Wet.
Hard to breathe.
The water tossed her about like she was nothing, not worthy of being considered anything more than another stick, or rock, or debris that fell into its clutches. It didn't care that she was a person, a human being, and honestly, for all her life, she’d never considered herself to be of any more importance than a stick or a rock.
But she was more important.
She was a human being. She deserved to be treated as such.
Voodoo’s voice echoed in her mind, screaming her name as burning man had emerged from the trees, obviously guided to her by the sound of their voices, long since gone but still just as loud inside her head.
If she died, he would grieve her, and that mattered.
That made her matter.
So she fought, forced her arms to spin, fighting through the fast-moving water, doing her best to get herself to the bank. The others would come for her, but there was no way they could get to her quickly. They’d been up on top of that cliff, and she’d been down the bottom. It wasn't like they could just jump down to get to her. They’d have to circle around, find the same path that had led her down to the river instead of up to the cliffs. That would take them time, more time than she wanted to admit, and the river didn't care about that. It just dragged her along with it, uncaring of the fact that it was taking her away from safety and toward the unknown.
The only good thing was that it was also taking her away from burning man.
Be thankful for small mercies.
It took her far longer than she would have liked to reach the bank. The water fought her at every turn, trying to drag her under. It managed to at least half a dozen times. Each time her head went beneath the surface, those voices in her head whispered to her how much easier it would be to let go, allow the water to finishher off.
Each time she found herself starting to agree, Voodoo’s voice would sound in her head.
That terror when she fell into the water was all for her, and she knew she couldn’t give up, couldn’t give in. Had to keep fighting. Someone would miss her if she wasn't alive anymore. Someone would grieve her if she died.
Those thoughts were so new for her, but they filled her with the strength she needed to find her way to the land.
By the time her feet touched the bottom, and her weary arms reached out to grab hold of some of the trees growing close to the edge, she was close to complete exhaustion. It was only a miracle, sheer determination to live, that had kept her going in the water when she’d already been close to collapse before Thunder found her.
Hands reached for her, helped her, and she was glad Voodoo had gotten to her faster than she’d thought.
They pulled her out and laid her down on the ground.
The world felt so distant. Maybe she’d survived because she wanted to live, but now she felt unconsciousness drifting in. She couldn’t fight against it any longer. Didn't want to. Voodoo was safe. He’d protect her, she didn't need to worry so long as he was there.
“Get her in the truck,” a voice said, and even though she’d already been falling into the darkness that tugged at the edges of her mind, a thread of awareness pulled her back.
That voice.
It wasn't Voodoo’s.
Wasn't Thunder’s either.
And she was pretty sure it didn't belong to Steel, Dragon, Blade, or Lion.
Eyes popping open, she saw six large shapes hovering around her. They were dressed all in black, but Voodoo and his team were in black, and the guards were in black, everyone was in black. Everyone but her who wasn't in anything at all.
Someone grabbed her, lifting her off the ground. They felt wrong, smelled wrong. This wasn't someone she could trust. It was one of them.
“No,” she said, trying weakly to push him away.
Of course, it didn't work. The man didn't even waste time talking to her, didn't bother to look down at her, merely carried her away from the water, and toward what did indeed turn out to be a truck.
Seemed she’d washed up on the side of a road.
Not any road, but the road the new guards who had been coming in must have been driving along. That had to be who these people were because she didn't recognize any of their voices, and they were all chattering amongst one another as she was carried to the back of a truck.
