Round 299

The stone passage groaned ominously around them as water surged through the chamber. Merrin clung to the pipe above the torrent, metal slick beneath her fingers. The water lapped at her chin, cold and relentless.

"Varikka!" she screamed, desperation cracking her voice. "Answer me! Are you hurt? What happened after I fell?" Silence answered her for a suffocating moment, broken only by rushing water and distant groans of shifting stone. Then Varikka's reply came, barely audible: "I'm okay—mostly." The words ended in a gurgle as something splashed below.

"Varikka!" Merrin screamed again, imagining her friend trapped beneath the surface. She tried to lean over the edge but the water surged, forcing her back against the pipe. Each second brought the structure closer to collapse, but she couldn't move—not with Varikka still trapped and unseen horrors possibly lurking below.

The water surged again, cold and relentless, as Merrin fought to maintain her grip on the slippery metal. The chill seeped into her bones, exhaustion weighing heavy on her limbs. She could feel herself slipping, inch by terrifying inch, as the torrent below called to her like a dark promise of oblivion.

She was trapped above a deadly pit, unable to see what was happening, knowing only that she had to find a way down or find a way to help her friend before it was too late.