Jenny and the Beasts

10. Strange Encounter

July 28,2022.

 The following morning, Jenny left the house for the first time in days. It was starting to look more like a house with their collective efforts. Feeling positive, Jenny went to the river to bathe. Having not stretched her legs in so long, Jenny lightly jogged there with Simon.

Jenny bathed in another area while Simon checked the fish baskets. Jenny scrubbed well and felt incredibly relieved. She bathed at home, but it felt so dirty watching the bath water turn pink. Now she could enjoy it while not getting disgusted. That was a major win for her.

Jenny washed her hair for the first time since her period started. Since she hadn't run around, her hair never got nasty, just a little oily. She took a look at her skin and found it looking better. It wasn't as dry and she swore her scars looked a little lighter then when she first wound up here. It could've been her imagination and wishful thinking, but she wanted to think positive. There was hope for her yet.

Jenny wanted to swim, but did not want to go far. She had not forgotten her encounter with the feral here and wasn't totally comfortable. She looked down at her underwear and sports bra and was glad to have them. Not that they would save her from a kidnapping, but at least she wouldn't have to be kidnapped naked.

Jenny finished with her hair and got ready to leave. Maybe it was her paranoia or maybe she really had a sixth sense, but Jenny felt her eyes wander as her her hair stood on end. A moment later, her eyes met a slitted green one. On the river bottom, not ten feet away from her, was the beast from before.

To her credit Jenny did not scream. No, instead she giggled. The poetic irony was spot on. She thought of the feral and there he was. If only that could work for everything in her life. Having had her stress dial up ten notches in an instant, Jenny slowly backed herself out of the water. As soon as her feet were both on dry ground, she felt a lot better.

Acknowledging how stupid that notion was, Jenny didn't break eye contact with the gator. She couldn't remember the difference between an alligator and crocodile besides habitat. The ocean is probably not close, so she assumed it was an alligator. One thing she did remember was that they were surprising fast on land. Knowing that she could never outrun him, Jenny had to think a million miles a second about what to do.

She watched the gator remove itself from the river bottom and swim a little closer to her. Holding her breath, Jenny debated screaming. Simon would stand no chance and she knew most of the other beastmen here wouldn't either. Since her course of action was not determined, they had a staring contest while Jenny's heart did aerobics.

Once the body of the gator was fully exposed to her, Jenny was hit with lightheadedness. The creature was massive. Gators on earth could get big, but this one would dwarf the biggest of them. He had to be at least thirty-something foot long, maybe closer to forty. It stayed totally submerged while Jenny stood shivering.

Jenny slowly reached for her clothes and dressed. The gator let her. Once fully clothed, Jenny backed up two more steps. The gator that hadn't approached her before, came just a bit closer. Jenny took another step and the gator moved again. Jenny froze and so did the gator. She stared and it stared. Feeling one of her fits coming on, Jenny used everything she had to hold back the giggles. This was ridiculous. If she stood here, unmoving, would he do the same? Unable to help herself, she felt an eyebrow rise up in defiance.

The gator did nothing immediately and Jenny really wanted to know what he was doing. He literally threw her back to Simon before. She kind of doubted he had that kind of interest in her, but here he was harassing her like this. She didn't get it.