by T. C. Edge
So close…
But the river has the final word.
With a sudden swell, it grips me again, and my drained limbs can’t fight back. I’m hauled unceremoniously from the ledge, the ruthless river tugging me back into its midst. I plunge and tumble into the icy depths, my desire to fight back waning.
And as I enter another tunnel, and am pulled back beneath the surface, a terrifying thought enters my mind.
I’m going to die down here.
And no one will ever find me.
Thrown about, I let my body hang loose, unable to do anything now. I hit another wall, my back smashed against it, before being sucked down to the bottom. My legs scrape along the writhing riverbed, underwater reeds now entering the game.
They try to grip my feet, tangle my ankles, hold me down and keep me in this nightmare.
Once more, my body calls for air, and my survival instinct kicks in again. Thoughts of my friends, my family, bursts into my head, bringing a fresh vigour and strength to my limbs. I reach down and grip the slimy reeds, tearing them from my feet.
Under attack from my fingers, they release me, and I’m swung back to the surface. My lungs feel air again as my body hits another rock, the river twisting its course.
Once more, my tired limbs relax, unable to do much more than splash fruitlessly in the surf. I turn my eyes to the walls and search for another opening. None appear.
Then, with the river turning again, I’m battered against the jagged rock, and my neck snaps back, smashing the back of my skull.
I feel my brain suddenly fog, and my eyesight begin to blur, just as the river starts to straighten back out.
And as it does, through my fading eyes, I see a light at the end of the tunnel. Soft and pale, it glows comfortingly, drawing me in. And as it nears, another sound comes, one I’ve grown to know well.
A waterfall.
With my mind covered in mist, I’m unable to do much but let myself be drawn on, speeding faster as I approach the precipice.
I blink hard, and my eyes clear, and through the end of the tunnel I see something I’ve never seen so close before.
Trees. Woodland. Rising hills in the distance.
I reach the end with a final breath, and to the edge of the waterfall I go. I see a flash below before I fall, see the lake spreading out in all directions, see the woods and marshes that litter the lands beyond.
I tumble. My body rocks and rolls. Thirty metres below, the swelling water awaits, rushing up to my eyes in an instant.
I shut them tight, and aim my feet down, and crash straight into the froth, disappearing into the silence beneath the surface once more.
I’m dragged several metres down, and summon my final ounces of strength to kick my way to the top.
I reach it and gasp, my body floating off away on the ripples, my mind struggling not to fade into darkness. The pool is calmer now, no longer rushing or surging, no current sucking me through the deadly tunnels.
I’m pushed straight to the side by the force of the tumbling water, and soon enough feel the alien touch of wet sand and thick mud beneath me.
I drag myself onto the shore, and look up into the moonlight, casting down its soft glow from above. Then I turn and look at the trees and marshes, and the toxic green mist that hovers several feet above its surface.
My faltering mind wanders, searching for answers.
The river must have dragged me beyond the city walls, right out of the southern quarter. I weakly look back at the waterfall, and upon the cave that just spat me out, hidden in the high rock wall.
Above it, another light glows. But not moonlight. Not pale and natural, but glowing a sickly yellow.
The High Tower, way off in the distance.
My body begins to wane, my mind fading. I reach down and feel for the gas mask around my neck, and slowly pull it up over my mouth and nose.
And as my head drops back into the mud, and the darkness closes in around my eyes, I fall to the blackness with a single thought.
I have to get back to the city.
I have to complete my mission…
The Enhanced will continue in Book Three…
What’s Next?
Firstly, thanks so much for getting this far! I hope you’re enjoying the ride!
Brie’s adventure is beginning to build up a head of steam, but there’s plenty more to go. Additional instalments will be released every few weeks until her journey runs its course. At this point, I’ve no firm idea as to how many that will be!
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Thanks for reading!
Toby C Edge