For one crucial instant, I’m frozen. I’ve had a lot of fights, but none of them has been underwater.

It’s immediately disorientating. I hadn’t been expecting to be pulled under, so I didn’t take a proper breath before the waters enveloped me. My sense of hearing is muffled, my sense of sight blurred by the water.

Having lost my footing, I can’t immediately tell which way is up. Reaching out with my free hand, I manage to touch the bed of the river – that’s down, then. Bracing my free foot against it, I push up enough to break the surface briefly. Enough time to gasp in air, but no more.

Because it’s then that the creature crushing my leg makes its move. Before I know what’s happening, I’m being twisted in the water, my leg forcing my body to turn or be ripped away.

It’s all happening so quickly! I don’t have time…. Time. This seems like the worst moment to do it, but I dive into Meditation and my Core space. Fortunately, all the practice I’ve had with this allows me to do it even when I’m so disorientated and, yes, panicked.

In my Core space, my perception speed is much faster, giving me more time to think. I don’t waste a single moment.

I’ve been attacked, I establish. By what? I think back to what happened. None of us saw the creature until the last moment – it must have been camouflaged or had some ability to make it invisible. Its jaws are big enough to go around my leg. Its teeth are sharp enough to pierce my skin, but they’re not that long. Its jaw pressure is immense. It’s in the river. It’s all very familiar.

The crocodile.

I last saw those jaws when they snapped together an inch from my nose. But that time, the crocodile was on dry land, my turf; this time I’m in its chosen environment.

I also remember something about crocodiles on Earth: the ‘death roll’. From what happened just before I entered my Core space, I suspect that that’s exactly what’s happening here.

That’s not good.

Although I suspect I could regrow my leg with Flesh-Shaping, I have no desire to actually do so. Unfortunately, being dismembered seems the most likely consequence of the death roll. Unless I can change something, somehow.

Aware that time is still passing in the ‘real world’ I quickly run through a couple of strategies mentally before I pull out of my Core space. Now I’ll have to play it by ear, getting my Bound involved where appropriate.

Coming back to a full awareness of my body, I’m already aware of the strain being applied to my leg, of the pain that’s already verging on excruciating. Willing the pain to reduce, I don’t try to ignore it completely: I need to know if my limb is about to tear free, after all.

The crocodile is fully engaged in its roll by this point. The consequent centrifugal force being applied to my body means that it’s very difficult for me to do any more than just try to keep my limbs as close to my body as possible and keep hold of my knife with a white-knuckled grip.

River! Try to interrupt its roll with your spear! I order even as I focus my own attention on going with the movement. My aim right now is to preserve my limb if I possibly can – reducing the force trying to tear it away is the best thing I can think of doing.

My lungs are already starting to complain about lack of air, but there’s nothing I can do about that either. Come on, River, I say to myself. The Bond already tells me that he’s heard my order, and is trying to follow it.

I’m trying to think of other options if he doesn’t succeed when I feel the frantic twisting motion start slowing. Finally.

If it was hard for me before to know which way was up, it’s even harder now that the river bed has been thoroughly disturbed and my brain thoroughly rattled. The water is no longer clear; instead it’s thick with dirt and debris. Still, my dizzy brain is able to interpret the input of my eyes to work out that the area which is lighter is probably the surface.

Using the crocodile’s own grip on my leg to give me leverage, I force my upper body upwards. Briefly breaking the surface, I breathe out explosively and then back in again with a great big gasp. Thus armed, I pull myself down to where my foot is trapped.

The crocodile isn’t lying still. I don’t know what River is doing, but either the massive reptile is trying to escape his stabs or it’s trying to fight back without opening its mouth. Either way, I’m jerked about a lot before I manage to grab at its head with my free hand.

Its head is smooth, with no easy place to grip. I end up actually sliding my fingers between its teeth, hoping that it doesn’t bite them. But then, to do that, it would have to open its jaws and let my leg out, which is exactly what I want.

I heave against the jaws, trying to force them open. An utter failure: apparently twenty points in Strength isn’t a match for the bite pressure of these jaws.

Using my knife, I try to lever the jaws, or cut the muscles to the sides of them. The crocodile doesn’t like that, tossing and twisting its head to try to deter me.

Grinning humourlessly, I just redouble my effort – is this the weak spot I need?

The crocodile starts bucking. One moment I break the surface again, and then the next, I slam into the ground. The force winds me, knocking out at least half of the precious air I had in my lungs.

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Worse, it jars my elbow. I feel a sharp shooting pain go through my arm. My hand spasms and goes numb. A moment later when feeling returns, I realise that something’s missing.

The bottom drops out of my stomach as I realise that I’ve lost my knife!

With only one possible strategy remaining, I pull myself closer to the crocodile’s head, meet the its bronze-coloured eyes and mentally shout at it.

Dominate!

The space we enter is familiar, but the amount of pressure against me is not. I’m almost forced back a pace from the very start.

How is it this strong? I ask myself. But there’s no time for that. I don’t know if there’s any time dilation with a Battle of Wills and I don’t want to drown because I’m taking too long in it.

