{"id":12250,"date":"2015-10-24T16:06:27","date_gmt":"2015-10-24T22:06:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/riwaslibrary.com\/story\/?p=12250"},"modified":"2020-05-14T13:11:17","modified_gmt":"2020-05-14T19:11:17","slug":"swamp-fever-the-writers-muse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/riwaslibrary.com\/story\/?p=12250","title":{"rendered":"Swamp Fever – the writer’s muse"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Inspired by the following picture and originally posted at DFN)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"swamp_fever_by_andreewallin-d36oonx-992x532\"<\/a>\u201cThat\u2019s the craziest Halloween story I\u2019ve EVER heard!\u201d he blurted out when I was done telling it. Allan always was the skeptical one of our group. But I could tell I had Rebekah hanging on every word.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid that REALLY happen here, Anjelica?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery word of it,\u201d I told her solemnly.<\/p>\n

\u201cAhh, you\u2019re just shittin\u2019 us!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAm I, Allan?\u201d I asked, looking right at him.<\/p>\n

Eva clung a little closer to Jeffrey while Sadie and Evan looked at me rather dubiously.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d I told them all. \u201cYou don\u2019t hear it? Listen!\u201d They all went quiet except for Allan who loudly proclaimed I was the biggest distributer of horseshit in the bayou. But that\u2019s when Becca shushed him\u2026 \u201cI think I DO hear it, Allan!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI hear it too!\u201d Eva said quietly. Somewhere in the direction of those two decrepit old buildings was a distinct tapping sound.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s here,\u201d I told them soberly. \u201cMaybe I shouldn\u2019t have brought you here. Besides, this is a pretty creepy place to hang out for the night.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just then we all heard the faint hiss of a nearby snake. \u201cCOTTONMOUTH!\u201d Eva screamed, jumping up as she caught sight of it. It was far enough away not to be of danger to anyone. But of course by then everyone else was on their feet.<\/p>\n

A sudden crashing sound was heard from somewhere in the woods as though something was coming right toward us. \u201cOh, SHIT!\u201d I blurted out in growing fear. That\u2019s when everyone scattered in separate directions, abandoning the campfire we had built.<\/p>\n

As it turns out, Allan and Rebekah were the easiest. After all, the blowhards usually turn out to be the cowards. In fact I really didn\u2019t have to do much of anything.<\/p>\n

He went left and Rebekah went right so that they lost each other. There was another crashing sound nearby that caused her to abruptly change course. She finally stopped beside a tree, screaming when she found a machete embedded in the bark. I knew she would take it, choosing to grab whatever was handy as a possible weapon.<\/p>\n

Feeling a little braver now that she was armed, Rebekah went looking for Allan. But another crashing sound came right at her, and she turned and ran in the opposite direction in the near darkness. She finally ducked behind a tree, cowering as though she was going to die of fright at any moment!<\/p>\n

Crashing sounds and footsteps meant something terrible was coming toward her. She waited until the very last moment before taking the initiative. That\u2019s when she came out from behind that tree and thrust that machete forward, crying out like a hardened warrior…<\/p>\n

It all but gutted poor Allan, a look of complete and utter shock in his expression as he went down with his entrails starting to come out.<\/p>\n

Poor Rebekah screamed, \u201cAllan, NO!\u201d Then there was a growl from somewhere nearby. Rebekah dropped the machete, turned and went shrieking off into the woods.<\/p>\n

It is never a good idea to run pell-mell when you have no clue where you\u2019re going or what lies directly in front of you. She plunged headlong into a big pit of quicksand, going completely under. Arms broke the surface and flailed in desperation as she coughed and sputtered, swallowing a ton of quicksand. Then she slipped back under the surface. There were a couple of brief undulations before all was still\u2026<\/p>\n

