Forty-Five and Beyond

Maggie thought that there were three main bad things that could happen. Run into some cave creature. Lose the pink jar to Belboz or someone else. Freeze to death.

Fred is here to "bring the dragon to justice." I think that is a fancy way to say "kill the dragon." Bold, but that is not what I came for. And that isn't making my work any easier. If he makes it, then he says he will help. But even if he doesn't get killed, there will be chaos. And if he does get killed, then the dragon's crew will lock this cave down tight. Best to stay as close to Fred as possible and not lose him. So 'no' to going around the long way. Might lose Fred or get caught again. 'No' to going out of the caves. Might not be able to get back in for a while, and others may be able to figure out the value of the jar and snatch it for themselves. If I stay here too long I will be captured again. That leaves the icy water.

That water is no joke. I remember someone saying that cold water will kill you if you stay in too long, and before that you panic. It only comes up to my waist, so that might help, if I can get started. There was a rule - one could stay in for a certain amount of time before losing control. Count the breaths. What was that number? 90? 100? 120? Damn me, I cannot remember. Well, be cautious and go with 90. Use half of them - 45, and then turn back if things are not getting better.

The skirt on my dress will get soaked and be plastered to my legs. Not good. Better take it off and leave it dry for the other end. A woman's gotta do what she has to do. I got a bra and undershorts at least. Fold it neatly. Make sure that the stuff under the collar of my dress is still there. Good! Place one boot under each arm and scrunch them between my upper arm and ribs. Awkward, but better than getting them soaked. Now I am going to scream when I hit this water. Fred will hear me, but so will the other cave creatures. Not good. Lift the bundled dress up and bite down. That should muffle any screams. Maggie, go! COLD. This is a BAD idea. She whimpered through her nose and her teeth clamped down hard on the bundle.One-two-three-four. Five-six-seven.

The shock of the cold water forced her to burn breaths quickly. She waded forward in the darkness. Eight. Nine. Ten. Shiver.

This is a bad idea. Gotta see it through. Forward, dammit. Eleven. Twelve. Thirteen.

Dark. Not getting better. Slow down breathing.

Fourteen. Fifteen. Headache. Sixteen. Dark.

Forward the light brigade! Seventeen. Where did that come from? That was a line from a song that I heard somewhere once. Eighteen. Can't remember the rest of it. Something about a heroic action in the face of great odds. Nineteen - about half way already. Not Aqualarian. Allarian? Hespaniard? Twenty. Doesn't matter. Pay attention. Still dark and damned cold. Shiver. Whine.

Twenty-one. So much for being a hero. Water has to warm up eventually. Twenty-two. Doesn't have to warm up before I freeze to death, though. Twenty-three. No spiders or nasties yet. That's good. Maybe I should call out to Fred? Twenty-four. No, not yet. If I take the cloth out my teeth will chatter and I might not be able to stop.

Twenty-five. I am at least moving forward. Water has gone down a bit. About halfway up my thighs now. Seems to flow faster, too. Still dark. Twenty-six. Twenty-seven. I am freezing my rear end off.

Twenty-eight. More memories about cold water safety. Signs of distress from swimming in cold water. Fast breathing. Yeah. Disorientation. I hope not. Poor judgment. Twenty-nine. Showed that by wading in, so I can't blame it on this damned water. Hey, something sounds a bit different. Still pitch black. Thirty. At least the floor is even, and it would be easy to turn back. If I had to. Might be able to stretch the number of breaths a little if needed. Thirty-one. Feet feel like blocks of stone, though. Like I am pushing something that is attached to me instead of being part of me. Thirty-two.She scrunched the bundle of her dress under her chin. Her hands now free, she rubbed her palms up and down the exposed portion of her thigh. Then she rubbed her hands together, still while holding her upper arms in close to her side to secure her boots. Then she grabbed the end of the bundle with her hands again, and raised her chin.

Thirty-three. And say that I make it to the bath, what good can I do? I won't be very nimble. Might not be able to walk at all for a few minutes. Maybe Fred found the room empty and there is some nice warm or hot water at then end of this. Thirty-four. Yes, there has to be. OK, water, you can go down a little faster, damn you. Still quite a bit above my knees. Forward!

Thirty-five. Thirty-six. Damned cold work! When will this be over? Thirty-seven. Is it my imagination, or is there some light ahead? I remember being warned that one sees what one wants to see under distress. She stopped. She could not move forward. She shivered uncontrollably.

Thirty-eight. Thirty-nine. Forty. Wasted breaths. Burning up my chance to make it. Forward damn it! I definitely hear something. A high-pitched buzz. Forty-one. Light! I think. Forty-two. Forty-three. Yes, for sure! Keep counting. Nothing there but light, so I don't know how long it will take. Forty-four. Hope that the dragon's servants are not there. How to react if I see them? Hi, everyone, I am Maggie. I thought that I would take a stroll through the ice-cold water in your sluice in my underwear. Guess that was not a good idea. Maybe they will be so busy laughing that they won't do anything. Forty-five. Does this water feel warmer? Not warm, but not as cold. Still shivering, feet still feel like bricks, but it is not getting worse. Forty-six. Uh-oh. Catch a whiff of that. Something foul. Not what I remembered. Like someone got drunk, peed on himself, and tried to cover it up with perfume. Not sure what that means. Might explain why Fred's not back. Forty-seven. Buzzing and murmuring. I think that there may be people ahead. Maybe the dragon is entertaining. Got to deal with it. I think that I can stop counting now. Maggie moved forward. She shoved part of the dress bundle up with the palm of her right hand to cover her nose from the unholy reek of gas and spice. Her boots still had not fallen from where she trapped them with her upper arms and her dress was still dry, a minor miracle.

She was now at the mouth of the sluice. The water was distinctly warmer here. She did recognize the bar that Fred saw earlier, and also knew that it would be scorching hot. Looks like I could freeze and fry today.

1. Maggie could not see into the room due to the steam.
2. Maggie could make out the outline of the dragon thrashing weakly in the water, and people gathering around it.

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