[ COMPLETED ]
German Translations Provided By @vanessanats
BOOK 1 of the ORPHIC series
ZEITGEIST
/ˈtsītˌɡīst,ˈzītˌɡīst/
the defining spirit or mood of a particular period of history as shown by the ideas and beliefs of the time.
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"To shut down the ability to feel pain means you shut down all emotions, joy included. It really keeps us no safer."
Alps, Austria February, 1945
WHEN SHE FELL, SHE didn't turn her head back to see Steve's reaction- he would've already been too small for her to see his expression. If Lucy was recalling correctly, she hadn't dropped from a height as high as the mountainside but Dr. Schaffer had asked her to step off a cliff once, years ago, and she'd survived. So she could only hope she could find James where he fell and-
Lucy swallowed thickly as she caught sight of the rushing river beneath her. She shuddered and mentally prepared herself as she penciled into the bone-chilling water that was more ice than not.
She felt several bones snap and opened her mouth in a silent scream as rushing water dragged her across the riverbed. Her breath grew uncontrollable and sharp as her skin cooled at a shocking pace.
She'd experienced it so many times she didn't panic from her body panicking as she forced herself to swim upwards. If she couldn't there'd be a punishment waiting for her and-
This was a river that'd taken James to who knows where- she needed to find him before worrying about anything else. The river current continued to drag her further across and she promptly ignored the agonizing pain ripping through her body as she forced herself to swim alongside it.
If James hit the water and didn't immediately die- which she had a feeling he didn't- then he'd most likely follow the current as well, until it came to an end.
Lucy kicked with what she presumed was a broken ankle as pain seared across her skin. She pushed slightly higher out of the water to catch sight of any nearest land mass connected to the river.
There wasn't anything directly in front of her but there was a thicket of trees to the side as the two mountains split apart. If she got to it she might miss James flowing through and-
And the water was getting shallower, she realized, as her calves scraped against painfully sharp rocks that tore her pants. She bit down hard on the inside of her cheek as white hot fiery daggers plunged into her legs whilst she tried to walk across the area.
The current was strong, but Lucy could wade through it with her adrenaline rush. However, the feeling was slowly fading and she knew she would start to really notice the cold. It would hit her- that she was soaked head to toe in the middle of Winter at the center of an ice-cold river, somehow not frozen. She worked her way towards the center of the river, water coming right to her thighs as she waded closer towards a drop in the land. It was terrifying to feel the current grabbing at her feet, threatening to drag her under and drown her until she died.
