I'm drowning.
The cold water clutches me, squeezing the last remnants of warmth and strength from my body. My legs, stiff and unyielding, refuse to hold me upright any longer. Every attempt to shift sends a jagged bolt of pain up my back, the ache radiating through my frozen limbs.
Maybe it's better to let go, I think, the black, icy water and suffocating darkness whispering a grim lullaby. Maybe it's better to stop fighting, to let the agony end. I wasn't supposed to survive anyway-so what difference does it make if I die here and now?
The thought brings an eerie sense of calm. My body slackens, the tension bleeding away. My legs finally give out, and I slip beneath the surface.
The icy water rushes over me, a merciless embrace that feels both like a torment and a release. For a fleet
