The horde of Creepers was rushing towards me and I felt the muddy ground tremble under their weight. Their deafening roars were still louder than their trampling.

The drizzling rain washed the blood from my hair and made it stick to my head.

'If I die here, then the Creepers will run back to the girl. I don't want that. I think I can only take them down with me to my death.'

*inhale* . . . *exhale*

After taking a deep breath, the first hideous-looking Creeper was already in front of me.

This was the first time I took a clearer look at a Creeper's face. All the other times I was more focused on killing and didn't bother to check the appearance clearly.

On his buffalo-like neck sat an ashen-black head with uncountable bumps; it somehow reminded me of a certain plague.

His pop eyes looked serpentine and glacier cold. His lice-infested hair stuck wet over his pug nose, hiding a part of it.

His mouth was agape and between his razor-thin lips hung a grey and slimy tongue out, letting saliva drool down. He was probably ready to bite into my tender flesh, filling his tummy.

Without a second thought, I leaned back and let myself fall off the cliff with all the Creepers jumping after me.

The wind whizzed and whistled by my ear and threw my hair around. I saw the cliff getting further and further away and the Creepers jumping down it one after another.

Parting the mist in two, I fell further down and could smell the faint fragrance of sap, reminding me of the vast ocean.

'Water?' I wondered and turned around. The wind was now hitting at my face and I had to clench my eyes to protect them from their raging strength.

With a bad view and tears streaming out from my eyes, I could see . . . nothing. The mist was just too dense.

I kept staring down and hoped that there will be a sea or ocean; something that would help me in surviving this fall.

And then it came.

I could see tips of trees, then I could hear rushing water, and lastly I saw a big river flowing under me.

*splash*

An unbearable pain assaulted my belly. It felt like I was nearly losing my guts. Blood spritzed out from my mouth and mixed with the clear water.

Clenching my tummy, I tried to take a deep breath. Water came gushing into my mouth and nostrils, invading my lungs.

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I lose the grip on my knives as my strength left me. My torso, filled with the remaining air I had in me, turned to face the surface and my limbs spread out, hanging towards the deeper parts of the river.

My eyes widened in shock and pain and lost focus. I couldn't register anything that was going on now.

Suddenly, a shot of energy filled my body. It was probably the adrenaline rushing into my blood and through my veins.

Disoriented, I threw my arms and legs in panic around and tried swimming upwards. Slowly I let the last remnants of air slither through my lips, buying me some few more seconds of life.

It felt like an overwhelming primal urge packed me and whispered: 'Survive!'

I refocused my glassy eyes towards the surface in hope to see some light; but there was none, only darkness.

It got harder on my lungs and it felt like I was nearly out of air. The salty taste of seawater was not only in my mouth and nose; it was now also in my deflated lungs.

*bam* *cough*

The flowing river hit my back against a spiky rock and the last air escaped my lungs. A swarm of air bubbles floated upwards from my cough.

I yearned to get them back into my lungs. It was all I wanted now: those air bubbles. I slowly watched them escape from my weak self and leaving me die here.

'So this is it…' I thought to myself and felt no pain anymore. Peace filled my body and thoughts, calming my trembling heart and soul down. It soothed me like a lullaby soothes a crying baby.

All of a sudden, my body felt weightless and the water around me was sparely there anymore. A thunderous noise penetrated my wet ears.

With nearly no water around me anymore and air in my reach, I tried to breath; but it wasn't possible. My lungs weren't responding.

*bam*

*cough* *cough*

A hammering pain hit my back and left me coughing out water. With each cough I could feel life re-entering my body as if I came back from the dead. I coughed and coughed.

Feeling the pleasurable air again in my lungs, heaving my chest up and down, I took a deep breath and calmed my panicked mind. My eyes were now nearly back to their normal state; the view was still a bit fuzzy.

Looking in front of me, I saw a thunderous waterfall tumbling down and furiously hitting the rocks beneath it. And I was on one such rock.

My gaze still focused on the waterfall, I saw multiple Creepers falling down with the waterfall and hitting the rocks near me.

I crawled a distance back and continued watching the bodies drop. It really seemed that all Creepers from the cliff also jumped down.

After collecting my thoughts, I planned to stand up. But the stench of rotten blood penetrated my nose and had left me gagging, trying my hardest not to throw up.

I looked around and saw a mountain of corpses left and right. It looked like a deathbed for monsters. Slowly I made my way jumping over the rocks to get to the shore.

The corpses grossed me out the most. Flies crawled on them and laid their eggs into their flesh. Maggots were digging through the corpses and made it seem nearly alive; moving. I avoided those corpses the most.

With a last jump I arrived at the shore and plummeted down, lying on my back.

'I hate this day.'

My thoughts flashed back to the girl. I thought I was happy to see someone sane after the apocalypse started. With this mind-set I forgot my principle: 'people only bring me trouble.'

I regretted it that I took pity on her and tried to protect her. I nearly died because of her. I mean I was ready at first, but actually feeling it changed my mind.

But- But remembering her singing and looking happy and carefree, a smile blossomed onto my lips.

More memories flooded into my mind, replaying the scene of meeting her: The smell of baked apples, her song, her appearance, the gun, her wound …

'Wait! Wait, wait!! The shattered window! I didn't close the big hole in the window! The Creepers will get into the house through the window!' it struck me.

Anxious about her well-being, I heaved my pained and weak body up and looked around me, thinking of a way to go back to her – saving her!