“ I felt as though something was watching my every move .”
was my body aching ? With my hands behind me , propping up my body , I could feel my muscles straining . The floor was a deep brown , moisture sinking into the ground and pooling somewhere deep below . A weight seemed to push on my chest , my hands giving way and slipping deeper into the wet earth . The grime covered up my fingers , dirt crawling underneath my fingernails . I could feel small splinters embedding themselves into my calloused hands .
With a huff , I finally willed my torso upright . Wincing , I felt a sharp stab of soreness work its way up through my spine . Maybe it was the nap on the floor . My neck hurt , too , especially when I turned it in just the right direction to the left . It must have been the nap ; my neck always hurt like this when I slept oddly . Plus , who knows how long I had been laying here .
Looking all around me , I tried to find the portal to the outside world . As beautiful as it was , I knew I couldn ’ t nap here forever . Slowly , I stood , uneasy on my own feet . Grasping a stem for support , I let it hold up my weight until I could safely stand . It was smooth against my skin , and about as thick around as my muscled upper arms . My hand fell back down to my side as I apprehensively eyed the rest of the bush .
Taking uneven and slightly pained steps forward , I found the plant was much larger than I had thought . The flowers and leaves continued on , painting a never-ending picture of foliage . Taking no mind to this , I
38 pressed on , feeling as though my body was filling with weakness rather than strength . The longer I walked , the more drained I began to feel . My arms and legs ached from the short , sporadic walk . Never before had I been unable to keep up with this pace . I always was an athletic person , well , at least not a couch potato .
“ I felt as though something was watching my every move .”
Passing a heavy breath through my lips , I only now began to notice how frigid the air was . I could see my breath ; the cold stung my extremities . Odd , from the moment I awoke , the air had felt warm and inviting , like the sun ’ s rays on a nice , autumn day . The longer I walked on , the more biting the air became .
I felt as though something was watching my every move . The sudden weight from before closed in around me , choking me . The heaviness settled around my neck , right up against my windpipe . I couldn ’ t swallow ; I couldn ’ t call out . Panic raced through my limbs as my hands grasped at the invisible force at my throat , trying to pry off whatever it was . My hands connected with my own skin , and the harder I fought , the less I could breathe .
Sinking down onto my knees , surely ruining my jeans , I gave up on fighting this force . Immediately , all the weight lifted off of