Round 307

The chamber's rising waters claimed Merrin first, pulling her under even as she screamed Varikka's name one last time. The current swept her away from the relative safety of the ledge, dragging her deeper into the central expanse just as something massive broke the surface behind her—a tentacled horror emerging from the depths to pursue its prey.

She struggled against the current, fighting to stay afloat and conscious as hypothermia set in with terrifying speed. Her vision blurred, every muscle screaming as exhaustion and cold sapped her strength. Only luck and desperate clutching found a floating piece of debris—a chunk of collapsed stone or furniture—providing just enough buoyancy to keep her head above water even as her limbs lost coordination.

"Varikka!" she gasped between chattering teeth, voice barely audible over the rushing water and her own labored breathing. The cold was already winning, muscle control deteriorating, thought processes slowing to a crawl. She needed heat, solid ground, help—NOW—but consciousness was slipping fast.

The thing in the water was closing in; she could feel it now, a disturbance in the current that spoke of something huge and powerful cutting through the depths below her. A tentacle broke the surface mere feet away, questing blindly through the churning water before disappearing back into the depths. Merrin's grip on consciousness was slipping fast—one more minute like this and she wouldn't be able to fight anymore.

"Please," she whimpered, no longer even sure if sound was coming out as she clung to her makeshift floatation device with fading strength. "Somebody... help..."