Cody broke the surface with a dull splash and a gasp, nose barely clear of the water before she heaved in a wheezing, grateful breath. She coughed and spluttered behind her gag as some of the water went up her nose, but - even heavy with musty old-basement smells - it was still the sweetest air she'd ever tasted. The mingled rush of nail's-breadth survival and terrified relief washed through her, and it was all she could do to keep from letting out a muffled whoop of victory. But those precious few heartbeats of joy faded far faster than they had come, as fatigue wrapped hard around her again, and she found herself slipping back beneath the surface. Her cramped, half-numb arms felt like they'd been dipped in lead, and it seemed all she could do to move them, much less use them to keep herself afloat. Unthinkingly, she kicked at her feet to try to use them to help, her near-brush with drowning still leaving a muzzy haze hanging over her brain. With her ankles still firmly bound together, she accomplished nothing - other than kicking herself beneath the surface again for one brief, heart-lurching moment. When her face cleared the water once more, she tipped her head back as far as she could and paddled frantically at the chill liquid, which seemed to be trying to drag her back down into its smothering embrace. Panic slowly stole over her mind, and she found herself unable to even relax enough to float. Little whimpers and gasps of fear stole from behind the stifling, sopping cloth over her mouth, as she slipped ever-lower into the still-rising water...

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On to Plumbing Emergency, pt10


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I put up a "no frills" version of this picture over in my scraps at "Plumbing Emergency pt9, No Frills", for those who would like to get a look at things without my fumbling attempts at "special effects" like making Cody's skin look wet-ish and her hair a little darker (again, wet due to her immersion). Still have a LOT to learn about getting water right in Poser, and while I would maybe have liked to take the time to get it better in these, I just have too many other things I want to do for you folks just now. (Ahh, if I'd only realized what I was getting into when I started this one... ) I'll probably be continuing to work on this pic and a few others in this series as a learning experience, and if I ever get it right I'll put up an updated version. For now, hope you enjoyed!