Mina felt as if her lungs would burst.  It seemed like minutes that she had submerged herself deeper into the cistern to hide from the shadowy figure carrying a torch at the top of the stairs, but knew that it was lucky only seconds.  Although she couldn’t tell how deep the well reached into the ground, and her feet never touched the bottom, she couldn’t help imagining pale arms reaching up from its depths to pull her under forever.

Also, there was the cold.  It was shocking at first, so cold she felt as if her heart would stop beating, but now her body had grown numb to it.  She knew this too was a bad sign and likely the onset of hypothermia. 

Several moments after the figure at the top of the steps had disappeared, she kicked upward and burst forth from th...

Please subscribe to keep reading.