Pain.

It was all I could feel.

Physically and emotionally.

The force of the water pushing against me was ripping at my skin, causing debris and dirt to scrape against me; a feeling of a thousand tiny needles all puncturing me at once. The bleak and bitter water sent my body into pure shock, my organs feeling like they were being slowly frozen to death.

I peered through the dirty water, accidentally inhaling a large gulp, causing me to flail in panic, the fear of drowning fully hitting me. I attempted to swim upwards, kicking as hard as I could, but the weight of the boulder holding me down was too much. With every move, my limbs came weaker and I could feel my muscles giving out on me, signalling me it was time to give up. My ears were ringing due to the pressure of the water and my head was pounding, causing me to panic.

Adrenaline rushed throughout my veins as I pulled at the rope secured around my ankle, but it was so thick and tightly tied, my shaking fingers couldn't get a good enough grip on it to pull it apart. With the frustration building, I slammed my fists against the boulder, yanking at the rope as hard as I could, but all that came of it was burns to my palms.

My lungs were screaming, the feeling of them shrivelling up inside me terrifying me, causing my heart to race. The water rushed past me, the only thing stopping me from getting dragged along being the huge boulder that was weighing me down.

My body was exhausted, and my vision was beginning to go even blurrier, even though the debris-filled water was already obstructing my sight.

Peering carefully in front of me, I noticed a hand, and after a few more seconds of trying to make out the shapes, I could see a human body about three meters in front of me.

Theo.

His body was still and at peace, floating through the water, angling towards the current. I couldn't tell if he was unconscious or had just given up, allowing the water to defeat him.

I flailed my limbs, trying to cause some movement in the water that Theo could see, but he didn't move. Fear struck through me, worried about the amount of water he was probably inhaling, knowing that he could possibly already be dead.

I frantically swam to the bottom of the river bank, again, banging on the large boulder in anger, but I knew it wouldn't help in any way. I ran my hands along the river bank, feeling for anything that could be of use, but all my hands could attain was dirt. I threw the dirt, yelling out under the water, creating a large amount of bubbles, but I continued to move and feel around, knowing that all kinds of things end up in rivers, and that I could find something to help me cut myself and Theo free.

My chest was burning and the searing pain was almost unbearable, but my adrenaline forced me to continue, egging me on.

I dove my hands deep down into the dirt until eventually I felt something, causing a tiny glimmer of hope deep within me to blossom. I pulled out the object, brushing it off quickly and peering through the murky water to see a piece of glass in my hands. My eyes lit up and I quickly grabbed the rope, hacking away at it.

I continued to saw at the rope, frustration building up inside me when nothing happened.

The glass was blunt.

I threw it against the boulder with force, grabbing onto my head and squeezing it in anger, finally giving up. I relaxed my body, closing my eyes and allowing myself to float within the water, refusing to put up a fight anymore.

There was nothing I could do. This was how I would die. Regret instantly washed over me, and I felt guilty for everything I had ever done. I never got to say goodbye to my parents. I was going to die and they would always remember me their daughter who didn't want anything to do with them anymore. They would never know how much I still loved them, no matter how upset with them I was.

Logan would have to find his drowned mate. I didn't want to imagine his face; the pain he would go through. He would blame himself, I knew he would. He would never know how much I needed him in my life and how thankful I was for him. He loved and accepted me for who I was, and he always stood by my side.

I opened my eyes, my brows furrowed, shaking my head. I wasn't going to let this happen. If I was going to die, I was going to die putting up a fight. I was going to fight until the end, because that is what someone who truly wanted to live would do. I swam back down towards the boulder, ignoring the protests from my muscles and chest, and started to feel around in the dirt again.

Eventually, my hands fumbled across a small metal object, and after bringing it closer to my eyes, I could see it was a bottle cap. I attempted to cut at the rope, moving my arm back and forth as quickly as I could in the freezing cold and forceful water. My limbs were screaming out at me, begging me to stop, but I ignored the numbness, pushing myself to go faster.

Finally, I gazed down at the rope, squinting my eyes, to see the rope had been split and was barely hanging on, so I tugged on it, pulling upwards with as much force as I could muster, and eventually, the rope snapped, setting me free. I flailed upwards, trying to reach the surface of the water, but the fast paced current of the river was dragging me along, sending me flying straight into Theo's lifeless body, causing the bottle cap to shoot out my hand.

I needed air. I could feel my head begin to tighten and it felt like it was being squeezed, slowly crushing it. I used Theo's body to stop myself from being dragged along with the current, and I swam upwards, holding onto his hand, keeping myself in position.

I gasped as I surfaced, the feeling of oxygen entering my lungs overwhelming me, causing me to cry out. I spluttered, water spewing out of my mouth and back into the river.

I was stuck in the middle of the river, too far away from either side, knowing the current would sweep me away and drag me back under water if I let go of Theo. I needed to get out so I could help him. There was no way he would survive any longer without air.

"Eliza!" I heard a soft voice call out, and my eyes widened as I yelled out for help, flailing my one free arm in order to create splashes in the river.

"Eliza!" the voice yelled out again and I screamed, choking on water as my legs began to give up on me.

I gazed up to see Rosalina's shocked face peering over the river bank, her eyes wide in shock. "Logan, she's over here!"

Rosalina disappeared for a bit, causing me to call out for her in desperation, but her face was soon replaced by Logan's as he looked down at me, his face a mask of pure fear. He dove in, frantically swimming over to me as he grabbed me, wrapping his arms around me, dragging me towards the river bank, and hauling me up to Rosalina.

I spluttered, attempting to speak, but no words would come out. Logan climbed out of the river, cupping my cheeks softly as I lay in the dirt panting heavily and trying to re-gain my composure.

"What the hell happened?" asked Logan frantically, shaking his head, his eyes assessing my entire body for any injuries.

"Where's Theo?" asked Rosalina, looking around in concern, biting on her nails.

I lifted a shaking finger, pointing down into the river bank. "He's-water."

Logan furrowed his brows, gazing down at me in concern.

"He's in the water Logan!" yelled Rosalina, covering her mouth in shock as her eyes welled up with tears, peering over to look down at the roaring river.

Logan's eyes widened and he quickly stood up, diving back into the water.

I pushed myself up onto my elbows, the searing pain in my chest turning into a dull ache as my body began to relax. Rosalina pushed my stringy wet hair away from my forehead, gazing down at me, her lip wobbling.

I turned my head to see Logan dragging Theo's lifeless body over the edge of the river bank, the boulder trailing across the ground along with him. Logan plopped him down, lightly tapping him on the cheek. "Theo, wake up man."

I shook my head, my eyes welling up with tears. "No."

"He's not breathing."

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I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Sorry I took a little longer to update this time!

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