So how we're going to begin is you're going to sit comfortably,
However that means to you.
It could be legs crossed,
Could be sitting in a chair,
Whatever it is,
Sit somewhere comfortably that you feel relaxed and comfortable.
And you're going to close your eyes and you're going to take three deep breaths.
Deep breath in,
Count to four.
Deep breath out,
Count to four.
And each time you exhale,
You're going to try and relax your body a little bit further.
So you're going to inhale,
Pause,
Exhale,
Pause.
So as you're doing this and you're relaxing,
It's in those pauses between breaths where we're going to go.
That is where your creativity meets your imagination,
Meets your subconscious.
So let's see what awaits you in the spaces between breaths.
When you awake,
You find yourself lying outside beyond the cave entrance,
Staring up at a clouded sky.
It is disorienting,
Like a dream you desperately tried to grasp hold of as your waking mind erases it from memory.
The sun is high in the sky,
Causing you to shield your eyes as you look up and gaze around.
The crack in the rock wall still stares at you,
Mocking you.
Was the whole thing a dream?
You breathe deep and grimace.
The boot print in your chest says otherwise.
Seek the swamp as if you had a choice.
And so it is that you begin to walk.
Your path feels right and your soul quiets the uneasy voice that knows that nothing living ever goes to or from the swamp.
Regardless,
You walk.
Day turns to dusk and you find space to watch the sun set beyond the horizon.
Shadows grow long.
You can't help but notice the transformation the world undergoes from day to night.
Perhaps your encounter with the man with the white eyes has shifted your perspective.
Is the same person that went in the same person that came out?
Exhaustion overtakes you as you drift into the dream world.
What awaits you tomorrow will have to wait.
Morning brings a shift in the air.
It is wetter.
The sound of birds and rustling of leaves fades,
Bringing a heaviness to the air around you.
You have passed into the swamp.
You're not sure when you first notice it,
But your boots begin to squelch into wet mud.
The trees have no leaves here,
Just gnarled branches in twisted shapes.
There is death in this place,
Yet still you move forward,
Always moving forward.
At last the gnarled forest parts and you are face to face with the heart of the swamp.
More a lake that has risen to consume the land than anything.
It is so quiet.
The air is damp and smells of rotting foliage.
You breathe in to shout hello,
But think better of it.
The hairs on your neck stand end on end.
There is something out there that knows you are here already.
Cautiously you advance to the water's edge.
The mud is becoming increasingly difficult to navigate.
The water is opaque and still.
Whatever secrets it holds are hidden from you.
Without any other options,
You find a rock and sit.
You will wait and watch.
If you were meant to find something here,
Then this is where you will find it.
At first you try to stay hyper-present.
You examine the tree branches and the rocks.
You notice the log floating on the lake just in front of you,
But your mind inevitably wanders.
And yet your subconscious is always watching,
And a small warning from within you alerts you to the fact that the log is watching you.
Not a log.
Two great black eyes stare at you intently.
You freeze.
Slowly you start to back away from the edge of the water,
Hoping to not alarm whatever the creature is.
But your fate had already been decided.
There is an explosion of water and sound,
And the true size of the creature is revealed as it comes for you.
Your screams echo across the swamp as you try to move,
But your view is filled with the gaping maw of a giant crocodile.
It is impossibly large,
And when its mouth clamps down on your right leg,
Right up to your hip,
The pain is excruciating.
Time freezes for a split second as your world fills with pain,
And then you are dragged back into the water.
The swamp is silent once again,
And only the faintest ripple on the surface of the water left as indication you were ever there.
Your world,
However,
Is chaos.
It is blackness and violence.
Your screams meant you did not have a chance to take a breath before you were pulled under,
And your lungs are already screaming.
This burn blends with the pain of teeth digging into your leg,
And your arms wave frantically in the blackness.
Then the crocodile begins to spin,
And you can't help but swallow a mouthful of water.
There is a moment when you can see the end,
A peaceful alternative to the violence and uncertainty of your current situation,
And you almost reach for it.
But some small part of you still fights,
And with a last-ditch effort,
You grasp the head of the beast with your hands.
Your fingers search for something,
Anything,
And they are rewarded with something soft and squishy.
You drive your thumbs in as hard as you can.
Even a crocodile will stop when it gets a finger in the eye.
With a start,
It lets you go.
Your frantic flailing ceases,
And you hang suspended in the murky depths still as a corpse.
You can't see through the blackness,
But you have a sense that the great beast is there,
Inches from your face.
You are being judged.
A vision fills your mind,
Another pond,
But this one is different.
You see through the eyes of the crocodile just peeking above the surface.
The dragon from your previous vision is there in all its terror of death and claw.
The black scales glitter and flex,
But this view is different.
You are behind and to the side this time.
It is the same scene.
You must not have noticed the crocodile before.
The unfortunate warrior is partially blocked from view,
But you recognize the figure desperately holding a shield to the flames of the dragon,
Being forced to the ground,
One leg and one hand down already.
The heat and violence of this scene is the same,
And fear can't help but permeate your being.
The dragon roars and everything goes black.
You awaken to the cold sensation of mud sticking to your face.
You are alive.
The sense of surprise is stifled only when you start to move.
Your body aches.
With a groan,
You pull your head up and look around.
You are lying about ten feet from the water,
And the sweeping marks of a crocodile tail distinctively lead back into the water.
Did it carry you out of the water?
You glance at your leg.
Your pants are shredded and there is too much dried blood to really see.
You can't bring yourself to try and move it just yet.
Continuing your exploration of your surroundings,
You turn your head forward.
Two white paws stand before you,
And as you try to raise your eyes up,
The world shifts and you drift back into unconsciousness.
