I abruptly snapped out of my dream. Dazed and confused I tried my best to organize my thoughts. It was the feeling I always had after not sleeping for a couple of days and then suddenly sleeping for almost a full day. It took a while for me to get my brain functioning anywhere close to normal. But once I eventually did achieve somewhat minimal levels of mental activity, my mind was still very much the same disorganized mess it was when I first woke. I yawned and rubbed my eyes. I pretty much shot awake when I touched my skin. With my tired mind, I actually forgot about the state of my body. The light scratchy sound of the back of my hand moving over my eyelids somehow felt like it directly scratched my brain.

"The snake!" I suddenly thought. I quickly opened my eyes and pretty much jumped away. Or once again tried. But I immediately got rewarded by waves of pain rolling off my head nonetheless. The memories of what happened before I... died rushed in like a cloud of boiling ash. Or at least after the snake and poison, my thinking just hurt, or the memories did. It was very blurry but definitely clear enough to make out vague outlines of what happened. As I tried my best at rubbing my headache out of my mind, the jumbled memories started actually making sense. Like the cloud of chaotic burning bits and pieces settled down. Instead of just remembering vague but vividly painful sensations I actually could start to slowly link them to events.

I tried my best to ignore all the.... painful encounters in the past and focused on my most recent dance with death. I very clearly remember that my heart had stopped, I was sure it had. The sudden silence after the very loud thumping in my head told it all. Yet even more confusingly; where was the snake? I am pretty sure that I can´t completely swallow something about three-quarters my body size. So where was it, did it live and just slither away? Had I failed? And if I did why didn't it just kill me? Or did I actually kill it by biting and then successfully... ate it? Maybe I never even swallowed the snake and it was just my imagination? I smiled. Flinching as my dry and cracked lips tore open. But somehow a smile managed to show on my face even when I knew it probably wasn't true. That the snake I thoug... hoped I killed was probably still alive, wounded but alive. But the fact that it also failed in killing me with its poison and I managed to hurt it pretty much nullified all the bad feelings I had at the moment.

I didn't even think about just sitting down and celebrating, as I knew that even if I lived through all this the run still wasn't finished. I wasn't out of danger and with the loss of my sight I couldn't see the dangers on the paths I so carefully maintained. And if I wanted to be safe.... for a while I had to quickly return to one of my hideouts. The monster probably scared away most wildlife so I wouldn't be in that much danger if I followed the path back. Though the snake may have been one of the exceptions, as it was either stuck under some of the rubble and had escaped just recently and I had literally caught it trying to move away or it just hadn't really cared that a massive monster just ran over its lawn. Yet even if not all predators left this area it would still be safer than any other place currently. The monster also wouldn't return. Though I wasn't sure about that, it had never happened before. Other monsters also kept their distance for a while. So my hideout is probably relatively safe if it isn't destroyed... but thinking back to the absolutely massive roots filled me with some confidence. So with a deep somewhat painful breath, I started my trek.

It was silent, awfully so. There was no chirping, no buzzing, and no background cracking or rustling leaves. Just unnerving silence... and I hate silence, I absolutely abhor it, it allows me to focus on my thoughts. It allows me to wander to places I don't want to experience ever again. Even worse it reminds it signals that a monster is or was near. Yet I was too afraid to start filling it with a hum, irrational fear of not wanting to attract any predators or monsters left. So I focused on the splashing of the water when I walked. Which probably attracted predators faster than humming but it didn't stop the silly fear I had. If my walking had bothered a predator enough to hunt me it probably would have chosen to just by smell alone. Yet I didn't bother thinking about the possibility I could suddenly be jumped by some sort of tiger. Even if that wouldn't happen all the bigger predators were always eaten by the monsters, only the smaller ones like snakes were left. But I was too busy trying to ignore the echoing roars still continuing to think of that, doing my best to play them off as tricks of the mind. I knew they were...

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The wet season had started and although if I couldn't see I am pretty sure the leaves on the trees already started coloring. I was lucky that the monster was big enough to clear the canopy and allowed the sun to shine on my skin while I walked. If it hadn't I would have needed to find something to keep me warm and considering my lack of sight it would be really hard to find... anything. And my past experiences with the cold windy and horribly wet autumn were terrible enough and pretty much the worst season in general. The only reason that winter wasn't worse is that snow insulates pretty well. And the cold made it easy to preserve food, but the biggest plus was definitely the lack of monsters. As they seemed to hibernate when it was cold, or just weren't that active in winter times.

I chuckled. I probably wouldn't even live long enough to see... feel the first leaves falling. Losing sight is such a major problem that it pretty much sealed my fate. Earlier I would have given up, actually, I already had given up before or at least tried. But now I just stopped caring. I ignored the claws closing on my neck and smiled. Small streaks of salty liquid fell down from my chin. Slowly dripping down in the countless pools on the forest floor. They didn't seem to slow down. Unending stream mixing of liquid mixing with its brethren down below, tainting the forest. I wasn't sad... I would never be sad... I was happy, I was smiling.

They weren't tears nor were they the leftover sweat and muddy water on my face. I tasted blood, the blood that leaked from my now torn cheeks and cracked lips. (1) I was so happy that my smile was hurting my face. It was so funny I started laughing, I started laughing so hard that my leg suddenly just started kicking. I kicked the ground at a strange angle and fell over. I just kept on laughing, and quickly started rolling in the mud. I was so happy I started breakdancing. I couldn't even control myself as my arm slammed the ground, as my legs kicked and swam, and as my body generally coiled and moved around in strange patterns. Eventually, I stopped dancing, and I stopped laughing. I was exhausted and completely out of the air. But I was still smiling and in my excited totally happy quick breathing after my wonderful dance, I must have inhaled some muddy water. As the very next moment, I was sputtering and squeezing all my newly inhaled water and air out.

"Water" I eventually wheezed out in between the coughing. And I noticed I was thirsty, very, very thirsty. I hadn't noticed it until now but I craved water, my body screamed for water. Earlier the screams fell on deaf ears but this time I listened... and the shallow muddy pool was no more. My thoughts started to feel like they walked moved through mud, mimicking the sensation I felt when once again started moving. But I kept on smiling and I kept on walking. My stomach happily growled in pain content. And my smile widened as I walked blindly. I knew where to go and I knew where I was. I knew when to move and when to breathe and when to drink, but more importantly, I knew I was happy.

It didn't take long for me to reach the somewhat open area around the hideout. I was so glad that I gracefully stum... skipped to my safe haven. Out of exhaust... excitement, I trip... slid into my hideout, and hit... hugged one of the painful... strong protective roots. I rested my back on my favorite root and almost immediately fell asl... off. I wanted to brace as I fell but my limbs didn't respond. I hit the muddy ground with a thud. My smile froze on my face. An itchy feeling spread over my entire body. Like hundreds of small insects suddenly started to peel eat at my skin. I wanted to move, I wanted to scratch. Then a burning pain stabbed through my skin and lit my bones on fire. "Water!" I mentally screamed almost out of instinct. I wanted to stop burning, I wanted my molten bones to cool. Suddenly they started moving... I Instantly blacked out from the pain.