I managed to slow our rapid rise, though whether it was actually anything I did or the sheer weight of my additional equipment and the fact I was literally carrying weights in my BCD that kept us from rocketing all the way to the top. I knew we were still rising too fast, panting into my mouthpiece, going lightheaded when my oxygen intake bottomed out from rising panic. It took every ounce of internal fortitude I still possessed to force my breathing down to a more normal intake, to make my shaking hands work at the other diver's lines and BCD hooked into mine. I'd gone through some emergency procedures when I'd taken my diving course, but I doubt anything could have prepared me for this eventuality.