Marlon wanted to take a short cut to public swimming pool where he was supposed to be meeting his friends.
A derelict path shrouded in overgrown foliage was protected from the sunlight by the vast canopy of tree branches arching and twisting overhead. The earth was soft, as it had been raining the day before.

The crunching leaves beneath Marlon’s bare feet blended in with the earth, as the noise quickly became sloshing.

Marlon lost his footing and began sinking into the earth. The viscous sticky muck churned beneath him as he struggle helplessly, only burrowing his legs and thighs deeper into mud. As the sticky mud swallowed his waist, Marlon frantically looked around for any sign of help. No one was near, he was too deep in the woods to be heard by any passers by.

Marlon wiped the sweat off his brow as he grunted through pursed lips. The mud seemed to have him in a death grip. Squelching guttural ambience as the earth pulled him in deeper.

Marlon’s abdomen was swallowed by the sticky mud within seconds, he instinctively thrust his arms into the earth, attempting to free himself by pushing away from the mud.

Marlon’s arms belonged to the mud now. Despite his struggles and groans, he could not free them. Marlon was beginning his final descent into the cold brown mud as it crept past his chest.