Nine Days in the Dark

On July 2, 2018, British diver John Volanthen surfaced inside a flooded chamber deep within Tham Luang cave in northern Thailand. For nine days, the world had assumed the worst about twelve boys and their soccer coach, sealed behind millions of gallons of monsoon water in absolute darkness. Rescue teams had gathered at the cave mouth the way mourners gather at a grave — hoping against hope, but quietly preparing for grief.…