I glanced down at Diesel pinned beneath the venom as his face stiffened into a glare. He indicated with his eyes over my shoulder. I glanced back quickly to the plunge below. Does he want me to jump? I shook my head. Diesel’s glare tightened, urging me forward. He slowly pushed himself up into an awkward slouch, using the car door to support himself, before slamming into the woman’s shoulder. With his unparalysed arm, he grabbed her wrist and pointed the gun away.
“Go, Nadia!”
I stalled. I can’t.
“Go!” He screamed again as he wrestled with the woman. In their struggle the gun swung back toward me and I tensed, fearing it’ll go off and I’ll tip back into the water, paralysed.
“Diesel….”I called out, preparing myself, “Don’t let me drown!”
I pivoted toward the cliff face and sprinted. From behind, I heard loud, cracking gunshots, but for the moment, I didn’t let my thoughts overwhelm me. I didn’t think of the water. I didn’t think of woman or Diesel. I just ran and kicked off the ground with both legs. I drifted over into a mindless haze as the air wrapped around me and the ground disappeared beneath my feet. When I thought time would slow, it instead sped up.
The plunge down was brief. I didn’t get a chance to scream as my stomach churned and the wind whipped my hair up above my shoulders. My boots suddenly broke the water’s surface and I was engulfed within the tide. I snapped my eyes closed as white bubbles frothed around me. Burning chills attacked my arms and face as the waves moved with the strength of a bull, pulling and pushing my body beneath the surface.
For a moment, I bobbed up to the surface and sucked in a long, raspy breath just before the waves pulled me under. Salt overpowered my taste buds and stung my eyes. Instead of rising back up, my backpack pulled me down. My body froze as panic clenched up my muscles. Swim, you have to swim! The pressure on my chest tightened as I struggled in suspended water, trying to coordinate my limbs to pedal me up. I kicked and punch out of rhythm but couldn’t lift myself to the surface.
Intense strain squeezed my lungs until I couldn’t stop myself from gasping. Salty water rushed down my throat and into my lungs. As I started to drown, my thoughtful strokes turned into panicked thrashing. My chest squeezed. More water rushed in. I sank lower.
The crash of white above my head moved further away. A dark ring closed in around my peripherals. I was going to die; my body’s terror hit its peak. In my squirming, I noticed my leg lifting upwards above the rest of my body.
From the cut on my shin, my blood lifted my leg up like webs pulling on a log. That was it! My blood makes me float. All I had to do was cut my chest and I would float up. My moment of clarity gave me enough sense to reach for the knife. I pulled it from my pocket but suddenly fumbled and dropped it. The blade vanished as I twisted around to catch it but was blocked by my backpack. Exhaustion wore me down; I was fighting less, kicking less.
Diesel! My body shuddered and twitched. Di…
Darkness pulled me under as the sunlight above the water vanished. Faintly, a body hit the water near me as a low crash echoed within the waves. A hand stretched out and grabbed my shirt, yanking me up. I couldn’t stay awake. My thoughts buzzed briefly at the touch just before I dropped into unconsciousness.
TO BE CONTINUED
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Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the first book to the Immortal Gene Series.
Xoxo
Jacinta Maree.
Book two coming soon…
SOUL FINDER
THE IMMORTAL GENE TRILOGY
Welcome to Soulless.
Next instalments: Soul Finder & Soul Reaper
Thank you for reading, I really hope you enjoyed the beginning of the Immortal Gene trilogy.
What happens next? Stay in touch with me here:
www.facebook.com/jacinta.maree.10
or
https://www.facebook.com/theimmortalgene
Firstly I would love to thank my parents, David and Jacqui Burns for their support and continual enthusiasm. It’s thanks to them that I am free to chase my childhood dream of becoming a published writer. Thank you to James Teh for being there for me every step of the way. You’re amazing! Thank you to Becky from Hot Tree Editing and all the beta readers for your words of advice, your kindness and encouragement. Thank you to Ida at Amydgala Design and Thander Lin for the amazing book cover. Thank you to Jo-Anne for being the first person to read Soulless and giving me the confidence to put it out there in the world. Thank you to Michelle from Odyssey Publishing for helping me take this giant step forward. And of course, a special thanks to my friends, family and fellow authors & bloggers, you are a wonderful community full of the sweetest and most selfless people. I am so happy to have you in my life.
About the author:
Other titles by Jacinta Maree:
My Demonic Ghost
Book one: Banished Spirits
Book two: The Reapers
Book Three: Hunters & Creators
&
Time Weaver: The Time Collector Series
Book one: Heart of Cogs
See Jacintamaree.wix/jacintamaree for more details.
Soulless (The Immortal Gene Trilogy Book 1) Page 29
