[Open] Headed to a Watery Grave

[Charlie]

You feel light headed, weak, and your neck hurts. You seem unable to recall how you got here. Weird!
SPLASH! You find yourself in deep water.

TRIGGER WARNING: DROWNING

Charlie broke the surface with a garbled gasp.

Disorientated, she fought to stay afloat as she came to her senses. There was a disturbing stretch of blankness in her mind leading up to this moment, and it offered no respite whatsoever from her panic. Splashing wildly against the rippled surface, she cursed the weight of her boots and fought off her bomber jacket, feeling far too weighed down to fight the rough currents. She had no idea how she had gotten here, but it was all too evident that she needed to get out.

The cold was a shock to her system. Tired muscles burned as she bobbed along the short waves, sluggishly spinning in place in order to make sense of the extensive body water around her. When she realised she was in the river, her panic flared, a rough sob racking her raw throat. How did she get here? How long had she been here?

The vast darkness around interrupted by street lamps, up above, and far too distant for her liking. The pitch black water crushed her slender frame as she fruitlessly fought the current. Her arms felt heavy, fingers numb as they repeatedly hit the murky surface. Her boots were too heavy for her kicking to be effective. There was no shore in sight. Where was she? The only time she’d been anywhere near the boardwalk or port that been with a particular destination in mind.

“Hel—”

Water spilled into her mouth, rattling her lungs. Panic turned to terror as she felt her torso seize up, a panic attack threatening to steal whatever air she could muster into ravaged lungs. Tears welled at the corner of her bloodshot eyes, the pace of her strokes increasing as she begun to succumb to the inevitability of her fate. She didn’t want to die.

“HELP!” she cried out, voice breaking. Struggling to move away from the centre of the river, Charlie sobbed as she realised the current was growing much stronger. Whatever she’d retained from her canoeing expedition in France many summers ago, it didn’t include the warning of currents under bridges. Her eyes widened as the dark structure loomed overhead. Maybe there’d be someone - anyone.

“HELP!”

This was not how it would end. It couldn’t - it wouldn’t. Her determination paled in comparison to the whims of nature, and as though to remind her, an invisible hand seemed to tug on her ankle, pulling her underwater once again. With a gargled breath, she resurfaced, shoulders beginning to ache from the constant batting.

“HELP!”

[Austin Hughes (DELETED 8178)]

"I love going on walks with you two." Austin said after taking a deep breathe into his lungs. "My two favorite boys. Well one favorite boy and one man." He chuckled as they continued to move. He was of course talking about Judah and Jedi. The white dog was far more interested in what was going on in the surroundings than caring what his human was saying. It had been a lovely day so far but spring night was turning cool. Austin was grateful however for the slight change. He hated the heat and tried to avoid it as much as he could, though that was not always and opinion.

Jedi began to pull at his leash more so that usual."Easy boy." The dog might not look like much but it was clear he had some sort of power house breed in him when he wanted. Most of the time Jedi was lazy and didn't want to get off the couch for much of anything other than food and Judah. For as long as he'd had the dog he hadn't known him to chase after much. When he had rescued the poor thing, he was scared of everything and trusted no one. That changed thankfully and the doghad warmed up to him and a few others.

With one quick tug Jedi was free from his grip and off towards the bridge and the river. "Jedi!" He called out as he took off after him."Come back!" He really should of tried to train him better. He didn't turn to see if Judah was running with them. As they got closer to the bridge Jedi began to bark. At what was unknown for now. He was able to meet the dog then as he stopped on the bridge, barking and whining at the water.

"What's wrong?" He asked slightly winded as he looked at the dog and then to the water. He heard it then. It was faint over the sound of the river and the dog but he heard it. Help He then saw the figure in the water and instinct kicked in. He threw off his jacket and quickly kicked off his shoes before dividing into the icy water below.

[Judah Marck]

It had been a lovely day, the kind of day they should have shared a million times over, a day that almost made him regret his choices. "I want to say you are my favourite, buuut..." He teased, laughing as he leaned into the side of Austin, ducking a shy kiss to the man's shoulder. "Ok, other than August and Lou, you're my favourite. Jedi, you might have to fit with my babies for best dog title!" His two smaller dogs were not in tow, the pair spending the week with his son at August's grandparents house.

Jedi was being particularly painful, while he's come leaps and bounds in behaviour since Austin had adopted him the dog was no training wonder. His incessant pulling was out of the ordinary though, something obviously agitating him enough to give an almighty tug that has lead leaving Austin's hand. "Fudge!" He barked out, Jude reaching to catch the lead but fumbled, unable to get a secure grasp before the dog was away.

He stumbled a step, managing to right himself only to watch Austin putting those long legs of his to use, "Farout, Jedi!" He groaned, the man breaking into a run to try and catch the pair. He may have been short but he was fast, not fast enough it seemed. As he closed in on Austin he got there just in time to receive a jacket to the face and a lump of dog packing into his legs. Ice ran up his spine as he heard faintly "help" coming from the depths below. "Hughes, n-..." The words never finished, Austin was already diving in and Jude dropping down to hover over the edge, to look down to spot the man and drowning person. His arms stretched forward expectantly, foot pressing atop the lead to keep Jedi from running off as he readied himself to help the pair out of the water.

[Charlie]

Charlie would have never made for a good astronaut. Nor would she have been of any use in the military, or any form of emergency service. Though she wasn’t particular slow at reacting when trouble beckoned her immediate attention, the panic—exponentially related to the gravity of the situation—simmered too close to the surface to render her particularly efficient. It was no different when she was in dire need of immediate action herself.

Then hope blossomed in her constricted chest.

Out of the corner of her eye she spotted something—a blurred figment of her imagination for all she knew. The splash was barely audible, but she turned towards its nearing source and let out a desperate cry. A last burst of adrenaline shot through her constricted arteries, bullying her cramped muscles into action as she moved towards the stranger. She spotted a figure overhead in the periphery of sight, but returned her glassy gaze towards the person now bobbing along the surface with her.

There were no words.
Her fingers trembled as she extended them towards the other, needing something to hold onto. It was as much a physical necessity as an invaluable lifeline to hope. Even adrenaline couldn’t fuel her fight against the ebbing darkness for long.