The shock of the freezing water was absolute. It felt as if a thousand needles had pierced Amara's skin, stealing the breath from her lungs before she could even scream. She sank, the heavy, numbing weight of the water dragging her deeper into the abyss of the mountain lake.
Everything was dark, silent, and suffocating. Her lungs burned with the primal need for air, but her body felt paralyzed by the cold. Just as the darkness began to close in, her hand, flailing blindly, brushed against something solid. A submerged root, jagged and icy, protrudes from the cliff face, hidden beneath the surface.
With a final, desperate surge of will, she clamped her fingers around it.
The current pulled at her legs, trying to suck her back into the deep, but she clawed at the rock, her nails tearing against the stone. Inch by agonizing inch, she pulled herself toward the shallows, gasping as her head finally broke the surface.
