Break...away from everybody...away from everything

The mud sucked at his paws, like a vacuum sucking up everything in its path. The youth shivered, rain pouring down through the gaps of the trees, soaking his fur and chilling his bones. Spring was here...and with it the first showers of the new season. Prey would be bountiful, and so would floods. He remembered the most recent one...he happened to be sleeping in the wrong place at the wrong time. Water from the nearby river had over flooded, causing mayhem and wreaking havoc on the nearby landscape. The den had had found flooded, trapping him inside. He had to fight his way out against the angry current, as it tried to keep him trapped against the walls of the place he thought would be safe. He barely broke free from its angry clutches, scrambling with utmost determination to survive. When he had fought the current, he had been high enough to scramble up a tree to whatever branch he could reach. And with the water just mere feet under the lowest branch he was on, he sat huddled. Soaking wet and nearly suffocated, he sat hunched over and staring at the rushing water below. It wasn't like that when he had arrived in this forest, but anything could change in the blink of an eye when nature wanted it to.

Well, that was over now. Now he had to find another place to reside for the day...perhaps more dry and away from any rivers that might flood again. The pitiful boy pulled his legs through the slippery suctioning mud painfully slow. His body began to feel incredibly tired due to the effort it was taking to get out of this mud...everytime he placed a paw on top of it, he either slipped or it got sucked back in when his weight was pressed down. His lower half of his body was covered in mud, the top half remained less dirty thanks to the rain washing down on him.

After toiling for near an hour, and moving at a painfully slow pace, he looked back to see he hadn't gotten very far...his exhaustion began to overtake him, he pulled his front left up, resting it atop the mud. His soaked and sodden head rested upon his muddied leg, the rest of his legs stuck in the relentless mud who would not give up its victim so easily. He stood again after a few moment, trying to jump out to pull himself free. With a huge effort, he managed it...but it was short lived. The boys body slunk forward a few feet before he came across a very slippery patch of mud. As he tried to spread his legs for a wider stance, his back feet sunk in, dragging his body into the mud as well. As he tried to pull himself out again, his right foreleg sunk as well, leaving the pitiful creature stuck. His chest heaved from exhaustion...was this how he was meant to die? Alone in a world of cold? Shivering violently, he rested his head on his left leg again, a single tear dripping down his face. So this was it...how cruel and unforgiving the world was. Leaving him to die without ever knowing friendship, or love. He pinned his ears back from the rain, well...at least he wouldn't have to feel the pain of solitude anymore...He closed his eyes, and waited.