Well enough for the moment!

Nine hundred... and one... two... three... four... five...

It is increasingly difficult to stay under the mud. The time drags so slowly, and it's impossible to see or hear anything; for all she knows, there's a crowd of men waiting around her. But no... one of them would have pulled out her reed, **** her to the surface.

And, is it truly impossible to hear? The water and earth around her muffle some sounds, but amplify others - sounds such as nearby footsteps! There is someone near, and with so much time having passed already, it couldn't be one of the other women. It's one of the men... one of the hunters. Jade stops counting her breaths, waits tensely, almost certain that at any moment huge arms will yank her from the mud and slam her to the ground, **** her legs open...

But no - the footsteps don't even slow down. They're moving away! She's as good as invisible.

Nine hundred and ten... eleven... twelve...

_______________________

Thirty-eight... thirty-nine... fourteen hundred and forty!

The temptation to leap from the muddy pond is almost impossible to keep in check, but with her plan having worked so well so far, the last thing Jade wants to do is draw attention to herself! She forces herself to rise up slowly, poking her head up carefully through the mud which seems to have only gotten thicker, wiping it from her eyes as carefully as she can with hands that are just as muddy. For the first time in two hours, she opens her eyes. The sunlight is blinding, but she only dares to open them a little anyway - the last thing she needs is to get mud in her eyes and have her vision compromised.

The woods are silent and still around her. The sun has risen higher in the sky - it is late morning. Her pack is still there, undisturbed. She makes her way to it, opens it, and uses a little of the precious water to clean the mud from around her eyes.

I did it! she thinks. They're all past me by now, and I can follow them instead of them following me. Of course, I'll have to move ahead of the pack eventually, but I'll worry about that later. As for this mud... well, that does take care of the sunscreen problem, and it's good camouflage. It also makes me a little less sexually appealing, and around here that's a good -

A scream penetrates the woods. Jade shudders with the thought of what must be happening. That won't be me, she swears to herself, as she takes up her pack and heads deeper into the woods.

The map isn't totally worthless, she thinks as she moves through the trees. I just need to know where I am on it. It doesn't have much in the way of landmarks, but it doesn't need to if I can get high enough to see more of the island; I might be able to figure it out just based on the topography. Obviously, I need to climb a tree, the tallest one I can find. And I need to move uphill when I can, get to the highest possible ground.

Her stomach growled. And I need to eat, she reminds herself. I should save my rations if I can, though. Wait, what's that?

A rustling in some nearby bushes! Jade steps back cautiously, glances at the ground, sees a good-sized stick. She hefts it in one hand; a bit lightweight, but better than nothing. She approaches the bushes cautiously...