Snippet #1918661

Everything was sticky. There were bugs everywhere and they were starting to stick to my skin because of the sweat. It was all so uncomfortable, my wrist ached, my throat burned and I was overheating due to the humidity. The bugs on top of all this nearly drove me out of my mind! I seriously needed to find a mine shaft and soon. My legs were starting to get sore from trudging through the thick swamp. It wasn't that I was lost but my perception of my location was definitely screwed. It wasn't long before she found herself at a rats nest. Crap I hope I haven't done a complete circle because that means that that creature would be still around. Paranoia was setting in and I twisted around wildly trying to find the tree that told me I had been here before. Thankfully I couldn't see it. That meant that this was a new nest. I didn't want to get too close since I really didn't want a horde of angry rats gnawing on my bones any time soon. That is definitely one thing I don't want; me dying of some stupid mistake and it being televised for everyone to see. I would much rather die in battle then some mongrel rodent.

There was something different about this nest. There was a slight current going towards it and over the cacophony of sounds I could hear trickling water. My heart skipped a beat. Could I really get so lucky? My mind soared at the prospect of being so close to a mine shaft. I slowly dragged my legs through the murky water trying to keep noise to a minimum. I reached the base of the nest and deep in the middle I spy a hole. The trickling water is coming from there and I'm getting cool blasts of air. It feels heavenly after this humid heat. But how to get there? The hole was blocked by a large root and the only way I could get there would be to crawl under it and that meant that I would have to get wet. But between getting soaked with the horrid water and finding supplies it was a no brainer.

So I eased my self down the my stomach so that my head was just above the surface and I commando crawled forward. The bottom was littered with slimy things that I really didn't want to think about. I easily passed under the root and found my self in the middle of the nest right in front of the entrance. Somehow I couldn't help but look up and above me I found dozens of sleeping rats scattered across the branches. I took a gulp because now was definitely not the time to wake them up. But now I faced another problem: how was I supposed to get down the mine shaft? It was a steep drop and the walls where rocky.

Fate seemed to shine on me today as just above the hole was a sturdy looking branch that I could hold onto while taking my first steps into the hole. There was a but in there somewhere though. On that branch slept a particularly nasty looking rat. Another gulp and I readied myself. Ever so slowly I brought my legs forward and sat up in the water. With the movement the water splashed a little louder and I froze. No movements so far. Delicately I grabbed the branch and used it to balance myself while I lowered my body down. I took it step by step stopping every so often. I was about to let go as my shoulders had nearly reached the rim of the hole but a rock came loose from under my foot and clattered down the hole. I stopped breathing. I waited a few seconds the rat above me let out a sighing squeak but otherwise nothing moved. I slowly let go of the branch and transferred my hand to the rim of the hole and made my slow decent into the blackness. It finally started to level out and I breathed a silent sigh of relief. I had made it! I was in the mine and could find supplies!