The Lake of Carcossa

The two of them slide down the smooth metal chute, Jasper screaming like a banshee somewhere ahead of her. After a few seconds, Sara gains control of her wits...except the fall DOESN'T end when she does.

"One Mississippi...two Mississippi..."she counts. She'd been sliding for at least ten seconds before she started, so she mentally adds that to the time. She's up to 100 by the time she reaches the end of the chute, and finds herself free-falling through open space. And then she hits cold water with a tremendous splash, driving thought from her mind.

She fights her way back up and surfaces, coughing and spitting brackish water. "Ja--Jasper," she gasps. "JASPER!"

"Over here! I'm all right!" she turns in the direction of the voice. He's dog-paddling (naturally) towards her. "At least depending on how you define 'all right.' Where are we?" She can just barely see him in the dim light. Treading water, she looks up and sees a network of lights set in a rocky ceiling dozens of meters above projecting small, bright islands of light onto the surface of the lake--they do little to offset the overall gloom, but she can at least see that they're apparently somewhere in the middle of a vast underground lake. She can't see an edge, but she CAN see a pair of vast stone columns coming down from the ceiling to touch down amid a group of squat buildings on a nearby rocky island. She can see two smaller islands beside it, the closer of which has what looks like a small cinder block building on it. The cluster is several hundred meters away, perhaps farther, but theoretically reachable.

"I dunno," she says, her teeth chattering. "But this water is ice-cold. We need to get out of here soon."

"I think I may have just barely seen a beach in that general direction," says Jasper back the way he came, in the opposite direction from the islands. Far away, they see a boat slowly moving away from the largest island.

What do they do next, dear Reader? The Power...is YOURS.

1. They swim for the nearest island--the one with the single building.
2. They swim for the middle island that doesn't have a building, because it's more likely to be deserted.
3. They swim for the big island with the columns and the cluster of buildings. Maybe there's a way back to the surface.
4. They swim for the distant beach that Jasper spotted.
5. They try to get the attention of the boat.
6. Jasper shows off his dexterity by catching fish between his teeth.
7. Several decapitated heads fall from the chute above them.
8. Sara sees a sign light up on the island--"BOB'S USED CHICKENS!"
9. They stay in one place, because Sara believes that eventually everyone she's ever known in life will pass that spot.
10. Nothing. They decide to just chill for a while.

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