//------------------------------//
// Mud 
// Story: Exile 
// by Forceful Will 
//------------------------------//


Jinx continued forward at a trot. The tracks were easy enough to follow, and Jinx could afford to move quickly without risk of losing the trail. The path kept a steady southwest line until without warning, it turned due west. At the point where it turned, the third set of tracks reappeared again and this time remained with the other two. Jinx could see nothing in the immediate area that could indicate a reason for the shift.

Jinx still hadn’t found a new clearing when the sun began to set. He couldn’t understand it; he knew he hadn’t missed any turn-offs, but it didn’t seem possible that zebras forcing a path through the trees and undergrowth could have not needed to stop for the night by now. He backtracked a few paces, and, sure enough, all three sets of tracks were clearly visible, side by side. It simply didn’t make any sense. There had been spots along the path where it had been clear that they had stopped for a period of time, but nothing like the clearings before. Jinx snorted in frustration: there was nothing else to do but press forward until he could find a campsite.  He certainly wasn’t going to risk sleeping in the thick of plants which would undoubtedly be covered in spores within minutes.

When the sun’s glow was fully extinguished, Jinx was running at as close to a full gallop as he could manage, his last torch gripped tightly in his mouth so he could see far enough ahead to ensure he was still following the tracks. He thought he saw the shadow of spores to his left, and he ran all the harder, nearly tripping over a large fern that he didn’t have time to swerve away from. Far ahead of him, the trail opened up to a clear expanse and Jinx almost cheered in relief. He slowed to a trot and took his first step into the open area when he noticed how the ground was different here. His hoof caught in the ground and he tripped. Just before his face hit the ground, he spat the torch out to the side.

Instead of the hard impact Jinx expected, his face splashed into a thick muck and stuck. He pushed his muzzle free only to feel his front legs slip deeper into the mud. Quicksand! Jinx realized. This wasn’t an artificial clearing. The torch had landed slightly clear of the quicksand and was still burning. There was a slight glare of reflection at the edge of the patch of quicksand marking It took an effort of will, but Jinx resisted the urge to shake the mud clear of his face; that would only make him sink more. As still as he was, he could feel himself slowly sinking. Normally this wouldn’t worry him much; quicksand was annoying, but hardly dangerous on its own, but there was still the problem of the spores. He didn’t see any at the moment, but he had no doubt that if he stayed put for too long he would.

He spread his hind legs as best as he could, spreading out his weight before trying to start wiggling one of his forelegs free. He couldn’t stop himself from constantly checking over his shoulder at the edge of the pool to see if any mushrooms had started growing. Of course, the extra motion made it more difficult to get his leg free up to the knee so he could start working on his other foreleg. He had just gotten his last leg free enough to allow movement when a fly bit him hard on the rump, causing him to flinch. His whole body twitched from the unexpected pinch, and he slipped just enough on his balance that all the work on his final limb was undone. Cursing the stupid fly, he began to pull the leg free again. He pulled the limb out of the mud and inched his way back toward the edge of the pool he had thrown the torch to. In the minutes it had taken for him to get himself free of the quicksand it had gone out, but there was enough moonlight shining into the clearing that Jinx could see where the path he had been following curved around the quicksand on the edge and continued on the opposite side. He sighed, and turned to start following the track again when he heard the sound of voices.

“I’m telling you, Windshear, I heard something, and we’re going to check it out.”