Chapter 98: Brush of Death
The guard watched the unconscious woman sink into the water, and then he picked up the empty gunny sack, hoisting it over his shoulder before departing from the scene.
Anastasia could feel her body being pulled towards the bottom, and the water stung her already wide-open eyes. She had taken a deep breath before falling into the water, granting her precious additional moments to free her legs.
She attempted to use the dagger to cut the ropes binding her legs, but in her effort, the dagger slipped from her grasp and sank deeper into the water. Not knowing what else to do, she mustered all her strength to force her legs apart before she succeeded, as most of the work of tearing the ropes had already been done.
Having never swum before, Anastasia had no clue what to do. She resorted to flailing her hands, which somehow propelled her upwards, allowing her head to emerge out of the water to take a deep breath. But she couldn’t keep herself afloat and continued splashing while desperately calling for help.
"HEL—P!" Anastasia coughed the water that had entered through her nose and mouth.
Adrenaline and panic coursed through her mind, and Anastasia fought to stay alive by continuously kicking her legs and paddling her hands, refusing to stop even for a moment, fully aware that she had to cling to hope for someone to notice her, or else she would be condemned to forever rest at the bottom of the sea.
But with every passing second, dread filled Anastasia at the thought that she would die here. Despite her desperate struggle to stay alive, exhaustion soon crept into her limbs, and her efforts faltered, causing her to be pulled back beneath the water’s surface while losing consciousness.
As one of the local women strolled along the water’s edge to reach the cleaner side of the sea, carrying a basket of clothes securely hoisted on her waist, she caught sight of a pair of hands sticking out of the water, only to swiftly disappear beneath the surface.
Startled, the woman dropped the basket on the ground and shouted for help,
"There’s someone drowning in the sea! Someone is drowning! Help, help!" She continued to shout until a group of people gathered, but all they could see was the sea undulating as it usually did.
"Where did you see the person drowning?? Are you sure you saw someone, and it wasn’t just some cloth drifting in the water?" a local man questioned, looking left and right as he wasn’t sure where to direct his attention.