Breaking The Rules by Annie J. Rose

Author:Annie J. Rose [Rose, Annie J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-09-26T16:00:00+00:00

I didn’t know how long I was under the water’s surface for, but I remembered thinking that the river was so much deeper than I’d remembered it being from the last time I’d been in it, and it had only come up to my waist at its deepest point.

I suddenly remembered the distant terror I’d felt as the car had flipped over, making me feel like there was a thick layer of cotton between me and what was actually happening. I remembered bargaining with God, praying that there was something—anything—I could do that would persuade him to get us through this. In the end, I supposed that whatever I’d had to offer had only been half-good enough.

Now, I tried to remember how to best find the position to get to the water’s surface, not trusting God or anyone else to get it done for me. I needed to get air, and I would figure the rest out later.

When my head broke the surface, the cold air burned into my lungs as I gasped it down, coughing up the water that had gotten into my lungs despite my best efforts. The current was still moving fast enough that in the few seconds my feet were actually able to find the river bottom, I couldn’t hold the position for long, so I knew that I needed to grab hold of something in order to make it to the river’s edge.

The first few branches came away from the bank in my hands, leaving me with some useless pieces of wood. Finally, I saw a thicker branch sticking out from the riverbank and reached for it, praying that it would be anchored into the earth strongly enough to save my life.

It was; I held on for dear life as I felt the branch cutting into my hands, the sharp ends of it slicing into the little indentations where I clutched at the rough wood, not thinking about anything other than needing to hold myself there.

Eventually, I was able to pull myself forward, shoving my hands into the soft earth that gave way as soon as I touched it and digging out little footholds for myself as I climbed out of the river. I grabbed one root after another as I hauled myself up, not paying attention to my feet as they slipped out from under me on the branches and damp scree that tried to hold me down.

I don’t know how long it took with the current continuously rolling into me and pushing me down, but eventually I hauled myself out and landed on the riverbank, rolling onto my side as I breathed deeply, coughing up the rest of the water that had, somehow, found its way into my lungs.

I didn’t know how long I lay there, but I must’ve fallen asleep, because when my eyes fluttered open, the storm seemed to have moved on a little, and it seemed like the air was warming up. Despite that, I felt that the cold had

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