Round 77

Seraphine's fingers close around the rope just as Jeane finishes her countdown, her face set in a grim mask of determination. THREE! She yells, and together they leap backward, away from the crumbling edge. The world seems to slow as gravity takes hold—the wind whips past them, the sound of rushing water fills their ears, and for one heart-stopping moment, they’re suspended between life and death. Then impact—their bodies hit the lower ledge hard, a jolt that steals their breath. They tumble down the rough stone surface in a tangle of limbs before coming to a stop against a jutting outcropping. Seraphine gasps for air, her body screaming protests from every angle. She looks up at Jeane beside her—her friend’s face is pale but alive, crimson eyes blazing with defiance despite the blood trickling from a cut on her forehead. "That," Jeane pants between heaving breaths, "was either incredibly stupid or amazingly clever." Seraphine manages a shaky laugh. "I haven’t decided which yet."

They both look back up at the collapsing ledge above—chunks of stone continue to rain down into the churning waters below, obscuring their view of the creature. For now, they’re alive. But they’re also trapped on a precarious outcropping with no clear escape route and a monster hunting them. "Well," Seraphine says, her voice barely carrying over the rumble of collapsing rock, "at least we won’t die from falling into that damn river." Jeane meets her gaze, a slow, sharp smile spreading across her face despite the blood still trickling down her temple. "Oh, we’re not dying here, Seraphine. Not like this."