Chapter One: introduction

          The scent of sweet smelling flowers wafted through the air as I began to wake. Slowly, I became more aware, keeping my stiff and sore eyes shut. My entire body ached dully and my mouth was bone dry. The sound of a gentle stream flowing nearby reached me and somehow made me more thirsty. The fresh dirt I was laying on was soft and damp, but not wet enough to be mud. Everything seemed peaceful. Almost perfect.
          My eyes were sore and dry, tearing up as soon as I opened them. I rubbed them and looked around at the jungle around me. Exotic plants as tall as I was stood in bushes around me. Hues of red, yellow and blue dotted the green vegetation and large bees buzzed lazily around the flowers. Nearby in the small clearing I was laid in a creek flowed gently, the crisp and clear water glistening in the sunlight.
          Slowly I stood up, my head spinning and throbbing, and walked over to the small stream. It flowed through a rock bed that extruded from the damp soil. It probably originated from a fresh water spring underground up stream from where I was. Downstream it flowed off into the underbrush and out of sight. I lowered my hands into the stream, sitting on my legs and leaning forward. The cool water was refreshing as I gulped it down thirstily.
          The brush to my left rustled and a small fox poked it's head out and watched me cautiously. I quietly coaxed him over to me, but he instead ran off into the underbrush. In a minute or so the rustling ceased.
          I stood back up, feeling more refreshed. I looked down at the ragged clothing I was wearing. Scraps of cloth held together by a few stitches. Barely covering me up. I bit of dried blood covered the front of them and I vaguely wondered if it was mine. It didn't matter, I felt fine at the moment. Looking around me, I didn't find a beaten path to follow. I figured I could head down stream because it would probably lead to a larger source that it emptied into or possibly a settlement of some kind.
          I beat my way through the dense vegetation for a couple hours as I followed the stream, all the while getting cut up by thorn bushes or getting my bare feet cut on sharp stones. Occasionally I stopped to drink from the stream because the humid air made me thirsty rapidly. Often small animals would scurry away from me as I noisily pushed branches away or yelping in pain from the sharp barbs digging into my skin.
          The stream unfortunately ended abruptly by pouring down into a narrow crevice as black as the night. Which left me without any path to follow. I hesitated from straying from the stream, afraid that I'd lose my way and die of thirst somewhere deep inside the jungle. Looking up I caught a glimpse of the sun high above. It was around noon, meaning I didn't have much time until dark. Deciding that on the off chance I might find help before dark, I began to head west according to what I could tell from the sun.
          The humid air made me sweat more the deeper into the jungle I traveled, drenching me in sweat and making me thirsty. I pushed away branches and bushes with my bare hands, occasionally getting them snagged and cut on thorn bushes until they were sore and bloody. Large, thick, leaves would often hit me in the face as I walked. Sometimes they left cuts or scrapes. Once or twice, a thorn branch swung back and stuck to my cheeks. After hours of forcing my way through the thick underbrush I came upon a small clearing. The sun was now setting, an eerie darkness consuming me.
          I came to rest in the clearing, sitting and looking around. Softly I called out, asking if anyone could hear me. No response. However I heard a rustling nearby that made my stomach turn and twist into a knot. Nervously I stood up and began to retreat into the thicket behind me. Behind the thicket was a steep stone cliff that rose roughly twenty five feet. I noticed a shadow moving around before the sun had fully set. But I passed it off as just some kind of animal.
I should have payed more attention though, because I backed right into another person. He grabbed me, his muscular arms wrapping around me and pulling me into him. He laughed and groped my chest.
          "Hello sweet cheeks," he said. His voice was rough and scratchy. I could faintly see his arms, both tattooed. They looked like tribal symbols.
          "Planning to share her boss?" A guy walked into my view and smiled menacingly at me. He had a long Mohawk and tattoos covering most of his body. He wore simple clothing, if you could call it clothing at all. It fur cloth that covered around his waist and down halfway between his kneecaps and thighs. One strap reached up and across his bare chest and wrapped around to his back. He carried a club fashioned from bones and a large, rounded, rock. He approached me until he was close enough I could smell his breath. It was horrid, making me want to retch.
          "She's yours, to small to handle me anyway." The guy behind me snarled, loosening his grasp slightly.
          "I'll take good care of her boss, until I cut her throat anyway." The guy in front of me laughed again as he brought the club up and hit me in the side of the head with it hard enough to throw me from the others grasp. I hit the ground hard, my senses already fading. Through the haze of impending sleep I looked up at my attackers. Just as they began to approach me I saw one of them fall to the ground. Sticking from his back was the long, smooth shaft of an arrow. The other guy, who'd grabbed me from behind, turned just in time to catch his arrow in the neck.
          I don't remember watching him fall, only seeing the arrow pierce his throat. Then, only darkness.