Together, we strike out towards the ladder, our arms and legs churning through the water as we dodge the floating debris. It's slow going, the weight of our clothes and the exhaustion of the last few hours dragging at our limbs like lead weights. But we keep pushing forward, our eyes locked on that narrow strip of wood like it's the only thing in the world that matters.
Dani eyes the ladder skeptically, her brow furrowing with doubt. "No way. That thing looks like it's one splinter away from crumbling into sawdust. It'll never hold my weight."
But we don't have time to debate the finer points of structural integrity. We need to get out of this water, and we need to do it now. Without a word, I duck beneath the surface, resurfacing a moment later with Dani perched on my shoulders.
She lets out a squeal of surprise, her thighs clamping around my neck as she struggles to keep her balance. "Jesus, Rhyland! A little warning next time?"
"Just grab the fucking ladder, baby," I grunt, my muscles straining as I try to keep us both steady in the murky water. It's like trying to balance on a surfboard, but I'll be damned if I let us both drown in this watery grave.
Dani reaches for the ladder, her fingers scrabbling against the slimy wood as she tries to find a grip. I can feel her boots digging into my shoulders, her weight shifting as she tries to haul herself onto the bottom rung.
"Sorry, sorry," she mutters, her voice strained with effort as she shimmies up the ladder. Her daggers scrap the rocks. I can feel her boot pressing down on the top of my head, the pressure making my skull throb like a son of a bitch. But I grit my teeth and bear it, using every ounce of strength to keep us both steady as she climbs.
Finally, Dani reaches the top of the ladder, hauling herself onto the ledge with a triumphant grunt. She turns back to look down at me, her face flushed with exertion and relief.
"Holy shit," she pants, a giddy laugh bubbling up from her throat. "I can't believe that worked."
I grin up at her, my heart pounding with the adrenaline rush. "Never underestimate the power of a good boost, baby. Now, how about you find something to help haul my ass up there before I start growing gills?"
Dani nods, scanning the ledge for anything she can use as a makeshift rope. "On it, babe. Just hang tight and try not to drown on me, okay?"
"No promises," I mutter, but there's no real heat behind the words. We've made it this far, and I'll be damned if a little thing like a flooded chamber is going to take me out now.
I tread water and watch as Dani searches the ledge, my mind already racing ahead to whatever fresh hell this place has in store for us next.
Suddenly, I feel something scrape against my leg, sending a jolt of adrenaline surging through my veins. I whip my head down, eyes scanning the murky water, but nothing is there. Just the swirling darkness and the faint glimmer of debris floating by.
Probably just a piece of driftwood, I think to myself, trying to shake off the unease prickling at the back of my neck. "Today, Angel," I shout at Dani, my voice echoing off the damp stone walls.
"Hold your damn horses, I'm looking," Dani sasses back. "There's nothing up here but twigs and shit."
I let out a frustrated breath. The longer I tread here, the more the water starts to leech the warmth from my body. I feel something bump against my leg again, the force of it sending me reeling backward through the water.
"What the fuck?" I hiss, my heart slamming against my ribs as I spin around, trying to get a glimpse of whatever the hell just touched me. But there's nothing there, just the endless expanse of dark, churning water.
I scramble towards the broken ladder, my heart slamming against my ribs as I try like hell to hurry up the slick wall. But it's no use—the damn thing is too high, too far out of reach, and I can't get a grip on the slimy stone no matter how hard I try.
"Danica, hurry the fuck up!" I bellow, my voice raw with rising panic as I feel something brush against my leg again, the touch sending a jolt of pure, primal terror surging through my veins. "There's something in the water, and—"
Before I finish my sentence, something wraps around my ankle, yanking me beneath the surface with a force that steals the air from my lungs. I thrash and kick, my eyes flying open as I'm dragged down into the murky depths, but all I can see is a swirling mass of bubbles and the faint, distorted glow of the chamber above.
I look down at my leg, my heart seizing in my chest as I catch a glimpse of the slimy, pulsating tentacle wrapped around my ankle. It's thick as a tree trunk, the flesh mottled and slick with some viscous fluid that makes my skin crawl.
I yank and pull at the tentacle, my lungs burning with the need for air as I fight to free myself from its grasp. But it's no use. The thing is too strong, too massive, and I can feel myself being dragged deeper and deeper into the abyss, the light fading away above me like a dying star.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
My vision starts to blur around the edges as my oxygen-starved brain screams for relief. I can feel the pressure building in my chest, the agonizing burn of my lungs as they strain for air that isn't there.
I focus all my energy, rage, fear, and desperation into a single, concentrated blast of telekinetic power. I feel it—building in my mind, a pressure that grows and grows until it feels like my skull might split open from the force of it. And then, with a silent scream of fury, I unleash it on the creature, pouring every ounce of strength into the attack.
For a brief, shining moment, it works. The tentacle around my ankle loosens its grip, the slimy flesh recoiling as if burned by the force of my power. I don't hesitate; don't stop to think. I kick towards the surface with everything I have, my lungs screaming for air as I claw through the murky water.
I break through the surface with a gasp, my head spinning as I gulp down a lungful of damp, stale air. I feel that sickening tug on my ankle again, and I'm being yanked back into the depths.
I hear Danica above me, her screams piercing through the murky depths like a knife to the gut. Even muffled by the water—her raw, unbridled panic, the sheer terror that shoots down our bond like a lightning bolt.
That fear, that desperate, clawing need to return to her, gives me the strength to keep fighting. I thrash and kick against the tentacle's grip, my lungs burning with the need for air as I claw at the slimy flesh with my fingers. I can feel Dani's fear mixing with my own, a feedback loop of pure, primal terror threatening to swallow me whole.
