Claustrophobic | Skephalo

Submersion

Zak

Enderman was the only word running through Zak's mind as him, Vincent, Clay, and Dave worked at getting away from the monster. Rocco was bounds ahead of the group, occasionally stopping to turn around before sprinting ahead again.

Darryl had regained consciousness once he was lifted out of the shelter and was now latched around Clay's waist; he wasn't able to make the run himself, Zak couldn't support his weight, and Darryl didn't want Vincent coming anywhere near him. Zak stayed behind Clay for the most part, wanting to break Darryl's fall in case he slipped off.

Dave was the one who had the idea to use the stream to their advantage. Everyone had been thinking about it, but he was the first one to suggest wading into the water, just out of reach from the Enderman. That's where they were running now, to a wide portion of the stream that would be the safest.

"It's just up ahead," Vincent calls out to everyone else.

The sound of rushing water increased in volume as the group made a beeline for the stream. Zak thought they must have looked insane from an outside party, the way they were desperately making their way through the woods.

That's freezing!

Zak was sure his lips instantly turned blue as he and the others submerged themselves under the surface of the stream. It's the coldest day of the year as far as Zak can remember, so the water wasn't exactly swim-worthy after all the cold temperatures and rain.

His second thought was to check if Darryl was alright. "Are you okay?" Zak asks, brushing his wet hair out of his eyes. Darryl sat on his knees, trying his best to stay in and out of the stream at the same time.

"I'm good. You?"

"Great," Zak lowers his voice. "I didn't know what to do, Vincent and his friends just showed up and decided to help. You're not mad, are you?"

"We can talk about this later, yeah? Let's focus on staying alive."

The Enderman's scream that had been constant throughout the time Zak had sprayed water on it until now, had suddenly gone quiet. All that could be heard was the water splashing around the group of boys, and the thick presence of the silence.

"Do you think we lost it?" Clay asks.

Dave shakes his head, a paranoid expression appearing on his face. "No. Stay in the water."

Zak saw the purple eyes before he saw the figure of the monster, peering at everyone from a distance of around six feet. Wanting to say something to the rest of the group, Zak decides it's probably best to keep quiet and let the Enderman wander away on its own.

I'm sure it will leave eventually, right? Darryl once said that avoiding confrontation is the best way to win a fight. Would that work here? When we're being hunted?

Rocco is the first to break from the coldness of the water, rushing out on the side opposite of the Enderman.

"Rocco," Zak hissed. "Come back!"

"Just grab him really quick. Here, I'll do it." Darryl offers, wading in Rocco's direction, who was sitting on the edge of the stream, having only a paw hanging in.

"No, stop!" Zak whisper-yells, leaping onto Darryl's back, bringing him completely underwater.

Darryl throws Zak off fairly quickly, re-emerging while coughing up water. "Why would you do that?!" He exclaims, shivering.

"The Enderman could come at any second. It would probably attack us before Rocco, I just know it. We need to stay where it can't reach us without getting wet."