Round 351

The chamber rumbled around them, a low growl that seemed to come from the stone itself. Merrin pressed her back against the wall, her injured ankle screaming with each tiny movement. The sound of rushing water grew louder, a hungry roar echoing through the corridor. Varikka yanked her scarred hand free from the last crumbling edge and stumbled into the passage beside Merrin. Her wrist burned where the rope had chafed raw, but she ignored it.

"Move," she snarled, shoving Merrin deeper into the tunnel with surprising strength for such a short woman. "That ledge isn't going to hold much longer." The stone floor beneath their feet trembled ominously as they retreated further from the collapsing edge. Merrin's ankle gave out completely halfway down the corridor, sending her crashing to her knees on the slick rock. She bit back a scream as pain shot up her leg—a jagged piece of masonry had sliced open her calf when she fell.

"Shit!" Varikka hissed, dropping beside Merrin and grabbing her shoulder. "Can you walk?" The water rushing somewhere nearby grew louder still, the sound now a roar that filled the narrow passage. Merrin gritted her teeth, fighting back tears of pain and frustration. "Not... not without help," she managed, her voice trembling. "The floor's too slick."