BROKEN BONES • THE 100 [3]

PROLOGUE.

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BUBBLES SLIPPED from Erica Parker's lips, rising to the surface of the water she was submerged in. One by one, she watched as they floated upwards, each one disappearing into nothingness as it was inches away from freedom, inches away from escaping the cavernous waters.

The sun's rays broke through the surface, shining into the water. Erica's hair was glowing underwater, blonde strands illuminated by the shards of light.

Looking down, the Parker girl only saw abyssal darkness. Her heart skipped a beat, fearful of the unknown. After the moment of panic passed, she closed her eyes, focusing on the peaceful silence.

Maybe this was it, the moment she would finally find it. Peace, relief, serenity. All of the trials she had faced in her short life could be left behind, and she could finally find solace in empty nothingness. The thought was tempting.

The only sound filling her ears was the blood pumping through her veins, she began losing feeling in her fingertips. She held herself underwater until her lungs couldn't take it anymore, yearning for air like a beggar would yearn for food.

She refused to let herself rise, subjecting her lungs to more torture until she began losing consciousness. There was some enigmatic presence deep within her that wouldn't allow her to breathe. She wasn't sure why. Maybe she was punishing herself. Maybe she just had to come close to death in order to feel alive.

Erica swam upwards, her head finally rising above the water. She gasped loudly, feeling the sweet relief of oxygen filling her lungs again. She struggled to catch her breath, bringing her hands up to wipe her face. As she pulled her delicate hands away, she opened her pale blue eyes, her blood running cold at the scene before her.

The water she once swam in had disappeared, replaced with the crimson red blood of her victims. Erica screamed, urgently paddling towards the water's edge.

A hand emerged from the blood, covered in radiation-induced burns. More and more hands began to appear, grabbing onto Erica's clothing harshly. They pulled her downward, beneath the surface of the thick, hot liquid. Erica choked and sputtered as the blood began filling her throat. "Please! Let me go!"

As she was again nearing unconsciousness, Erica felt the grip on her loosen. She didn't think, she just began swimming towards the shore, going as quickly as she could until she felt the solid ground beneath her feet. Erica coughed loudly, reaching for any kind of weapon she could find on the bank. Quickly, she turned around, a large rock in hand, and the blood and hands had disappeared.