Post a snippet from your novel of a suddenly tense scene!

[JWZagst]

This is a snippet from my story. Share yours!

The building embodied a traditional Italian atmosphere; photos from various locations around Italy and Sicily hung on the red brick walls, arched ceilings raised high above, and red-and-white checkered cloths were draped over the hardwood tables. Authentic dinner music played gently over the speaker system, and everyone seemed to be dressed rather formally, staff and patrons alike.

“This place is so beautiful!” Selena said joyfully as she looked around. Mallory smiled as he watched her face, sliding out her chair for her and taking her hand as she sat.

“So are you,” he replied, making them both blush.

“You’re so sweet,” she gushed. They both began looking over their menus.

“There’s so many good options here!” the boy pointed out happily.

“I know!” she agreed cheerfully. “I’m really happy we’re finally on a date, Mallory.”

“Me too, Selena,” he replied, smiling ear to ear. “I’m also really happy for garlic breadsticks!”

The two laughed and joked as they decided on their meals - luckily there were some vegan options. They were so content to finally be spending a romantic evening together, away from their superhero lives, even if only for a bit...

Suddenly, Mallory had a strange feeling, as if they were being watched. His eyes began scanning the area, then looked out the window and he felt a sudden pang of fear - a man was standing across the street, looking right at them from between the bushes. The fear immediately turned to rage as the teen recognized him.

“Fuck!” the raven-haired boy cried out. Selena followed his gaze and gasped.

“Is that Endergast?!” she exclaimed. Sure enough, that wild hair and bushy mustache was unmistakable. He just stood there staring at them, his face growing into a sinister grin as his eyes began to glow red. They heard what sounded like a missile being fired, getting rapidly louder.

“Shit!” Mallory screamed, panic in his voice. He jumped to his feet. “Everyone! Get down! There’s a-”

It was too late. Before he could finish his sentence, the entire restaurant seemed to explode around them, a blinding flash followed by glass and brick and wood flying in every direction...

The Ballad of Mallory Dane | Tapas

[HopefulAttempt]

This is a great idea for a thread!

“Allura,” her name slipped from his lips as she looked up into the opals of fire that were his eyes with a deep blush burning over her cheeks. His hand gently graced the back of her head in a sweet warmth as he leaned closer to his peace.
“Finally found you, monster.”
Allura froze as Axis’s eyes flew to the intruder.
“Run,” Allura whispered as she felt the warmth of Axis flames flicker.
“Miss! Get away from him!” another warned as the air crackled above them.
“RUN!” Allura shouted while shoving Axis away, and he stumbled back.

When Souls Awaken | Tapas

[duointherain]

From The Moon's Permission:

It was in the best interest of the woman’s soul, should she confess her crimes. He was just a little proactive in guiding her lost soul. He took a slow breath, letting an echo of Jim’s life pass through him, shifting his voice and appearance to that of her late husband. The memory he picked was the day of their wedding, younger, fancy dress, sad eyes. As soon as he was sure she was looking at his reflection in the mirror, he said softly, “Why did you murder me?”

The response was not what he’d expected. He wasn’t even sure where she got the knife until it slid into his abdomen.

Rage in her face, she leaned closer to him, now bloody finger poking him in the nose. “You are a cheating, lying bastard, and if you come back, I’ll do it again. This is my house now. You stay out!”

Anubis grinned, a cocky and suggestive grin that he’d learn from Kronos’ current incarnation. “That’s not how this works, dear.”

https://tapas.io/episode/2133791

[therosesword]

From Bright Morn of Issareth - Vol III - The Awakening (which isn't quite complete yet and so is not up)

"Go away. Please, go away."
It was Dasch's voice, that little crack of puberty still prevalent, if anything more pronounced at the moment. He stepped into the room and held the candle in front of him.

At some point in time a great mayhem happened here. A huge, collapsed bed dominated the far end. Once canopied, strips of decaying cloth hung from the frame. The bedclothes, now a pile of rags, had housed multiple animals through the decades. Pieces of furniture scattered throughout gave hints as to what they may have been, a table here, possibly a chair there. Pieces of a mirror from a dressing table reflected small, dust-dulled sparks back at the candlelight. He bent to pick up an abandoned book. It disintegrated in his hands.

In the corner a pile of cloth moved. Peng caught his breath and took a step, thrusting the candle toward it. Dasch's black eyes blinked at the intrusive light, flickers of red changing to gold and then blue in the blackness, then back to normal. The boy stood and the hood to his cloak fell away.

