She sauntered off still managing to be perfect, even dripping with mud and a frizzy bun on her head.
I hoped something poisonous bit her so she'd experience her own toxicity.
As soon as she disappeared behind a tree, a giant ripple moved across the surface of the water. It was big.
I halted again and held my breath for good measure. My heart still banged against my sternum, and I could only hope it didn’t send vibrations through the water.
I watched as the ripple moved in the opposite direction of me. I’d seen caimans absolutely destroy a panther before. This was not a fight I would win.
But I’d never panicked like this before. The fear was intertwined with the air pressing down on me.
I waited for what felt like forever for the movement to vanish yards away from me, moving deeper into the water.
Even then it felt like a warning, not a mercy.
Get out.
Chapter 4:
Theneedtoescapefilled my veins, but I forced myself to keep my controlled steps. My heart banged in my chest, but with deep breaths I tapered the adrenaline down. Reacting out of fear would kill me.
I was almost to the edge, and I turned back to make sure whatever was in the water wasn’t coming back. As I stepped forward, the ground underneath me fell out.
Water burned my nose and lungs as I fell beneath the surface. I couldn’t see more than a foot in front of my face. The water rushed downwards as if a door had been opened.
Flashes of the dream filled my mind.I always knew this would be how I died.
I kicked my arms and legs, but couldn’t fight the sudden current sucking me downwards. I tried to scream for Shannon, but my mouth filled with water before I could get the word out. I hit the bottom and banged my already tender head.
The sudden blinding pain made me stop resisting, and I slid down a tunnel that was quickly filling with water.
The realization that I would drown before I could resurface made me fight again. I couldn’t fall further if I wanted out of this alive. But my limbs were too heavy, making it impossible to resist my plummet.
The sensation of falling off a waterfall made me imagine myself flying through the air, but before I could even process it, I crashed into another body of water.
The water was warm, like a blanket of security surrounding me.
This was kinda peaceful. Maybe I should stay.
What was I thinking?Move!
Instinct grabbed me by the scruff, and I surfaced, finding myself in a wide cavern. There was enough headspace to take big, greedy breaths, but water still poured in over my head. I wouldn’t have that luxury for long.
Was there even a point?
I didn’t survive up to now to die exactly how my dreams said I would.Suck it up. Keep fighting.
I grabbed a flashlight from my vest and scanned the room. Near the top of the cavern, on the other side, was a tunnel of some sort. That was my best bet.
I swam over to it and crawled inside, moving as quickly as possible, racing the water behind me. The narrow darkness made me hyperventilate.
“When you act like my good girl, I’ll let you out.”A voice from a long distant memory made my hands shake.
Not now.
It took every ounce of strength inside me to keep going. I knew when my head was out of the tunnel, because I could swear there was more oxygen.
When I had to wiggle my hips and ass past the narrowing end, I realized it wasn’t just a panic attack. The walls were literally closing in on me.
