Swamp Challenge RP! Aftermath (FINISHED!)

[Aiko]

Aiko continues along the shorter route (#2) near the shore. The moss bounces in response to her every step. She is well aware of the danger and her heart is pounding heavily from exertion as well as excitement.

[SinkerCutie]

I did state that Julie was immortal, though. But, I can understand what you're saying. So, I'll make a little change.

Julie sighs, knowing that she would be screwed whether she rescued others or not, due to her nature. Thus, she forfeits the race.

[101927700]

Tirah chooses Route 1. It may be longer, but there's more moss to support her weight.

[Kimalainen]

Tirah chooses Route 2. It may be longer, but there's more moss to support her weight.

Don't you mean route 1?

[101927700]

Tirah chooses Route 2. It may be longer, but there's more moss to support her weight.

Don't you mean route 1?

Fixed.

[101927700]

The results are in! Compiling Zone 3's results...
Tirah, Sonja, April, and John take Route 1. Tirah is glad she got cleaned off by that wave earlier, so she doesn't have all that mud weighing her down and breaking the moss. April, however, is not so lucky. About halfway across the Marsh, she breaks through the moss. She is immediately sucked down to her waist. Oh, shit... I'm in for a wild ride, April thinks. In a few seconds she's up to her chest. She tries pushing on the moss to make herself stop sinking, but her arms break through and get stuck too. Soon she's up to her neck and sinking fast. She tries kicking her legs, but to no avail. The young girl is quickly sucked under the mud, never to be seen again. The only indication of her existence is a hole in the moss that serves as a warning to others. John is further inland on Route 1. He has to navigate around more holes in the moss, making his progress extremely slow. At one point, he loses his balance and falls in the peat. He is quickly sucked under.
Sonja was having a nice time until her left boot broke through the moss. Her left leg is immediately engulfed. However, Sonja is able to get the leg out of the relatively thin mud, and continues on, to Zone 4. Tirah carefully navigates the moss, feeling for any spot that may give way under her. In doing so, she avoids many spots where she could've sunk. She makes it to Zone 4 without incident.

Aiko takes the more risky Route 2. And... Oh boy, what a bad idea. After just a few steps down the path, the moss has already gotten so thin that it breaks and she is quickly sucked under the mud.

Compiling these results...
1st: Tirah (37 minutes)
2nd: Sonja (38 minutes)
DNF: April, John, Aiko

It's come down to this. The last two runners, Sonja and Tirah. Now they have to face the Muddy Meadow, Zone 4. Knee-high grass with mud everywhere. Many streams where the mud gets significantly deeper. Most of the Meadow is only 1-2 feet deep, but some spots have bottomless mud... It's impossible to tell where. However, closer to the coast, there is more bottomless mud than further inland; however the end of the race is near the coast, so both girls will have to face the mud in order to win.

There are two choices with this one:
1. Stay close to the coast, meaning more bottomless mud, but a more direct route to the finish.
2. Stay inland, meaning shallower and thicker mud, but not as direct of a route to the finish.
Seeing as only two runners are left, the deadline is 9 AM (Convert from GMT-7 to your timezone) tomorrow. That is when the winner will be decided. It's really a 50/50 chance at this point.

[101927700]

Tirah chooses Route 2, knowing that less bottomless mud is a better chance for her.

[bogbud]

Sonja thought she did see that John-guy near her while she was navigating through the marsh. After she reached the edge of that area she decided to wait for a couple minutes if he or someone else was still around but no-one did show up.
She was soaking wet and muddy from that stumbling through all that mud and getting cold, too. Also she was tired and only wanted just to go home as fast as possible.
After checking the map Sonja decided to chose the shortest possible path (route #1).

[Aiko]

Aiko's peat-covered hand reaches up and grabs onto the moss surrounding it. The other hand follows and does the same. Then her muddy face re-emerges, spitting out some peat. She does not dare wipe off her face as that would mean to let go with either hand. Instead she carefully shifts more weight onto her hands and pulls herself up until neck-deep. Then Aiko presses her face into the wet moss pillow in front of her. It works well enough to get rid off some of the mud and allows her to open her eyes. The moss is still shaking all around her from her sudden plunge earlier and she pauses to rest for a moment, allowing the surface to calm down and consider her next move. There is nothing solid to hold onto. Just the thin moss carpet all around her. She would have thought that a slim light-weight girl like herself might make it without breaking through, but that had obviously turned out to be a mistake. Carefully she begins to drag herself onto the moss in front of her. Her shoulders resurface. So does the wet stained blouse. The surface responds to every little move she makes. Inch by inch she crawls forward. The moss is being pushed down into the muck under her weight, but it does not rip and keeps supporting her nevertheless. Finally her upper body is resting on the partially submerged layer of moss. Her legs are still buried in the peat, but Aiko is already beginning to feel more confident about her self-rescue.

She pulls up her left leg while leaning to the right. Suddenly the moss cover breaks and she feels herself sliding down to her right into the wet peat underneath. Instinctively she clutches at the moss with both hands, fingers digging deep into it, but the fragile layer rips there as well. She effectively tears out a big chunk of that layer. As she struggles to stay on top of it it flips over a bit like an air mattress, only less stiff and definitely much less buoyant. She quickly sinks back down to her neck and realizes that the chunk she is now holding onto cannot possibly support her weight. So she frantically turns on to the other side, where the moss layer is still intact and reaches for it. Her hand passes through almost instantly. She tries again and again. The morass is at her chin, shaking from her struggles. The area of black exposed peat around her is growing with each attempt to pull herself out of it. Muddy chunks of moss are floating on top of it, but they are just barely buoyant enough to keep themselves afloat and offer virtually no support. Finally she manages to grab onto a patch of moss that does not break apart instantly. With outstretched arms she is holding onto it, head tilted back, bog's surface at her chin and ears. Even though she is holding onto something now, Aiko is still slowly slipping deeper. She does not dare pull herself up too much, but instead tries to get closer to that final remaining lifeline. So she slowly drags herself towards the moss, her ears submerge and she finds herself looking straight up at the sky now. She pulls just a little bit harder to get herself closer to the edge of the bog before she would submerge once more. And with that she tears out another huge chunk of the moss layer. Her face slips under, she immediately pushes the soft moss in her grip under and her head breaks the shaking surface one more time.

With nothing more to hold onto within her reach Aiko tries to move forward using swimming motions. A final attempt that proves to be utterly futile. Moments later she submerges completely in the quacking morass.

(No intention to alter the outcome here, but I won't go down without a fight )

[bogbud]

(No intention to alter the outcome here, but I won't go down without a fight )

Very intense and well written! Thumps up!!