I cut the bandage short, then stuck the scissors into the stone beside me. I tied the bandage around both hands, then pulled out the scissors...
"Shrrk!"
Wait...
I was sitting on a stone, wasn't I?
How had those scissors gotten stuck in it?
That made no sense!!
Hold on! Wait! I... The thing under my butt that I was holding... why was it... soft?
No way... right?
In an instant, my whole body went rigid. A thought suddenly surfaced from that ridiculous "common sense that knows everything" in my head.
This was a bay, and this area looked like the Yellow River's estuary. Whatever could live around here, bask in the sun along the shore, and not be bothered by seawater...
This...
I looked toward the part of the stone stretching out into the sea. I hadn't paid much attention to it before, but now I looked closely, and noticed something I didn't want to believe.
I was sitting on a rock, with the sea to my left. When I looked to my right... the rock grew narrower as it stretched away from me, until... its far end was swaying gently in the water.
The hairs on my head nearly stood on end. I slowly got to my feet, eyes wide, and turned to look to my right...
A huge golden-yellow eye, with a long, narrow vertical pupil, stared back at me...
In an instant, the name of the creature appeared in my mind.
"A saltwater crocodile..."
"Gurgle, gurgle..."
It stared at me, making a strange, quivering sound that seemed to come from its belly. But it didn't kill me... or do anything else. It simply opened its mouth, slowly.
I looked up at that open mouth. It was taller than a two-story building, and as wide as a