Followed by the Chaotic Creature
The River Waiters

POV Lilies

A human body was washed away by the river and stuck in the rocks. I immediately reported to the residents and the village chief. Several adult men moved his body to the riverbank.

The body belonged to a 20-year-old woman. One of our villagers, too, went missing a few days ago. She went missing in the river while washing clothes with her neighbor.

The residents have also been searching throughout the flow, but this woman is nowhere to be found. Not even a trace of it exists.

Who would have thought that he would be found in such a state. Clothes were torn here and there, revealing the wounds on his skin. Large bite wounds. I turned my face away unable to see more than that.

"Sir, this is clearly the act of the crocodile. We have to get people to hunt him down. This is the third victim in a month. Most of the victims were women and children. We can't stay silent." Said one of the provoking youths. Followed by other people who agree with his opinion.

"Silence everyone! We'll meet that later. Now we have to take this body to his family to be buried. Meanwhile, avoid activities in the river and keep an eye on the children so as not to play here. If it is forced to do activities in the river let the adult man do it. Do it in groups in case of assault." The village head gave his appeal to the residents not to commit reckless acts.

The elderly man, who is still trusted by his citizens to lead the village, asked young leaders and residents to attend a meeting tomorrow afternoon.

They should think about the action carefully. Because this is related to the river guardians who have inhabited the region for hundreds of years. Great supernatural beings living side by side with us. The white crocodile.

Our dispute, the residents, with the crocodiles guarding the river is frequent. It's like humans trying to fight over where they feed, and crocodiles trying to defend their homes.

Language inequality makes it difficult for us to understand each other. In the end, the breakdown of human and crocodile relationships is inevitable. Human victims who were attacked by crocodiles fell a lot. But crocodiles who became victims of the hunt was not a little.

Killing a crocodile is not the solution. Because there will be other crocodiles. And again, if too many crocodiles die it will provoke the anger of the queen, who is believed by the villagers as the leader of the crocodiles.

Avoiding the river is the best solution right now. But it won't last long. People need water and fish from the river to live.

"Huh! The water lizard is doing it again! Fuck up!" Tackle Tania in the middle of tension. Although his expression looked irritated, but his words left me agape.

"If that big crocodile you call a lizard. What do you call the lizard?" I'm holding back the laughter.

"The tadpole boy." Answer origin. I laughed when I was so scared because of this.

Tania is a little different from us, both in terms of language and culture. He said his tribe lived on a high mountain far from any other tribal settlement. So he doesn't interact much with the outside world.

I used to have trouble talking to him because of the language difference. But now I'm used to his strange words. Tania also learned a lot about our language. Since he knew her he has helped my family a lot.

I feel lucky to have him as a friend. I hope our relationship continues. Before dusk Tania came home. I never went up the mountain. But it must have been far and exhausting. How could he be patient on such a journey?

After the incident in the river, the days passed quietly. Dad took the water in the river for our daily needs with the other residents. Mom gardening in the fields. I helped trade in the market. Sell our garden.

"Lili, are you home?" Ask my mom who saw me lying on the porch.

"Yes Mom." My solute. That day was a little hot. The wind refused to blow.

"Lili, please help me find your sister. It's almost lunch time. But he hasn't been seen around the house." Mother's orders I can't refuse. Although tired feels very.

I looked in the usual places he played but two were not there.

"You guys didn't play with Nino?" I asked the kids who used to play with him.

"So we played. So Nino called the big brother and left." Answer one of the children.

"Don't know. His brother's a boy." Said the boy again.

"Male? Where are they going?" I asked again in panic.

"To there." The boy pointed towards the river. I rushed there.

"Nino! Nino!" I called him, hoping he would. But only silence I have. The men who used to take water in the river seemed to have gone home. I'm restless. Throughout my search, I have not found my little sister.

"Sister! Here, brother!" Suddenly I heard Nino calling me. I ran to follow his voice.

"Nino?!" I found my sister sitting on a large tree trunk floating in the middle of the river. Nino looked excited as if she was riding a boat.

"Nino! It's dangerous! You can fall and drown!" I'mworning.

I threw myself into the river nearing Nino. But strange things happen. I feel awkward. Rather than floating the tree trunk it looks like swimming.

Suddenly the front part split and showed a row of sharp teeth like serrations. His eyes opened and saw me.

"Nino!" Pekiku scared. That's not a tree trunk! It's crocodile!

Nino lost her balance and fell into the river before I could reach her. The river flow is quite heavy. He washed away the body of the 6-year-old boy.

I swam after him but lost quickly to the agility of crocodiles in the water. The crocodile was after my sister. I've realized. I decided to go ashore.

Crocodiles are the best swimmers. Racing with him in the water would be futile. He'll get my brother before I can save him. The only way is to fight it on land. I have to find a shortcut to intercept them in front.

Fortunately I was on time. From afar saw my sister washed away with a big crocodile chasing not far behind her.

I reached out and managed to grab my sister. The dirt that I was sticking was too soft, making us both mired and plunged into the river again.

Hugging my sister, I snatched the stem of the plant by the river to hold on before drifting further away. The more downstream the flow will be more rapid and deeper.

With great difficulty I managed to raise my sister ashore. While I was still trapped in the river. The land on the river bank was very slippery, making it difficult to climb ashore. While the water is as high as my chest.

I have to hurry up before the crocodile chases. Nino also continued to cry from fear. I have to calm him down. What makes me uneasy is that I didn't see the big crocodile on the surface of the river.

'Where did the crocodile go?' ask in my heart while observing carefully. While I rearrange my breath panting.

Suddenly something grabbed my leg and dragged my body into the water.

"Sister!" I heard my sister's crying voice calling me away.

Legs hurt. I glanced down. The crocodile bit my leg. I was scared and fought as I could. My leg hurts like it's about to break. I'm starting to run out of breath. I swallowed a lot of water until I got my head dizzy. My eyes also began to blur.

I didn't know where the crocodile was going to take me. But I have no strength to fight.

'Whoever! Please! Helpme! Please save me!' The screams of my heart before the darkness swallowed me.