Round 329

The water hit them like a physical blow, icy and relentless. Merrin gasped as her boots filled with liquid, the cold seeping through her leathers in seconds. She stumbled backward instinctively, her injured ankle screaming protest but holding for now. Across the rapidly flooding chamber, Varikka was trapped beneath a massive stone slab, her face contorted in pain as she tried to shift the weight off herself.

"Fuck!" Merrin spat, scanning the room desperately. "There's gotta be an up route somewhere!" Her eyes landed on it - a narrow ledge running along the far wall, just above the waterline. It was a long shot, but it was something. She pointed frantically. "There! Move your asses!" The adrenaline surge masked some of the pain for now, but she knew it wouldn't last. Every second counted - Varikka needed to get clear before that thing reached her, and Merrin wasn't about to let her friend die down here alone.

She started forward, limping heavily but determined. "Stay close!" Merrin called back over the roar of water filling the chamber. "We stick together through this shit!" The cold water swirled around...