I shivered as my stockings met the sandy bottom of the river. It was gritty, and I struggled to find purchase. I took one step forward, then two, as my arms flailed.
Even though I was tall by female standards, I was much shorter than Xander. While he had been standing in the river without any problems, the water seemed much deeper now that I was in it.
The cold water lapped at my breasts. It felt like a thousand tiny needles were being pushed into my skin all at once. I drew my arms around myself as my wet hair dripped down my face.
Behind me, I could hear Xander moving towards the edge of the water. Soon he was standing on the riverbank, his hands on his hips.
“Come on, Aileana,” he huffed. Water was dripping down his sodden tunic and trousers as he scowled at me. Fierceness and anger radiated off him in waves as he pointed at the grass. “Get. Out.”
I glared at him as I picked my way through the water. “I’m moving as fast as I can,” I snapped. “Be patient.”
The bank was within reach when, all of a sudden, the sandy bottom was no longer there. One step, sand lay beneath my feet. The next, I wasn’t standing at all. My legs buckled as my feet hit a smooth, wet stone. I gasped as suddenly I went flying back.
My eyes widened as the clear blue sky filled my vision. There wasn’t a single cloud in the sky.
And then it was gone.
The river pulled me down so fast that I barely had the time to inhale before water filled my vision. I popped up and sucked in a deep breath, but it wasn’t enough. Already, I could feel the water’s pull on my sodden clothing as it yanked me downstream.
My heart pounded in my chest, my lungs constricting, as the water seemed to yank me downstream. My arms waved in the air as I struggled for purchase.
In the back of my mind, I knew what this was.
A current. Swift, hidden, and deadly.
The water pulled me along so quickly that I barely had the time to blink, let alone cry out for help. Every single layer of my soaked garments felt like a massive weight trying to drag me to the bottom of the river. My head bobbed underwater, the murky liquid filling my vision.
I came up for air sputtering. “Help!” I screamed at the top of my lungs.
But Xander was already out of sight. Trees and rocks surrounded me as the water continued to drag me towards a watery grave.
Gasping, I tried to take in as much air as I could before the river pulled me back under. With each passing second, it was becoming more difficult. The water’s deadly pull was getting stronger.
And stronger.
I was growing weaker and weaker.
Think,I ordered myself.Think of something to do. Anything.
But I couldn’t think. Not now. I had no idea what to do. My ill-contrived prank was going to be, quite literally, the death of me.
“Xander!” I screamed as I came back up for air another time. “Help!”
Then I saw him. He was running along the riverbank, his eyes wide as the water sucked me under again.
When I came back up for air, he was closer.
But not close enough.
I cried out, “I can’t swim!”
I saw the moment my words landed because Xander’s already white face paled.
“Grab a branch!” he shouted as he dove back into the river.
He began to swim, his arms moving powerfully as he came towards me. But the waters kept pulling, and my body was weakening.
Soon, it became a struggle to find the will to breathe when I came up for air. The length between breaths seemed to stretch as my lungs burned with the agony of a thousand fires.