predator."

"Yeah, yeah. Tell me about something I don't know, something that actually helps us.... Right now, woman," snapped Lucas.

 He copied the long yet gentle strokes of Kristina. He could see that the ripples around her had minimized to an extent.

As they swam higher, they followed the stairs that would lead them to the Casino Royale. They dodged every floating piece of debris ranging from things with the size of Kristina's palm to medium-sized things like plastic chairs or wooden chairs. Careful not to cause another vibration anymore, Kristina and Lucas had to swim and not look back – even when the latter wanted the otherwise.

"The shark is also trapped, like us, Lucas. It is aggressive after being thrust to a new cage-like environment. And..." Kristina paused after remembering how they handled the situation. 

They were all in a panic state. 

She was in a panic state and in denial of the situation that she momentarily forgot how to handle predators. Had she not been swayed by her emotions, she could have saved Bernardo as well. Her chest tightened for a split second before she shook her head. Like she said; she should not be swayed by emotions when it came to dealing with this kind of situation – mind over matter, like always.

 She continued, "The entire time we interacted with it, we are openly telling the shark that we are the preys than its equal."

"Then, how do we make it see us as an equal?" With Lucas' question, Kristina looked at him.

Lucas saw how a floating mixer was about to hit Kristina's head. Without thinking much about it, Lucas's left hand moved on its own accord. He moved the floating object away from Kristina's head which made the latter flinch. She immediately looked at what he swatted away before her.

 With raised brows, she looked back at him. Not liking the way she stared at him as if she was expecting some sort of explanation, Lucas did what he always do best – he growled at her like some mindless animal.

"Are you stupid? Close your damn mouth. You are starting to camouflage with the puffer fish behind you," snarled Lucas as he pulled her wrist to keep her moving.

They could not afford to waste time. The water was not their territory and every second counted for their survival. It was detrimental to keep moving. Lucas continued, urging Kristina to continue whatever she was saying a moment ago without losing the precise and gentle strokes. 

"So how do we stray away from this abnormally aggressive shark?"

"About that, we have thirty percent of minimizing the danger of being eaten alive. With the murky water mixed with sands from the Mayan ruins and the darkness that enveloped us, the visibility is low. This is not advantageous for us."

"Why is that? Because we can't look behind our backs for a possible looming shadow?"

Kristina pulled her wrist from Lucas' grip as she answered. "Because we can't establish eye contact with it. One clear eye contact and it will establish the fact that we are not some prey but an equal predator. With our situation, the best we can do is to maintain minimum ripples."

Lucas scoffed at what he heard. "It all boils down to not being caught by it, woman. Save your science shit to yourself if it will not help."

A clog rose deep in Kristina's throat. "Actually, that information could have saved your friend."Upon the mention of friend, Lucas whipped his attention to Kristina as his brows knitted together. "My who?"

"Bernardo," hissed Kristina. 

She knew that Lucas was a jerk, but she underestimated the extent of it. "Stop it. I am so done talking with assholes like you."

 Kristina swam farther upward by pushing her hands against the railings of the staircase that they were following. With this action of hers, Kristina was able to see the doorless entrance that would lead them to the Casino Royal.

'Fuck,' Kristina hissed at the back of her mind when she saw the water had reached three-fourths of the door. It only meant that the water would continue to rise like what happened to the floor that they had come from.

 The calm side of her mind whispered. 'But at least we can save your oxygen usage.'

The moment that Kristina raised her head from the water, she immediately pushed her diving mask down before she drew a deep breath – filling her pounding chest with the dwindling air from the shortening air pocket of the Casino Royale. 

The red illumination of the emergency lights welcomed her vision which adjusted to the darkness already. She squinted for any silhouettes of the apex predator around her, eyes fixated to the calm and dark waters.

The drips of water were muted by the pounding of her heart. Kristina started to swim towards the entrance of the Casino Royale. Gone were the elegant-looking chandeliers which exuded luxuries and warmth at the bottom of the sea, replaced by darkness and eeriness.

'Where is Chad?' Kristina asked in her mind, hoping that he had escaped before the catastrophe happened. 

Chad was a bartender in the Casino Royale. During night time, the Casino Royale was supposed to be the most famous place where tourists would stay. While the walls were made of glasses which gave a first-class view to the Mayan ruins, the ambiance of Casino Royale spoke of money and power – a turf for elite tourists staying in their elite hotel.

'Well, that is supposed to be the premise of Casino Royale until this happened.'

A splash followed her. On cue, Kristina looked behind her and was met by a pair of darkened gaze. Like her, Lucas pushed his diving gear down his chin. He swam behind her as they entered the Casino Royale. It was not that different from the place they came from. It was also like this: rapid rising of seawater, floating pieces of debris, and the never-ending darkness.

Tugging his wet hair, his fingers combed the tangled tendrils of his locks. Too busy with what he was immersed at, he failed to notice how Kristina momentarily gaped at him. Feeling the heated gaze at him, Lucas snapped at Kristina's direction. "What?"

Kristina immediately looked behind him, she hoped that the red illumination hid the reddening of her cheeks. It was a shame to her part that she still got a chance to look at him like some silly school girl.

'Still, it should have been a sin to have that look even in this situation.' Kristina thought as she was about to turn around when a shadow caught her attention – and it was fast approaching Lucas from his left side.

Without thinking, Kristina pulled her mask before she moved.