Emma was worried about dean. he didn't seem to know where he was. they had passed a wooden door spinning in the current and she had managed to pull him on. he had shouted incoherently a few times then curled up with his eyes closed. she arranged him flat on his back in the centre of the door to ensure he didn't fall off in his sleep. once, he tried to sit up and look around, then collapsed back down from the effort, mumbling under his breath. since then his breathing had grown shallower, his chest barely moving as he slept. his left leg was covered in blood, and veins of black ran up from the ankle and under his trousers. she did her best to clean off the blood and inspect the damage, but everything was soaked, and she quickly gave up.

they were far from the head of the flood now, floating serenely on the still, flat waters behind. from her prone position she could see only glasslike water in all directions. occasionally they would bump into the back of a cactus or a piece of floating furniture. at least we're warm, and we don't need to worry about navigating during the night, she thought. dean will dry off soon enough, and maybe he'll sleep off whatever that creature did to him. it must be poison, she decided. in must have injected something into him during that last desperate escape from the tower. she shivered in the warm air as she imagined what would have happened if they had been a second slower. she was exhausted from the adrenaline of the chase, her body ached. she lay down next to dean and closed her sore eyes. she slipped into a shallow, worried sleep.

she awoke to a roaring sound and the door rocking in choppy water. they were spinning again, she sat up carefully and paddled with her hand to straighten them out. the door came to a stop facing in the direction of the current and she saw that the horizon looked rather closer than before. she got up on her knees, the door rocking dangerously below her, and confirmed that, yes, the horizon was just over there. the roaring must be a rapids where the ground ahead dropped away. she tried to wake dean again, shaking his body, but he only moaned softly in his sleep. she was sure that dean would have a plan, at least an idea to try. i need to slow us down first, and decide what to do. a few feet away the bloated body of a cactus was bobbing in the water. she lay down on the door and tried to stretch her arms out enough to paddle them closer. her arms weren't quite long enough so she instead paddled one side at a time, moving them zigzag toward the cactus, all the while drifting sideways, closer to the rapids. it took five painful minutes to get close enough to touch the cactus. her wrists were sore, her arms chafed from where they had rubbed against the edge of the door. she tried to get a good grip, her fingers gripping into the holes on the top of the plant where water was absorbed into the body. she pulled carefully and partially grounded the door on part of curved body of the cactus that was floating just underwater. she heaved again, trying to pull them further up, but a wave arrived at the same second and the cactus bobbed down, freeing the door. they slipped over the cactus and the door swung around toward the rapids again, pulling her hands out of reach. shit! shit she felt a tightness in her stomach as panic grew, what now?

the roar grew louder, the waves grew bigger, the door rocked and bounced beneath her. she sat up on all fours to keep her balance and tried to see the rapids ahead. rapids meant that something was disturbing the water, land perhaps, rocks above the surface that they could clamber on to? there must be something. she strained her body as high as she dared but could see nothing. the water simply ended at that rapidly approaching horizon. there must be a drop before the rocks, she thought. she considered abandoning the door, would she be safer floating in the water? but dean was unable to move. she couldn't think of anything else to do, so she lay next to him, one arm over his body, gripping both edges of the door to keep herself attached to it however rough the water got. she decided to face away from the horizon, she'd rather not have to watch.

she closed her eyes and concentrated on staying calm. she could feel dean's faint, shallow breathing under her arm. if they tipped over, would she be able to save him? the panic became a tightness her chest. i guess i saved him a few times today she thought, i much prefer not having time to prepare for things, though. i bet dean would be doing something right now, getting ready somehow, i've never been good at that. i just turn up and do my best...

the roar was deafening now, she opened one eye for a peek, then snapped it back closed. there was no horizon left. she had seen the water ending just ahead, and beyond, nothing. a drop of incomprehensible height. in the distance, the open sea. it wasn't a rapid that they were being drawn towards, it was a waterfall. this is it, then. i'm sorry dean, i dragged you down here, then i dragged you out to this tower. i bet you wish you never met me. at least you won't feel anything... her breathing was ragged and uneven, the panic was in her throat now, barely controlled. she clenched her eyes shut and waited, any second now, waited for the feeling of weightlessness, the pause, then...she wondered what would happen after. i guess a moment of pain, then death? maybe we can't die here. will i just float there, broken and bleeding, feeling pain for all eternity? the panic broke to the surface and she screamed, clutching the door so hard that she could feel the sharp edges dig into her palms and draw blood. here we go she thought, any second...