John Hopkins

There is no knowing which direction he's facing, or which way he's moving.

He isn't aware of this now, but when Don switched to open circuit, a tiny bubble formed in his left inner ear, completely disrupting his sense of balance and causing severe vertigo.

He tumbles through the water, completely disorientated, pinwheeling helplessly in a void.

The sensation is surreal, extreme darkness and extreme brightness flashing through his vision.

With no control over his movements and no sense of direction, the biggest risk is that Don will spin off into the black infinity of the chamber, away from his shot line.

And if that happens, he'll be lost in the chasm, unsure of which way is up or down.

As he twists, something flashes across his eyes.

It's his shot line, briefly glimpsed in the water.

As he comes back around, he takes his chance.

The shot line appears again and he makes a desperate instinctive lunge towards it.

A second later, his fingers close around the weighted rope.

Don hangs on with all he's got.

But the grip doesn't stop his motion and he continues to twist and flail.

It's a crazy, confounding blur.

Finally he slows, his tight grasp on the lifeline still intact.

Taking a moment and regaining some of his clarity, he is able to look at the dive computer attached to his wrist, which tells him his depth.

Somehow, in his barely lucid, discombobulated state, he has still managed to travel upwards along the rope.

But he is at 35 meters.

He has gone too high too quickly.

He has to get his decompression schedule back on track.