The bridge groaned, its remaining strands snapping like brittle twigs. Isla and Kai, their faces pale, clung to the disintegrating planks, the chasm's darkness yawning beneath them. Anya, her eyes gleaming with dark triumph, watched their desperate struggle.
"Any last words, Isolde?" she purred, her voice laced with mockery.
Isla, her heart pounding against her ribs, glared at Anya. She wouldn't give her the satisfaction of fear. She wouldn't let her win.
"You'll pay for this, Anya," she said, her voice trembling but firm.
Anya laughed, a cold, mirthless sound. "Pay? I'm merely fulfilling my destiny."
The bridge gave a final, violent shudder, and the remaining planks plummeted into the abyss. Isla and Kai fell, their screams swallowed by the darkness.
They landed with a thud on a narrow ledge, their bodies bruised and battered. The air was thick with the stench of damp earth and decay. The darkness was absolute, broken only by the faint, distant glow of Anya's retreating figure.
"Isla?" Kai whispered, his voice hoarse.
"I'm here," she replied, her voice weak.
They were alive, but barely. Trapped on a narrow ledge, surrounded by darkness, they faced a new, terrifying reality. Anya's betrayal had left them stranded, vulnerable, and alone. They had to find a way out, a way to survive. But how?