I was now alone, locked in the bilge. I could hear the water gushing. Main valve H34 was unreachable. I had no tools other than a wrench. I could barely breath. The stench was overwhelming.

Bang, bang! Two strokes! Lt Dorsey was leading the tech crew past my position. If I could not reach H34, they wouldn’t be able to do anything about the bent shaft. I HAD to reach.

My arm was now slithering through thick braids of cable secured to the bulkhead with strong rubber claps. I could feel H34 but I had no grasp.

Bang, bang, bang! Three strokes. Dorsey’s men had gotten to the shaft.

C’mon, REACH, REACH. “You’re MY baby H34, goddamn you..”

But H34 would not give. I snaked my leftover arm over the main pipe to get an overhead grip and pushed again.

H34 would not give.

I was exhausted, nearly faint. “What a way to go and I haven’t even had the time to run that Chevy.”

I gave up. I rested my head on the bulkhead, feeling like one huge drop of sweat.

SWOOOSH!

Water was draining,yeah!

But I was dead.