As a dive engineer, I need to go down into the shaft to retrieve a drill bit in order to speed up construction on the 800-million-dollar construction project before Independence Day.

Little do I know that I've barely made my way down the shaft when I realize I don't have enough oxygen to last the journey.

Amid my panic, I completely lose my sense of direction. So, I dig out my wireless radio in an attempt to communicate with my fiancee, Viola Jenkins.

But all I hear is her laughter over the radio.

"Aren't you all high and mighty, Elden? I'd like to see how long you can last underwater without oxygen!"

Her first love, Ron Carey, adds, "Just sit back and watch the show, Viola! He'll definitely beg you to open the manhole cover for him when the time comes!"

That's when I realize Viola and Ron have allied together to kill me. Not only have they closed the manhole cover, but they've also cut off my life-saving oxygen supply.

After ensuring that the manhole cover cannot be moved at all, I begin crying for help weakly into the radio.

"Hurry… Open the cover for me… I'm running out of oxygen…"

Viola's contemptuous voice drifts from the radio. "It's only been five minutes. Why are you playing the pity card already? This is Ron's first time in a construction site, so he's inhaling some oxygen from the canister because he's already lacking in oxygen. You can wait for a while.

"If you have the time to moan about the lack of oxygen, you might as well use it to retrieve the drill bit. Stop dilly-dallying around, Elden! You seriously think I'll keep you around if you don't pull your weight around here?"

With gnashed teeth, I cover 65 feet downward in the shaft. With the last bit of oxygen in my lungs, I place my hands on the drill bit that's stuck in the deepest part of the shaft that can determine whether or not the 800-million-dollar construction project will be a hit or miss.

I'd like to see if Viola and Ron will be able to reap the benefits from this project just by killing me off in the shaft!

As I yanked hard to wrench the drill bit free, the chains scraped harshly with each pull.

Viola Jenkins sensed something was wrong and immediately grabbed the radio. "Elden Howard, what the hell are you doing?"

I didn't pause for a second because I was running out of oxygen.

"Have you lost your mind? That's an eight-billion-dollar structure!" she screamed in a high-pitched voice when I didn't answer.

I scoffed at her words and snapped back, "So what?"

I was nearly suffocating to death, so why should I care about her precious structure?

Viola's tone shifted instantly, and her voice carried a trace of panic as she tried to negotiate. "Don't be reckless, Elden. We're talking about eight billion dollars here!"

Catching the fear in her voice, I let out a cold laugh and spat back, "Now you're worried about me being reckless?

"Where was that concern when you cut off my oxygen? Where was it when you bolted the manhole cover shut over my head?"

Before she could respond, Ron Carey chimed in with a cold sneer. "Don't let him scare you, Viola. I doubt he has the guts to damage the site.

"This structure is worth eight billion dollars; he can't afford to pay for it even if he lives 100 lives.

"Elden, quit the drama and clean the sludge off the drill bit now!"

At his words, I worked faster, and the grating of chains echoed loudly in my ears. Now, all I could hear was the scraping metal and frantic pounding of my oxygen-starved heart.

Viola was finally terrified. Her voice trembled as she yelled, "This is a government-backed project, Elden! If this fails, we're all doomed!"

"I'm the lead dive engineer," I cut her off and snapped back. "Are you saying that I don't know how much this site is worth?"

With the project behind schedule, everyone was pushing hard to meet the deadline. If it failed, the entire company would pay the price and go down with it.

Viola pleaded in a shaky voice, "I just wanted to see how long you could hold your breath. I swear I didn't mean anything else!

"Come up now. We'll open the cover right away!"

Beside her, Ron quickly added, "She's right! Stay calm, Elden. I'm lifting the cover as we speak!"

Another two minutes passed, and I still heard nothing from above. Right now, my tank was completely empty, and the world began to spin as dizziness clouded my vision.

Holding my breath, I scoffed into the radio. "Listen to me, Viola. If I die here today, I'm taking all of you with me.

"I'm destroying this drill bit. When the investigators look at the logs, they'll find that you're the one at fault!"

With that, I resumed yanking at the drill bit with all my strength.

When Viola heard the noise, she erupted into a frantic, hysterical scream. "Elden, you lunatic! That structure is worth eight billion dollars!

"If it's destroyed, we're all doomed!"

I didn't reply and just kept slamming the drill bit against the well wall.

When Ron finally realized I wasn't bluffing, he stopped me in panic. "Open it! Open the manhole cover for him, now!"

I no longer trusted a single word he said and intensified my efforts, each pull stronger than the last.

When Ron heard that I hadn't stopped, he furiously shouted, "I hurt my arm lifting it earlier! Can't you just wait a minute?

"I'll go grab a few workers from the site. Just hold on and give me ten more minutes!"

I exploded and started cursing. "Ten minutes? To hell with that! If I'm dying, I'm taking every one of you with me!"

Ron actually laughed. "There's nothing I can do, can I? The cover weighs a ton and won't budge without enough manpower.

"You're the expert, so get back to work and clear the sludge!"

Viola chimed in, "Exactly! Why did you stop? You can't be slacking off, can you? Ruining this drill bit means losing eight billion dollars!"

As I listened to them, I clenched my fists so hard they were shaking. They knew that I was running out of oxygen and couldn't destroy the drill bit even if I wanted to, so they were waiting and watching to see how long until I suffocated.

