The first time she had been captured for running away had been her first day. Well, technically second, but she had slept through most of the first and through the night because Medusa had slipped a little something in her food to make her more manageable. The second day, once she woke up, had technically been her first because she got to see the bayou without foggy vision and a sleepy mind.
It was that second day, but technically her first, where Medusa had forced Penny down the hole. With barely two slices of toast finished the bossy obsessed woman had marched her through the mucky swamp, Mr. Snoops tailing behind like a timid but loyal dog. Yelling and screaming did nothing as the fat man all but lifted her into the tiny pale and lowered her in, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"We discussed this, Penny dear," Medusa crooned, her voice echoing in the tiny cavern as she stuck her head in to gaze down. "Just find me the diamond and we'll get you back home!"
Penny had huffed and wiped furiously at her tear stained face. Angrily, she searched as much as she could for the large diamond but all she could find were tiny little gems that would have been enough for anyone else, but not Medusa. The tide had risen quickly, soaking her shoes and stockings. It was only until she was in waist high cold water was she pulled back up, crying the whole time with her teddy clutched to her chest.
When they had returned to the broken down ship Penny had been given some food and a good shove towards her room, a firm "We'll be doing this everyday until you get it!" following in her wake. She had tiredly sat on the bed given to her as angry tears fell one by one. With an angry glare and a set expression Penny had waited until it was dark and late enough for even adults to be dead asleep.
Slowly, Penny crept through the large ship, nearly jumping out of her skin each time she made the floor boards creak. She would freeze, eyes wide and teddy clutched close as she waited for the fat form of Snoops or the dominating shadow of Medusa to jump out at her from the shadows. She held her breath for what felt like an eternity before slowly moving away once more swallowing in fear each time something creaked or something moved. Usually when something moved it was the boat shifting occasionally or the wind blowing through the numerous holes but it was enough to spook the poor girl.
When she had finally made it outside, feet planted in the mush that the swamp called land, she had turned around to glare at the boat and stick out her tongue. "Hah!" she had whispered before taking off into the fog filled swamp.
The place was filled with more weeds and mush than Penny had ever seen in her life. She had moved carefully, at first trying to keep her clothes from getting wet but after the first five minutes of walking through the wet terrain she had given up. Weed tickled her legs as she stepped through the dense bushes, large crooked roots got caught in her dress and the water sometimes became so deep as she ran through it she almost went completely under.
Penny had run until she could no longer see the ship in sight before slowing down to a more depressed walk. She had no idea how to get out of the large swamp or even have a clue as to which direction she could take. Still, she had marched forward, chin out with the strength of knowing that at least she was gone from the dreaded people that had stolen her.
Creak.
Penny had never jumped so high in her life. With a startled shriek she turned around, thinking that whatever had made the noise was surely Medusa to come and drag her back. Instead, two large yellow eyes stared back at from the water. She stared back, back tense. They continued to stare at each other for a while, Penny unsure. Finally, when it felt like Penny would collapse from fear, the eyes narrowed. The movement made Penny jump, eyes wide as she stared at the eyes before, with what sounded like a waterfall crashing into water, a beast struck out of the water.
It was large, scaly, green, had warts bigger than her eyes and had a set of monstrous teeth that glinted in the moonlight. Its long jaws snapped at her, eliciting another scream of fear from the poor as she scrambled back, feet tripping over roots as she did so. She fell to the ground with a choked sob, thinking the monstrous creature would surely eat her. Instead, it stood over her with a cruel look, its eyes narrowed in delight as it prodded at her with its nose.
"Go away!" Penny had screamed, bravery coming to her as she crawled away, only right into another one. With another startled shriek she scrambled away on all fours, desperate to get away from them but a single swipe of one of their thick tails had her face down on the ground.
Rumbled grunts and hissing erupted from them and Penny had the feeling that they were laughing at her.
"Go away you overgrown lizards!" Penny hissed, raising her head to glare at the crocodiles.
