Have you ever felt so trapped that giving up feels easier than fighting back? Germanie doesn’t know it yet, but she’s about to find out.
“This is the worst birthday ever. Twelve hundred dollars for this boat, and now I’m stuck in the middle of a forest for two hours? Because you weren’t ready? I told you two weeks ago. Oh, and no internet? Perfect. Definitely leaving a bad review.”Germanie bickered.
Her temper was as sharp as her voice, little does she know it’s not going to get her out of this destined situation. It was her 23rd birthday, and she wanted to be in a bayou full of weeping willow trees. It’d be perfect for her photos,instead she found herself stranded, disconnected, and restless.
“Listen ma’am, we understand your troubles, but there’s nothing we can do to solve this situation right now. All you have to do is be patient and calm,” the instructor said.
“Listen, sir,” Germanie mocked, tying her short brown hair back. “If you won’t do something, I will.”
Then in just a swift second, she was out of the boat and in the pungent emerald bayou water. She had taken action without thinking and now she is without food, water, and any outside connection. Not that she’d be able to use it, considering where she is now she’d be less worried about getting good photos.
“What the hell is that smell?” Germanie complained.
She’d been swimming in circles and hadn’t noticed until she saw the same boat she’d just jumped off of, 3 times. Only this time, the instructor was dead. Skull pierced by a spear, not well crafted, and appeared like an ancient artifact. Where could a spear have come from in the middle of a bayou? At the sight of his death, Germanie’s blood curdling scream shot through the forest. She was now alone, while her quick but paced paddles echoed, disturbing the deathly silence.
She splashed as quickly as she could through the moss covered water, making sure not to look back while she swam. Panic dominated her thoughts as she swiftly made her way to a small patch of land that rested beneath the crying willow tree. Ideas rushed to her mind of what to do, but she could only come to one solution.
“I’m gonna’ die here,no don't think like that. Oh my gosh, I left my phone, my water, and I have no food. What am I supposed to do? He’s dead, he’s really dead, that w-was a spear. It went through h-his head. So much blood. Where the hell did that spear even come from? A person? Why was it so...primal?”
Realization washed over her face,
“What if it's coming for me too?”she questioned.
Just then she saw a head break the surface of the water, for a split second her heart stopped beating. Terror swept over her, and her adrenaline controlled her legs. She ran as fast as she could, through the vines and bushes until she could turn around and no longer see the body emerging from beneath the surface.Once she found a stopping point the sun had begun to set, she had a deadly fear of crickets and loud bugs. But she realized after the sun was set that there were no natural sounds, and there hadn’t been any the entire time she was there. No crickets, no bee’s, no birds, nothing. Oddly unnatural for her being in a bayou.
“Thank god there’s no bugs out here, that would have made my situation ten times worse. Wait, where am I supposed to sleep? How can I do it safely when whoever that was could get me while I’m asleep? I don’t think there’s any safe solution to this situation.”
Germanie found a tree to sleep under and gathered leaves to make a small shelter, she tried to get as comfortable as she could knowing it could be a while till she finds help.
The leaves crushed while the damp twigs cracked, his arm stretched back and the spear flew towards her head. He missed by inches, but this was his greatest mistake, Germanie was now awake and she saw him. His hair was charcoal colored and long, his eye bags were almost as dark as his teeth, he only wore shrubs and his feet were exposed. Scars covered his body from head to toe, an image she would never forget. She ran, she no longer cared for the soundless bugs but for her life. Through the spider webs, tree branches, rocks, bushes, and small puddles she didn’t stop. She couldn’t because he ran too, throwing everything he held, his spears, rocks, arrows, and large sticks. The chase lasted till morning when Germanie found an opening in the woods, she ran as fast as she could to the opening and saw the boat, she didn’t hesitate to jump in the bayou water and swim to the boat. Only this time, she was constantly looking back to make sure the barbaric didn’t catch up to her.
Once she arrived on the boat, she quickly found her phone and turned it on. Her dead fathers photo on her lockscreen always cheered her up and it worked a little this time. A notification appeared on her screen,”you have now completed level 1, congratulations. Continuing to level 2.”
She had now realized that this was all a simulation, where real people had lost their lives or themselves. She quickly spun around once she read the notification and saw the barbaric who had stopped chasing her and stalked from behind in the woods. As the sun rose it gleamed on his face. Her heart then dropped when she saw the barbaric’s face more clearly. It was her father,scarred and more aged. The instructor lay dead next to her destroyed feet, and the boat began moving to the next level. She now understood silence was no comfort, but a warning.