From the start, they never intended for me to come back up alive.

I coldly asked, "Viola, are you sure you don't want the drill bit anymore?"

She sneered. "You don't have the guts to break it because you can't pay back a fraction of the damages even if your family sells everything they own.

"You wouldn't want your aging parents to kneel and beg for mercy, would you?"

I fell silent because her words struck where it hurt—my parents were my weak spot.

While I was silent, Ron took it a step further. "But if you die down there, Elden, your parents will receive compensation, so think carefully before you make your choice."

My face paled, and my brain was slipping into hypoxia. It was the perfect setup because if I died, a million dollars in compensation would solve the case. And if I lived and completed the task, they would lose nothing.

Either way, they would win, but I refused to give in just like that.

With the last shred of my willpower, I weakly called out, "Please, Viola… Let me out!"

Viola chuckled softly. "If you cancel our engagement, kneel to Ron and bark like a dog, I might think about it. I never loved you anyway, and only a man like Ron deserves me."

Ron seemed utterly touched as he touched her hand. "I've always loved you, Viola. I'd never end up broke like Elden!"

After I heard their words, my mind went blank. It hit me that this was why they had teamed up to seal me in the water and force me out of the picture, just so they could be together.

Furious, I screamed into the radio in a raw, desperate voice, "Help! A murder's happening here! Someone please hurry up and help me!"

But my voice cracked after the first few words. Just as my eyes started to roll back, a new male voice cracked over the radio.

"Why is the cover closed, Ms. Jenkins? Has the drill bit been retrieved?"

I recognized that voice as David Bowen's, the site foreman.

A desperate desire to live flared in my eyes as I gripped the radio and shouted, "David! I'm still down in the well! Please save me!"

When Ron heard my voice, he immediately turned the volume down and smiled at David. "This radio's all glitchy and really slow to respond.

"Elden has come up here to change clothes, while Ms. Jenkins and I are just doing a final check."

Viola quickly nodded along. "Go ahead and grab your lunch, David. I've got things under control, so don't worry."

David smiled. "Alright, if you say so. Tell Elden to swing by my place when he's changed; I've got something for him."

Viola let out a long breath of relief and immediately nodded before David walked off without a doubt.

I had no strength left to scream for help, so it seemed that I was destined to await death at the bottom of this well.

Closing my eyes in despair, I listened to the frantic beating of my heart in the silent water before Ron's voice suddenly crackled in my ear.

"Are you still hoping to get rescued, Elden? What makes you think I'm just going to stand by and watch you succeed?

"I'm telling you—even if you die down there, no one's coming for your help. So, get on your knees and beg, and I might send you some oxygen."

My eyelids grew heavy as I listened to their endless insults. In that moment, memories flashed before my eyes like an old movie strip.

The thought of dying at Viola and Ron's hands filled me with bitter unwillingness.

Why should I suffer such humiliation? If that were the case, I would drag everyone down with me.

As the thought crossed my mind, my eyes snapped open. I stared at the drill bit and let out a cold laugh.

When I gripped the drill bit, the icy touch brought a sliver of clarity clarity back to my mind.

It was too solid to be smashed with my weakened strength, but I knew that I could dismantle it. If I succeeded, the scattered parts would sink into the water and make it impossible to continue drilling even with a replacement.

I tightened my grip around the drill bit and began wrenching with all my might.

The sound of my efforts echoed through the water, so Viola and Ron immediately noticed something amiss.

"Why are you still causing trouble? Have you lost your mind?" Viola growled through gritted teeth.

When I didn't answer and kept turning the screws on the drill bit, they finally understood my intent to bring us all down together.

Viola's panicked voice rang in my ear. "Elden, stop! I'll get you up right now, so don't do anything reckless! It was just a joke!

"Please! If this goes wrong, we're all doomed!"

I stayed silent and only sped up my movements, so Viola immediately had Ron open the cover. "Hurry up and open it! If you hadn't come up with this stupid idea, we wouldn't be in this mess!"

Ron quietly grumbled, "How was I supposed to know he'd still have the strength to cause trouble after being down there for so long?

"We'll deal with him once he's up here. Next time, I'll make him kneel and bow to me."

Reluctantly, he started moving the heavy cover.

A loud rumbling echoed from above as it was dragged away, but my vision was obscured by the murky well water.

Upon surfacing, the drilling diver had to sign off on the timestamp for the shift and to prevent accidents. Without my signature, the two of them couldn't prove that I had intentionally damaged the drill.

I looked forward to seeing if their family fortunes could cover an eight-billion-dollar construction project.

Viola went from begging me to stop to cursing and hurling insults, but I never showed any reaction. Ron had donned his gear and moved the cover away, diving into the water to stop me.

Once he was underwater, he charged toward me and yelled, "Stop! You're insane! If you want to die, just do it and don't drag us down with you!"

It was a pity that he was too late.

With my last ounce of strength, I ripped the final bolt free. The drill bit fell apart, and the heavy steel segments plummeted into the bottom of the water, sending up a massive splash.

A massive plume of mud completely clouded the water in the region.

I gave Ron a wave, then heavily closed my eyes and let myself sink.

Above ground, the technician monitoring the underwater feed saw the drill bit collapse. He shot to his feet, grabbed a loudspeaker, and yelled in terror, "The drill bit's dropped. Emergency response to the well, now!"