I set my face to the deluge of pressure against me and force my foot forwards a step. Pace by pace, foot by foot, inch by inch, I gain on the foreboding presence on the other side of the space.

It’s more than an uphill battle. It’s an uphill battle through a river rushing with meltwater in the spring. Only my knowledge that if I give up I’ll be rendered paralysed for ten vital seconds keeps me going.

Starting this was a mistake.

I’d thought it would be a quick battle, was even prepared to forgo my moral qualms and forcibly Dominate the crocodile, if only to get out of its clutches. But that’s not going to work; if there’s no time dilation, I’m going to drown before I succeed. If I can at all.

Two thirds of the way towards the crocodile, I find I’m unable to make any more headway. The pressure has built and built, and now feels like a solid wall in front of me. Unlike the paper bag of the kiinas, this feels like I’m pressing against a block of poured concrete.

I shout in frustration, anger, and fear, the sound echoing oddly around the space. What am I to do now?

And then, without warning, the concrete wavers. A moment later, it vanishes completely. I stagger forwards, the abrupt lack of pressure against me bewildering. Looking towards the crocodile’s form, I suddenly realise that it’s not there anymore.

A moment later, the space around me collapses and I come back to myself. I’m coughing violently, lying on my back. I push myself weakly onto my knees and elbows as my chest continues convulsing painfully.

Water splashes out of my mouth as I hack up the fluid in my lungs. My stomach, deciding to join the party, convulses too and I vomit up everything I’ve eaten in the last few hours. As soon as my airway opens again, my coughs resume.

I dearly hope that nothing is about to attack me because I wouldn’t be able to fight off a kitten at this moment.

After a few, long, minutes, my coughs subside. My lungs still feel irritated and uncomfortable, my breathing laboured, but I can breathe, and I’m not being forced to cough every moment.

Carefully, I sit upright and look around me. I’m on land. That’s the first thing I notice. I mean, I should have realised that before, but I was a little distracted. I’m on the bank next to the river. The crocodile which attacked me is mostly still in the river, but its head and forelegs are propped up on the bank.

It’s dead. That’s clear enough. The blood at the back of its head, the glassiness in its eyes, and its sheer stillness are enough clues to tell me that. Though Lathani doesn’t seem to believe it – she’s growling angrily while glaring at it, daring it to make a move. I would be concerned by her proximity except for the fact that I’m sure it’s dead.

“Your work, I presume?” I croak out, looking at River. He’s standing over me, the emotions from his side of the Bond only a hair away from panic. Bastet is calmer, and is keeping an eye on our surroundings. Though she, too, is very concerned. I send them both a sense of ‘I’m fine’ over the Bond.

Yes, he answered. I’m sorry, master! I know you were trying to Bind the crocodile, but you were both still and you were going blue and I didn’t think that you could breathe water and- I cut him off with a raised hand.

“You did the right thing,” I say before grimacing at the pain talking causes me. I continue speaking mentally to him. I wasn’t making headway fast enough. I would have drowned before succeeding – if I succeeded at all. Thank you for saving me.

Of course, he replies, sounding a little calmer. I apologise profusely for not seeing it in time. I failed in my task of guarding you while you were vulnerable. I beg you to punish me as you see fit for my lapse. He sounds absolutely miserable. I shake my head.

I didn’t see it either. Nor did Bastet. I’ve encountered this type of creature before: it can camouflage itself against the river bed. Though that suddenly makes me think about something. Could Inspect Environment have detected it? A thought for later, though. I focus back on my remorseful Bound. You saved my life – again. That more than makes up for any ‘failure’ to see it in the first place. I should be rewarding you, not punishing you.

River actually recoils at that.

No, I…reward? I could not accept a reward when you almost died from my negligence.

And I’m telling you, I repeat with as much sincerity in my mental ‘voice’, that I do not consider it negligence. There are many, many dangers in this forest that none of us know about, and probably a good number of them are not ones we could hope to win against.

Certainly there’s one in particular that I would still not dare to face, even with as much progress as I’ve made personally and we’ve made as a group. If you don’t want a reward, fine, but I’m not punishing you for it either. I’m not going to punish Bastet for not noticing it, so why would I punish you? Do you feel like you’re more capable of recognising danger than she is? I challenge with my eyebrows raised.

The lizard-kin looks at Bastet hesitantly as if he wants to say something. At her narrow-eyed look, he shuts his mouth with a wordless click. Apparently he’s not willing to risk her wrath by professing any sense of superiority.

No, he admits almost grudgingly.

Then that’s the end of it, I say with finality. He tips his chin up for an elongated moment. I feel his side of the Bond lighten as if a weight has dropped away from it. Good. Now, if the coast is clear, I need to check out my body. Do either of you have any injuries? Or Lathani?

No, Bastet says shortly, making it clear that she’s answering for Lathani as well as herself.

I am well, River replies. The crocodile did not touch me. I nod and then settle more comfortably in a cross-legged position. Time to check out the damage.