fading, I became aware of all the injuries that Fake Anna had inflicted on me. My head was pounding from when she slammed it into the ground, I was covered in bruises, and I was still bleeding from when she sank her nails into my flesh and attempted to claw me apart.
I heard the rush of water in the distance, and my ears perked up. Was I almost to the end of the cave? Was that the end of the trial?
I heard thunder in the distance and frowned. No, that couldn’t be right. I was deep underground, so the faint rumble had to be something else. My eyes widened when I put two and two together. I wasn’t heading for water - the water was heading for me.
I turned to run, but I’d never be faster than the wall of water heading in my direction. I barely had time to wrap my arms around a rock formation before the water hit, and I was swept off my feet. I couldn’t see or hear anything over the rush of water, all I could do was desperately hold on. I struggled to wrap my arms even tighter as the water tried to pull me away.
The water was freezing cold, and my fingers were becoming numb quickly. I nudged my arm so that the crook of my elbow was anchoring me to the rock instead of relying on my failing fingers to hold me in place. I knew the rush of water would eventually pass by me, but the most dangerous part of the situation would be if I lost my grip and the water crashed me into the rock walls as it carried me through the cave. I might not survive being battered like that. My best chance was to let the water wash over me.
My lungs started to burn as the deep breath of oxygen I’d hurriedly taken before the water crashed into me could only last so long. I struggled to wrap my legs around the rock I was clinging to and hoist my head above the water.
I gasped for breath, sucking in the sweet air, but also getting sprayed in the face with water. Without magic to protect me from the cold, my body was starting to fail me. My arms were growing weaker, and there were stabbing pains in my limbs. I couldn’t feel my hands at all and the sharp spray of water on my face felt like jabbing needles.
I thought I’d only have to hang on for a few seconds until the rush of water passed me, but it just kept coming. I gritted my teeth and clung to the rock the best I could while my body was slowly quitting on me.
I tried to keep my head above water, but it was sucking me downward, doing its best to drown me. I felt a flash of hopelessness. After everything that had happened, this is how I would go?
No.
With a surge of determination, I thrust my head up again and gasped at the air. I’d hang on as long as it took. I wouldn’t let anything stand in the way of me getting back to my mates. I got my second wind and wrapped my limbs around the rock even tighter. My stubbornness would be what got me through this.
I was so far in the zone, that I didn’t immediately realize it when the pull of the water began to weaken. The needling spray faded into gentle waves against my face, and then the water level rapidly started to sink. Water drained away until there were only puddles on the ground, and I hesitantly released my grip on the rock, ready to resume my position at the faintest sound of more water.
When minutes passed, and nothing happened, I let my aching arms fall to my sides, and I slid to the ground. The cave floor was wet and muddy, but I didn’t care. I stuck my hands under my armpits in a desperate attempt to warm them up again and moved my legs to get my blood flow moving. My body was still shaking from cold and exhaustion, but I knew I had to move if I didn’t want hypothermia to set in. Laying down on the ground to take a nap would be the worst possible thing I could do right now.
I forced myself to stand, but I needed to grab onto the rock wall as I stumbled through the cave. Gradually, the air became