Aquaertus

Chapter Eight - Venturing Farther

When I get back to Earth, I'm never going to swim ever again. This sucks.

I've been swimming for roughly 5 hours, according to the position of the sun. All I've accomplished is exhausting myself beyond belief. I'm already 25% done with this journey, and I've barely found anything.

I found some new life forms, fish and plants alike, but not much else. This journey has consisted of water, water, some fish, and more water. I think if nothing new shows up within the next hour, I'll just swim back to the pod. I don't want to swim for another 15 hours if I'm not going to find much else.

I continue the tedious strokes which I've been repeating for the last few hours in the direction I started. I find it odd that the depth of the water hasn't strayed much from 10 feet, even though I've been swimming for so long. This planet is so strange.

All of the sudden, as I'm swimming peacefully near the surface, I feel a screaming pain in my left leg - the same that was attacked by the squid. I think I may have simply bumped the tender healing bruises, until I look down.

To my horror, I see a large, long, sandy-colored, snake-like creature with its teeth sunk into my leg. Holy shit.

My first reaction is to punch it in the face. The blow startles the varmint for a moment, allowing me to wiggle my leg out of its grasp. It's painful and worsens the wound, but at least my leg isn't gone.

Adrenaline beginning to pump through my veins, I use all of my energy to swim as far away from the monster as fast as physically possible. My panic and hormones allow me to swim much quicker than I normally could, but the snake is extraordinarily speedy. The snake gives chase, and gains on me without much effort.

I'm actually going to die.

Although I have little hope of survival at this point, I continue to push my body far beyond its limits. I swing my arms and kick my legs so much that I can almost hear my muscles tell me to stop. The adrenaline keeps me from feeling any pain, but I know if I escape from the creature I might end up dying from injuries anyway.

I can hear the snake right behind me, slithering and slicing through the water to catch me.

I can't give up. I can't give up. I can't give up. I have to keep going.

I look far ahead of me to see where I can go, when I spot an island half a mile away. I don't dwell on the new information, rather I put all of my energy and focus into moving towards the island. If I can get on the island, I can get away from this damn snake, and that's my only concern right now.

I propel my body through the ocean water, mind blank except for my instinctual desire to save myself. What must be seconds feels like centuries as I make my way to the island, alien snake hot on my trail. I get closer and closer until, finally, as the snake takes one last snap in my direction, I reach the shore of the island. I crawl onto the sandy beach with what little energy I have left, tie a tourniquet using a detached strap from my backpack, and pass out.