The Sparrow in the Amazon

Down on the floor of the Amazon River lies the SS Ark One. The Sparrow managed to escape with seconds to spare. Through the portal hole in the portal station, the Sparrow stole the ship and was on her way into another world. She had to get away. And she did, the only problem was she didn’t know what planet she was on, where she was, or when she was. She thought she might have accidentally time travelled in the process. The other problem was she hit her head off the control panel, knocking herself out, and the ship sank to the very bottom of the river. She had no idea of this yet, she decided to hit a bunch of random buttons to see where she would end up.

Exhaustion and pain kept her asleep at this moment. She was dreaming of her getaway in the portal station. It scared her, she was so close to getting caught. She always dreamed of being free. And now she was free. She just has to get out from the floor of the river. Around the ship snakes slithered by, curious to what was in the ship, crabs crawled all over the ship making a home on it and fish hid underneath hiding from its prey.

The sun starts to set. If the Sparrow wakes up soon she’ll wake up in the pitch black abyss, hopefully she will sleep until the morning. Crocodiles swim to the bottom and hibernate underneath the ship, fish swim away from their prey and back to their anemones and snakes congregate to the bottom away from anything else lurking by. The full moon gleams in the night sky, wolves howl in the distance and mice scurry into their homes.

At the bottom of the river, the lights of the Ark One flash constantly. Its power is about to go out any minute now. The Sparrow will be in serious danger if she doesn’t wake up soon. The water supply has nearly run out, and the oxygen tank is extremely low. In a matter of hours, she could be dead at the bottom of the river with no one there to help. The nearest village is about 50 miles away, it takes the village people about four days to walk to this side of the river. Help is not even an option.

As the night drags, The Sparrow is in a deep sleep, dreaming about the past that haunts her. The past that is slowly coming back for her, the past that will eventually catch up with her. It’s only a matter of time before it happens. Little does she know the ship is being tracked. Within days, she could be back in her cell. All of a sudden, the Sparrow jerks up and hits her head off a pole.

“Ouch!” she yelps and scurries backwards. She looks around to analyse her surroundings, but she can’t see anything, it’s pitch black. The girl gets up and feels around the wall for any switch to turn on a light. She trips over numerous objects and can’t find any light source. Heading towards the front of the ship, she walks with her arms in front of her in case of any more trip hazards. She hits a button and finally finds a light source. The scene before her attracts her attention.

A large orange anemone lies in front of the ship, lots of fish swim by in large schools, the occasional anaconda slithers by and eels swim by the anemones. The light flickers into the water. Something flashing catches the girl's eye. The oxygen and water levels are running low, she has two hours to leave the ship. She has to leave the ship, and she has to leave now. Without any hesitation, she grabs the bag she ran away with and heads towards the top of the ship. Up the ladder she climbs and then pauses at the top, it might not open if she’s underwater. There’s no time to lose.

She grabs the wheel and turns it. She puts all of her weight into it, and it budges. A success. But she suddenly stops, the minute she opens the wheel water will come pouring into the ship. She has to do this, she has to get out. The wheel gives in, and she manages to open the door. Water floods into the ship, she can't wait, if she does, she will drown. With water against her, she forces herself into the river. She kicks from the ship and swims up to the top, she’s thankful she’s a strong swimmer.

Within seconds, she reaches the surface. Panic sets in, she has no idea what is around her. She sees a grassy verge, she heads straight for it. Clambering onto shore, she coughs and splutters trying to catch her breath back. Falling onto her back, she gets her breath back instantly, what a relief. Staring up at the midnight sky, she watches the stars glisten, the full moon shines and the northern lights dance around one another. The scene is bliss. Everything suddenly goes silent, a low growl can be heard from behind her. Holding her breath, she awaits to see what this sound is, the growling becomes louder and closer. She watches as a shadow edges towards her, it becomes bigger and closer every second. And then it stops, something drips onto her face, is it rain? She thinks to herself, as she looks up she realizes it is not rain, it is a very hungry wolf.