Escape

Running.

Just keep moving.

Don’t trip. The ground here is unsteady, cursed -

And he fell, foot plunged straight through the uneven glassy stone, and tumbled forward landing in a sprawling heap and the ground suddenly set upon him. It started crawling up his body, razor sharp shards congealing around his limbs, attempting to swallow him. Before he could be engulfed, he leapt to his feet and started running again.

He could hear it gaining on him. The grating of metal on metal, a dull shriek from the formless mass pursuing him. An ominous buzzing that reminded him of a swarm of insects, however this entity was much, much worse. He couldn’t focus on it though, only escape.

Why had he come here, all cause of a stupid dare. Everyone knew it was a death sentence, and he had to go and open his mouth. Idiot. He even had his treasure, but it was no use if he couldn’t make it back to the mainland. He felt it throbbing in his pocket, each pulse sending bolts of pain into his leg as if it were trying to invade his body, jolts of flashing pain bringing him to focus.

He could only see so hard ahead of him, the dark grey fog obscuring his vision, a perpetual mist that hung over this cursed island. All he could hope is that he wasn’t running into a -

Dead end.

A wall of the same crystalline rock was moving, crawling over itself and forming a barrier, blocking off his route. It meant he was getting closer, but it also meant he was trapped. He gauged the distance; he might be able to jump and grab the top of the formation and pull himself over.

He steeled himself and made the leap. His hands managed to grab the top, the shards of rock instantly slicing into his hands. No time for pain. He hauled himself over and tried to pull his hands away as quickly as he could before the shards had a grasp on him, but his right hand was stuck, the shards enveloping it and moving their way up the back of his hand.

Bracing himself, he pulled away with as much force as he could, the shards shredding his fingers, seemingly satiated by the taste of blood as they gulped up the remains of his hand that had been left behind. He couldn’t pause as he could feel his feet sinking into the cliff, and he pulled away, continuing his journey towards the bay.

He heard the cracking as the cliff broke apart behind him, followed by the grating that pursued him with seemingly renewed vigor, the terrain working with itself to ensure he couldn’t escape. The whole island was against him, his feet now clinging to the ground where he stepped, the glass-like shards biting into his feet, sucking them in like mud, digging into his soles and worming their way towards his flesh.

He was almost there. He could smell it, the sickly salty breeze from the ocean. It wasn’t pleasant, the smell was a mixture of rotting corpses and sewage, and that was doing it a favor. He knew he was getting -

Close. He could see the shore, even the outline of his raft. The only issue is that it had been engulfed by the same crystalline shards the island was made of. He could see it in the distance, swallowing his ship, as a violent snap rang from the boat as it was folded in half and began sinking into the surf in a crumpled mess.

He slowed down, realizing it was inevitable. He had no way off the island. He couldn’t swim home, not in these waters. He was stuck.

He fell to his knees, the landing making small impacts in the sand-like shards. They began creeping up his body, ripping and tearing at his skin, dragging him under. The fog of shards descended upon him, cutting and slicing his body, a million pinpricks at every point of his body.

Sunli let out a primal scream of pain, and then fell silent.

The island had claimed another victim.