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Back The Wishing Game
Chapters (66)
  1. PREFACE
  2. Full Page Image
  3. ONE
  4. TWO
  5. One week ago
  6. THREE
  7. Present day
  8. FOUR
  9. FIVE
  10. SIX
  11. SEVEN
  12. EIGHT
  13. NINE
  14. TEN
  15. ELEVEN
  16. TWELVE
  17. THIRTEEN
  18. FOURTEEN
  19. FIFTEEN
  20. SIXTEEN
  21. SEVENTEEN
  22. EIGHTEEN
  23. NINETEEN
  24. TWENTY
  25. TWENTY-ONE
  26. TWENTY-TWO
  27. TWENTY-THREE
  28. TWENTY-FOUR
  29. TWENTY-FIVE
  30. TWENTY-SIX
  31. TWENTY-SEVEN
  32. TWENTY-EIGHT
  33. TWENTY-NINE
  34. THIRTY
  35. THIRTY-ONE
  36. THIRTY-TWO
  37. THIRTY-THREE
  38. THIRTY-FOUR
  39. THIRTY-FIVE
  40. THIRTY-SIX
  41. THIRTY-SEVEN
  42. THIRTY-EIGHT
  43. THIRTY-NINE
  44. FORTY
  45. FORTY-ONE
  46. FORTY-TWO
  47. FORTY-THREE
  48. FORTY-FOUR
  49. FORTY-FIVE
  50. FORTY-SIX
  51. FORTY-SEVEN
  52. FORTY-EIGHT
  53. FORTY-NINE
  54. FIFTY
  55. FIFTY-ONE
  56. FIFTY-TWO
  57. FIFTY-THREE
  58. FIFTY-FOUR
  59. FIFTY-FIVE
  60. FIFTY-SIX
  61. FIFTY-SEVEN
  62. FIFTY-EIGHT
  63. FIFTY-NINE
  64. SIXTY
  65. SIXTY-ONE
  66. SIXTY-TWO

"Help!" I scream. "Help me!" Yet what good does that do when there's no one around? My assailant knows this, for he doesn't even bother to muffle my screams.

He maneuvers me around until he has a good grasp on me.

I try to hold on to the metal with my good hand, but he's much bigger and stronger than me—so much so that he can effortlessly lift me up over the railing and...

One moment, I see the blinding city lights and the clear night sky full of stars. The next, I'm diving headfirst toward a turbulent abyss that is anxiously waiting to swallow me up.

I can't even react. I can't flail my arms. I can't move or do anything. I can only fall freely.

I fall at an odd angle. My shoulder is the first that makes contact with the water, then my head. Pain becomes my second skin as I dive toward the bottom. Even my good arm is useless, the pain from the impact spreading from my shoulder down my entire right side.

I sputter at being suddenly deprived of oxygen, but it's an instinctual reaction and one I'm paying dearly for as my mouth and nose fill with water. The more I try to keep it out, the more it seeks to rush inside.

I kick my legs, moving them in a fluttering motion in an attempt to stop myself from sinking even deeper. But no matter how much I try, it's useless. The current of the river spins and twirls me, the depths of the water reaching for me and pulling me closer.

Is it at that moment that I give up? Is it when I sink deeper and deeper? Is it when there's no oxygen left inside my lungs, or is it when my entire body becomes so filled with water it's almost one with the water?

My eyes are unblinking as I stare at the darkness—at the abyss that slowly calls my name. Slowly, I stop struggling.

This is my fate, it seems. But maybe it's a mercy. Maybe, just maybe...

More water gurgles down my throat.

My thoughts are in disarray.

I'm not sure if I can focus on anything specific as the seconds trickle down before my imminent death, but if I could, I'd always choose Nikki.

Nikki who saved me. Nikki who loved me. Nikki who...left me.

Nikki who is now waiting for me.

Everything slows down until I'm truly one with the darkness.

* * *

Water comes out of my mouth and nose as I cough and cough. My throat is on fire as I hold on to my stomach, spitting up every bit of liquid I swallowed.

I retch until there's nothing more to expel, at which point I collapse on my back.