The air was colder down there, like the bottom of a pool gets. That was probably the one good thing of it, considering the heat an' all.

I cupped my hands and shouted down into it, "Hannah!"

She didn't say nothing back.

When I squinted I still couldn't see any of her. The light dropped off at a point and the stone circle faded into nothing. Starring into it I felt that it belonged in a book of optical illusions, I don't think I could tell you why though.

"My glasses are dirty!" She finally yelled back.

"How can you tell?"

For a moment I imagined I was talking to someone all the way in China. Someone shouting back up at me, or back down I suppose. But Hannah sounded nervous and not too excited, like you'd expect someone talking across a hole in the earth to be, also she wasn't speaking any Chinese.

"I can see you, you know!"

She was treading water, holding onto to something. Her shoes probably didn't even touch bottom when she hit. Praise christ she fell in after the flood had just passed. Mine and Hannah's houses almost floated away into pieces, almost floated away too if it weren't for Mr. Black's being up on a hill.

"Hold on I know who can help!"

I couldn't help but laugh to myself, thinking she was determined to drown even if she missed her first chance and had to go find the water this time.