Icy River

Elaine sat in the bushes on the riverbank, looking up and down the river for a place which she may be able to cross. Unfortunately, she had no way to get across without getting noticed by Mrs. Verlin, who was stalking around the bridge.

The only option then was to travel far downstream and then find a place to cross. However, Elaine felt that her legs would give out at any moment.

"First, I should clean up my legs…" Elaine looked down at the filthy and still damp bandages on her legs and knew that she needed to remove them as soon as possible.

Fortunately, she was hidden behind a bush that hung over the water slightly, allowing her to wash herself on the banks. Slowly, she peeled off the dirty bandages and looked at the red and inflamed wounds which lined her calves with a pained expression.

After washing them off in the chilly river water, she pulled out her last roll of bandages and wrapped her legs again before testing her strength.

"It's better, but I don't know how far I can make it…" Elaine's legs didn't feel as if they were rubbing against sandpaper as they did before, but she still hadn't eaten in over a day, and her legs trembled with some strain.

Looking back through the bush, she saw Mrs. Verlin still pacing, showing no signs of moving. Gritting her teeth, Elaine turn back and began to trek in the other direction, moving back into the forest to avoid getting spotted.

"They should be a spot soon, even if I have to wade, I just need to get across." Elaine walked for about 5 minutes before her legs started to tremble too badly to continue.

She had to take a seat on a fallen tree, otherwise, her legs would give out. Looking back down the river, she hadn't made it very far, but the bridge was a distance away, and she couldn't even see Mrs. Verlin from where she was.

"I should be safe after a few more minutes of walking… I just need to find a shallow place to wade across." Elaine's stomach was growling painfully, reminding her of how long it had been since she had last eaten.

After around 10 minutes of rest, she stood back up and felt that her legs had recovered somewhat. Continuing her trek, she came across a part of the river which had a shallow line of stone that led across. At this point, she was far enough away from the bridge that it only seemed to be a distant reflection on the river.

"This will work… but that last part will be difficult." Elaine was looking at a spot about halfway across the river and frowned. It was a gap in the rocks about 2 meters across. "It's fine, I won't be able to make it to another spot before the night comes, at this rate."

Stepping into the icy rushing waters, Elaine felt a sharp chill invade her legs. She was slightly grateful for the bandages and boots she wore, which provided a minuscule degree of warmth, but her feet were still rapidly going numb.

By the time she was a quarter of the way across the river, she felt as though her legs were filled with needles, but she still continued forwards. "Come on… I can make it across, I just need to make it across…"

However, Elaine found that her legs simply wouldn't support her much longer. The icy water soaked into her skin, and by the time she reached the break in the shallow water, she knew that she no longer had the strength or ability to jump across. That warm feeling which had flooded her body before, filling her with determination, was now only a distant thought.

"I… I can't make it. I've gotta go back…" Elaine was shivering by this point. Everything below her knees had gone numb, and the constant splashes of icy water weren't making her upper body any warmer.

Her confidence had crumbled as she looked out at that 2-meter gap. It felt daunting and hurriedly, she turned around, hoping to return to the shore and reunite her legs with warmth. Unfortunately, it was already too late. The rocks which were subject to the flowing river water had long since grown to be incredibly smooth, and they were slick with algae and other plants.

Elaine had been careful before, but her shivering self was now desperate, and she made a misstep, her back leg slipping off the rock she had braced on.

"Ah! Help!" Elaine managed a cry before she slipped into the water, becoming submerged in the icy water. She felt like she had the wind knocked out of her as her vision blacked for a moment. The horribly cold water shocked her badly, and she forgot to try to swim, or even breathe.

After a moment of shock, Elaine began to splash around, panicked. Her body was weak with hunger, and the cold made it harder and harder to keep her head above water. She was rushed down the river, feeling the rocks clip her legs. Some of them weren't yet smooth, and they scraped her calves painfully.

"Someone! Please! I can't breathe! Please, help me!" Elaine's voice cried out every time she could get a gulp of air. She didn't know how far down the river she had been dragged, but she only hoped that someone was nearby who could help her.

However, the chances of that were simply too unlikely. Elaine struggled as much as she could, but eventually, her limbs lost to the icy chill and weakness. She was only barely keeping her head above the rushing water by bouncing off the rocks on the bottom of the river, which occasionally reached up to give her a moment of air.

Her vision was dimming quickly, along with the feeling in her extremities. "Ah… I was so close…" Elaine muttered in her heart. She felt intense bitterness, she really had been so close. If it weren't for the abuse which had made her so weak, she might have been able to make it.

Now, though, she couldn't even take a breath of air as she felt the icy water flow over her. Her body sunk into the churning river, and she felt resigned to die at that moment.

'Well… I guess this isn't so bad… I can't feel any pain right now, anyways. Though, this cold really is uncomfortable.' Elaine's thoughts were dim, but they were suddenly interrupted.

From above her, a firm hand reached down, gripping her wrist tightly. Elaine couldn't feel the touch on her skin but could feel the pressure on her bones. The hand was still warm, despite being submerged in the icy river, and it brought back the slightest bit of sensation to her arm. Strangely, the hand seemed to produce the same warm feeling she had felt earlier, the currents of energy flooding her body ever so gently.

Then, she felt her body stop being dragged by the current, and be pulled to the surface.

"Cough! Cough! Blergh!" Elaine felt her face emerge from the water and immediately, she tried to gasp in a mouthful of air. However, she started coughing up the water which had made its way into her lungs. It was a wretched, lung-shaking cough, and she vomited the excess water and bile in her stomach while coughing.

"It's alright, I've got you. Just calm down and breathe." A calm voice reassured her, but Elaine didn't really care about his words. She couldn't even lift her head to look at who had spoken, she just felt her body being pulled by a strong arm through the water.

Eventually, she felt herself being lifted from the water entirely, finally being rescued from that icy river.

However, Elaine no longer had any strength to stay conscious. Although she wanted to get a look at who had pulled her from the river, she already felt her eyes closing, and before she knew it, the darkness consumed her.