The Trap

She checked her makeshift trap. Nothing. "Damn it," she thought crossly. The bait was still there, where it should be. She knew there were animals about, she'd heard them scurrying in the forest behind the little cove where she had set up camp. How long had she been here now? It was at least three weeks, she felt, although she had lost track of time. She looked out across the bay and along the shore. Nothing but bush, sand and sea. She had trekked in here through the forest, occasionally fighting her way through the undergrowth and when she had got here to the ocean and found this perfect little bay, she had been relieved. Somewhere to rest, she had thought. She had tried fishing but apart from the occasional tiny fish that she had fried and barely got a mouthful from, there seemed to be nothing swimming in the waters here.

Why aren't my traps working? She pondered frustratedly. She was very hungry. Even squirrel would do, okay it wasn't her first choice for a meal but she was hungry enough that even roast squirrel sounded edible. Or a rabbit, she thought, almost licking her lips in the process. Yes, a rabbit would be beautiful right about now. She walked away from her traps and down to the water's edge. She could see her reflection in the water, her naked body skinny and underfed and her eyes shining brightly but too prominent on her face that needed fattening, her cheeks hollow. It's been too long, she thought. Too long here, too long on this entire trek. She had set out a long time ago, she could barely remember now the day she had left and as time had passed she had gotten further and further away, ever receding, until now she was here alone. No one knew of her, she could die here and no one would know, perhaps not until someone like herself, a wandering soul, stumbled upon her skeletal remains. The thought didn't scare her, she was accustomed to thoughts of dying, it happened to everyone, but it was her duty to survive as long as possible and she had long ago stopped questioning that reality.

She sluiced water onto her face and neck and then dipped her hair into the still water. There was rarely a ripple in the waters here. She didn't know why it was always so still. Never a breath of wind, always hot, the sun shining down relentlessly. Fortunately, there was a freshwater pool just back from the cove where she camped and that was where she had set her traps, reasoning that the animals would have to come to the pool to drink, just as she did.

She sat down on the mat, under the shade she had created between two trees. No need for a tent here. She fiddled with a stick she had picked up and wondered what to do. If I don't get food soon, I am going to die here, she thought. Yet, if I try to make it to the next place, who knows how long I will last, trekking through the bush without sustenance? She was stuck. All she could do was pray her traps would work so she could strengthen herself enough to allow her to continue on her journey. Please God, (she thought she may as well try asking) let me catch something, anything. She dosed off for a while then, the midday heat making her drowsy and adding to her continued state of fatigue from lack of food.

When she awoke, it was cooler and the sun was lower, making shadows on the beach in front of her. The soft white sand didn't burn as fiercely as she pulled herself to her feet and padded up the little slope towards the pool. It was quiet, as always but not the silence she was used to in this place. As she approached the pool she could hear a faint squeaking noise. She looked to the right and there! in one of her traps was a greyish/brown furry animal. It was unmoving but every so often emitting a small squeak, not of pain but of what sounded like exasperation. She moved towards it excitedly. What was it? It was bigger than she had first thought, a large rabbit but with a cone-shaped nose and spiky ears. Its legs were thicker than a rabbit's too, like a miniature elephant in fact. She had never seen a creature like this before, she was sure. Perhaps it was a member of the possum family or some form of anteater? She got within six feet of it and she could see its eyes. They were a soft brown, like a deer's eyes. It looked at her and she saw its little furry nose twitch. If she didn't know better she would have said that the animal smirked at her.

"Well, are you going to help me get out of this thing, or not?" the animal asked her. She stood there, frozen. The animal pawed the ground a little and waggled its head before looking up at her once more. "I said... are you going to help me out of this?" It cocked its head to one side and looked at her questioningly.