–<\/p>\n

Eva and Jeffrey made it close to one of the buildings, only to hear that tapping sound get louder. They decided that was the last thing they wanted to investigate, especially after my terrifying little tale. They ran in the opposite direction holding each other\u2019s hands until they came to a dock and caught sight of a canoe.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s take it; let\u2019s get out of here!\u201d he declared.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about the others?\u201d she asked in growing panic. \u201cWe can\u2019t just leave them behind??!!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey left US behind, remember?\u201d he told her. \u201cNow get in, Eva! I\u2019m getting us out of here!\u201d<\/p>\n

They both climbed in, whereupon he grabbed the lone paddle and started to row. Soon they were starting to put distance between themselves and the two buildings and that tapping sound. But canoes are famously unstable unless you have good balance, and in their panicked state they kept rocking it back and forth\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cJeffrey, take it easy! We\u2019re going to fall out!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo we\u2019re not, Eva! I know what I\u2019m \u2013 WHAAAA!\u201d Then Jeffrey went right over into the water with a splash.<\/p>\n

He came up sputtering, having lost the oar. He grabbed onto the side of the canoe, frantically holding a hand out toward his date. \u201cHelp me back into the canoe, Eva!\u201d he declared in a trembling voice.<\/p>\n

The canoe suddenly acted as though it had been bumped. Jeffrey lost his grasp and went back under. That\u2019s when the water seemed to churn underneath the canoe before it became still. Then Eva thought she saw the water in her vicinity take on a reddish hue.<\/p>\n

\u201cJeffrey?\u201d she called out in a trembling voice. \u201cJEFFREY??!!\u201d<\/p>\n

She thought she saw his hand near the surface. So she grabbed for it, only to pull out a severed arm. Eva screamed and then let go of it as though it had suddenly turned into a hot poker. Then something seemed to come up to the surface. But what she thought was the rest of Jeffrey\u2019s body turned out to be large and scaly with soulless, hideous eyes.<\/p>\n

Eva screamed as the canoe rocked with her inside. She was pitched out, hitting the water with a splash. Almost immediately she came up swimming for shore as though her life depended on it. She probably shouldn\u2019t have looked back because that\u2019s when she discovered her life really DID depend on it!<\/p>\n

She was almost to shore when she felt something bite down on her feet and drag her under. She screamed a froth of bubbles as blood came up everywhere. Then she was twisted over and over as the creature rolled her under the surface.<\/p>\n

It suddenly let go and she shot back up, panting wildly for breath. Her feet were gone; she couldn\u2019t kick anymore. It hurt so bad that she simply rolled over onto her back, trying to catch her breath as shock set in.<\/p>\n

She looked up at the misty sky as though unable to comprehend where she was or what had just happened to her and Jeffrey. That\u2019s when the snout reappeared and bit down hard into her stomach. Eva screamed and then coughed up blood as it took her down.<\/p>\n

A froth of bubbles came up as it rolled her over and over again. Then the surface of the water began to settle before one last little burst of bubbles came up. By then the meal was no longer in a position to fight back as the creature swam the corpse down toward the bottom of the swamp, ultimately to serve as a midnight snack when the time came\u2026<\/p>\n

–<\/p>\n

That left Evan and Sadie who were making their way back to the campfire looking for their friends. They looked all around, painfully aware of the dangers all around them. They felt as if the entire Swamp wanted them dead, which in this case was a totally accurate assessment. But I wanted them dead even more\u2026 and now I had Rebekah\u2019s machete.<\/p>\n

I had the last act of our little play all set up when I went after them. They were easy to find. I crept up close and then tossed a branch ahead of them. It made enough noise when it landed to send them scurrying back my way.<\/p>\n

I ducked behind a tree and waited. Then I took the machete, came out and swung with all my might. Evan\u2019s head went sailing; it was a perfect blow.<\/p>\n

Sadie screamed as the body of her boyfriend toppled onto the soft earth, blood spurting out of the severed neck. Then she saw me brandishing the menacing weapon. \u201cWHY??\u201d she wailed.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver that way!\u201d I motioned.<\/p>\n

