Tigerswan chapter 12

Chapter Twelve: Drowning

I wasn't sure, at first, what woke me. My head felt sore and my thoughts were muddled. I sputtered as water entered my nose and I realized that was what woke me.

In a panic I searched for Bee and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw her sprawled on slightly higher ground where the water only licked at her legs. As I approached I could tell she was unconscious, but still breathing.

"Bee. Wake up." I turned her so I could see her head, the clotted blood in her hair was worrisome, but as she stirred and her eyes fluttered open I knew she'd be alright.

"Longshot?"

"I'm here."

"Where's Jet?" I looked around the room and spotted his body starting to float in the ever increasing water. Bee followed my gaze then closed her eyes, it was an unpleasant sight seeing him like that.

"Should we do something?" To my surprise she shook her head.

"It's more important that we get out. Jet wouldn't want us dying down here because we were trying to do something for his body. Once the water in here fills he'll sink anyway." It always amazed me how practical she could be when something needed to be done, especially in regards to death. I didn't think I'd be able to take everything so calmly if it weren't for her.

I looked around the room, the question clearly on my face.

"I don't know how we'll get out either," Bee sighed. The water was rising quickly, I supposed the Dai Li must have done something to hide the evidence of what they'd done and were flooding it. "Longshot," Bee said suddenly. "Look at the water." I obeyed, but couldn't see what she meant. All I saw was water flowing and getting gradually deeper.

Wait, flowing? I looked at her and she nodded.

"That's right. We follow where the water is coming from and we can find where the exit is." We walked against the current, the water getting deeper and deeper. It was already at Bee's waist and the further we walked the faster the water rose.

We finally reached the end of the tunnel only to find it had been blocked off, the water pouring through a few tiny cracks. The green light crystals cast an eerie glow around us as I slammed my shoulder against the wall. The cracks spread a little, which gave me hope, but at the same time more water poured in.

I kept at it, repeatedly slamming against the rocks, trying to get free. I don't know how long I was doing it for when I guess I hit one time too many and I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder.

"Longshot! Are you okay?" I nodded and Bee continued where I had left off, she yanked off her gloves and gave them to me. Instead of hitting the rock as I had been doing she alternated between breaking away apart of the rock with her dagger and clawing out the loose pieces with her hands.

A hole was made, but it wasn't big enough for us to fit through and it only helped the water pour in faster.

"Bee, stop. Stop," I said, laying my good arm around her shoulder. "It's no use. We won't be able to break through." The water was already at our shoulders and I knew she was already treading water.

"We never should have left the forest," Bee began to cry, burying her face into my shoulder. "We should have convinced Jet to stay." She looked at me, the water was deep enough that even my feet no longer touched the bottom. "I'm so sorry Longshot."

"Zhuang."

"What?" she hiccuped.

"Call me Zhuang. If we're going to die down here, I want to die as me." She nodded and threw her arms around me, hugging me tight as the little space we had left to breathe vanished. With my last breath of air I decided to tell her. I didn't want to regret keeping it to myself. "I love you Hachi."

I could see surprise in her eyes and a spark of determination as the water finally rose above our heads. The glow of the light crystals kept our surroundings lit, so I was able to see her as she clawed at the hole desperately once more and I helped as best as I could.

My lungs were burning, and I was beginning to get disoriented. If it weren't for Hachi I wouldn't be able to tell which way was up or down. My head felt hot and I began to panic; we weren't going to make it. We were really going to die down here. I was scared. More scared than I had ever been in my entire life.

Instinctually I took a breath and began choking on the water. The edges of my vision began to darken and the last thing I saw was Hachi grabbing my shirt, then the world went dark.

*****

I heaved up so much water I was half surprised there was any left in the lake. My throat felt raw and even laying in the sun, my water logged clothes kept me cold. I sat up slowly, trying to fill in the blanks.

"Longshot? Longshot you're okay!" I saw Bee for a split second before she threw herself at me, knocking me back down.

"Bee," I sighed. My voice sounded rough and unfamiliar even to me. She pulled back and I looked her over. On one cheek her paint was running, while the other still had Jet's smudge. Her hair was wet and bedraggled. I met her hazel eyes and noticed that her black eye liner was running too, making her look like a racoon dog. To me, she was still perfect.

Relief poured through me, warming my body like a cup of tea. I leaned forward and pressed my lips to hers. Her lips were chapped and she tasted like lake water, but I didn't mind.

What I minded was that she didn't kiss me back. I pulled away, feeling like an idiot. Why had I done that? After what had just happened this was not the time. What if I ruined everything?

She looked away and stood up, holding out one of her hands. As I took it and pulled myself up I noticed her nails were broken and bloody while the skin on her fingers was torn, looking raw and painful.

"Let's go home. We need to check out your shoulder." She picked up my bow and quiver, she'd somehow managed to save them along with Jet's swords, and we made the walk home in silence.

Some people looked our way, but most ignored us as we walked through the streets.

Hachi, Bee, I didn't know what to call her anymore; she was quiet the whole time. I understood. She needed to think. I dropped two big things in her lap on top of her coping with Jet's death.

She checked my shoulder and pronounced it bruised and possibly a cracked bone, but I'd live. After she had changed into her sleeping clothes I washed the blood from her hands and bandaged them with herbs.

Then we made tea and we went to bed. We shared Jet's bed, like we had been doing the past few days, and she cuddled up to me, her back to the wall. I let her use my good arm as a pillow, the last thing I remember before falling asleep was her big eyes, pouring into me; seeking truth and comfort.