Chapter 24 Exhaustion
>>Clio
The rain had turned the canal water into a turbulent frenzy
The current tugged at me as I swam, my strokes driven by a desperate need to put distance between the guy after me and myself. I could hear his movements behind me, the splashes growing louder as he closed the gap making my heart almost jump out of my throat. He lunged towards me, his fingers reached out, and for a heart-stopping moment, it seemed like he might succeed. His grip closed around the fabric of my torn clothes, and a surge of panic shot through me.
The rain battered against my face, mingling with the canal water, and my hair clung to my skin like a wet shroud. My lungs burned as I struggled and twisted my body to move away in the water. The momentum of the canal propelled me away from him while also drowning me and it was a struggle to stay afloat and get away as well.
I pushed myself to the brink to get away from him but he moved to grab me again. Inside the water, where it felt like there was another storm, I felt something sharp get entangled with my hair, and my head got pulled back.
The sharp jolt that pulled me backward caused me to open my mouth and all the air got released out of my lungs
NO! SHIT!!
NO!!!
I began to panic and flailed my arms and legs to get to the surface. My eyes were focused on the surface and I swam up, not realizing that whatever was pulling my hair was gone and I broke the water surface, gasping for air.
The canal water was out of control and it kept drifting my body away.
I let out deep breaths as I struggled to keep myself afloat while the waves moved me away. I kept thinking I would drown because I was at my limit, I was constantly being thrown underwater and I didn’t even realize where the other party was.
It wasn’t until I was thrown near the edge did I look around and noticed I was alone in the water.
Huh!?!?
I gasped as I looked around while the rain blurred my vision.
Where did Matthew go?! I wiped my face with my hands to clear my vision a little, then shot my head around as I kept my legs and arms moving in the water but I couldn’t find him.
My eyes were wide open the whole time and once I made sure by looking around that I couldn’t see him anywhere I relaxed a little.
OH! FINALLY!!
I turned my head towards the edge.
Finally!!!!
I need to get out of here before I actually drown. My fingers gripped the stone ledge as I pulled myself out of the water, my clothes heavy and clinging to my skin. As I scrambled to my feet, a mixture of fear and anxiety coursed through me and I threw myself on the dry land, feeling myself get heavy for a moment, then get lighter.
“Oh My God…” I whispered as I found myself unable to move, “Oh My God…” I gulped and then licked my lips, “Oh My God…”
I thought I was done for. I thought I was a goner. First at the club, then during the chase, on the stairs, and finally I was sure I’d be dead in the water, if not caught my Matthew.
I lay face up on the grass on the sides of the canal as I stared directly at the clouds pouring rain.
GOD… How did I survive this?! How…? I was sure I was dead today… I reached out my fingers towards my neck as I recalled how Zhou-Lin had tried to choke.
I thought it was my last day today…
The rain kept coming down and I turned my head to look at the water again out of anxiety but didn’t see anyone, just the water waves dancing, which temporarily made me relax, close my eyes, and take a deep breath.
I felt light
…
A little too light,
I shot my eyes open and brought my hand to my right breast which felt empty. My eyes grew wide out of fear.
Oh no…
My silicon pad was gone. I shot my head around to look for it in fear as if I was going to find it there while my other hand moved to my head.
…
My heart trembled at the realization that my wig was gone as well.
Oh shit…
My pupils shook in horror and my palpitating heart shivered in horror. I had no idea where and when I lost these things but the worst part was that the uncertainty made it all the more terrifying.
>>Matthew
The cold water embraced me as I hit its surface. Her figure was just ahead, a fleeting target that seemed just out of reach but I swam towards her to get a hold of her even though the weather was against me.
My focus was laser-sharp, and not being human helped me a lot in getting to her but we got entangled in a tussle under the water. She seemed desperate to not get caught and I was desperate to catch her, so I took my claws out and extended my hands to her which got caught in her hair.
That's when the tides tried to rip us apart but I had no plans of giving up. I had to catch her! I had to look at her face! I had to grab her and get my answers!! But as I swam towards her again, a sudden movement caught my eye – a flash of movement beneath the water, right around me. Before I could react, a snake's fangs sank into my arm, sending a jolt of searing pain through me.
!!!???
The reptile came out of nowhere but snakes in water are not unheard of, especially during heavy rains.
Instinct took over, and I thrashed in the water, trying to shake off the serpent's grip while the waves drove me to another direction. Usually, something like this would be a child’s play for me. But today, not only was I distracted, I was also in stormy waters as I fought to break free from a very persistent vertebrate.
With a violent jerk, I managed to dislodge the snake, and it slithered away into the depths of the water
The pain in my arm throbbed, and I clung to the edge of the canal where the waves had thrown me, my breathing rough while I looked around for Cherelle.
Everywhere I looked, there was no sign of a person and I realized with a sinking feeling that I had lost sight of her.
“Dammit…” I whispered.
She had managed to slip away during the chaos of the snake attack, and I was left standing in the water, frustrated.
“Shit…” I gritted my fists as I stepped foot on the grassy area and that’s when I realized I had something in my hand.
I raised my fist to look at the thing in my hand while the water sloshed down my clothes onto the grass.
I frowned and raised my right eyebrow.
“A wig?”
I stared at it and kept staring at it.
…
Then looked away with a sarcastic smirk and let out a scoff.
>>Zhou-Lin
I led the blood stream down my nose as I sat on the wet cobblestone stairs staring at the thick silicon in my hand. My other hand was supporting my face while I rested my face in my palm with a slight smile on my face.
How amusing.
I let out a soft chuckle.
“Someone has gone to great lengths to change their entire appearance.” I licked my lips and tasted the rain water. Thunder rumbled in the sky while the rain showed no sign of letting up.
I wiped the blood away with the side of my hand and stood up.
“Makes me wonder,” I started ascending the stairs, “How much did ‘she’ change herself?”
>>Clio
I changed my clothes in the public bathroom which was a huge challenge since every muscle in my body seemed to be protesting and it started from the point I staggered away from the canal. I found myself near collapsing but somehow made it out of the bathroom and started walking towards the apartment.
It was hard,
Very hard.
I had to lean against a nearby wall since my chest was heaving, my limbs trembling from the exhaustion and I was feeling it more since all the adrenaline was dying out now. Every step burned and I knew I had outperformed my body.
“Oh God…”
My vision swayed as the world spun around me, and I clung to the edge of consciousness. Waves of dizziness washed over me and only God knows how I stood up again and kept walking.
As I dragged my worn out body towards my apartment, I heard someone running in the rain in the lonesome streets of the city but I couldn’t even see properly as the kid ran past me but somehow that figure looked familiar
Rameen?