Threads of Silver

Wound

Goddamnit. 

By now, you were completely drenched, wet to your bones. Your heart dropped, your stomach dropped. You had convinced yourself that they would be gone, but yet... here they were. Only their ships- no sight of the Troopers, or the two figures. 

You mentally sighed, shifting uneasily. The muddy water was up to your knees, making your boots heavy and waterlogged. You could barely feel your toes at this point. You wanted nothing more than to strip down and let yourself dry off by the dim light of your makeshift bed chamber, warming yourself with a small fire. Your teeth started chattering, and you clenched your jaw in vain to still them. 

God. Dammit. 

The ships seemed quiet, their insides most likely housing sleeping soldiers. You didn't know if they slept, but figured so. You stood, shifting back and forth, debating on your next move. 

A particularly big flash of lightning lit up the clearing, your eye catching on something glistening in the shadows that you hadn't noticed before. The thunder growled as your eyes took in the small ship. 

A TIE fighter. Resting quietly on the ground, like a sleek black predator. Unattended. 

Suddenly, your chest filled with golden hope. That ship was your ticket off of this damn planet. From your experience, it was fast- fast enough to get the hell out of dodge before any of The First Order woke up and noticed it's disappearance. 

The rain continued to strike down, and you began to creep along the tree line, thanking the Gods for the cover of darkness and the roar of the road to hide the sloshing sound of your boots in the mud. Your heart raced, pounding loudly in your chest, threatening to drown out the rolls of thunder above. Your hands shook- from hunger or fear, you weren't really sure. Probably both.

Your boots slipped slightly, and you caught yourself on a small tree, cursing to yourself before continuing on, quickening your pace. 

The TIE fighter was nestled in  a small area to the backside of your ship, surrounded by the most part by brush and trees. Thank the gods- it was just enough cover to be out of the line of sight of the main ship.  It felt like you were navigating yourself around an angry, buzzing nest of hornets, knowing damn well any major disturbance would wake the dangerous beings inside. 

You were but a few strides from the sleek black ship, shifting around waterlogged underbrush that reached your hips. You ducked down as much as you could, your arms catching and snagging on the twigs. 

By now your heart was nearly exploding with adrenaline, the loud pumps echoing in your ear and sending your entire body into shivers. You could smell the sharp scent of wet metal, nearly able to taste it on your tongue. You were about to get the fuck out of here. 

A flash of lightning crackled through the atmosphere, and as your right leg hit the ground, a dull snap and agonizing pain ripped through you. You couldn't hold back a yelp, a scream, and fell to the ground. 

You clawed at your right leg, grasping at the searing pain, and glanced down. Through the mud, you saw the source- a metal trap, armed with sharp, thick silver spikes, latched itself around your leg. It was connected to the ground with a rusted chain that disappeared into the ground. You had started bleeding immediately, the spikes slicing through and stabbing into the delicate skin just above your ankle. You writhed, trying to pry it apart, gritting your teeth as your hands slipped through the mud and rain water and scarlet blood. 

How could I have been so fucking blind? Of course this was a trap. 

You laid back, panting, grabbing the chain and heaving yourself back, but it was not budging. Your leg was screaming, pulsating and throbbing with every erratic beat of your heart, more and more of your blood pooling into the ground around you. Your hands made purchase once more on the trap, trying to pry it's sharp metal lips from around your leg. It budged about a centimeter, but then you lost your grip and it latched on even harder than before as you let out a guttural yell that wouldn't stay behind your clenched teeth.

You fell onto your back, your chest heaving in agony, heavy rain drops hitting your face, as if they were laughing at you.  The familiar hiss of a ships door opening caught your ear, and you prayed they hadn't heard anything. 

The pull on your sternum told you otherwise.