By VH
Faith Humphrey walked through the lush greenery as if she were simply taking a leisurely Wednesday evening stroll. However, this was far from a casual outing. As an undercover agent, Faith stood out like a sore thumb amidst the natural beauty surrounding her. She was cautious but she wasn’t sure if she needed to be because this project involved a rumoured tribe believed to inhabit the area but there was hardly any proof of it. This mission was fraught with uncertainties and potential dangers. Faith couldn’t help but ponder the possibilities: if she did discover the tribe, would they be wary of her and plan to kill her? Would they see her as a potential meal and dispose of her bones after they’re done with her? Or, just maybe, would they decide to let her go? The mixture of "ifs" and "buts" weighed heavily on her mind.
Those concerns felt distant now. Faith gasped for air as she became fully aware of her surroundings. Darkness engulfed her, with only a sliver of light seeping through a crack. It all came rushing back: the mission, the trail that led her to a small cliff, the sudden fog that obscured her vision, and most importantly, the fall that left her trapped under a massive rock with only an inch of hope of ever making it out alive.
Faith peered through the crack, it seemed like it was almost time for nightfall or had the sun just risen? She didn’t know. The passage of time had become unrecognisable to Faith as she found herself slipping in and out of consciousness. With each passing minute, the oxygen was depleting, heightening the urgency of her situation. She pushed against the rock once more, just as she had done countless times before, but it remained immovable.
Faith would have screamed if it weren't for the risk of attracting wild animals to her vulnerable state, coupled with her low energy. Severe dehydration had taken its toll, and hunger had turned into painful cramps. Thinking back on the decision to accept this assignment, she knew deep down she shouldn't have, but the desire to make her daddy proud outweighed her doubts. Her father, a retired chief, would be gravely disappointed to learn of Faith's predicament, considering it nothing short of a "silly situation.”
Faith did have a way to escape forever. Like every agent on a dangerous mission, she carried a pill —filled with a lethal poison designed to swiftly end a person's life within minutes. Faith looked at the glowing white pill contemplating her will to live. Her mind wandered back to her childhood where playtime was replaced with rigorous training sessions under her father's watchful eye. While other kids played outside, Faith exercised her body and mind, enduring tedious exercises that sometimes left her bedridden for days. The mental challenges, in particular, were torturous, often leaving her emotionally numb.
Faith's breathing slowed, she was losing oxygen. She had relied on the small crack for precious breaths, but now, drained of energy, she lay helpless on the ground, unable to muster the strength to lift her own weight. The pill seemed increasingly tempting, its promise of release from suffering growing sweeter with each passing moment. To Faith, death seemed akin to bread to a starving man —utterly irresistible.
A sudden booming sound jolted Faith from her despair, and she couldn't believe it when cool droplets touched her frail skin—it had started to rain. The thunderous alarm bell seemed to indicate the release of sweet nectar from the heavens. With newfound hope, Faith parted her lips as water
splashed over her face, offering a lifeline in her darkest hour. As the rain continued to fall, a new realisation dawned on Faith: what seemed like a potential gift could easily become a curse in disguise. The crack she had been relying on for air could cause the hole to fill up, risking drowning instead. Caught between the threat of suffocation and the prospect of starving, now aggravated by the risk of drowning, Faith grappled with the grim reality that death, in whichever form it chose, now seemed like a friend.
It was pitch dark outside when Faith stirred, her breathing ragged. Faith crossed dying by drowning off her list, the rain must have stopped when she lost consciousness. There was no sound, absolute pin drop silence. Faith didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing. The silence could indicate that there was no threat to her but it also meant that she was truly and utterly alone.With a heavy heart, she retrieved the pill from her boot one last time, hesitating momentarily before placing it on her tongue, tasting a flavour reminiscent of blueberries.
Just as Faith swallowed the pill, she heard voices—a shuffling of footsteps, as if a group of people were moving about barefoot. Her wide eyes remained fixed on the crack, filled with a mixture of hope and dread. Could it be rescuers coming to her aid, or were these the inhabitants of the rumoured tribe? Perhaps they were the ones who had trapped her as their next meal and were now coming to claim it. As these thoughts and questions swirled in her mind, her heart raced faster with each passing second, until a sudden, powerful beat made Faith jolt. In that brief moment, she made eye contact with bulging eyes peering through the crack, a silent witness to her final moments before embracing Death.
By VH
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