4.6 | Dark Ages ✓

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– 3 0 : 0 0

IN THE DARK, he hears someone gasping for help.

It's not him.

That there is someone out there—someone who might be drowning, just like him—sends him thrashing through the water's surface again. Overhead, the moonlight illuminates the bobbing head of a person—woman?—clinging onto a branch attached to a tiny hedge by the riverbed.

"Help!" she screams.

He grits his teeth and surges towards her. His legs kick out in tandem, fighting against the tide, and he slowly closes the gap between them. He almost chokes several times as the water sweeps over his head, dragging him down, but he manages to grab the branch. She shrieks when she sees him, and he hastily snatches her arm.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," he tells her. "I've got you."

She collapses in a fit of sobs. "Save me, please! I have a baby, I need to keep her—"

"I've got you both. Now give me your hand."

She gives it and he draws her towards the hedge. Once she's got a firm enough hold, he pushes her up on the riverbed. His legs scream with the effort of keeping them both afloat, but he doesn't stop until he can see the lower half of her body safely on land. The moonlight reflects the swell of her belly and she curves a protective arm around it as soon as she's caught her balance.

"Thank you," she sobs, almost hysterical with relief. "Thank you!"

"It's fine." He tries to reach for the bank, but he's dragged under the currents. "Help me!"

Quickly, she scrambles up and grasps the hedge with one hand, reaching for him with the other. He flings out an arm towards the lifeline that she's offering. But the branch snaps, and he lets out a sharp yell as the currents drag him down.

Amidst the gushing water, he hears it once more—tick, tick, tick.

The last thing he sees is the horror on the woman's face that reflects his own as he's swept under the waters again.