Beyond The Fangs

Chapter 26

IZEL

I felt an intense tightening in my chest. My pulse slowed, the lack of air shutting my body down. I felt myself giving up, felt myself falling to the depths of the insatiable substance called water. But then I saw a figure being dragged just as I was.

Jaeger.

He wasn't moving, he wasn't trying to fight the water like I had been. His eyes were closed and his body seemed limp. His mouth was open, but there were no bubbles forming.

Had he given up? Was he dead?

A newfound determination surged through me. I couldn't give up. I couldn't give him what he wanted. I couldn't die. I used all the energy I could conjure—directing most of it to my legs because my arms weren't much good tied up—and fought the water one last time.

And it worked.

I broke the surface and drew in a deep, greedy breath. The taste of air refuelled my whole body, and I felt each organ regaining strength. 

I was still at the mercy of the furious, raging water as it tried to consume me. It was relentless. But rather than trying to swim to safety, I found myself plunging into the water, reaching down and trying to feel for Jaeger.

Was I seriously trying to save him after what he had done?

No.

I just wanted to make sure he was dead, and if he wasn't, I was going to kill him myself. Yes, that was the reason.

I finally felt his form and managed to grab onto a handful of his shirt before hauling him to the surface with me. He didn't gasp like I had but remained still, quiet, lifeless.

He wasn't breathing.

Something constricted in my chest, but I didn't focus on that feeling, not when the water was still tossing us around, the sound of its chant getting louder and louder by the second. It was leading us somewhere, pulling us somewhere. I looked around, searching for where the source was and then I saw it.

A sudden drop.

A waterfall.

My heart stopped. 

I wouldn't be able to fight the current, at least not when I was holding onto Jaeger.

Should I just let him go?

If there were no rocks at the bottom, I could survive and break the surface again, but Jaeger couldn't. He was already a goner, but maybe I could survive this. He brought this on himself, after all. I wouldn't be able to hold onto him even if I managed to survive the drop.

He tried to kill me, so I should just leave him to die.

We neared the deathly drop and I made my decision just before we fell.