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Her lungs burned for air, she tried to race up to the top once more, but the water had completely filled the room. Growing lightheaded, she shot back down and tried to concentrate on Zeek’s instructions. Square again, circle twice, triangle. Her vision became tunneled. Ice invaded her lungs. Pins sliced her skin, her veins, deep into her muscles. Her hands were growing stiff like icicles, and she feared they could shatter at any moment.
Another turn of the square valve…
Her world was growing dim. Her mind wanted the pain to end. Her lungs were struggling to keep from drawing in a gush of icy water.
She thought she heard an echo that sounded a lot like a boulder hitting a rooftop. It made little sense. Then something glossy lit up in her vision, gliding through the water in front of her. They say that when one dies there is a light, and you’re meant to follow it. She reached out for the light, and her hand clasped around something solid. She blinked and tried to force the encroaching darkness from her vision.
In her hand was a tool of some sort, an object with a handle.What a strange thing to find here,her woozy mind mused. What was its purpose? One end of it was fitted with a kind of gem, clear and sparkly and beautiful…like a diamond!
Wait a minute! Didn’t diamonds cut glass?
Her slowing heart revved with new life, even as she choked on frigid water.
Kicking out, she made her way to the barrier. It seemed miles away and getting farther. Or maybe her arms and legs were no longer responding properly. After what felt like eons, she met the glass with her palm. With all the energy she could muster, she slashed at the surface until finally the glass splintered in a thousand directions, like billions of tiny spiderwebs fanning out. Then the entire thing shattered.
The pressure of the suddenly uncontained water pulled her forward in a massive surge, sending her spilling out of The Gauntlet. Somewhere in the watery chaos, arms caught her and rode the wave with her. She may have blacked out for a moment. When she came to, she could only comprehend her lungs laboring to expel liquid while also gasping for air. Then, miraculously, she blinked her eyes open and realized she was alive, lying prone on a drenched floor. Aidan hovered over her, dripping wet.
“Caryn?” she croaked.
He glanced up, then back down at her. “She’s…they’re working on her.”
Onnika didn’t like the worry in his gaze. She tried to sit up, but he easily held her fatigued form down with a hand lightly pressed to her chest. “Easy. Just breathe.”
Her head swam as though she were still trapped in that hellish fish tank. She heard a strange noise in the background, like a river roaring, and her adrenaline surged once more, fearing there was more danger headed their way, but after several intense heartbeats, she realized she was hearing the cheers of thousands of onlookers, peering down at them from the safety of the upper floors. She wanted to flip them off and let them know how she felt about their excitement. Maybe she did, but they only cheered louder.