She numbly went in the direction I had indicated until we entered a little clearing. There dangling over a really low branch near the ground was a rope in the shape of a noose. \u201cClimb onto that branch and then put your head in the noose, honey.\u201d I told her.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnjelica; NO!\u201d I just motioned threateningly with the machete while evilly chuckling, \u201cDo you want to lose your head like your boyfriend?\u201d<\/p>\n

She gasped as she clambered up. Then she reached up and pulled on the noose. It didn\u2019t come down all the way and she told me she couldn\u2019t get it down!<\/p>\n

\u201cStretch up on your toes and put your head up into it!\u201d I commanded.<\/p>\n

She had to stretch upward and pull the noose down toward her. But the branch above gave way just enough for her to get it around her neck. When she let go, it snugged itself right up around her throat as though the swamp was eager for her to dance.<\/p>\n

She squawked like a frightened little bird as she rasped for breath while shuffling around on the toes of her sneakers. Then she suddenly stared at me in horror. \u201cYour story!\u201d she gasped. \u201cThis was in your story\u2026 and so was a guy losing his head to a machete!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was, wasn\u2019t it,\u201d I told her with a chuckle. \u201cYou catch on quick.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the others?\u201d she gasped in a trembling voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust like I described in my story,\u201d I told her. \u201cTwo went into the water and are nothing but hors d’oeuvres now. Allan got gutted by his date, and Rebekah went for a little swim in some quicksand.\u201d Then I chuckled sinisterly at her.<\/p>\n

\u201cWould you believe I\u2019m just making all this up on the fly? Actually you can blame it all on the ghost that\u2019s tapping in that house over there!\u201d I pointed over in that direction as she went white as a sheet.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnjelica, please don\u2019t DO this!\u201d she whimpered.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy not?\u201d I wanted to know. \u201cIt\u2019s a swamp story, the very one I told to you stupid people back at the campfire! And by now you should know how it ends, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

Her eyes got big as saucers she started to shake her head. That\u2019s when I brought the machete down just as hard as I could on the low branch she was standing on. It broke apart and she dropped a little as the noose took her full weight.<\/p>\n

She kicked and struggled as she clawed at the rope around her neck. I just stood there and let her do that. She looked good dancing and kicking in that tight sweater and short skirt.<\/p>\n

She started to get weak as she rasped for breath, frantically clawing in a vain attempt to loosen the noose around her throat. Then her arms finally fell away. She hung quietly, her body gently swaying back and forth as little spasms made her arms and legs twitch a little.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot bad,\u201d I told her with a smile. \u201cNot bad at all.\u201d Then I left her there as I made my way toward the building with that tapping sound\u2026<\/p>\n

–<\/p>\n

\u201cHow did I do this time?\u201d I ask him with a seductive smile as he sat there typing away on an antique Corona at an aging oak desk. \u201cDid you like how it all turned out? Did all of that make you horny? Want me to come over and make it all better for you?\u201d I had sucked his cock before and was looking forward to doing so again.<\/p>\n

He looked at me for a moment before turning and typing some more as I got on my hands and knees. Then I seductively crawled toward him across the old, wooden floor, licking my lips with anticipation. I assumed he was typing what I was about to do to him next. Then I heard his voice as though he was speaking the words he was typing<\/p>\n

\u2026and then the old, weakened floor suddenly gave out on her\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

I cried out in surprise as I fell right through the newly created hole in the floor. I landed with a splash in a very thick ooze. I fought my way to the surface only to hear him typing away on the keys through the hole in the floor, his voice coming down in my direction<\/p>\n

\u2026she could not reach the edge of the quicksand pit she had fallen into\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cQUICKSAND??!! RIWA; NOO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING??!!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2026screamed as she flailed around, frantically looking for something to grab onto, her heart racing\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

My heart raced as I looked all around, frantically looking for something to grab onto. I was in it up to my shoulders and I couldn\u2019t get out! Then I found a vine nearby and I stretched out for it, wrapping my fingers around it<\/p>\n

\u2026only to discover the vine was not attached to anything\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cRIWA; NOOO!\u201d I pulled on the vine, but it came all the way in with me! I panted anxiously for breath until my foot found something solid beneath me\u2026 or at least I thought it did. But when I pushed down<\/p>\n

