I'd like to say that I follow up my heroics on the ladder with a graceful dive and a dynamic swim. What actually happens is I smack head first into the icy water, barely staying concious. With one of my hands still clamped onto Jareth's wrist, and the other still gripping his sword, I have a hard time keeping my head above water. But it doesn't seem to matter, because we are going over the falls and there's no way to control our descent.
Going over the waterfall is like drowning multiple times while being hit by a hammer. I'm not at all sure how we aren't dead, I don't remember much besides panic and pain. My tenuous hold on consciousness dissolves during the plunge. Somehow, when the water calms and levels out, I wake to find that we are still breathing. Well, sort of. More like choking, gasping and barfing up a gallon of water, but technically alive. We are clinging to a log barely big enough to keep our heads above water. The soldiers that were on the ladder aren't so lucky. The falls crushed their exoskeletons and snapped them into pieces. As my senses slowly return, I realize that the log we are clinging to is actually the disembodied torso of one of our pursuers. This revolting revelation shocks me back to a semblance of sensibility. I try to look around, but my head hurts so bad I can barely understand what I'm looking at. Something... green...grass on the bank. We should try to get there. But I can't move or direct us at all. I can't even let go of the awful body keeping us afloat. All I can do is drift in the current and close my eyes. When a shadow crosses over us and the sounds around us change to echoes, I force my eyes open. Realization comes slowly. Stone... a tunnel? No... it's like a dock... the castle!
Still groggy, I turn my face toward Jareth. His eyes are closed, but I think he is breathing.
"Jareth, wake up."
My voice comes out as a croak and I start coughing again. He doesn't move, so I shove weakly at his shoulder, making us rock unsteadily. This illicits a groan and he stirs a little.
"We made it...we have to get to the side..."
He blinks at me with exhausted eyes, and I wonder if he even understands what I'm trying to tell him.
"The castle..." I point a finger up.
His eyes follow the gesture and he realizes what I'm trying to tell him. Together we kick feebly in the direction of the platform sloping out of the water. This must be what people feel like after being shipwrecked at sea, then stumbling onto a deserted island. We drag ourselves up onto the stone floor. We don't get far, but we are no longer floating down stream. I kick the horrid insect body away from us and lay against the slate, grateful for its stability. Having reached our goal, I let myself slip into insensibility. The last thing I see before darkness closes over me is a pair of shimmery boots taking measured steps toward us.
A nightmare startles me awake and I sit up in bed. Which is weird, because I distinctly remember passing out on a wet floor. I look around, trying to get my bearings. I'm in a hugely oversized bed in a painfully bright room. I feel like my eyes are having trouble focusing, and not just from my splitting headache. The floor is a black and white parquet, and on top of it sit bizarre looking pieces of furniture in purple and gold. Alice in wonderland? My suspicion is confirmed by a vial on the night stand with a note that says "Drink Me." I'm feeling pretty cavalier after surviving the waterfall, so I throw back the mystery beverage and teeter to the door across from my bed. It's a full bathroom, not like the one in labyrinth, but one that looks like it came from my world. I spend an hour in the bath letting it soak away the strain of the last couple days. I think the "Drink Me" bottle was some kind of pain reliever, because my headache goes away remarkably quickly and I feel pretty normal, not like I have spent days narrowly escaping death.
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Caveats And Cliches (A Labyrinth Fanfiction)
Fiksi Penggemar(Based on the 1986 Jim Henson film Labyrinth) It's been 17 years since Sarah was in the Labyrinth and she's doing pretty well for herself. But she can't shake her experience in the Underground or the effect it has had on her life. Now Jareth show...
