The Underneath

Chapter One:

Thick, bristly trees covered in moss and vines were scattered densely among the marshy undergrowth. Cattails and other tall brush littered the ground. It was in this dark, damp place that Felix had landed in from the Uplands. For several minutes, he did not stir, half from fear and half because the wind in his chest had been throw out of him.

Once he decided to move, he did so cautiously. A thin fog had settled over the area and Felix could barely make out a tree ten feet away from him. His limbs felt weighted, as if lead had replaced his bones. The anchor that had sunk him in this dreadful place was still tied to his ankles.

"Ug," muttered Felix as he attempted to sit up. His head swirled and, in an attempt to make the throbbing stop, pressed the palm of his hand to his forehead. 'How long have I been out?' he wondered as he regained enough strength to sit upright. After waking face down in sludge, Felix was able to view himself and asses his situation. His long arms, legs, and practically every other part of him were caked with mud and small strands of the vine undergrowth. A few small lizard like creatures scurried away from beside him.

"The sooner I get away from this place, the better," he thought. With his feebly functioning fingers, he began to untie the rope as fast as he could. The viscous mud made his job nearly impossible to do, but within the hour, Felix had managed to set himself free. 'I should find something to eat,' he thought as his stomach growled, discontent with not being fed. On still feeble legs, Felix began to walk further into the woods, not knowing where he would go.

Many hours passed and Felix was having no luck finding anything to appease his hunger. He decided to rest and sat down on the stump of a nearby tree when he heard something on the other side of the tree. His heart began to pound against his chest and Felix pressed himself as close to the tree as he could get. For several minutes, Felix listened to the scrounging and scratching until he was able to bare it no longer. He had to see the thing responsible for those sounds.

With all of the courage he could muster (which was not in great abundance), Felix pealed himself off of the tree and cautiously poked his head around the side of the tree and what he saw was most peculiar.

A small creature that resembled a lamb from the Uplands, with its wool caked in mud, was ensnared in a noose. The noose, by the looks of it, was meant only to trap the animal, not kill it. 'Here I am, moping and groaning about my situation and this creature has more problems than I do,' he thought. The swampy clearing he and the creature were in looked uninhabited for the most part, and frankly this lamb was the only sign of life that he had seen besides the common lizard and the vines and cattails that continuously insisted on tripping him. Acting on his first impulsive thought, Felix approached the creature. It stared up at him, its eyes flickering with fear. He knelt down in the mud and began to loosen the noose the creature was ensnared in. His fingers worked feverishly until, at last, the final strand of the wire and rope had fallen to the ground. The creature stared up at him and, within a split second, began to shift its form.

The pupils that were once circular became slitted, the once stub like legs extended into razor sharp claws. With a furious snarl, it raised its claws and slashed at Felix, sending him flying through the air into the marshy ground and the air was knocked hard out of him. He had barely regained his balance when the creature prepared to launch itself at him again, this time, with the intent to kill him.

It rocked on its haunches as a cat would before the spring. Then, with great force, it leaped and hit Felix with full force, knocking him back into the mud. Pinned and in the claws of a viscous unknown creature, Felix watched the poised claws. He prepared for the pain of being ripped apart, but as the creature prepared to strike, a horrible shriek sounded from the one side of the forest Felix did not investigate. In unison, he and the creature turned their heads toward the sound.