Page 47 of Hush, Hush

I need air. I need air.

Keegan, I think. He saved me last time.

My hand breaks the surface, and I propel myself upward in relief. I’m able to gasp a single, painful breath until I’m pushed under once more.

Fingertips dig into my scalp, and I scream, releasing all the air I just took in. Another force pushes me down further and further. My mouth opens to yell again. Bubbles release instead, and when there’s no more air, I end up choking on water.

Pure hysterics take over. No matter how hard I try, I can’t reach the surface. My hair tangles around me like shadowy spiderwebs.

Voices rise up. Shouts. Alarm.

I have a fleeting thought of hope, but no one comes. Not even Keegan, my savior. My love.

The edges of my vision turn dark, creeping inward little by little as my lungs ache for air. Stars dot my vision, and in the midst of them, I spy Keegan, covered in a mist-like dream. He stands at the end of the dock, frowning down at me.

In the next second, he’s gone. My vision narrows further, tiny needles of river water freeze my skin, making my lungs seize up.

It’s as if I can feel life slowly draining from me.

My movements become slow, labored. In the last few seconds of consciousness, I spy my limbs floating at my sides, and I’m unable to make them move anymore.

Blinding pain, and a moment of innate calmness, passes before there’s nothing more.

Nothing.

I’m dust in the wind. Or a lifeless vessel drifting with the river current.

I. Am. Gone.

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