"Oh, Dasch," was all Peng could say to the boy whose hair had turned white.

[DasIstWunderblyat]

TFW coming home to see another you in the kitchen.

Kôra arrived home alone. The house was empty as Keane explained his schedule earlier. A moment of relief of him, he had time to conceal his bruises and erase the lethargy from his face. After putting his backpack near the stairs, Kôra went straight to kitchen grab a drink. Although his injury got better thanks to the ointment which the nurse gave him, he still felt drained and. . .

Who is that?!

The boy alarmed by the dark shadow of the unlit dining room, which bears the shape of a human being. Kôra was besieged of the intruder, sneaking up to find a vantage point for peeking and escaping. When he looks closer, it was something even more insidious.

It was him, just like him.

That reflection thing. The thing was sitting on the dining room chair while humming some strange melody; the voice was deeper than his and has an otherworldly ring to it. Kôra ignored him as what Keane said; he tells lies to manipulate and should be ignored altogether. The thing was just a mere reflection, a piece of illusion; nothing else.

“Do not pretend not seeing me,” the thing called him out. Those words pierce Kôra and shattered his detachment. He reluctantly turned his head, facing the thing which wears the mask of his smiling face. "I made hard effort, appreciate me."

Honestly I am bad at this. I cannot feel suspense or shit in written medium. Moreover, I created this shit so I know what is going to happen.

[thealooffloof]

(Tobias is a superhero with future-sight)

Tobias MacClain lay there, with two legs, in silence, and minded that his breathing remain steady. Even as magma sloshed from beneath him and slipped underneath his blankets. Even as the blanket became too hot to hold, but too dangerous to release. Even after lava seeped through the gap in his cover and started to paint on his face. Tobias, though he wept, though he couldn’t help but cry out, grit his teeth and tried to conserve his oxygen. He could see that the lava would slow and cool one hour from now, at the most, and he focused on that in increments.
Just another ten minutes, he’d think. Just another ten minutes.

Doctored Chance: The Unpleasant Preceding of "Pajama Boy" and What Drove Him to...

[EncryptedWriting]

Will hide because, well, gore warning. :))

TW: Gore, blood, death, bada-- vampire moment

.My heart aches as I step further into the house; it is entirely ransacked. Our cots are torn up, stuffing thrown everywhere. Our fireplace is in shambles, the wood and coal are gone and the brick is crumbling apart, large chunks are taken out of it. The washing hole is tossed on the ground, split in half, causing a large dent onto the floor. What used to be used floorboards are split apart, leaving gaping holes within the entire house.

Yet, my soul sinks when a sparkling object caught my eye. I walk over to the corner of the house, and tears are shimmering along my cheeks as I reach down and pick up a snapped necklace. The sapphire in the middle lost, stolen. I clench it in my hand and let out a choked sob. She put up a fight, and I wasn't here to help her.

I will kill them; I will kill them all. I will taste their blood and tear their bodies limb from limb 'till there is nothing but a mangled corpse. God, I hate them.

I turn around, torn necklace in hand, and walk out of the door. I couldn't bear to stand a single second more within our ruined home. When my feet hit the outside, a stinging smell penetrates my nose. I let out a cough and try not to gag. When my eyes travel to the path of the scent, I find a drunk lingering around. A bottle in his hand and a pair of unsteady feet below his body.

Yet, something strikes me. Like lightning coursing through the sky; I catch the gash in his head, the blood flowing through the wound. I can feel fangs elongate and claws grow out as I let out a pain-filled groan. I hunch over as my stomach cramps, and the pain in my arms only continued to spread to my shoulders. I let out a gasp before a small growl rips through my body.

My eyesight grows sharper and the smell grows stronger. My mind is growing foggier by the second, and I have to tear myself away from looking at the stumbling stranger.

Trigger warning: Blood, gore, and violence.

Yet, I can't hold on a second longer before my body works before my head. I leap up into the air, my eyes open and mouth wide open. I look towards the bleeding spot, and I can feel the taste, the craving of blood flowing through every single ounce of my body. Only when our bodies made contact did I take a large chunk of his shoulder. His screams echoed through the night, and they only grow more strained as I pull away, munching on the flesh.