Instead they just seemed to laugh harder as their thick necks shook and their rumbling increased. Then, to her surprise, the larger one reached down, his movements swift, and suddenly she felt her world turning. The oxygen left her lungs from shock, her legs bent awkwardly and bounced against her stomach and sides, her arms were dangling down and her dress had fallen down, nearly covering her face. And that was exactly where she was now, captured for the first time.
Penny gapped, head heavy as she faced the ground and dress folding awkwardly around her neck and nearly over her face. She felt her bottom lift higher, her legs bobbing up and down a bit before she got her bearings. With a loud yell, she kicked and punched, twisting and turning in the overgrown lizards grip.
"Put me down!" she demanded. "Put me down!"
Hearty rumbling erupted from the two; the second one not holding her even leaning close to get a good look at her. She tried to swipe at him but her arms couldn't reach. Again she felt her bottom lift higher. It caused her legs to nearly unbend and stretch out uncomfortably into a position where she couldn't kick out so easily. She whined again and only received cheerful chuckles at her plight.
The one holding her by the back of her underpants gave her a small jerk, bobbing her up and down in his grip. The clothing material stretched and pulled and fell back again in an uncomfortable way. She tried to wriggle out of them before realizing that her stockings kept them locked in place. With another huff, she looked as far up as she could and glared into the crocs yellow eyes.
Its eyes narrowed happily before it started moving, walking forward at an almost casual pace. The movements caused Penny back down each time she tried to reach up or turn her body. Her little figure was no match against the force of this beast and when she had finally looked down at the retreating background her stomach went cold.
"Teddy!" she screamed, voice so loud it actually startled the green monster into faltering. It gazed down at her, snout lifting her higher into the air as she continued to thrash out. "Teddy! Let me go! I need my teddy!"
The croc gave a loud whine, clearly agitated by the noise and gave a grunt at its partner. With an exasperated hiss it all but slithered away and returned with the stuffed bear in its mouth. It grunted at Penny, causing her to sigh in relief, her struggles ceasing as she tried to reach out for the bear. Instead, all she received was another rough jerk by her undergarments and they were once more on their way, Penny's exclamations picking up once more.
She had no idea where they were taking her but when a bright light began to shine through the dense trees and fog she tried to grasp at anything to pull her away from the tight grip. Too high up to reach anything Penny just stared forward, horrified as the broken ship finally came into view. The lights were on and Mr. Snoops was standing on the porch, a lantern in his hand as he peered out.
"They've got her!" Penny heard him yell.
The crocs strode towards the boat, Penny still swaying. "Put me down," Penny begged. "I don't wanna go back!"
Her pleas were ignored as the large brute of an animal carried her up and into the ship past a happily gesturing Snoops for them to follow. The warmth was nice and if Penny hadn't been in complete distress she would have taken notice but instead all she saw was the upside down figure of Medusa, her eyes narrowed in displeasure. The woman was in her nightgown and lacked any makeup. The look was honestly horrifying.
"Well done, Brutus," she crooned to the croc holding Penny. "And you too, Nero." So these beasts belonged to Penny's jailer?
"Put me down!" Penny yelled, struggling once more as the croc, now dubbed Brutus, came to a stop in front of his mistress. With a loud snort, Penny felt the grip on her pants leave and a second later she was flat on her back, sore and rubbing her head. "Stupid lizard," she mumbled, only to squeak in surprise as Medusa's cane poked at her chest before she could completely rise.
"Well, well, well, what have we here?" Medusa sang. "A naughty little girl running away before she could find my precious diamond."
Penny glared, sniffling a little as she stared up at the commanding woman. "I just want to go home," she pleaded. "Please, I couldn't find it!"
Medusa tsked. "Now, Penny dear," her voice was sickly sweet as she prodded the poor girl with her cane, "we both know that you didn't try your hardest. You will find me the diamond tomorrow, won't you?" Penny opened her mouth, glare set and ready to tell the woman off but Medusa continued. "After all, we do want to go back to the orphanage, don't you? You want a mommy and daddy?"
