I arched my neck as best I could. I fought against the pond’s embrace.
I managed one last gulp of life.
Then, I disappeared.
I became a prisoner of the lake.
I promised myself I wouldn’t scream.
I lied.
The instant the water crashed over my head, I lost it.
Well and truly lost it.
My eyes flew open in the murky gloom and I screamed.
I screamed as if I would die. I screamed as if my body was being torn in two and eaten alive. I screamed as if this was the end.
Bubbles cascaded from my mouth, gifting all my oxygen to a passing trout in a riot of glistening froth.
I promised myself I would stay calm. That I would listen to Kes’s advice and get through this with complete trust, knowing that eventually I would be hoisted back up.
That was another lie.
I had no understanding of time.
Seconds were minutes and minutes were years.
I bobbed in a substance that would kill me with no way free.
It was enough to send me into insanity.
I didn’t care I could break an arm or leg fighting against the securely buckled straps. I didn’t care I could snap my neck by thrashing hopelessly in the chair. And I definitely didn’t care I could break my mind by letting the horror of being drowned consume me.
I couldn’t stand it.
I’m dying.
I can’t fucking stand it!
And then, just like any rollercoaster, another incline halted the fatal swoop and hurled me back into the heavens once again.
The weight of the water pressed down on my skull and shoulders. My eyes burned from rushing water. The pressure. The unrelenting grip the lake had on me. It fought the pull. It didn’t want to let me go.
The sodden material of my gown sucked to my skin as my chair was raised and raised until...
Pop.
The water relented, letting me break the skin of the pond and leavea watery death behind.
Thank God—I can breathe!
Up and up I swooped, spluttering and dripping rain from above. I breathed and coughed and choked and sobbed.
I sucked in air as if I only had one purpose in life: to revive myself and regain my sanity.
My heartbeat was frantic—palpating, double beating—far too fast and petrified.
