The door burst apart in a painful, splintering crash, the buckled, corroded metal breaking away beneath the rage of the pounding water. It swept in, dark and chill, the air filled with the harsh, acrid, metallic scent of rock and rust, the ground vibrating, the walls creaking, straining against the rising tide of water. The frigid water streamed about their ankles, splatting against twisted, broken rock, the darkness writhing, twisting around them in the dying, faltering beam of their dying flashlights.
Margo stepped back, her breathing ragged gasps, her heart pounding in her ears, her pulse battering her ribcage. Gabriel grasped her arm, his fingers digging into her, his breath burning her ear, his voice a gruff, insistent whisper. "We need to get out. Now."
The water accumulated quickly, splashing against their legs, the cold, biting liquid seeping into their clothing, the air thick, colder, the ground shaking under their feet. The ceiling above groaned, the huge, splintering sound echoing down the narrow, stone-lined passageway, the twisted metal girder curving, creaking, the splintered, cracked concrete giving way, mountains of wreckage showering down, splashing into the rising water, sending ripples through the dark, murky waters.
Gabriel's flashlight was dying, light vanishing, sputtering, shadows forming, reaching, air thick, crushing, the chill seeping into their bones, the blackness thicken, consuming their breaths, their screams. Margo's fingers clutched his arm, nails digging deep into his skin, heart thudding, missing beat under her ripped, bloody flesh.
The ceiling groaned once more, a splinting, crashing sound, twisted metal girders snapping, broken concrete spilling, breaking, the stones crashing, bashing into water, spaying cold spray upon their faces, their breath checked, their chests thudding, their thoughts reeling.
They were trapped. Water crept upwards, foamy around their belts, the air growing cold, the shadows spreading, the dark closing in, choking, engulfing their gasps, their screams.
High above, Sally stood against the splintered, crooked rail of her balcony, the middle cradled in her white, knobby hand, its twisted, pulsing surface emitting a sickly, unearthly light. She spun it savagely, her lips compressing into a wide, toothy smile, her eyes burning with a wild, untrammeled fire, the wind tearing through her hair, the air snapping, vibrating with a harsh, metallic drone.
"I want everyone to die!" she screamed, her voice echoing through the shattered streets, the twisted, crumbling rooftops, the broken, splintered windows. "Everyone! This is my payment for the sins you've committed against me!"
She writhed the core once more, her skeletal fingers stabbing into its curled, throbbing surface, the air around her thickening, freezing, the shadows creeping, thickening, the blackness crushing, smothering, engulfing the light. Thunder boomed, bitter, brutal explosions shattering the air, lightning flashing, crackling over the curled, rent sky, the ground shaking, the air ripping, the world itself creaking under her feet.
The water swept over, pouring through the broken, boulder-strewn channel, the icy, biting liquid rising fast, whirling around their waists, their breathing in shattering, terrified gasps, their hearts racing, their pulses accelerating. Gabriel grasped Margo's hand, his fingers closing over her spare, shivering fingers, his breathing in short, jerky gasps, his muscles taut, his heart a reeling, skipping beat against his ripped, blood-stained shirt.
They shoved the water, their bodies tense, their muscles taut, the cold, biting fluid seeping into their clothes, freezing them to the bone, the blackness closing in, choking, consuming their breaths, their screams.
The water foamed, rising up, whirling around their shoulders, their breathing in ragged, shallow gasps, their hearts pounding, their pulses racing, the air around them thickening, becoming colder, the shadows lengthening, thickening, the darkness closing in, choking, swallowing their breaths, their screams.
Gabriel's fingers clenched around Margo's hand, his heartbeat a mad, skipping beat, his breathing stuck in his throat, his thoughts reeling, his muscles stiffening, his heart pounding, his pulse crashing in his ears.
The water gushed forth fresh, a great, foamy wave breaking over them, sending them off balance, their legs kicking, their bodies struggling, the cold, foul fluid spouting into their lungs, their gasps in raw, strangled gasps, their hearts beating, their pulses racing.
Gabriel hit the splintered, rough trunk of a twisted, shattered tree, his body slamming into the rough, twisted bark, his breath freezing in his throat, his ribs breaking, his muscles twisting, his heart thudding, his pulse beating in his ears.
Margo's fingers slid from his, her spindly, shaking fingers sliding from his, wide eyes staring at him, her mouth frozen in a silent, anguished scream, her pulse a racing, missing beat against her ripped, bloodied skin.
She crashed into a splintered, twisted branch, the jagged, splintered wood piercing her side, her breath catching, eyes bulging, pulse slowing, heart pounding, head spinning, blackness closing over her, suffocating, devouring her screams.
The limb snapped, the knotted, fractured wood splintering, cracking, and away she went, her body contorting, thrashing, her gasps short and gagging, the cold, biting fluid filling her lungs, her pulse weakening, her heart pounding, her brain spinning.
Gabriel shrieked, his shriek ringing out through the gnarled, splintered wood, the shadows lengthening, growing heavy, the darkness shutting in, suffocating, engulfing his screams. He stretched out, his hands grasping, his heart a mad, frantic pound, his breath caught, his heart thudding, his head reeling, the air around him growing heavy, growing cold, the darkness shutting in, suffocating, engulfing his screams.
A blinding, barbaric streak of lightning lashed through the ripped, splintered sky, air tearing, earth shuddering, world screaming under his feet. He released, his muscles knotting, his lungs heaving in harsh, jagged breaths, his heart pounding, his pulse raging in his head, blackness clotting, strangling, sweeping his screams away.
He was swept away, the cold, biting fluid dragging him down, his arms and legs kicking, his gasps short, gagging breaths, his heart racing, his pulse thudding, his mind spinning, the blackness descending upon him, choking, swallowing his screams.
The river roared, crashing against the broken, twisted rocks, the air thickening, growing colder, the shadows growing long, thick, the blackness descending upon him, choking, swallowing his screams.
He rolled onto the rugged, steep slope of the Hill of Maranaqua, gagging for breath in sharp, strangling coughs, his muscles screaming with agony, his heart hammering, his pulse pounding in his ears, chill, stinging air battering at his flesh, the shadows closing, choking, swallowing his screams.
Villagers moved in upon him, their faces pale, their eyes wide, their breathing gasps, ragged, shallow, their pulses pounding, their hearts racing, their minds reeling, the blackness descending, suffocating, devouring their screams.
Gabriel stumbled on, his pulse decelerating, his breath caught, his heart thumping, his mind reeling, the blackness descending, suffocating, devouring his screams.
He fell.