[Michael would probably be of a similar mind, if anyone truly close to him had been taken. He's been lucky not just to be one of the spared, but to also be spared the anxiety of worrying for those brought to—well, they're still trying to figure out where exactly this dark place the abductees speak of even is, but they're supposedly making progress.

There's a distinct pause before he nods an affirmative. He can think of plenty of ways the situation could be worse, but he's been around people enough to understand that Eddie's asking for reassurance rather than a genuine answer to his question.]

Right. You can be glad you're not one of the taken.

[He has heard only a little from the abductees directly, what with their messages being distorted as they are, but he's glad to be up here rather than in some dank cavern. Even if he is apparently about to participate in some pagan ritual.

Michael takes the next question more literally, glancing at the river and the people getting ready to enter the water.]

How long can the average human hold their breath—two minutes? If they're athletes, perhaps ten. If any of them take much longer than that, I expect we'll have one less person to question.