"Y-yes," Penny mumbled. "But I couldn't find it! And it's scary down there! Please don't put me back!"
Medusa's face hardened as she leaned forward, figure dominating. "You will go back down and you will find me my diamond or you'll never go back to the orphanage again! Do you understand me?" Her voice was like acid and caused Penny to draw away, head bobbing up and down in a shaky nod. A sickly sweet smile appeared on the red head. "Very good then. Brutus, Nero? Take Penny to her room, and make sure she stays there."
"Wha-No! I can get there myself!" Penny said angrily, already trying to make a run for it.
She didn't want to be near those green beasts any longer! Even with a running start Penny only made it a few feet before the larger one, Brutus, charged with his snout reaching forward. His sharp teeth easily grasped at her clothes and it was with nothing more than raising his head was Penny swept off her feet, arms and legs dangling limply. Her undergarments were once more in Brutus's mouth, clutched tightly with those sharp teeth of his.
Both Medusa and Snoops gave amused laughs as the girl was marched forward, struggling the whole way. "Meet my dear pets," Medusa called to the retreating three. "Each time you escape dear Brutus and Nero will carry you back here, and I don't think you want that anymore, do you?"
Penny whined, curling in on herself as her bottom was given rough jerks with each bouncing step. At least the walk to her room was shorter than the walk through the bayou and Penny was easily carried into the room given to her on the second floor. The crocs strutted in like they owned the place and dropped Penny on her head. Nero dropped her teddy next to her with a disdainful snort before sauntering away with his brother in tow.
Penny gave a light sniffle as she rubbed at her head and clutched teddy as tight as she could. With a few more breathy sniffs she stood, legs wobbly as she staggered to her bed. With a soft cry she fell forward and clutched the blankets close, uncaring that her wet clothes were getting the sheets wet. She was asleep in minutes.
The weeks passed by and Penny was continually forced to search for Medusa's diamond. To both their dismay she couldn't find it. Penny continued to try and escape and each time she was brought back in the jaws of either Brutus or Nero. It was so easy to hide from both Snoops and Medusa but with the crocs they could swim easily through the water logged area, see perfectly in the dark and were too big to fight back. She had even tried staying in a tree and crawling from branch to branch but a good bash against the tree from Nero sent her falling into the water with a splash where she was easily scooped up.
Sometimes Penny would try and hide in her room or around the ship. She would always stay in cramped, tiny places but the problem was that Brutus and Nero could always sniff her out, and with no room to escape their narrow muzzles could always reach in and pull her out. Sometimes it became a game to them to drag Penny out of bed before she awoke and take her down to the deck where Medusa or Snoops was already waiting. They'd carry her to the tiny cavern and all but drop her into the tiny bucket and when she was pulled out again she barely had the time to glance at the sky before she was once more facing the ground, being hung by her undergarments.
Penny ended up being in the bayou for so long that Medusa had to eventually leave to maintain her shop and leave Snoops in charge. Penny had hoped that without their mistress Brutus and Nero would be a little less eager to capture her but with Medusa gone they seemed to just let it drag out. They enjoyed the chase and always brought her back to a laughing Snoops by the back of her dress or by the seat of her pants, both of which had holes.
"Put me down, Brutus!" Penny yelled, struggling madly as Brutus lumbered his way up into the ship, her eyes straining to stare past the gators lumbering body and out at the foggy swamp. She hated it when she was carried backwards.
As usual he ignored the upside down girl and waddled in, grip unrelenting. They walked in just in time to hear Snoops get off the phone. Medusa was apparently coming back and they had found out about the letters. Snoops, looking both flustered and tired, waved his hands tiredly.
"Just take her to bed, boys," he told them, only to yelp as Nero made a snap at his pudgy foot. No one told them what to do without repercussions. Still, Penny was once again taken up to her room, bouncing a bit and looking down, dejected. She barely noticed when they had entered her cage of a room until they dropped her to the ground. She landed in a heap, limbs splayed everywhere. With mocking chuckles the crocs turned tail and left.