You reach out and grasp at the darkness on either side of your body. Your fingers fumble through leaves and twigs, ripping them to pieces until you grab onto a branch thick enough to hold your weight. The wood twists and moans when you begin to pull but it doesn’t break. Your body slowly starts to move away from the darkness that holds you from behind. As it does, a sudden, super-heated blast of air collides with your face. It reeks of death and covers your whole body in a slick of fresh sweat. Your body shakes with fear but you hold on. Behind you, a voice appears, sounding as if it were the wind itself.
“No,” it says.
And then, everything stops. The wind disappears as it releases your body and you launch forward. Your feet jump from the mud and land upon the uneven rocks that line the banks of the river. It’s impossible to maintain your balance and your knees buckle beneath you. You fall awkwardly into the rocks and feel a razor-sharp spasm of pain travel up through your gut and spill the taste of iron across your tongue. Your body snaps forward and your face crashes into the edge of the water. Your eyes and mouth are filled with muck and mud and everything goes black.