grab the branch...
You begin to pull with a slow steady tug. The branch bends, but
holds.Now you are close enough to grab the branch with your other
hand. Still moving slowly, you pull yourself toward the bank, hand
over hand, until at last your able to pull yourself completely out of
the nearly fatal trap.
You crawl out of the muck with a distinct lack of grace. Your limbs
are quivering with aftershock and you sit heavily.
The "Will-o-the-wisps" draw near, definatley angry with you
now. They dive at you with a shrill humming noise, and you feel fear
rise in you now as you hear the words they cry in a ghostly shallow
low voice "Die Human!"
You try to force your fear away. They were only glowing balls of
light. What could they possibly --
You find out as one of them sweeps past you, buzzing angrily. You gasp
as a sudden jolt careens through your body, setting your hair on end
and knocking the wind from your lungs.
A second one takes a dive at you, but by this time you have clambered
to your feet. The orb just misses you.
But as that one flies past a third hits you in the side. You hit the
earth hard, wincing at the pain...
You slowly crane your neck, fingers stretching to twine around the
branch. Carefully, so as not to snap it, you close your hand around
it.Hope begins to seep through you. The 'Will-o-the-wisps" thwart
and begin to move around agitatedly. You ignore them, keeping your
mind as serene as you can and concentrate on the branch.
