FROSTBITE 

The frigid water seeped down her spine, numbing her to her core, but she had no choice but to bear it. The deafening explosion had been their key to freedom, a heart-stopping diversion that was worth the risk. 

         Survival was their only option. 

Another moment in captivity would have meant years of torture, their souls slowly crushed under the iron heel of their captors.

         In the inky darkness, over a hundred women swam towards an island that seemed to appear and disappear with each ripple of the fog-veiled waves.

         They were invisible to the naked eye, but they knew their captors were close behind, the same way a hunted animal senses the predator's steps.

Against the unforgiving elements, their feminine physiques were no match for the unrelenting chill that crept into their bones.

         Their fingers, once agile and sure, numbed from the icy water, and hypothermia's icy grip tightened around their throats, a cruel reminder that not even freedom was guaranteed.

The salty sea water filled their mouths, a mixture of sand and panic, bitter on their tongues. One by one, they began to succumb to the unforgiving waves, their cries swallowed by the wind and their bodies lost to the abyss.

         What had started as a hundred swimmers fighting for freedom now dwindled to a mere twenty-one in just twenty-four minutes, their desperate plight as fleeting as the waves that carried them. 

         Silence fell upon the waters like a shroud, 
as the remaining survivors realized the haunting truth - the others were gone. 

         Five souls now struggled against the turbulent waves, their bodies numb and their hearts heavy with the weight of their sisters’ fate. One minute passed, and another, until finally, the ocean claimed its final victims. In the end, none were spared, their fleeting hope swallowed by the sea.

         Madalynn, Theresa, and Christine were the first to reach the shore, their bodies pulled by the currents like ragdolls. The waves, which had once been their enemy, now served as a cruel escort to land. The island received them with indifference, its sandy embrace cold and unwelcoming to their lifeless forms. Here, they lay still, their final resting place a cruel reminder that their struggle was in vain.