I laughed and started kicking away from the opening above and soon enough I was out from under the building, floating on my back under the bright blue sky.

I swam in to shore just enough that I could plant my feet into the soft, squishy ground below the water. I felt the mud oozing between my toes and the slimy plants swaying around my ankles, and I tried to ignore them as I started hunting around on the inflatable for the air valve. I pulled it open and started blowing air into it. The mostly-limp float started to inflate in my hands, and it gradually took the shape of...