The Rift

Chapter 3: Sleepless in Royal Woods

Lana slid down the fleshy tube to her demise. She plopped into a sack of hot liquid that was the monster's stomach. The little girl gasped for breath flailing her arms in the air, trying to get a hold of something, anything. She tried to climb out, but the walls were too slippery.

Her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness.

She let out a shriek when she saw the carcass of the deer the monster just ate a few moments ago.

Then she saw the carcasses if two large fish, two lake sturgeons.

"The Fishmens" Lana said. "NO!"

Lana's breaths became fast and panicked.

"HHHHHEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLPPPP!!!!!" She cried. But no one could hear her screams through the monster's thick flesh.

Her skin started to burn in the gooey liquid she found herself submerged in. even the air in the fleshy sack was hot and acidic, burning Lana's face and burning her lungs as she breathed the only thing she could do was wail in agonizing pain as her life flashed before her eyes.

"No, I can't die like this!" Lana yelled. "Please! I don't wanna die!" a tear rolled down her cheek as her body completely sunk into the acidic goo.

A large claw dug into the monster's stomach, just missing the little girl floating in its digestive aids. The contents of the stomach swished around rapidly as the sack was thrown through the air.

The movement stopped, the acid started to drain out of the stomach. Lana saw a hole in the stomach lining with light shining through.

She ripped the hole open wider with her tiny little hands. Big enough so she could squeeze through. She poked her head out and drew in a great big gulp of fresh air. She pulled herself free to see the monster that had swallowed her.

The creature groaned in pain. Its guts had been ripped out, and black goo poured onto the ground. The black goo must have been the monster's blood.

Too very large hands with long claws at the end of each finger reached out of the forest and grabbed the monster pulling it into the darkness to eat it.

Lana saw a giant reptilian tail slithering into the forest.

"There's always a bigger fish." Lana said.

Lana's skin still felt like it was burning. She was covered in acidic slim. She ran back to the pond and jumped into the water. She quickly rinsed all the goo off of her.

"Aaaahhhh" the cool water was soothing to her skin.

Lana heard a twig snap in the forest. It could be another one of those horrible swamp monsters, or whatever ate the first one might be coming back for seconds. Lana spotted the path to her campsite and ran as fast as she could.

...

"Hey, has anyone see Lana?" Lola asked as she and her siblings sat around the camp fire.

"Lana?" Lincoln called out "LANA!"
Lana's frog hops hopped into view.

"Hops?" Lola said.

"But where's Lana?" Lincoln added.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" Lana ran screaming into the camp.

"Lana!" The whole family got up.

"What happened sweetie?" Rita said.

Lana started to go into a panicked nonsensical ramble about whet had just happened to her.

"Ok slow down sweetie." Rita said. "You're, safe now, just tell us what happened."

"Ok so I was looking for the Fishmens," Lana stated. "but I didn't find the Fishmens. Instead this HUGE monster chased me out of the water. Then the monster ate me!"