The flavor explodes in my mouth, and it is heaven, bliss. Every single inch of my mouth is in paradise. I look towards the man and put a finger to his screaming mouth. Only then did I look towards his neck and lick my lips. My mouth opens and closes as I take the fatal shot, my mouth enclosing on the wound a large CRUNCH echoing as my fangs flew through the bone with ease. From there I suck his body of all its blood, the taste blissful, so sweet. I can only let out a quiet moan as I drain the corpse of every single ounce of his soul.

I chew on a bit of the flesh that was exposed before I am full, at peace with the typical hunger that knows through my body. I step back and let out a terrified gasp. What have I done? I look at my hands and nearly scream; they are black. Every single fingernail is extended six inches and pitches black. I trace up my arms seeing the blade fade out and the black veins spread along my arms. Before my eyes, they slowly start to disappear to a normal skin tone, and I felt a dull aching in my mouth as the feeling of my fangs retracting is nothing short of painfilled.

I take a shaky step back before taking off, rushing back to the madam's house.

Want to read more? Click the link below!

The Forgotten Queen | Tapas

[Pony_wearing_a_hat]

My character Motif is a goldmine for this. His mood tends to swing wildly from laid back to super intense at the drop of a hat:

“Well I think It’s sweet.” Ruby said, “I think it’s sweet that Motif cares about Sequel.” Ruby sighed in her thin, breathy way, “I suppose that’s the last story, though, isn’t it?”

“No,” said Duenna, “No there's one more.”

“Yeah, dipshit. Can’t you count?” said Motif, “There's five of us. You’ve heard four stories. Dumbass.”

“Oh.” Said Ruby, “Well I just thought that-”

“Well, you thought wrong.” Motif cut her off sharply.

Post-Apocalyptic Introductions | Tapas

[HippieGhost]

Here's one from an upcoming episode of Unrelenting Fate, part of The Aphuanian Tales!

Context: Elra is the captain of a ship called The Crimson Tempest, and two of her crew members were spoiling a potential new recruit with food and a chocolatey treat. Elra has a reputation for being a very harsh pirate queen, ad her power as a psion is unmatched.

You can check out my work here!

The Aphuanian Tales | Tapas

[sxxaint]

This is an extract from toward the end of Stains, and it's long because ... well, if the excerpt has to build tension, it needs the word count, because tension is about pace and beats and dwelling in the moment so long the reader's itching for the tension to spring.

Of course, the tension in this excerpt also builds upon the earlier parts of the scene, the previous chapters, and everything else established about Levi throughout the story (basically, he's a volatile psychopath with god-powers)

---

“Your face!” Ella clutched her stomach, her hair spread like wings across the condensation inside the shop window. It left spiderwebs trails in the mist. Gossamer thread sprung from Cain’s fingertips as they played across her skin – silken strands walked up her arm, pianist caresses of her throat, and gently, so gently, pulling back the lids of her eyes.

They’d go as white as his if Cain lingered there too long. White as the moons they made tracing the charming laughter on her face. White as the needles of his teeth limning the indulgence of his smile.

My Cain. Casper drowned on it. Ruinously slow, his chest wrenched itself apart. My Cain.

“It’s your fault!” Open-palmed, she slapped the table, her scream high and heady through the music’s psychedelic slur. Tears slipped over cherub cheeks in black droplets. “He only left because of you. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have to—”

The bathroom door slammed open.

Kinda like a snap second eternity of a lucid dream, Levi hung in the doorway. Knife-edge smile as he forced his hands into the sides of the arch like he could snap it, bring it down. Static pricked the air around him, scratches of white noise carved out of the atmosphere as he took in the room.

His dead-ice eyes met Casper’s with a shock of cold, and slowly, deliberately, he placed his fingers to his lips and winked.

Some dim, drunken part of Casper’s mind noted Ella still raved, but Levi absorbed him. The prowl, the sway of his hips in those plastered leather jeans. Out to his sides, his fingers flexed, snares of white electric arcing between the glimmering gold of his rings.

The precision of each action peeled back Casper’s skin, nooks at the joints to let the bugs in. And they burrowed through muscle and flesh to gnaw at the core of his bones.

A step away from Ella, he lunged.

The Stains Beneath Our Skin | Tapas

[CodeMonkeyArts]

Here is mine! I'm not sure if it's 'suddenly' tense. The tension is there since they are arguing but it delves deeper into anger and tension:

“If you were so confident, then why did you look at me like that?” He was heaving, his breaths coming out violently.

