Heat of the Moment
Chapter 5: Heat of the Moment
The sound of the rushing river was constant, but it didn’t offer Sarada any comfort. Her world had become a nightmare of steel, fear and pain. The steel cage she was locked in was small and confining, making every movement a painful effort. Bound by ninja wire, her wrists and ankles were sore, raw from the tightness of the restraints. The gag in her mouth made her nauseous together with the motion of the cage. Her broken leg was crumpled beneath her, the sharp ache constant and unrelenting, while her ribcage pulsed with each painful breath.
The night had been a blur of confusion and pain. She barely slept due to the pain and the fear. The Naka River had carried her downstream, but Sarada couldn’t tell how far. She hadn’t been able to see much of anything through the holes of the steel cage, but she could feel the coolness of the night air giving way to the warmth of the coming dawn.
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By the time the sun began to rise, the raft had drifted steadily with the current. The raft wasn’t fast, but it was constant. The river’s current was her only companion as she lay there in agony.
The coolness of the night had faded, replaced by the morning sun. It was a struggle to stay awake. Every breath she took seemed like a monumental effort, labored by the gag that prevented her from fully inhaling. The exhaustion from her broken leg, the pain in her side, and the constant dehydration made her mind feel clouded and distant. The pain from the injury in her leg was bad, but the ache in her throat, the dry feeling, was so much worse. Her body screamed for water, for something to quench the parched dryness that had settled in her mouth.
Sarada’s muscles felt stiff from the long hours of immobility. Every attempt to shift her position in the cage, to find even the slightest bit of comfort, only made her pain worse, especially in her leg as it was burning with pain. The wire that bound her also kept her in a contorted, helpless position. She couldn’t move enough to stretch, couldn’t ease the cramping in her limbs, and every time she shifted, she could feel the wire digging deeper into her tender skin.
Her head swam, the dizziness from her concussion only growing due to the dehydration. I can’t… I can’t breathe right… She gasped, though the gag muffled the sound.
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She remembered her mother’s voice, soft and warm, calling her name in the quiet moments they had shared. She could almost feel her mother’s hands running through her hair, soothing her when she had nightmares, comforting her when she felt small.
“You’re strong, Sarada. You’re my daughter. You’ve always been strong. You have the strength of the Uchiha blood in you.”
I have to stay strong, Sarada thought. I can’t let the pain take over. I have to hold on. Someone will come for me.
But the thought was fleeting. It didn’t last long before the pain flared again, the sharp ache in her leg making it hard to think of anything else. Her vision blurred, and the edges of reality felt as though they were slipping away from her.
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By 11:00 AM, the heat started to get noticeable. Sarada’s small body had begun to ache with the oppressive weight of the warmth. The steel of the cage seemed to intensify the heat, reflecting it back onto her fragile form. Sweat slicked her skin, and her head pounded in rhythm with the ache in her leg. She could feel the hot sun, and the sweat made the wire chafe painfully against her wrists and ankles. Her body was starting to get too warm from the heat, and the dehydration was beginning to warp her thoughts.
Her eyes were glazed with exhaustion as the sweat poured down her face, stinging her eyes, making everything blur even more. The gag in her mouth was now like a constant pressure in her throat, making it harder to breathe. It was suffocating, and with every shallow breath, it felt like her lungs were being crushed. Her small chest heaved with desperation, but no amount of air would be enough.
The pain in her leg had worsened. It was starting to throb more with every gentle sway of the raft. She tried to shift, tried to adjust her position to relieve some of the pressure, but the cage wouldn’t allow it. She was stuck, completely trapped, unable to do anything but endure.
I’m so thirsty, she thought. Her tongue felt like it was swollen, and her mouth was as dry as sandpaper. I want water...
But the water was there, just beneath her, mocking her. The current of the river was so close, but the steel cage and the raft kept her from reaching it. She couldn’t dip her fingers in. She couldn’t even take a sip.
Her body trembled from the heat, her limbs stiffening as cramps set in. Her head felt heavy, her vision swimming as her body struggled to keep up with the dehydration. The world around her seemed to spin as her thoughts blurred together.
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“I’ll always protect you, Sarada. No matter what happens, you’ll always be safe with me. I’ll make sure nothing hurts you.”
Sakura’s voice rang out in Sarada’s memory, a flicker of comfort, even in this dark place. The thought of her mother was all Sarada had to hold on to now. I’ll be safe... you’ll find me. I have to hold on… I have to be strong.
But as the hours stretched on and the heat climbed higher, Sarada found it harder to remember those words clearly. The pain in her leg was so intense now that it threatened to overwhelm her. The dull ache in her side had become a searing pain with every breath she managed to take. She could feel her body giving up on her, her strength slowly draining away.
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By 1:00 PM, the sun beat down with its full force, the outside temperature had climbed to 35 degrees Celsius, and the air was thick with heat. Sarada could feel her body becoming weaker as she burned with fever from the scorching temperature. The air around her was suffocating, each breath like breathing in fire. The gag in her mouth had rubbed her lips raw, and her throat felt swollen and dry.
Her leg throbbed, and with each shift of the raft, the pain seemed to intensify. The pain in her side had escalated to the point where every breath felt as though it was being torn from her chest. But worse than that was the weakness that had overtaken her. She could feel the edges of her mind starting to fray as exhaustion and dehydration began to take their toll.
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By 3:00 PM, Sarada was too weak to even fight the sleep that tugged at her. Her muscles had long since stopped responding to her attempts to shift, and her chest heaved with labored breaths. Her thoughts were clouded, and the darkness that had been creeping in for hours now overtook her completely.
The sounds of the river seemed distant, and the sun had become a burning haze above her. She was burning from the inside out, her body aching and fatigued from the heat, the pain, the thirst.
Please… someone… she whispered to herself. But the words felt hollow. She didn’t have much longer to hold on. Her eyelids fluttered, and her body felt like it was floating away from her, like she was becoming part of the river itself.
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By 4:00 PM, the heat was unbearable. Her body had been pushed too far. She had held on longer than anyone could expect, but even her remarkable strength couldn’t withstand the toll the environment was taking on her. Her breaths grew weaker, her body trembling uncontrollably as she slipped into unconsciousness, the world around her fading.