Suspicion (Private 10) - Page 40

I lay the plank of wood down on the dirt in front of me. Then I removed my shell from my sopping wet silk clutch.

"I can't believe this," I said aloud. "Three mornings. Why am I still here?"

Three mornings without food. Without water. Without anyone to talk to. How much longer could I do this?

"Stop it," I told myself. "Stop it, now."

I was not going to start a pity party now. I had just found myself a dry place to wait out the storm. That had to count for something. I dug the shell into the plank and made a third line. I should be proud of the fact that I had made it through the last few days. Proud that I was still here to draw these lines. Proud that I--

I heard another rustle. My heart stopped beating. I squinted past the branches of my tree into the gray forest. A crunch. A loud series of crunches. Holy crap. The leaves on the plants outside my tree were moving. Something was out there. Hidden beneath the camouflaging leaves of the plant life. And it was coming this way.

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I dropped the shell and picked up the plank of wood. Glancing around, I wondered if I should run. But if I did, would it chase me? One glance back at the vegetation and I realized it was too late. The thing was coming on fast, cutting a direct path through the underbrush, right for me. I pressed my back into the rough bark of the tree, pulled my knees up as close to my body as they could get, and wielded the plank like a baseball bat.

I was just going to have to defend myself.

It was three feet away.

Please just don't let it have sharp teeth.

Two feet.

I don't think I can do thi

s.

One.

I wanted to close my eyes, but knew I couldn't. I had to defend myself; there was no one else here to do it.

The underbrush stopped moving. There was a prolonged moment of complete stillness, save for the rain pounding overhead. Maybe I had imagined it all. Maybe there was nothing there. My muscles started to relax.

And then, something flung itself at my feet.

I screamed at the top of my lungs, jumping up and slamming the top of my head into a tree limb. I was going to die. This thing was going to attack me.

I looked down at the ground, my head throbbing angrily, and froze. Looking up at me was a yellowish-green lizard, about the size of a kitten. It stared at me inquisitively with one eye, its head turned

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to the side. Its little pink tongue flicked out, then back, then out, then back.

It was actually kind of cute.

But that didn't mean it wasn't vicious. Or poisonous. Or even meat eating.

"Um, hi," I said quietly. "Sorry if I disturbed you, but... could you go away now?"

The lizard thing turned its head, looked at me with its other eye for a moment, then skittered off into the forest.

Ever so slowly I sank back down to the ground, my nerves still trembling. I placed my head between my knees, curled my shoulders forward, and laughed. I laughed for what felt like ten minutes. Laughed until my sides hurt and tears were streaming down my face. It was a great release. A necessary release. And when I was done, I was exhausted.

I crossed my arms atop my knees, rested my cheek on them, and looked down at the three white lines on my plank.

"Upton, you'd better show up today," I said under my breath. "You get one more day. After that, we're going to have to have some serious conversations about where this relationship is headed."

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