Six hours of non-stop walking brought him out of the swamp, into a field of grain that was obviously cultivated. The dark red buds of the wheat-like stalks were pretty enough.

Nathaniel crept through the grain, trying to get a glimpse of civilization without being seen, himself. If this were some alien culture, he didn't want to become lunch, or a lab specimen. If this were a human colony planet, he likewise didn't want to get shot by the local farmer for trespassing.

Reaching a dirt road between fields, he saw a farm house in the distance. It didn't appear too different from old-fashioned human designs, so it was easy for him to assume this was a human habitation, until he grew closer, and landed an eye on the resident farmer. The dark green lizard was definitely alien to him, and the "cattle" he was herding were definitely nothing he'd ever seen before. The reptilian creatures pulling a plough were the size of Cows, but their red scales and skull plates were more dinosaur than bovine.

Nathaniel decided it wise not to approach this alien farmer, and moved discreetly through the grain, heading ever closer toward the emergency signal, keeping out of sight as much as possible.

There were farms for miles, as he found out, and it became necessary to camp out in the thick grain cover for the night. He avoided a fire, not wishing to draw the slightest attention to himself, and ate a cold nutrient pack for his day's nutritional needs. The minuscule rations were not flavorful, but they'd keep him going for a while. However, prolonged use of these vitamin-rich bars wasn't advised, as his digestive system would begin to shut down if he didn't have a more substantial meal once in a while.

The farm fields made travel easy, but also left him on edge throughout the day, as he feared running into the Lizard farmers wherever he trod. The caution slowed him down, leaving him still among the farms at the end of his second day.

The morning of the third day brought him a snag. As the sun broke above the horizon, Nathaniel came to the edge of the grain, finding himself on the hillside overlooking a sizeable town which lay directly in his path. He would have to find a way around it, which didn't prove easy. The town was stretched out a bit, with houses scattered across several miles in each direction. It added another ten miles to his trek, maneuvering around civilization, and his new path landed him right in the middle of another swamp.

The new swamp was much deeper than the last one he'd experienced, this one soaking him right up to the waist in several places. After a quarter mile, the water dropped off into a sizeable lake, which Nathaniel realized he wasn't going to be wading across, so he had to turn around and find another route.

Wading back through the waist-high water, something large slithered under the water's surface toward him. The long, black streak was speedy, and very threatening. It reminded him of the water moccasins he had run into last summer at his grandfather’s place in Georgia. Those water-dwelling snakes hadn't been able to hurt him inside the rowboat, but here there was no such protection, and this thing looked many times larger.

Wasting little time, Nathaniel unholstered his pistol and fired at the streak. The cartridge thundered, sending a solid copper bullet into the water. A second later, the streak became a thrashing swirl, and the pointy head of the snake jutted out, writhing in pain.

With a clear shot at the head, Nathaniel took a second shot, ending the creature's misery. The lifeless body of the large snake began to sink slowly into the water.

Seeing it as a good source of protein, something his sore muscles desperately needed, Nathaniel salvaged the creature's body, and draped it over his shoulder. The hefty thing weighed fifty pounds.

Continuing his walk, Nathaniel found himself further impeded by more of the large swamp snakes. The brethren of his first victim were now beset upon making the young Lieutenant their meal, as he saw three of the things slithering across the water's surface toward him.

Three more shots, and he only managed to hit two of the creatures. He kept firing at the remaining snake as it sped through the water, but he was unable to hit it. It was traveling under the surface, and the ripples in the water from his own movement left him unable to pinpoint its location, until it was too late.

Nathaniel threw his left arm up as the snake jumped up at him. It latched onto his forearm, sinking two-inch fangs into his flesh. With the Snake latched onto his body, he was able to get a clear shot, and blew it away, but it was already too late. The fangs had injected their toxin into his body.

His arm was already growing numb, and the venom had gone into a vein, leaving no way for him to extract the poison. He kept walking, hoping the poison would not be lethal, but he could already feel it sucking the life out of him. He didn't know how long he had left, but he was damned well not going to die in this putrid swamp.

By some miracle, he managed to find the edge of the swamp before the toxin overtook him. As he reached a field of grass by the water's edge, he stumbled to all fours, then fell to his side, losing all feeling in his extremities.

Before his eyes grew dark, Nathaniel looked toward the horizon, and saw several of the lizard people walking toward him. He didn't know what they had in mind, but his mind raced with morbid possibilities. Perhaps he'd be immortalized as a taxidermied specimen in one of their museums, or become a savory meal for the famished.