\u2026it gave way underneath her, causing her to sink a little deeper\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cSTOP IT, RIWA! DON\u2019T DO THIS TO ME!! I DON\u2019T WANT TO DIE LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE!!\u201d<\/p>\n

I tried floating on my back \u2026but it was too deep\u2026 <\/em>I tried to work my way over to the edge of the pit I was in \u2026but every little movement made her sink even deeper\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNO, RIWA!\u201d I cried out. \u201cI DON\u201dT WANT TO GO OUT THIS WAY!\u201d \u2026but she was slipping deeper and deeper until her head started to tip back\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNo, Riwa!\u201d I begged. \u201cPlease\u2026 stop banging on those damn keys and help me out of this!\u201d<\/p>\n

Once more I tried to find solid footing beneath me. It felt like there was something there \u2026in the pit of quicksand with her. But it wasn\u2019t solid enough\u2026 <\/em>to push myself up out of the – \u201cRIWA; DAMN YOU! QUIT IT! DON\u2019T KILL ME LIKE THIS!\u201d<\/p>\n

She slipped ever deeper\u2026 <\/em>\u201cNo, Riwa; Please\u2026\u201d \u2026but she couldn\u2019t stop herself from sinking. <\/em>\u201cGawd no, Riwa! You told me I was your MUSE! Please let me go get someone else for you to write about!\u201d \u2026begged him to allow her to get someone else for him to write about. That\u2019s when she felt all around\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

I reached down as I whimpered in growing panic until I felt something. I grabbed on and started to pull upward, only to discover \u2026had discovered the fate of his previous muse\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cGAWD, NO! NO, RIWA; NO! RIWA; I\u2019M SINKING! I\u2019M SINK\u2026 I\u2019M\u2026 HELP-PFFT\u2026 HELP ME-PFFT!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2026spitting water out of her mouth\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

My lips were submerged; I was slowly going down. Only my eyes \u2026were left at the surface as her nose slipped under. That\u2019s when she knew that\u2026 <\/em>I had taken my last breath! OHMYGAWD; I WAS GOING TO DROWN NOW!<\/p>\n

She panicked as she\u2026 <\/em>tried to struggle my way back up. Then I totally slipped under the surface. That\u2019s when I felt \u2026a previous muse grab on and start to pull her deeper. She\u2026 <\/em>screamed my breath away as I was dragged down among his other muses! Then I gurgled as \u2026she inhaled water, her body spasming and convulsing painfully. Instinctively she started thrashing about as she was overcome with drowning spasms. It felt as though hands were pulling her down, hands dragging her to the depths to join all the others. Her mind screamed in sheer terror at the darkness totally enveloping her, the darkness and all those hands grabbing onto her body as her lungs kept heaving from sucking water down her windpipe\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

He paused to study the last page of the manuscript he had just finished. He pulled the sheet of paper out of the typewriter and tucked it in with all the others he had typed earlier that evening. Then he scrolled in a clean sheet – a brand new sheet \u2013and started typing<\/p>\n

The door swung open and a sultry brunette walked in wearing a form fitting black outfit as though she owned the place. She walked right up to him as he sat there typing away. Her first words were\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cGood evening, Riwa. My name is Savannah. How may I serve you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a9 2015 (written Oct 19 \u201915 by riwa)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Halloween story becomes all too real for a group of friends. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[61,29],"class_list":["post-12250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-asphyxiastories","tag-drowning","tag-hanging"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/riwaslibrary.com\/story\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/riwaslibrary.com\/story\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/riwaslibrary.com\/story\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riwaslibrary.com\/story\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riwaslibrary.com\/story\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12250"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/riwaslibrary.com\/story\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12253,"href":"https:\/\/riwaslibrary.com\/story\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12250\/revisions\/12253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/riwaslibrary.com\/story\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riwaslibrary.com\/story\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riwaslibrary.com\/story\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}