She couldn't breathe. Her mind was blank, the shock causing all of her faculties to become useless. Panicking, she grabbed a nearby tree branch to stop herself from falling and she found her breath coming out in huge gasps for air as she doubled over and held her stomach. That thing just spoke to me, she couldn't comprehend what was happening, her brain kept repeating the same words over and over but they carried no weight as if she couldn't accept it. With her peripheral senses she could hear the creature sigh and sit down on its haunches but her mind was still too full of incomprehension for her to process it

"Have a sit-down," suggested the rabbit/possum/elephant hybrid, "you seem a bit confused." She found herself doing as it suggested, not because it was a good idea but because her legs had given way anyway

"What are you?" she managed to croak, her disbelief giving way to another more sinister emotion. That of fear.

"What am I? How should I know?" answered the creature, somewhat cryptically. "I've always been here. You're new, aren't you?"

She didn't answer. This was supposed to be her dinner and she was so very hungry. Maybe I can kill it quickly, she thought, I'm sure I am imagining this conversation, probably the lack of food is making me hallucinate. She stood up and grabbed the pointy stick she had sharpened into a spear for this very purpose. The creature looked at her curiously. "What's that stick for?" it asked and of course, she couldn't answer that question either. She moved closer, trying to keep her mind on her belly and not look the creature in the eyes. "Hey, not too close," warned the creature, "I don't know you, you could be dangerous"

"I'm not dangerous," she replied, her eyes not meeting his (she thought of the creature as male, although she hadn't seen any telltale signs of that yet). She could see the creature had its leg caught in the trap but there was no blood. In fact, it (he) wasn't showing any sign of being in pain, either.

"I'd prefer if you stayed where you are, just the same," replied the creature and she could see its sharp teeth which were previously hidden behind the long whiskers that protruded from below his nose and the side of his cheeks. She closed her eyes and with a burst of willpower she thrust out at the animal with the sharp end of the stick. She felt bad doing it but she knew she had to eat soon and she couldn't wait for another chance. The stick never hit resistance and when she opened her eyes she saw the creature had shifted a couple of feet to the right, the trap still on its leg.

"What did you do that for?" asked the creature, annoyed, "you could have hurt me". Again, she thrust out with the stick at him, this time forcing herself to keep her eyes open but again the creature hopped out of the way, her stick swishing in the air instead and then sticking into the muddy earth at the side of the pool. Suddenly, without warning, the creature jumped at her and nipped her on the ankle, its sharp little teeth drawing blood. Then it backed off until it was six feet away from her again, watching her warily with its soft brown eyes

"Is this a game?" he asked, a confused yet sorrowful look on his cone-shaped face, "if so, I'm not sure I like it." Her ankle hurt where she had been bitten and she eyed the creature more carefully this time. It was plump and she could imagine it sizzling on her barbeque, her mouth watering at the prospect, hunger taking over her instincts once more as she purposefully lunged with the stick. This time the creature jumped and ran up the stick and bit her hard on the arm before jumping off onto the ground. She shrieked and dropped the stick, blood pouring out of her arm just below the elbow. The creature huffed and walked off into the forest, trailing one leg with the trap attached behind him, as if it was no big deal

She washed her wounds in the pool and then rubbed on some leaves that she knew had disinfecting properties. She was sore where she had been bitten, plus she had lost one of her traps, the creature having dragged it off into the forest behind him. How was it able to do that? she wondered and why was it seemingly unaffected? It hadn't even bled from the sharp teeth embedded in its leg.

She couldn't sleep that night. She tossed and turned on the mat, the air hot and sticky and her mind restless, her thoughts fevered and bizarre. Images of the creature kept moving before her eyes and she imagined she could still hear its raspy voice asking her questions that she was too shocked to answer. She thought about going to check the other remaining traps but if she was honest, she had to admit she was scared. So she lay there, trying to find a way to sleep but unable to do so. She was grateful when she glimpsed the first light of dawn and she took herself down to the ocean and immersed herself fully, staying there submerged for a long time watching the sun rise slowly into the blue sky bringing the heat of the day along with it