The Jade City

Chapter 19: Return to the Surface

Harumi's POV

The murky waters swished around me. It was funny, knowing that I was pretty much soaking wet, even though I felt dry. How this was possible, I didn't know. What I did know, however, was that I needed to get out of there.

If there was any way to get my hands free... I once heard about a guy who could make his hands smaller than his wrists so he could escape any sort of hand confinements. But even if I figured it out, I still wouldn't know how to get rid of the ring around my neck cutting into my lower jaw. At least there was some sort of buoyancy in the water. If this had been someplace else, gravity would be pulling me down even harder, and then the ring would be drawing blood. Sometimes I would try and push myself up to gulp air in a more comfortable way, but every time I ended up making my jaw sorer. After a while it got numb. I just had to breathe in a very inconvenient way.

Due to the ring around my neck, I couldn't look down at my hands. My fingers ran along the cool stone to which I was currently pinned against. I felt something slimy. Looking around at the other rocks, which had green stuff all over them, I guessed that it was algae. I would've slapped myself on the forehead if I could. This wasn't a time for worthless thoughts. Escaping was my number one priority.

I straightened my fingers and brought the tips together to meet in the center, trying to keep the circumference of my knuckles as small as I could, so much that they started to ache from the strain. Then, bringing it up to the metal ring, I tried pulling it through, only to find my hand still stuck. No matter what I tried, it remained stubbornly where I didn't want it. I gnashed my teeth and shut my eyes tightly, bracing myself for what was going to come next. Once I was ready, with my hand almost unable to hold the position any longer, I yanked.

A searing pain shot up my arm from where the metal scraped my knuckles. I raised my hand up to eye level and could see blood coming from the bumps. The initial pain had gone, leaving a throbbing sting in the wound. It was fine, actually, and at least saltwater was apparently good for wounds. Even though it hurt.

I did the same thing with my other hand, and by the time the blood had cleaned, all I saw was a raw mess. Dead skin hung limply around my pale knuckles, and for a second I thought I saw white bone underneath. But all of these were only minor injuries, especially compared to... Kai. I thought of him, feeling squeamish. And Nya... her sufferings really put my current situation into perspective.

So, ignoring the fresh pain in my hands, I reached up to my neck, my fingers clasping the metal ring. It was such a stupid idea, but if there was even the slimmest chance of freeing myself this way, it was worth a try. Then, just as I was about to pull, I froze. I pictured myself pulling out the ring, then falling forward, only to hear my ankles crack. Which meant I needed to free my feet first. The head would have to come last, because the force of the hands pulling on the ring would make my body fall forward, and since my feet were secured, my ankles would... the thought was too gruesome to imagine. Luckily I wasn't stupid.

Maybe I could free my feet the same way I freed my hands. I bent my toes down and pulled my knees upward. As I had expected, my ankle got stuck. but brute force would free them. So I yanked, as I did with my hands. Same sensation, same pain. Whatever. My feet were also free, even if the ankles were scratched pretty badly, from what I felt. A bit worse than my knuckle injuries, but that was fine. Now came the hard part: the head.

My fingers grasped the ring, and I brought my feet up against the wall. Pull, Harumi, pull, I repeated in my head. Gritting my teeth, with my hands and ankles still stinging, I lurched forward and pulled with all my might, at the same time pushing myself with my feet.

It didn't work. The ring remained where it was, and the only remnant of this dumb trial was a bruise on my neck.

After many unsuccessful tries (I was careful to not slam my neck into the metal), I didn't know what else to do. Of course the metal ring was firmly attached to the stone. No amount of energy I put into it could break the bond. My limbs hung at my sides. The ring was literally biting into my lower jaw. Then I froze.