“Like what?!”

“LIKE YOU WERE GUILTY!?”

She froze, stunned, “… I… knew you were going to survive. I knew you would be safe. I have nothing to feel guilty about.”

“You’re lying.” He pulled his hands away from her, “You didn’t know. He could’ve killed me.” He closed his eyes, trembling as his neck stung from the memory of that abomination choking him. “You left me there. All of your promises…” He slowly emphasized each of the following words, a growl in his throat as his disgust was out in the open, “Meant NOT. A. GOD. DAMN. THING!”

The water stopped bubbling. There was nothing but still silence. The bath was a clear glass surface. The lights flickered, and darkness surrounded them.

Birth of a Sin | Tapas

[foxnflames]

I have two examples​

This one is from the beginnings of a seance

Those around the table obeyed, Darzsa included. Silence befell them. Everything ceased to exist in the tranquility she commanded. A soft hum emanating from her throat was the only steady sound over the crackling fire. His ears honed in on the drone of the humming. It burrowed into his skin, traveled through him to his core—pressure built in Darzsa’s chest from the reverberating disruption juddering his bones. Flames from the hearth cast tall shadows, shrinking the room. As soon as he couldn’t endure it anymore, she stopped.

And then this one is a little coworker strife

The rest of the girls crowded around Darzsa and asked where he got his dress from; some said they saw it in the window of Mercier and Messina. Ellie lowered her voice and asked, “That guy got it for you, didn’t he?”

“I never kiss and tell.” Darzsa winked and shooed his coworkers away from him.

A hush fell over the room when the door opened and who else but Ruthie appeared. Darzsa saw her reflection and, the same as last night, paid her no mind. Everyone else busied themselves with fastening shoes and layering beads to avoid the swirling tension in the room.

Ellie and Barb nudged Darzsa in unison and gave him the same look in the mirror. Behave. He rolled his eyes and helped Ellie wipe the stray liner off her lid and correctly apply it.

“Well, aren’t you the belle of the ball tonight, Darzsa?” Ruthie took her place and started on her hair. “You ran back to one of your daddies? I know that spade didn’t get it for you.”

Ellie’s chair almost crashed when she stood, but Darzsa caught it and patted her arm to settle her down. Half the girls gathered their gloves and shoes and hightailed it through the door while the rest kept their heads down.

Nothing Ruthie called him was worse than he’d already heard, and since he’d stopped caring about her existence, it mattered less. But bringing Jo into their strife? Well, that was another matter. One Darzsa guaranteed would be her last with him.

Barb’s blonde curls bounced when she bounded up to Ruthie and slapped her. The loud smack ricocheted around the room in a delightful decrescendo that was music to Darzsa’s ears. Ruthie could spare the rouge tonight; her cheek was red enough. Tears streamed down her face, winding through her freckles and pooling around her chin before dripping onto her dress.

A little context “spade” was a slur for African Americans in the 1920s so yea. Rest assured she doesn’t get away with, but you’ll see that if you read

Give In to Me | Tapas

[MimSS]

This whole chapter is full of tension, but this is where it really starts. I would say it's sudden cause the POV character (Taeyong) doesn't expect it
(Context: this is a dinner scene at Jaejin's and Hyunwoo's house)

“Minjun? He's too sweet for that. I already know he’s a lot nicer than I am. I thought my baby would be as rough as me,” he said, casually. Yet, he stared at his plate in deep contemplation.

Taeyong reached over and placed his hand on his. “You are nice,” he said, cracking a smile. “You just don’t waste it on undeserving people.”

Jaejin chuckled. “True. Who has time for that, anyway.”

“Yes, well. I hope you don’t teach Minjun that,” Hyunwoo said, nonchalantly taking a spoonful of soup.

Everyone stared at him, Cho Hwa and Taeyong flicking their attention to Jaejin. His gaze felt uncomfortable paired with a casual smile instead of gritted teeth. “Well, I’m the one raising him. I can’t help it if he starts acting like me.”

“I wouldn’t call it raising when we have two nannies.”

“At least I see him more than five minutes in a day,” Jaejin said, barely concealing the snap in his voice.

Taeyong grimaced and met Cho Hwa’s equally concerned eyes. “Well,” Taeyong started. “You can’t tell a child’s personality by their parents."

3 Paths to Love | Tapas

[ivanskilling]

One of my favorite scenes to write! Lesson to learn: don't be oblivious to your surroundings when there may be stalkers watching your every move.

