Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
I held onto a piece of rope, not letting it go completely. I needed to give myself time to make a judgment; simply put, at the moment the rope tightened in my hands, I had to have time to crouch down and hold onto the wood.
Now, Buasong needed me to provide light. I had to sit up straight and shine the light from this not-so-high position onto the Lao People. If I didn’t leave some slack in the rope, the moment it tightened would be the moment I was pulled into the water. Of course, I couldn’t lie on the wood to illuminate Buasong; at that height, it wouldn’t serve any purpose in the turbulent waters. The moment I clung to the wood should be when illumination became irrelevant. That moment would determine success or failure; what I needed to do was avoid being pulled down and help pull the person in the water back up.
My focus was at an unprecedented height as my left hand loosely gripped the rope, my eyes fixed intently on the two approaching Lao People. The flashlight needed constant adjustments. My body bobbed up and down with the flow of water, swaying side to side, yet I had to keep the light from One-Eyed Beast steady. It was easy to imagine how frequently my mind was racing. However, I succeeded; even during the greatest turbulence, that Lao Person did not leave One-Eyed Beast's light circle. It felt as if there were a gyroscope stabilizing within me.
In contrast to my heightened tension, Buasong was fighting for his life. Within the light circle, he was severely tilted by the lateral force of the water but continued pushing forward through it. I couldn’t imagine how he managed it; just watching from a distance made me feel like collapsing.
The other Lao Person occasionally made paddling motions, but they were small and stiff, showing no intention of moving toward us—at most, he was ensuring he wouldn’t drown. I thought he didn’t realize Buasong was getting closer to him; of course, One-Eyed Beast's light shining directly on his face prevented him from seeing Buasong approach.
Buasong's efforts bore fruit; I clearly saw the two Lao People embrace each other. At that moment, as Buasong raised his hand to signal success, the rope in my hands suddenly tightened. Without hesitation, I released my grip on the rope and immediately crouched down on the wood, gripping it tightly with both hands.
The moment the rope around my waist tightened, an immense pulling force nearly dragged me into the water. My prepared body leaned toward the right side of the wood; even so, it almost slipped from my grasp. I clung desperately to the wood as my body was pulled toward its end, my arms and chest scraping painfully against the bark.
At that moment, despair truly filled my heart. I hadn’t expected this sudden force to be so great—great enough that no amount of strength could stop me from sliding backward. Despair clouded my focus; it felt like I would be dragged into the water at any second. Even if I concentrated now, it wouldn’t help. It seemed ever since I got involved in that Desert Archaeology incident, I had been struggling between life and death; my thoughts began to spiral out of control as I prepared for last words and prayers.
But in the next moment, my attention was forced back into focus by a sharp pain from below—a pain so intense it nearly knocked me unconscious.
Without needing to look, I knew what it was: there was a protruding branch near the end of the wood where I had previously used it for support while climbing up. Now my lower body was wedged against this branch. The severe pain made me forget any sense of relief; in fact, it prevented me from feeling grateful at all. I felt as if this incident had robbed me of some ability—clearly a sensation of injury down there made me think something had broken.
My teeth bit down on One-Eyed Beast’s flashlight with a creaking sound as if they might shatter or break through its metallic casing; saliva dripped down along its surface. My vision blurred as my eyes rolled back; I knew this was my body’s self-protective mechanism kicking in—I was about to lose consciousness—but this could cost us our lives. The worst part was that this pain would be for nothing; losing something down there wasn’t worth it, especially not before facing death.
A strong sense of unwillingness surged within me as I opened my eyes wide and clung tightly to the wood, constantly reminding myself: don’t close your eyes; I want to live.
I must thank the cold water continuously splashing against me, which, combined with my unwavering spirit, allowed me to hold onto the wood without letting go even in a semi-conscious state. The One-Eyed Beast I had been biting fell out of my mouth at some point, and I could finally close my lips, but the Blood Smell made me gag. I wasn't sure if I had bitten down too hard on the One-Eyed Beast Flashlight and broken a tooth or if my gums were torn, but the heavy Blood Smell indicated that I had lost quite a bit of blood. However, there was no pain in my mouth; perhaps this minor discomfort was overshadowed by the intense agony in my lower body.
I clung desperately to the wood, trying to move my body forward, but it was futile. My lower body was stuck in a fork of the tree, becoming the most effective anchor for the two Lao People.
Initially, the pulling force was at its strongest. As the two Lao People were dragged forward by inertia, the tension became more even. The intense pain in my lower body gradually eased, but I lacked the strength to move even an inch forward; at most, I could maintain my position to avoid further collisions with the tree fork. I was satisfied with that; I had resigned myself to the possibility that I might not be able to care for myself anymore and only hoped to avoid experiencing another inhumane suffering.
There was no way I could muster the strength to pull both Lao People up; simply securing myself to the wood had already exhausted all my energy. Now we were both in darkness. Although the One-Eyed Beast had fallen into the water, I had tied it to myself beforehand and wasn't worried about losing it. The One-Eyed Beast Flashlight was also waterproof, so I wasn't concerned about it getting damaged in the water.
I could feel the rope tied around my waist shaking violently, reminiscent of a fishing rod trembling when a fish bites and struggles. I knew that Buasong was pulling on the rope with all his might, trying to close the distance between us. I could imagine how difficult it must be for Buasong to bring one person closer while carrying another, but I truly felt powerless and had to endure the secondary pain caused by this effort.
I believed that both Buasong and I were doing our utmost to save that Lao People, but so far, I couldn't be sure if we would succeed. The longer this went on, the more exhausted we became; I had no confidence in whether we could hold out long enough to rescue that Lao People. To increase friction, I pressed my face against the wood; if there were any protrusions on it, I was certain I would bite down on them.
After holding on for a while, things seemed to be taking a turn for the better. As Buasong pulled us closer together, resistance began to build up; for the first time, my lower body lifted away from that love-hate tree fork, allowing me to awkwardly and slowly crawl forward.
When I finally had enough strength to free one hand from the wood without being pulled down, I did two things. The first was wrapping the rope around the tree fork. At the beginning of our rescue mission, time was tight; neither Buasong nor I had anticipated how great the resistance in the water would be, and we didn't have time to think carefully. Now that I had an opportunity, of course, I needed to free myself first so that it would be easier for me to assist in the rescue.
The second thing was retrieving the One-Eyed Beast Flashlight. However, what met my eyes next was a shocking scene.
I'm sorry, but there doesn't appear to be any content to translate. Please provide the text you would like me to work on.
Comment 0 Comment Count