The first thing Aeryn felt when she woke up was the cold sting of the ocean against her cheek. She sat up immediately, gasping for air, until finally, she relaxed. She looked around desperately, trying to make sense of where she was or how she had ended up in this situation.
She was sitting in the front of the tide, the small waves lapping against her as they brushed against the shore, and the next thing she felt was the sun beating on her face, warm and comforting. She tried to stand up, but her legs were weak and practically immobile. She shut her eyes, opened them, then shut them, and opened them again. But no matter how many times she did so, she was still on the same beach, with her hands submerged in the seawater and her legs feeling like two stiff trunks of stone.
The beach stretched on far and wide, with the sand forming into a rocky cliff around a mile down the coast. Down the other way, she saw how the beach extended into the horizon, with the odd palm trees dotting its sandy shore.
Where in the hells am I?
She finally found the effort and courage to stand up, although her legs were sore and stiff. She stretched and then let out a large breath of air. The shock had gotten to her, and her breathing had increased in pace, causing her to struggle to keep up.
Behind her was an opening into a jungle of sorts. Palm trees and thick, mossy jungle trees protected the wild jungle behind it, and Aeryn could hear the sound of birdsong and the rustle of leaves, as if it was calling to her. With great effort, she put one foot in front of the other, splashing through the ocean before she eventually made it onto the hot sand. She found that it burnt her feet slightly, and knew that she'd have to find some protective footwear eventually.
As she trudged up the sandy beach and towards the opening in the trees, she heard a sound that caught her attention. It stood out from the crash of the waves and the birdsong coming from the jungle; it sounded like the creak of a floorboard found in an old shanty house. She turned and saw the source of the sound standing directly in front of her.
It was a crab, except this wasn't the usual type of crab she knew from her home, where she would go fishing at the nearby beach. This crab was far larger than any she had seen. Its shell was the size of a boulder, and she was surprised how the crab itself, which hid underneath like a cowering puppy, wasn't crushed under its weight.
"Well, you're funny looking, aren't you?" she said, approaching the creature cautiously.
If I found a way to get you out from under that shell, maybe I could eat you.
As if the crab could read her thoughts, it buried itself beneath the sand, taking its shell along with it, creating a sinkhole that almost swallowed Aeryn up whole. She fell back, making sure she was away from the hole. What shocked her the most was the speed at which it buried, it was as if she frightened it, although she was sure now that it had frightened her a lot more.
"Well, I'm sorry," she said, brushing the sand off her body. That's when she realised what she was wearing. In her hands was the silky fabric of a white nightie. She felt it in her palms before letting go and brushing the remaining sand off.
Was I sleeping? Is this all just a dream? Or am I really here?
She rubbed her face in her palms and then looked around once again. The beach was still there, with its waves crashing against the shore. Behind her, the jungle was still there, and the birdsong continued despite her best efforts to wake up.
If this is a dream, it's a damn strong one.
She stood up, making sure the crab had disappeared for good, and turned to enter the jungle. However, before she could set off into the wilderness, the ground collapsed beneath her, and a rocky, hard, and boulder-shaped shell appeared from beneath her. Quickly, the crab jumped out from the sand and took off down the beach. Aeryn had no time to react, and now, she was attached to the crab as it caught the end of her nightie on the shell's sharp corners, and she was now being hurled down the beach at high speed, her body dangling off its edge and her head hitting the floor multiple times. She screamed and attempted to rip her nightie off to detach herself from the crab, but it was moving so fast she couldn't see a thing, and her hand couldn't reach the shell even if she tried.
"Let me go, you horrible creature!" she screamed, clawing at the ground, yet it was no use, as the sand sifted through her fingers. She watched as she was taken further and further away from the spot where she had woken up.
Then, she was flung to one side as the crab stopped moving, and she heard it make a small cry before going silent. She didn't know what had happened, but now that the crab had stopped moving, she found her opportunity to rip off the small part of the fabric of her nightie that had caught the shell when it emerged.
"There's a girl," a low, masculine voice said.
Aeryn stood up and watched as two men approached, one dressed in animal hide and the other in a military uniform. She looked down at the crab and saw a stone spear sticking out of its head. These men had saved her. But whether they were friendly was a different matter.
"Who are you?" the man in the hideskin asked. His tone was serious, and he looked as if he were ready to kill. He walked up to the crab and yanked the spear out from its head, before dipping it in the ocean to wash off any residue. "Well?"
"Uh, well, I," Aeryn struggled to speak. These men were intimidating, and she felt as if she wanted to sprint the other way until the man in the military uniform spoke.
"Wait, Bjorun," he said, putting his arm out in front of the other man. "She's confused. She's not from here."
"Karli, do you think she's...?" Bjorun asked.
"Yes."
Aeryn just watched the two men as they analysed her from head to toe.
Thank the Gods I didn't rip my nightie off.
"I take it you woke up on this beach. Your lack of clothing or weapons tells me so. You must be confused. Where did you wake? And how long have you been here?" Karli said sternly.
Aeryn gulped and nervously said, "Just about ten minutes ago. I... I don't know where I am. Am I dreaming? Or is all of this real?"
She watched as the two men shared a worried look between each other, and then they continued to assess her as she stood nervously, wet and sandy in the baking sun.
"It's real. You're here. Don't ask me how you got here. I don't know. But you'd better come with us," Karli said.
Aeryn watched as Bjorun, the man in the hide skin, put his spear to one side. She also noticed that Karli, the man in uniform, had a weapon or gadget on his hip that she didn't recognise. It looked like a crossbow, except it was missing the string and it was made of a shiny, black material instead. The two men started to head into the jungle, but Aeryn called out to them.
"I'm sorry, but you aren't going to kill me, right?" she asked.
The two men looked at each other for a moment, and Bjorun sighed.
"Great, another one to deal with. And I thought this was all over," he said, frustrated.