The music came to a stop. She waited for her phone to shuffle the next song, eager for something more heart-pumping. When the shrill whine of a violin pierced her ears, her breath caught in her throat. Flashes of a tall and skinny man shrouded in shadows burnt into her eyes.

She hissed sharply and gulped for air. Why was this song still in her phone?? She could have sworn she had wiped it from memory.

Never mind that. She stopped and dug into her bag with trembling fingers. No wait, it wasn’t in her bag. Tears welled in the corner of her eyes as she frantically tried to scramble her mind together.

She pushed her hand into her shorts pocket, finding her phone. She fished it out and slammed her thumb down on the “Pause” button. The chilling music came to an abrupt halt. A shaky breath escaped from her lips. The knotting tension in her shoulders eased up.

With the absence of the music, a deafening silence enveloped her. She looked up, her senses on full alert. There were no cars, no sound of civilization. The birds had stopped singing.

Sandra pulled the earbuds out and hurriedly stuffed it in the other pocket of her shorts. Her wide doe eyes flitted from left to right. The beautiful scenery before her morphed into an evil and menacing prison. The shimmering red of the sunset flashed like a warning sign. The tall trees that lined both sides of the road boxed her in. She wanted to run - run as fast as she could - but her legs refused to budge.

A sudden stab of ice lanced through her. The chill spread down her back as she felt a pair of eyes roam down her body. Her hair raised on end at the invisible touch. A cold draft tickled her exposed skin. She shuddered, a whimper breaking from her lips.

Devil's Triangle | Tapas

[Elysee]

I think the scene isn't that big of a thing out of context but it's still one of my fav, so here it comes.

The young Earl started to sweat, it is the first time he had to save two lives and not like usually only his own. What made him tremble in fear. Thousands of ‘What If’s’ roamed his already panicking mind.
“Augustin! Apples, give me Apples!” Edgar screamed at the top of his lungs, followed by the cold and quite loud answer of Augustin.
“THIS IS NOT A GAME!” A now red with rage Prince emerged behind the curtains. Squeezing the living hell out of the fabric, Edgar thanking God that it was not his throat caught between these slender fingers.
“No, it’s not, but you have to stop this!” The young Earl pledged. Shaking to the bone Edgar makes a step forward, simultaneously watching the soldiers around him. Philomena pressed against his chest seemingly asleep.
Augustin’s jawbone was trembling under the pressure he put on it. With gnashing teeth, the Prince came forward, letting the fabric lose.

The rest of the scene would spoil to much, so it will just leave it there.

Darling | Tapas

[impossiblesoul]

She couldn't even begin to register this.

It was all too much to take in.

Her hand clenched up around the pen on the desk.

Her pupils shrunk a size smaller.

This time, however, her breathing was steady.

Then,

“AAAAUGH--!!”

The pen was now lodged deep into the shoulder of Varlus, the alien crying out in pain.

The alerted guard took aim over the kneeled victim of the pen stabbing.

Evelyn had reached into the pile of ashes for that glint of metal, the knife then meeting its target after an adroit toss--embedded into the shoulder of the guard who then pulled the trigger.

It was a clear miss, a crater in the desk sizzling from the blast.

She had sprinted forth.

The very last thing this guard would witness were the crazed orange eyes of a war veteran in a maid outfit.

The knife had been removed and was now implanted into the neck of the spasming, incapacitated guard.

Conquering Planet Earth | Tapas

[JWZagst]

I figured I'd share another "suddenly tense" snippet from my novel:

While police began moving throughout the battle zone, B.E.A.C.O.N. agents showed up as well. Back in the park, Mallory was doing his best to heal everyone -- to maximize the spread of his energy, he would only work on people in critical condition, and only enough to stabilize them until they could get to a hospital. Once Linnie had returned to the scene, she and Abigail had partnered up to accelerate victim recovery from the debris.

It seemed to everyone that the immediate danger had passed, so they were not prepared when a sparkling wisp of multi-colored energy suddenly dropped from the night sky and zipped straight for Lestraud’s body bag laying on the ground. It vanished inside, and a moment later, the corpse began to levitate.

“This does not look good…” Eddie said nervously.

“What the fuck…” Abigail groaned.

