Stuck between a rock and a soft place

Kato continued steadfast in his act of trying to liberate himself, the moss piled up next to him, glistening with dew and contempt. It was slow going but after a few minutes had passed, the moss level pressed against him was closer to his hips than his neck.

After a few more minutes he managed to liberate himself completely. He pulled himself out, with a long squelch and returned to the relative safety of the cold sterile floor he’d spent so long trying to get away from.

He stood above the moss trying to control his breathing, the hope in his eyes had turned into cold derision, ‘why does everything in this world keep trying to kill me?’ In the past he had dreamed of scaling Redusk’s walls and exploring the wilds beyond. He never would have thought he would miss the very walls he had longed to escape; but miss them he did.

His right hand was violently stinging, he should’ve wrapped it. The consequence of his emotional response taunted him.

Even if he believed that the moss had looked clean, with clear fluid oozing out whenever he grabbed it. He shouldn’t tempt fate, his hope that it wouldn’t get infected may not be enough.

He tore another patch of fabric off the rags he was calling a shirt and wrapped his hand, trying to ignore the burning sensation. He needed to clean the wound thoroughly in the stream, people had died for less and that would just be too embarrassing, he would never live it down.

Shaking himself off, droplets flying everywhere, Kato knocked away clumps of the far too clingy moss that just refused to give him his own space “I'm not ready for that much commitment yet, sorry.” he muttered, his attempt at levity conflicting with his ragged and hoarse words, as he littered the ashy floor in the green residue.

Kato looked over the false salvation that extended ahead of him, there wasn’t a choice. ‘Stuck between a rock and a soft place, really didn’t think that was how the saying went’ he thought humourlessly. Either avoid falling victim to nature’s brutal demands for sustenance or turn around and walk for what could be days.

It just wasn’t fair, but then again life hardly ever was.

He desperately searched, looking for anything, he really didn’t want to play this game. It would kill him. He felt it in his gut, the cards were already beginning to fall. The need for water was just far too great, his mouth was already starting to dry and on top of that the world had got a taste for blood and demanded more. It was a practically unbeatable hand.

There was nothing for it, long odds were better than none at all. A mixture of fear and determination drove him forward, he dropped back into the divot that had just been carved in the mire, bouncing slightly when his feet met the spongy exterior; before he locked himself in place, a misstep here could be fatal.

‘Guess there’s nothing for it’ Kato thought as he unhooked his blade from his side, now that he had room to move, he could swing his blade and he did time and time again. Its’ metallic whistle only broken up by the hiss and thumps from swathes of moss sliced through and flung to the side.

He was relentless, his muscles strained, and arms burned. Sweat pricked his eyes, but he was incessant. The only relief he saw fit to grant himself was the occasional desperate drag of his left forearm across his face, a futile attempt to stop his vision blurring from the rivers of perspiration mapping his head.

His hair hung to the side, soaked, and plastered to his skin. The only sound that broke the rhythmic hisses from his blade were the laboured breaths of his trembling form.

But he could not stop, he had to get out of here or at least to the water. The more time that passed the weaker he would get; this was at the forefront of his mind as he pushed on.

But time kept passing, equally as relentless in its march, and each swing got weaker than the last, just when Kato thought it was all lost, he heard it.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

‘We will prevail.’ The words echoed through his mind accompanied by a sudden surge of strength, calling upon some hidden resilience buried deep within him.

With audible grunts he kept swinging.

After an indeterminate amount of time had passed, water began seeping through the green wall ahead of him, at first it was a trickle permeating the mossy bank. But trickles turned to sprays puncturing the barrier in front of him. Which in turn turned to large spouts of water blasting out. The mossy fortifications groaned and strained under the pressure before finally giving away with a deafening snap. The green dam collapsed with a horrifying lurch, unleashing a torrent of water.

It slammed into Kato picking him up and flinging him backwards, the force stealing the air from his lungs. Moments later he was submerged in the sudden, ice-cold, deluge. Disorientated and flailing blindly, he was swept backwards through the trench he had just made, a muffled roar rolled throughout his ears. Dark spots clouded his vision as his body demanded oxygen, he tried to take a breath but was only met with a lungful of water for his troubles.

As suddenly as it had come, the water subsided. The unexpected flood slowing and trickling into a gentle stream, the once deafening clamour settling into a gentle gurgle.

Kato lay bedraggled and prone on the now sodden ground, his limbs splayed to the side.

He coughed violently, a harsh rasping noise accompanied by a mouthful of water and his ears popped. He sat up his head swimming and immediately began retching, a second torrent of water met the already saturated ground.

His makeshift bandage had come off, flung somewhere into the cacophony of green. His previously scabbed hand, now no longer hidden; was scored by thick mud running through bloody strips.

He stood up, dazed, and nearly fell to the side, his head pounding. Kato took a moment to collect himself, before allowing a smile to work its way across his features.

He had done it! He had carved a path from the start of the mossy encampment to what he had initially thought was a stream, now it was clear his eyes had tricked him, this was no mere stream.

But for a second, he could ignore everything else and just enjoy his victory.

Even with exhaustion and waterlogged clothes weighing him down, Kato moved with a hop in his step. He strode towards the water pushing past the shredded boundary that had been holding it back.

He walked up to it and stared for a moment in disbelief, before cupping his hands and feverishly delivering the water to his mouth, quenching his burning throat.

He dipped his hand in the clear water and painfully scrubbed the mud out of his wounded hand, he winced constantly, gritting his teeth, but it had to be done.

After it looked suitably clean, he shook it off in the air, before stripping yet another wrap from his shirt? If it could be called that anymore. He wrapped his hand tight and knotted the ends firmly ensuring it would stay.

Kato’s eyes searched the stone walls around him, now that his most pressing needs had been dealt with, he wanted to leave. After several minutes of searching no obvious exits called out to him, there was where he had come from, but he would rather live in this room off killer moss then go back and he didn’t even know if it was edible.

Kato’s eyes followed the stream scanning upriver, before resting his gaze on the ledge the water spilt over, he didn’t know what was up there but the light diffusing the room had to come from somewhere.

He had a decision to make, either make his way swimming in the water against the flow to reach the barren stone at the foot of the water fall or hack another path across the entirety of the room. It was an easy choice. Kato gently eased himself into the water, letting his body adapt to the temperature.

The current, unlike the torrent that had taken a hold of him, was gentle and refreshing. He had half expected to be immediately fighting for his place in the stream, but he could stay in the middle happily and relatively relaxed without too much effort.

Teeth chattering, he remained there for a couple of minutes acclimatising before setting off, his strokes were powerful, his hands moved like spades driving large quantities of water back, propelling him forward.

He reached the rocky shore at the foot of the waterfall with relative ease.

The sound of the waterfall had gone from a distant hum in the background to a constant roar that shook the nearby area. Mist flew off the polished stones spraying over Kato, he slid himself onto the solid ground and just sat there for a minute enjoying the relative calm.

Kato finally stood up taking a deep breath, a yawn threatening to escape his lips before lazily gazing at the wet rock face. Jagged protrusions of rock offered slick handholds threatening to send him tumbling down before he even started.

Unperturbed Kato gripped one of the protrusions, ignoring the sudden chill seeping through him. He pulled himself up to the next one, his muscles straining in protest, but it was not a long climb to the top.

He stood atop the ledge, staring over the land that had seen fit to try and eat him.

“Really glad it didn’t get me Maya would’ve been pissed” Kato remarked to himself, a wry smile flickered across his features, she had always hated him feeding the wildlife.

With that comment made he turned to see the source of the light.