Redemption (Midas x Reader)

• XVII •

🚨 Smut Warning
🚨 Trigger Warning: Attempted sexual assault, sexual violence

I was falling.

It felt like it was happening in slow motion. The helicopter receding above me, Rox's face watching me from the open door. I was weightless, free of emotion, as though I could just fall forever, floating away into oblivion.

My body was jolted as it slammed into the water. I didn't react, watching the light get further and further away as I sank below the surface, eyes burning from the salt.

This is so familiar.

I suddenly remembered my dream, and frantically started looking around me for the shark that wasn't there.

It turned out that getting eaten by a shark was the least of my worries. After the initial panic subsided, it occurred to me that I couldn't breathe, and I started madly clawing towards the light, kicking with my legs.

I'm going to drown out here.

I hadn't taken a breath before I'd gone under. My lungs were screaming for oxygen, begging me to inhale.

My face broke the surface the second I did. I was gasping, coughing, choking on the water that had splashed down my throat. I was having trouble keeping my head from going back under, flailing my limbs as I caught my breath.

I began to cry, further blurring my vision, as I swung my head around, trying to figure out which way the land was.

The helicopter was nowhere in sight.

I finally saw what looked to be some trees and small buildings far off in the distance, and started swimming in that direction.

My body moved robotically, and I was numb, not being able to tell if anything had been injured in the fall, completely in shock.

My God, it's too far. I'm not going to make it.

I rolled onto my back, trying to float as much as possible as my feet propelled me towards the shore. Thankfully the sea was calm, making it easier to keep my face above the surface.

Just when I thought that it was over, that I couldn't move another muscle, the top of my head slammed into something hard. The impact caused me to sink, swallowing a mouthful of water, and I resurfaced coughing it up.

I turned around to figure out what I had bumped into, seeing a small wooden dock jutting out from a dilapidated shack on the shoreline. I didn't have the strength to climb up, so I used my hands to inch along the edge until I could reach bottom.

I crawled onto the shore on hands and knees before collapsing in the mud. I'd made it.

I lay there gasping as sobs wracked my body.

It was over. Everything. I couldn't go back, even if what Rox said was a lie. That he was married. That he had a child.

She hadn't done this alone. The henchman who'd been flying had to have known her plans as well. God only knew how many other people wanted rid of me.

Had Tek known he was sending me to my death?

I was still alive now, but Shadow would find me eventually. Rox had said there was a base in the swamp, and I could see the factory from here. I was fucked.

I tried to compose myself enough to move. I had to hide. My arms and legs were shaking as I lifted myself to my feet, staggering. I quickly walked back into the water to wash off as much mud as I could, before making my way up to the shack.