Jack slid down the road, rapidly gaining speed, buildings passing by on both sides as he got closer to the bottom of the hill and the bayou. Behind, headlights flashed. Aliss was gaining on him.
He entered the water with a splash of mud and water, followed quickly by Aliss in her vehicle. He swam across the swamp, weaving in and out of canoes and kayaks. Overhead was either a high, cavernous ceiling or a knotted blanket of overhanging vegetation, Jack couldn't tell which.
"I was just giving Kaaly her lesson," Jack explained to the kayakers.
"Aww, it's okay, it's gonna be alright," said Aliss with her southern twang.
Jack grabbed the back of one of the canoes. The rider, Dany, turned around and said, "Hey, Jack, you yankin' me back there?" But she was too late; Jack had already let go of her boat and continued swimming.
He reached a section of exceptionally clear water. Submerging himself, he saw a line of young girls doing underwater handstands, smiling excitedly. He watched for a while until Petunia and Gunther arrived and marshaled the entire group over to a precipice leading to much deeper area of water. She had something to show them.
"Underneath, it's crufter, pris hill," she said, motioning down below her feet. The group stood waist deep in water, listening to Petunia. Beyond the precipice, the depth of the marsh dropped to fifteen or twenty feet, though the water was still clear. She explained that there was an underwater tunnel they needed to reach.
"No, Petunia, it's too deep," protested Gunther.
"It's just underneath here," Petunia insisted. "Hoeksfeld drew it." With that, Petunia and Gunther dove down and swam into the mouth of the tunnel. Jack watched them recede into the darkness, and his vision was taken up by a progression of cards, some overturned, but most grayed out.
"Anyone figure out the cards yet? First one to do it, wins," said Jack to the students. "It took me about four years," he added jokingly.
Inside the tunnel, Gunther shrugged at Petunia. She pointed up to the ceiling at a detailed drawing of a ferocious tiger.
"See?" she asked Gunther. "See the toad?"
"Uh, yeah..." Gunther said slowly. Watching the scene, Jack felt a growing sense of dread. The pair started to swim out of the tunnel, as they were running out of air. Suddenly, from withing the bowels of the tunnel, an enormous sea serpent snapped out with its jaws, seizing Petunia and dragging her back into its lair. Gunther quickly grabbed her back, only to have her immediately snatched by the serpent once more. This process repeated a total of three times, and each time the serpent withdrew itself deeper into the tunnel. On the surface, a complex system of pulleys set in a square wooden frame was being used as a counter weight to aid in the rescue efforts.
Finally, the serpent pulled Petunia so deep it seemed she would be lost forever. "It's too late, gotta abandon her," someone said.
Gunther became Sonic. Petunia became Tails.
"No! Not when my friend is in trouble!" Sonic shouted as he made a valiant sprint into the tunnel, pulling Tails out at the last moment. The cycle continued: the serpent grabbing Tails, Sonic saving him, the serpent grabbing him again. It became a complicated, multi-staged tug-of-war. On the surface, Jack tried to help Sonic by adding weights to the pulley system, but it was very difficult.
