Marsh

Part 1

The air was thick and humid. Leaves and greenery wiped past her face and arms. Her lungs burned and her legs screamed at her, but she could not stop. If she did he would find her. He would be on her, and she would not, could not, let that happen. Out here, this far deep, she didn't bother to scream for help. There would be none. He was counting on that when he brought her here. Out here, she was alone. But she would not be the victim, and she would not endure what he planned for her. She would rather die. So she ran. She ran on legs that were bloody with scratches. She ran on bare feet that too were red and bloody. After what felt like hours of running, she jumped into a thicket of dense greenery to catch her breath. Even that, she did as quietly as she could.

Night would soon come, and what then? She was not in the least bit prepared for enduring a night out here. Sure the whether wouldn't kill her, but maybe some of the animals out here might. One thing at a time. Sitting here, catching her breath, despair finally began to rear it's ugly head. No, not now, there's no time for that now. So, tired as she was, she stood up and took in her surroundings. Had she gotten away? Had she run far enough? He was so much bigger than her, and he knew this place so well. She closed her eyes and listened. Nothing. Just the sounds of the swamp. She breathed a sigh of relief. So what now?

Slowly, she began to move through the swamp once again. More slowly, more deliberately. How stupid she had been before, leaving all those tracks behind. But she was so scared and she was finally free, all she could think to do was run. Had he noticed she was gone yet? How long did she have before he came looking? Before he found you? NO. None of that now. He may be an amazing tracker, but she had a head start. That had to count for something, right?

Lost in thought, she did not notice the red eyes watching her.

She wandered for a few hours before she felt like her limbs would no longer carry her. Then she wandered for another hour still. Her mind raced with questions. Questions she had no answers to, like where is safe to rest? what can I eat, I'm so hungry. and How long again is it that humans can survive without water? Despair hung behind each one of those questions.

She wandered closer to the water. Surprisingly, there were no alligators in sight. She had glimpsed them and fear of them had prevented her from coming near the water to rinse out her bloody legs. She scanned the area again, but seeing no sign of any animal, she ventured closer to the water. It didn't look clean, but it was clear enough to see that there was nothing lurking beneath. Tentatively she dipped one foot, then the other in. It was cool and soothing on her swollen legs. The feeling bringing her to close her eyes while she sat. For the first time in these past 3 days, she felt something other than panic and fear.

This would not last. A terrible roar jarred her momentary peace and brought her fear and panic right back to the surface. She tried to jump up, but found that her legs would not respond to her. Her whole body was shaking with fear and exhaustion. It had been a bad idea to sit down. She opened her eyes to find piercing red eyes glaring down at her. Attached to the eyes was something her mind was having trouble comprehending. It was kind of a man, but also kind of an alligator. Humanoid in shape, but covered in reptilian scales. The creature's hands had a set of 5 fingers which ended with sharp looking claws. It was also huge and sporting a snout, like alligators. This snout was open and bearing down on her. Everything in her screamed RUN.

She sat there, however, frozen and gaping at it. She had it in her to be surprised that after what seemed like a minute, the creature did not seem to cut her down. Instead it simply continued to glare down at her. HUMAN, WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY SWAMP?

Did it just talk to her? That was officially too much. She found a small reserve of strength enough to stagger to her feet only for the world to go black.