The water

I was feeling extremely cold. Opening my eyes, I screamed when I realised I was at the bottom of a fast filling transparent water tank. The water was extremely ice cold. I quickly struggled to stand up, wondering how I had got there in the first place. I remembered drinking some juice and then falling asleep. 

The water reached my waist but was filling up pretty fast. I screamed out loud but the sound stopped inside the tank. I was pretty sure no one could hear me from outside. I coughed out water that I had swallowed while at the bottom. The tank had a narrow opening at the top which was giving me the air I needed to breathe. I panicked as I saw the water level going up. 

In only a few seconds, the water was already at my neck. I continued to scream and shout, calling out for anyone to come and get me out of there, or turn off the water. The door did not open and I couldn’t hear any sound except that of the water. In the end, I watched helplessly as the water filled up. I tried to remain afloat and swim but it was of no use. The water was filling up fast. I started to hit the plastic tank but it was hopeless. Nothing was going to happen to it. The only way to destroy it would have been to cut the hard plastic but I didn’t have any sharp thing.

Soon the water had filled up but it was still flowing in from the pipe attached to the tank. The pipe was attached to the top which made it hard for me to be able to reach and try to block the water from flowing in. 

Submerged under the water, I started struggling to breath. I couldn’t find a trace of oxygen and when I breathed in, water kept going into my nose. I struggled for a few minutes as I began to feel dizzy and weak. The feeling of drowning has to be the worst thing I have ever experienced. I could feel my head and body shutting down while I couldn’t do anything about it. 

Sometime later, I became conscious again but drowned again almost immediately. For a few hours, I kept becoming conscious and dying after a few seconds. It wouldn’t have bothered me if drowning wasn’t so painful. The amount of water submerging my internal organs made them ache a lot. I could feel the intense pain every time I gained consciousness. I didn’t know how long I could take it before I ripped my organs out for some relief.

I realised Jackson was trying to break me. Had I not been in such a terrible situation, I might have laughed. I could feel my brain slowly shutting down again. The next time I woke up, I was lying at the bottom of the plastic tank. All the water had been drained. I used my elbow to support myself and started coughing out the water trapped in my body. The coughing was so painful but I knew it had to be done for me to get some relief. When I finished coughing like someone who was about to die, I felt a familiar presence in the room. I stood up, my dress holding on to my body like second skin.

“If you think you’re going to break me with such silly tricks, you’re mistaken.” I told him. “I don’t want to be with a man like you and all these things are making me realise that I’m making the right decision. Do you think making me suffer will make me want you?” I chuckled. “Instead it makes me hate you more. You’re just proving how despicable you are.”

He didn’t say anything, just stared at me for a few minutes.

“What is it, Jackson? Are you not used to people standing up to you? Well, now that I’m here, I’ll show you that not everybody will bow down to your tyrannical rule. Some of us will not let you treat us like mules. We shall fight for what is right.”

He smiled, which annoyed me the more. “That’s exactly what I like about you. You have so much fire, so much grit and guts. You’re not easily intimidated, even by a man with a reputation like mine. That’s exactly the kind of woman I want as my mate and luna. The moon goddess made the perfect match this time. You’re so much like me.”

“I’m nothing like you, Jackson king. You’re a despicable jerk who uses his power to make other people’s lives a living hell. I would never want to be associated with you in a way. In fact, I hope no one ever finds out that I was ever mated to you. You’re a monster.”

He sighed and walked closer to the tank. He looked into my eyes with his deep blues. For a moment, I was dazed and started getting lost in them but I moved back and looked around the room to break the trance. As much as I didn’t like it, this man had an effect on me. Until he accepted my rejection, I would have to continue wrestling with my attraction towards him. Every part of my body except my brain wanted him. I felt like forgetting the world and accepting him. A part of me thought I could change him.

But when I looked up to see him smirking at me, the anger returned. I rolled my eyes. “So what? Are you going to keep me in here all day? Will you bring in more water so I can continue drowning till I accept you?”

He nodded. “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. i want you to know one thing. I’m not about to give up on you. I will do anything to make you take back that rejection. Don’t you see? We’d be great together. We could be a power couple, given that we’re both tough. We can make our pack the greatest in the island.”

I rolled my eyes. “Do you hear yourself? We’re not the same. While you want to be better than everyone, I don’t. I just want to live in a fair world, where everyone is treated well and can access everything they need.”

“That’s even great,” he said. “You can be in charge of the philanthropic department. We don’t have it yet but you can create and run it, while I take charge of other things.”

“I would never work with or for you.”

He shrugged. “Well then. Enjoy drowning.”

“Please, alpha Jackson. Don’t do that to me.”

“Let me know when you’re ready to make the right decision,” he said, before opening the door.

Almost immediately, water started rushing into the tank again. As I saw the tank filling up, I wondered if it would be so bad if I accepted him as my mate. I didn’t feel like drowning again.