THE NEYVEN MAYHEM

Chapter 11

"How do we stop sinking?" June says in a frenzied way. Suddenly I knew what to do, "Stop. Stop all your movements. First thing you need to stop panicking and calm down." I said and tried to do the same but it was easier said than done. "See now we're already knee-deep into this quagmire, just slowly lie down on your back." This didn't apply to Ian though, he was only visible from above his abdomen. "Try to do the same," I tell him. The swamp was big and was an irregularly shaped one because June was behind me she could've escaped it but, unfortunately. "Ouch! My knee..." She slowly lies back as I had instructed. In about 5 minutes I make it out of it. Scout training lessons, at least worked somewhere in need. I crawl up on the ground unsure if I'm still inside the area or on hard ground. I look around for a stick or something that I could use to check the hard ground from the quagmire. Ah! I could reach out to June from here.

"This is anything but helping," Ian grunts, still struggling. "Okay just stop all your movements." "And see myself die helplessly, that's what you want right?" "Yeah right, I came all the way running to witness you die in front of my eyes." I remark with sarcasm, "Just shut up for once and do what I told you." I reach out to June while trying to judge the expanse of the swamp. "It's okay I'll get out. Go and help him." Of course she would, she was almost out, and she was smart enough. "Okay," I say firmly and move towards Ian.

He grunts a few times trying to escape it but it only engulfs him further, down to half of his chest. This isn't working. A sudden panic seized me, he really would die if he didn't make it out of the swamp. I looked around desperately to see if I could get anything that might help. No. Nothing. I found I still had the bag tied across my body, I strangled it open. His jacket, thank god. I quickly stretched and twisted it and threw the end of it towards him while grabbing the other end with both my hands, "Hey! I can try to pull you out, so please cooperate." Thankfully he catches it. June was brushing off the mud off her, seeing what I was trying to do she came over to my side and we both tugged at the jacket make-shift rope. "Oh no! The cylinders." she suddenly notices the half-sunk shiny pair of metal and rushes to retrieve them first.

After another minute and a half of struggle, Ian was out almost past his thighs. "Now lie on your back and crawl out." He obeys without complaint, slowly gets out of the goo and drags himself on his elbows. " Ah! Give me your hand." I reach out to pull the last of him up.

~~ some hours ago~~

JULY 3rd, 2045. 16:40.

- Neyven -

IAN'S POV:

I had almost given up all hope that I'd see another morning. 'Damn, getting off by myself was not a better idea,' I thought to myself. Last evening I decided to take a resort on a tree, but before I could do anything about it, I was attacked by something, somebody, without giving me a chance to fight back. The next thing I knew was lying face down on the forest floor, drenched all over, and a very muddled memory. It was daytime, and it was slightly drizzling. I got up and tried to sort out my thoughts. I felt a pit in my stomach, my throat was dry as desert sand. Where was I anyways?

Then it slowly came to me, one after the other. Neyven, Zoe, the forest, Aria, her sister, Chad, pods, that creature, I get mad, leave Aria and June, somebody attacked. Instinctively my hand reached out to my neck, I had felt something tingle there before everything went dark, but no I couldn't feel a thing then. I get to my feet and ponder on what I should do now. The compass on my wristband was still there, and working. I guess I'll just keep walking south.

After some ten minutes I reached an odd clearing, quite some area without any trees. I looked around but continued walking when suddenly my feet got stuck to the ground and then started to go in. A quicksand sort of something. I tried to pull out my legs but they only went further in. That's when the reality of the situation dawned on me, I am stuck! Only one thing that occurred to me then was that I needed to stay as still as possible, that's the only way you avoid sinking further underground.

Sink I did, slowly, approaching a very lethally slow and torturous kind of death. I'm sorry Zoe. I said that in my head. I wanted to cry, like a child, but thought not to. If Zoe was here she'd tease me saying how she knew a 19-year-old who still cried tears. I tried thinking of all the good memories I had, about us, my friends and given this moment I suppose I can forgive Vanessa after all, though her cheating was never justified.

I didn't keep track of time, it would only make my mind more restless. I hated the way I was ready to give up, but I wasn't given much choice so to speak. My legs grew numb, all the blood started to collect up near my thighs. It had stopped raining. I started to feel tired and my breaths grew short. After sinking a little more, about to my waist, I thought I felt something touch my left foot, something hard, it could've been just my mind though. But no it was something and that thing was doing more harm than good. No, if I keep going down at this pace I'll sprain my leg really bad. I finally moved to shift it a little forward, only sinking further down. I stained myself as much as I could to move, without actually moving and end up getting swallowed altogether.

I gave a small cry, out of pure reflex though. My leg is broken perhaps, not that I could feel much. That's when I heard someone call. It was Aria? Or am I hearing things? It happens when people are stressed or are halfway through losing their minds. "Help!" I shouted. If it's my imagination, there won't be any answers. "Ian?" I wasn't dreaming it, no. Her voice sounded very much real. "I'm..." I paused a beat, "...stuck." A few seconds pass. "Ian! Hang in there we're coming." June is with her. Oh no. "No, no, don't..." I already caught a glimpse of them. Too late.

Now I've pulled them into this shit along with my dumbass self. They start sinking as soon as they realise what's wrong. "Holy shit!" Aria swears out loud. I didn't think I'd get to hear her swear, and honestly, the sound of it somewhat turned me on. What's wrong with me? June gets out first, following Aria's directions, I tried to too. But my leg was killing me. "This is anything but helping," I say. "Okay just stop all your movements." "And see myself die helplessly, that's what you want right?" I did not have any right to get mad at her, but well. "Yeah right, I came all the way running to witness you die in front of my eyes. Just shut up for once and do what I told you." She gets panicked for a moment but manages to pull me out with the help of my jacket. She's smart I'll give her that. 

"Ah! Give me your hand." I pull myself to my feet, threatening for a second to fall over her. I could barely feel my legs. She understood it and dragged me towards a tree. "You, alright now?" she isn't mad at me? Anybody would be. "Um yeah, I guess," I answer. "Sit here for a while." "Hm, I'll need to." I take support on the tree and she goes back to June. "Did you find the cylinders?" "Only one. I lost the other, it's not possible to get it out anymore." "It's alright." 

They both come to me. "Hey! Vincent, you good?" June gives me a smile. "What does it seem? At least I'm alive." Aria sits down across from me. "Yeah! Thankfully." "Um, well..." c'mon I should thank her I basically owe my life to her. "Yes?" She looks at me, her brown eyes looking darker in this faint evening light. Given the moment if the situation was normal I might have done something. 'Stop it Ian!' I say to myself. "Well. Thank you. And sorry. I mean it." She looks at June and maybe she lips her something. "Okay." she says looking back at me, "You're welcome. And it's alright." We decide on staying right there till daybreak tomorrow. Turn by turn we take in some pure oxygen, no wonder I was feeling so tired before. "How did you survive all this while without the oxygen?" June asks. "It's a mystery to me too. But I needed it. I owe you one." I say. Honestly, I have no idea how I survived this low-oxygen atmosphere.

I drank some water and downed two pills, it won't curb my hunger but beggars can't be choosers. "How did you get in that mess anyway?" June asks me. "It isn't anything. I was just walking and didn't realise before it was too late." I keep the fact that I was attacked last evening to myself. Something told me not to tell them.