Round 129

The water was cold, much colder than it had any right to be in an underground lake that should have been fed by geothermal springs. Merrin surfaced with a gasp, her teeth chattering almost immediately as she treaded water and tried to get her bearings. The cave around her was vast, the ceiling high above lost in darkness, and the walls glistened with bioluminescent fungi that cast an eerie greenish glow over everything.

At first, all she could see was the surface of the water, rippling with her movements. Then, something moved beneath her—something large—and a jolt of pure adrenaline shot through her system. She kicked hard, propelling herself away from whatever had stirred the depths, and began to swim towards the nearest shore with desperate strokes.

The water resistance felt unnaturally heavy, like swimming through thick syrup rather than liquid, but Merrin pushed on, driven by fear and the knowledge that she needed to get out of this water as quickly as possible. Her muscles burned, her lungs screamed for air, but she refused to stop until her feet finally found purchase on solid ground.

She dragged herself up onto the rocky shore, collapsing in a heap as she gasped for breath. The cold was already setting in, her clothes soaked through and clinging to her skin like ice. She had to move, had to get warm, but her body felt like lead and her teeth chattered so hard she could barely think.

After what felt like an eternity, Merrin managed to push herself back up into a sitting position. She looked around, trying to get her bearings in the gloomy light. The cave was massive, with multiple passages leading off into darkness. She could hear the distant sound of rushing water—probably the source of this lake—and the ominous groaning of stone as the tower continued its slow collapse above them.

But none of that mattered right now. What mattered was the figure floating face-down in the water just a few yards away. Merrin's stomach twisted with fear and dread as she recognized Seraphine's distinctive red hair splaying out in the water like blood. She had to get to her friend, had to check if she was still alive.

With a groan of effort, Merrin pushed herself back to her feet and staggered towards the water's edge. The cold air hit her skin like a physical blow, but she gritted her teeth and waded back into the frigid water. It closed over her head again as she dove under, the darkness pressing in from all sides.

She swam towards Seraphine with powerful strokes, her lungs burning for air. When she reached her friend, she wrapped an arm around Seraphine's torso and began to kick for the surface, hauling the unconscious woman alongside her.

Merrin broke through the surface gasping for air, her entire body screaming in protest at the cold. She managed to get them both back to shore, laying Seraphine down on the rocky ground beside her. Her friend was pale, her lips blue, and she wasn't breathing.

Merrin didn't hesitate. She began immediate CPR, compressing Seraphine's chest with rhythmic pushes while performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation between each set. The cold made her fingers numb, made it hard to feel if she was doing it right, but she refused to give up.

After what felt like an eternity, Seraphine coughed up water, gasping for air as she came back to consciousness. Merrin felt a wave of relief so powerful it nearly overwhelmed her—she had managed to save her friend's life. But their ordeal was far from over. The sounds of the collapsing tower grew louder and more insistent, and Merrin knew they needed to find higher ground fast if they wanted any chance of survival.

"Can you move?" she asked Seraphine, helping her friend to a sitting position. "We need to get out of here before this whole place comes down on top of us."