Chapter Text
The breeze blew through the car windows, slapping Gem in the face. She groaned, flinging her head back to remove the hair from her face. She was trying to do her work. God forbid the wind could stop so she could make more progress.
The car rumbled a bit. Something must have hit it. Gem didn’t pay any mind. Perhaps Joel was back. He was always comically loud.
She placed a pair of leggings on the enchanting table. Her fingers trembled as another tremor burst through the car. She turned her head back.
“Stop it!” she yelled like a parent scolding their child.
Gem kept enchanting, but then the car rumbled again, sending the leggings gobbling off the table and crashing to the floor.
Gem made a noise in frustration. “Oh my god, I swear-“
But to her surprise, the floor suddenly wasn’t the floor, and Gem lost her balance and tumbled to the un-floor floor.
Her head hit the wall of the car, sending a jolt of pain through her body. She groaned, this time straining to stand back up. The floor of the car had turned into the wall and the wall was now the floor… someone had tipped the car over.
Gem stumbled back to her feet, trying to grab the door handle that was now on the ceiling. But then the car rolled over again and Gem found herself thrown against wall after wall, falling with the car as it tumbled straight into the river like a washing machine.
Oh no. Joel was going to kill her.
The car made a loud splash as it hit the water. Gem shielded her head from the impact with one hand and continued trying to pull the escape hatch with the other. Every time she got close, the car seemed to want to jerk away and slam her against the wall again.
At least being in water had its perks—the car wasn’t rolling around uncontrollably anymore. Unfortunately, as Gem made her way to the door and pulled the handle, nothing moved. She was probably five feet from the surface at this point. She was running out of time.
Sweat formed on her forehead. Gem pulled at the handle and pushed against the door with all her might. She clenched her teeth with effort. “Just… open…”
She put the weight of her abdomen on it and suddenly the handle popped right off, flying and landing on the other side of Joel’s prized car. Gem’s heart rate began to quicken properly for the first time this season. She was going to die.
Water rushed from the gaping hole where the handle once was. Gem scrambled to grab it, her trousers already stained with water, and slammed it back into place. It just fell out again. Water poured like a faucet into the car.
Gem’s heart pounded against her chest, her breaths hard and labored from the exertion. Her eyes scanned the car frantically for something, anything that could get her out. Maybe she could try another door. Or breaking the glass, but the water pressure wasn’t doing her any favors on those regards.
Gem threw her body at the windshield. Nothing happened, not even a crack, even though her sides burned with the impact. The water was filling the car quickly, up to her ankles now.
Gem panted, readied herself, then slammed her body at the windshield again. Something cracked. Red hot pain burst through her shoulder. There were no cracks in the glass. Shoot. She had broken her shoulder.
Gem stumbled back. This was unlike her. She knew pain. She knew how to survive. But not this. Not here. Not without her sword by her side. Not when the thing she had to fight wasn’t a person but the steadily rising waters, pouring up to her knees, quickly reaching her thighs, and Gem couldn’t walk anymore.
She grit her teeth so hard she felt tears escape from her eyes. Her broken shoulder screamed as she crashed it into the windshield again. She just wasn’t strong enough. Gem was strong. She was strong and she knew it. But she relied more on her agility and coordination to slice at her enemies, not muscles. Not like Joel. If only Joel were here. Gem wasn’t a damsel in distress, but she would love some help right now.
But Joel wasn’t coming. Maybe he was with Lizzie. Did he even care that Gem was dying? Would he ever care about his own teammate as much as the love of his life? No. No, never. And Gem would never blame him for it. But sitting here, water up to her chest, her shoulder burning with pain, Gem couldn’t help but feel hurt.
Her back found the wall of the car, breathing hard. She didn’t know if it was because she was panicking or if she had genuinely run out of oxygen that she found that she couldn’t breathe.
She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to will away the pain. Gem should have predicted this. She was so good at avoiding death, why did she let down her guard here, with so many reds on the server? Joel’s car was an obvious target. Maybe Gem wasn’t even the one they were trying to kill. Maybe they didn’t even know she was in here. That made her feel worse.
The water traveled to her chin. Gem pressed her face to the ceiling of the car, tears running down her face. She didn’t want to die.
Oh god, she didn’t want to die.
She felt as the water creeped onto her chin and engulfed her face like a tarantula, removing her access to air. Her mind raced. One last chance.
The water pressure should be the same now that the car was fully submerged. She should be able to open the door and hopefully swim up. Gem dived down, willing her eyes open in the murky depths. It was so dark that Gem had to feel around desperately, clawing at anything she could feel like a wild animal. She found the edge of a window and pushed as hard as she could.
Her head was spinning. The lack of oxygen was getting to her. But she just had to keep holding on. All she had to do was get out. Gem pushed at the door harder and harder. Nothing. Her limbs felt like jelly flailing through the water, unable to gain any good momentum to break it open.
Despite herself, Gem screamed, engulfing a large amount of water into her lungs. Her chest burned. She didn’t even know if she was crying anymore. She couldn’t get out. She was trapped and there was nothing she could do and she was helpless and Gem hated feeling helpless and Gem wished she could just die already because it hurt so much-
Gem’s arms pounded against the window, forcing them against the water with all the remaining energy she had left. Everything hurt.
She screamed again, but no air bubbles came out. Her vision turned spotty, flashes of black against more black.
Her pounding arms slackened. She felt the energy drain from her body.
And the black consumed all.