It had been hours since the dreary man had seen any life forms, perhaps days.

Stranded in the desert, equipped with nothing but scuffy sand covered clothes and an empty water flask, was not what Henry had bargained for when he went on a airplane trip to Egypt.

Sure, he thought he would love to see the desert; but not like this!

Every time Henry took a step, his worn out shoe would sink in to the sand; meaning it was not very easy to walk.

Some time Henry’s vision would blur, and he would stagger around in circles, waiting till he could see enough to walk in the right direction.

It was quite obvious that Henry was suffering from dehydration; and maybe even desperation.

Henry was about to take another step, when something stopped him.

He looked down at his feet, and realized that something was stuck to them.

It was sand, but it had the consistency of chewed bubble gum.

What in the world is this?

Thought Henry.

Slowly, bit by bit, the sludge was sucking the man underneath the surface of the sand!

When Henry realized what was happening, it was too late.

The sand had already sucked in the majority of his legs; and even though Henry was very good at determining many different substances, he had never come across one like this.

There was no stopping it.

By Sofia

New South Wales, 2020