Release In The Dark (DARK erotic romance series) by Natalie Kristen Read Free Book Online

submerged in the water. The top of the
column will be sealed once you are inside.”
    I gawk at her in shock. You
are trying to drown me!
    “ H-how long will I be
inside?” I start to stutter.
    Until I pass out and drown?
No, I can't die now. I won't! I will not let you kill me!
    I start to struggle as the
Warden gives the wire a violent jerk. With a soft whir, the wire
begins to reel me upwards. My feet lift off the stage floor and I
let out a cry of horror and panic.
    The Warden looks up at me with a
frown. “Stop struggling, Ana. You just have to stay in the
water long enough...”
    “ How long?” I
shriek, my legs kicking wildly.
    I am hovering above her, and
rising rapidly. I can see the open top of the column and hear the
water sloshing gently inside.
    “ Long enough for your
costume to dissolve,” she answers flatly.

CHAPTER
SIX

    I have no idea what the Warden
has just said. Her words make no sense to me. Costume? What
costume? All I know is that I am being hauled upwards by a metal
wire to hover dangerously over the enormous glass vat of water.
    I am aware that I could well be
staring down at my coffin, a cold, rippling, watery coffin. I shake
my head hard. No, I have to survive this. I can do this.
    As the wire starts lowering me
into the towering column of water, I start shivering uncontrollably
as my heart rate and breathing become more frantic and erratic. I
start to panic as my feet touch the cold water. Letting out a yelp,
I twist and struggle in the harness, clawing crazily to free myself.
This is madness. This is murder!
    But the Warden only frowns at
me, her arms folded across her chest. She doesn't move a muscle. No
one moves forward to try to help me. The rest of the girls only
stare up at me with wide eyes. I catch sight of Kara and Pam, and I
see their lips moving as if they are trying to mouth some words to
me. But that is all they do. Silently encourage me with words I
cannot hear. They don't step forward to help me. No one does.
    The water is already at my
shoulders. I feel the water level creeping up my neck. It rises
past my chin and I tilt my head up, breathing in quick, panicked
breaths. This is my last chance. I have to suck in as much air into
my lungs as possible before I am fully submerged.
    I open my mouth and gulp in all
the air that is needed to keep me alive—or not. Instinctively
I squeeze my eyes shut as the water laps up over my forehead. Even
after the water closes over my head, I am still being lowered deeper
into the column of water. The wire continues pushing me downwards
until my feet touches the bottom of the tall water column.
    The harness loosens and fall
away from my body. I open my eyes to see the harness being reeled
rapidly upwards. With the air in my lungs, I start to float upwards.
A few air bubbles escape from my nose, and I stare after them in a
kind of horrified fascination. I am literally seeing my life seep
out of me, bubble by bubble. I wonder if each bubble contains
fragments of my memories. Maybe the bigger bubbles contain my
unhappy memories, since there are more of those. The teeny, tiny
bubbles would hold my happy memories, the precious memories I have of
my mother, and of Jaxon.
    I kick upwards, towards the top
of the column. The bubbles reach the top first. One by one, they
pop and vanish into thin air as they break the surface.
    I have to follow those bubbles.
If I can reach the top, I can break the surface of the water and get
more air.
    I kick harder.
    Almost there.
    Through the blurry water, I can
see the wire dangling above me, just out of my reach.
    I stretch out my hand...
    Almost...there!
    My palms smash against a hard,
transparent surface. No, this cannot be. Water can't be hard!
    I pound frenziedly against the
solid surface, my terror spiking. The top of the column has been
sealed shut.
    There is no way out. No air.
Just water, everywhere.
    No! No! Let me out!
    Precious air bubbles leak from
my nose and mouth. There is less and less air