The air pressure around them began to change, and a severe thunderstorm moved in rapidly, seemingly out of nowhere. Violent strikes of lightning repeatedly slammed into the doctor’s body, and the bag wrapped around him exploded into a million pieces. He then released a sharp, pained gasp, suddenly returned to life.

“What? WHAT?! What is… Why…. NOOOO!” he screamed out in agony as he levitated in the air. More lightning struck him, and he balled his fists as his eyes began to glow once more. His pained expression was then replaced with a sinister, teeth-baring grin. He lifted his hands up in a grand gesture and began laughing harder than he ever had in his life as an aura of ruby-gold energy erupted around his form. The broken pieces of the walking cane snapped back together and went hurtling through the air towards the revived Jaggerdaw, and once it returned to his grasp, the eyes of the skull began to glow once more.

The Ballad of Mallory Dane | Tapas

[MShadowlawn]

Oh, you know, just a nice fight scene opener.

I lean against the fence surrounding the old church, checking my watch idly. It’s already 11 PM. I’m finding it a little difficult to keep my eyes open, but I need to keep an eye on my angles regardless and hold on ‘till midnight. I’ve noticed there’s a curious fog building up, making the fenced area of the church look like zombies were about to pop out of it like from an old-school zombie movie. It feels almost ominous, in an honestly incredibly cliché manner. I flick up my secondary ears and try to focus on triangulating the sounds even as I’m barely keeping my mind out of its own fog.

I hear footsteps from my left. One figure, humanoid, but it definitely didn’t originate from within the church. Suddenly, I feel the tempo change, the footsteps accelerate, like a piano drumming up tension for dramatic effect. I draw my sword and let it rest at my left side, looking in the direction of the footsteps. Some hoodlum with a hoodie, a mask, and shades on, walking in my direction, and he has some sort of stick in his hand. Suddenly, he up and charges at me, his feet pounding the stone brick road down, steps echoing as he runs through the mist.

Urban Wolf: On The Run | Tapas

[rj_rals]

Thank you for making this thread! This is a fun way to promote stories :>

From Paper Jam:

She slowly flipped all of the pages of the book aside to find the back cover, intending to see the sticky note that she had left the other day. She was surprised to find not one sticky note, but two.

Her eyes widened and her heart raced within her chest.

The second sticky note was yellow, in contrast with her own blue sticky note, and had a sentence written in very familiar handwriting--not unlike the one that filled the margins of the book that she held in her hands.

She swallowed, her throat suddenly dry as her eyes followed every single letter of the handwritten sentence in front of her, palms beginning to sweat as she reached the curl of the question mark that indicated the end.

You still read this book?

Paper Jam | Tapas

[therosesword]

I meant to put this up the other day from volume 2 of Bright Morn before I had to take it all down, but darn it... gonna put this scene up anyway:

In the moonlight he saw Sorrifa and the figure fighting hand to hand. Spinning, kicking, punching, while getting closer and closer to the river's edge.

"Stop!" He yelled.

Neither person listened. A high and wide kick by the figure was blocked by Sorrifa but the blow was strong enough, and the grass at the river's edge damp enough, her feet slipped out from under her. She grabbed as she fell, pulling the figure with her into the fast-moving water.

Morn saw her fall at the moment he could feel himself stepping into a memory. He poured everything he had into staying present and ran forward, discarding sword, boots, and belt before jumping into the cold liquid.

"NO! PAPA!" Dasch screamed at him. Before he could follow Rof grabbed the boy, holding tight.

The men ran down the riverbank, trying to see Morn, Sorrifa and the figure. Because Sorrifa wore light colors they could see her bob in the water when the moonlight filtered through the branches of barren trees. Morn was in dark clothing; they could not see him, and the figure was nowhere to be seen.

Dasch's eyes were black, his skin awash with color as he stripped the energy from maintaining its human tone and directed it toward Morn, hoping his father would feel him and respond. 

In the water Morn fought his body and mind for control, screaming out Sorrifa's name before being pulled under by the fast-moving current. He banged against a submerged rock, his mind momentarily wondering if a bone broke, then banged hip first into another. This rock he managed to push away from, and at the moment caught sight of Sorrifa.

He screamed her name again as he went under. His tabard tangled in submerged tree limbs, then the sleeves of his jacket. He flailed at the branches, his mind screaming for Sorrifa. He swallowed too much water. Each flail got weaker and weaker, then something grabbed him with a neck wrenching grip on his knot top. He was yanked from the water and dragged onto the shore. Consciousness ebbed away.