3 The jungle

Don't tempt me too far wolf,

My patience is not that perfect.....

...

The dilemma in his head was exhausting him.

"Do I want to die with the teeth of that giant dog or with several giant teeth of wild animals in jungle?"

The boy muttered as he halted near the dense trees, gasping for air. He turned his head and was much pleased about the distance he had covered out of fear, inspite of a severely injured leg. He quickly wiped the sweat from his forehead and with shivering leg he stepped on a rough patch of long grass, between two giant trees.

"Oh good lord. Please help me." He closed his eyes as he remembered his mother's smiling and fearless face whenever she went to fetch the ball, while playing with him. A slight smile appeared on his face too as he lifted his injured leg and placed it further ahead. The vigorous storm was making the leaves of the dense and creepy trees to move clumsily.

He took a few quick steps and finally opened his eyes to look around. The pitch black forest made his heart to jump out of his mouth and instantly, he hid behind a large tree, taking deep breaths. Suddenly everything grew silent and he could here mild creepy voice of the crickets nearby.

He turned his neck to look at the barren land and could not spot the ferocious beast and neither could he hear it. "I... I think he left."

The boy took a deep breath as he sat down on the grass, clenching his leg in much misery and torement. The pain was only increasing and seemed to have also reached his thighs too. "What is happening to my leg? It feels like it is slowly travelling all over my body."

He wiped away his tears, constantly looking at the barren land. After spotting nothing for several more minutes, he finally tried to stand up on his feet, when he realized his injured leg had gone completely numb. "Arghhhhhh!!!"

With much force he fell down on the rough grass of the jungle and hit his head with the trunk of a tree. More and more blood oozed out from his forehead too and his vision grew blurred again, as if due to the intense impact of the injury.

The boy had now almost given up the struggle. His dark eyes were full of tears, while his thin and weak body had no strength left in it. He was already malnutritioned for a boy aged 23, and now his leg was also badly injured. His already shabby clothes were badly torn and he lay on the ground looking at the dark forest ahead.

"Mother! Father! I cannot do this anymore. Why.... why am I so weak and helpless? No.. nobody likes me and nobody talks to me... and now a giant dog is after me... Don't let this linger on for too long. Either kill me or make this stop." The boy muttered as he felt his entire body's excrutiating pain. His eyes were drooping and his breath was getting slower, as if he had already given up on his life. "I do not have the strength to live this life now... I ... I am so lonely."

He muttered again and his lips grew motionless while he closed his eyes, surrendering to the situation.

"ROAAAARRRRRR!!!" Suddenly a giant growl echoed in the jungle and the boy's entire body started to shiver in terror. His dark eyes instantly opened and there it was standing right in front of him, looking at him in much infuriation!