The Seventh Sin | Wattys2016

☩ Chapter Six ☩

How long I've been wading through the wilderness is impossible to tell. Time is just a concept in Louisiana's marshes. I'm as lost as Alice in Wonderland. I feel like I've been running in a neverending loop. Every step spreads a dull ache in my thighs, and each twisted cypress looks like the last. There is no change in scenery or a change in my thoughts. 

Closing my eyes doesn't help. Everytime my eyelids shut, images of blood and red mist flash like lightning. Opening my eyes only confirms that the horror is real. 

Somewhere above me, an owl screeches. Frogs and toads begin to croak and suddenly I'm surrounded by a cacophony of wildlife. Panic settles in as I realize I'm not alone in the marsh.

"Never go in the marshes alone," Mama always told me. "There are creatures out there that can do you real harm."

"You mean like alligators and pine snakes?" I would ask. 

"No, honey. Creatures no human has ever seen, and no human would ever want to. Promise me you won't ever go alone."

"I promise."

I pause, letting my feet sink into the mud below me. Horrible images play in my head as I scan my surroundings. The moon has disappeared since the beginning of my journey, and only the faintest sliver of starlight lights up the swamp. 

A twig snaps and catches my attention. The wildlife quiets. My senses rev into overdrive. 

Water laps increasingly higher up my ankles like there's something big moving in the water. The swamp is dead quiet save for my labored breathing. And then I hear it. It's gentle at first, almost too quiet to hear. It's the steady drip drop of water. 

A stream of air blows the hair off the back of my neck. A shiver rolls down my back. Wetness drips onto my shoulder like water that drips off of leaves after a rain storm. I look up. 

Before my eyes are two glowing orbs. I'm confused for a second. When did we get two moons? And then both of them disappear for a split second. No. Not disappear. Blinked. 

My body reacts quicker than my mind can process what I was seeing. Quicker than a dart frog, I run towards a tree. Something dangerous and... unnatural is out there. My mind is still trying to comprehend when a cold, slimy hand touches my cheek. 

I jerk back. 

A woman stands next to me in nothing but a thin slip. Her skin is the color of swamp water; her hair resembles a bouquet of moss and wet reeds. Her still outstretched hand is webbed with needle-like nails. And her face... her face is blank of emotion. Her strange, wide eyes stare ahead. At me? Behind me? It's hard to tell. 

Arms encircle my waist. I cry out and wrench myself away. A similar creature, this one completely nude, joins the first one. Both of their heads are turned in an unnatural angle towards my direction. They're strange eyes stare at me. 

One of them steps forward and raises its head to the sky. It's mouth stretches open until it's jaw hits her chest. I could easily throw a couple of tennis balls into her mouth. Glistening teeth stick out of her skull in awkward angles. It reminds me of the time I saw an angler fish on a deep sea documentary at school. 

I expect a screech, but instead a deep vibration shakes my bones. My ten year old body falls into the mud. Pressure builds behind my eyes until I'm afraid they're going to pop out of their sockets. Muscles spasm and bones creak until finally it's over. 

I'm too scared to open my eyes. I know that if I do, it will all be real. I hear movement at my feet and whimper, pulling my knees up to my chest. Hands grab onto my ankles and my eyes shoot open. 

There are more creatures now, at least twenty. All pairs of eyes are fixated on me. A few of them have grabbed onto my legs and are dragging me deeper into the swamp. Wild panic flares under my skin. I kick and scream at them. I cry for my mom. I cry for help. 

Not deterred, the creatures dig their nails into my skin and tug harder. Acceptance squeezes my chest like a vice. There's no hope for me. None at all. The only person in the world who loves me is dead. I'm too young and weak to fight the creatures off. They're going to drag me away and do who knows what with me. Eat me? Torture me? 

I close my eyes. I picture my mother and the way she would laugh and ruffle my hair. I picture our little home with the black shutters and wraparound porch. I've never really been religious, an oddity in our small town in the south. Mother always insisted that it was pointless to focus on such things. She said we should focus on what we know to be true. 

But now I find myself wondering. Is there a heaven? Is there where Mama went? Is that where I'm going to go? 

The pain in my legs lessen, and it almost feels like the creatures have retreated. Am I dying? 

There's hissing and grunting, now. Wails and a loud squelch, almost like the sound of boots stuck in mud, follow closely behind. There's a splash and then... quiet. Peaceful quiet. 

So... what do you guys think? What happened? And I apologize for the long delay in updates. I'll try not to do it again. 

-Sophia