A Whole New World

I'll be doing stuff from the perspective of other characters now to help explain things a little better. Whenever this happens, the story will be all third-person. Also, the next chapter will have ponies, I promise.

Okay, I'm going to admit, this place is pretty wierd.

It looked like a cross between a forest and a tropical jungle. Trees stood in all directions, and I couldn't see much else. The canopy was incredibly thick, and I could barely see the sky. The flora was also unusual. Not only did I not recognise them from anywhere else in England, I hadn't seen any of this vegetation at all, not even in the documentaries that talk about places like the Amazon. One plant was a brilliant bright blue with several petals going both up and outwards. I decided not to touch it, I had no idea what was poisonous out here, and I didn't want to find out the hard way.

I began to wonder how I could have moved from my original spot on the edge of the woods. I thought the cold was still playing tricks on me, so I stood next to the tree I had slept under, closed my eyes, and counted out twenty paces towards where the fields would be, counting aloud as I walked. After twenty steps, I opened my eyes.

The field wasn't there.

That couldn't have been possible. I looked behind me at the forest. The trees stretched on endlessly. I looked left and right, only greeted by the same view. I took another five steps. More trees, all of them identical, running as far as the eye could see... and probably further. The field had disappeared as if it had never been there. Either that, or the trees had somehow grown over it. I looked back at the map around my neck, making a note of where the cliffside was. There were several forests nearby, I must've been in one of those.

I took a deep breath, I had to keep my head, keep myself focused. I walked twenty paces forward again, turned right and walked another ten. Still no field. No matter where I looked it was the same damn thing: thick, intimidating trees and unidentifiable plants. Gloomy corridors between them. I had any direction to go in, but no real choice. I stood still and quiet, hoping I would hear a distant vehicle or the talking of other hikers, anything that would help me return to civilisation. I heard nothing. A single owl hooted, somewhere far above me. Otherwise, the silence in the forest was as thick as fog.

"Fantastic!"

I shouted out the single word because I wanted to hear the sound of my own voice; it gave me some comfort. But at the same time, it didn't sound like me, it sounded weak and fearful. Whether my mind wanted to admit it or not, I was scared in this place.

No, that wasn't how I should think. I will find help. I'll get out of this place and I'll find someone who can help me figure out where I am. After that I'll go back to the car, go home, and reunite with my family. We would wipe the slate clean of conflicts between us and start anew. Dad would stop drinking, I would find a job, our lives would get back on track.

Yeah, that sounded nice.

I walked back over to the tree and took the map off from around my neck. I picked up my pack (at least I still had that), placed the map inside, and started walking, a small line from a child's poem entering my mind:

If you go down to the woods today
Be in for a big surprise.

I quietly hummed to myself as I wandered through this alien ground.

The wolf lay in the taller parts of the grass, making sure not to move too much and give away his position. He had been lying here for hours, quietly studying this new creature that had appeared on its turf. An owl landed next to him on a branch, unaware of his prescence, but still the wolf didn't move. Sure, an owl would make for an easy meal, but it had been a while since he had last eaten, and it would only serve as an appetiser. He may be an alpha male, but he still had the rest of his pack to consider.

This new creature, one he had never seen before, was much bigger than a common owl. When he had found it, it had been sitting against the tree, unmoving. He was starting to assume it was dead, and his pack would have an easy meal scavenging off a corpse. But as he was about to signal to his brothers and sisters, the creature sat up suddenly, as if it had been awake the whole time.

The creature stood up, and the wolf was surprised by its height. He had expected it to be another four-legged animal they could hunt, but the height made him unsure. He quickly pushed his doubt aside, he wouldn't be able to control the pack if they went any longer without food. The animal was starting to look around now, as if examining its surroundings. He continued to watch it, trying to learn everything he could about it's movement, its shape, anything that could tip the balance of the hunt.

Suddenly the creature started to walk towards him, making strange noises with every step. The wolf was worried he had been spotted, but remained in his hiding place. If he was seen, he would simply pounce and let the rest of his pack attack.

But the creature hadn't seen him, it just walked by him, eventually stopping both the pacing and the noises. It took another look around, and carried on walking, changing direction at one point. Eventually it let out a noise that sounded like annoyance. The wolf didn't understand its language, but the word sounded similar to words used by some of the inhabitants of the nearby town. But why was that? This... thing didn't look anything like them.

Eventually, the creature wandered back over to the tree it had been slumbering under, picked up a large object, put it on its back and wandered off into the trees, away from the wolf. When he knew he was out of earshot, the wolf let out a quiet growl to his pack.

Slowly and smoothly, five wolves moved out from their hiding places, as if they had risen out of the ground itself, and looked at the alpha for instruction. He simply motioned for them to follow their target, and they let him lead. He would be the one to make the kill. Once the animal was dead, the rest would move in for their fill of meat.

They barely made a sound as they skulked through the trees after their prey.

I've been walking for a while now, and I'm still trying to figure out where the hell I am. This forest has been going on for miles, and it's still showing no signs of stopping. Every time I think I'm about to reach a clearing, guess what: more trees!

"How long is this going to go on for?" I said to noone in particular, "Why wasn't a forest this big on the map? I should at least be able to hear something by now. Christ, mental note: Never go to Portsmouth again! Seriously, this is just getting stupid now."

I was just about to start complaining about the neverending darkness, when I heard something. It sounded like a rustling in the bushes right behind me. I span around, but didn't see anything. While this was happening, I heard another noise off to my right, it sounded like animal footsteps. I then heard a noise where my back was now. It was a low, continuous growl. This time, I didn't rush.

Turning round, I came face to face with four wolves. Each of them had a dark coat, and the moonlight reflected off their eyes, making them look like something out of a horror story. One of them, larger than the others, probably the alpha male, was standing closer to me. It looked like it was studying me. I looked off to my sides, looking for somewhere to run. Those thoughts were quickly extinguished when I saw another wolf on either side of me. As I was distracted by these two, the alpha saw this as an opportunity to attack.

I looked forward again to see a large set of jaws heading towards my neck. I did the only thing I could at the time and tried to dodge it, but I wasn't fast enough. The wolf missed my neck, and instead embeeded its teeth into my right shoulder. I cried out as the weight and momentum was enough to knock me over. As I tried to wrech the wolf off, it brought a paw up and clawed at my face. Its claws felt incredibly sharp for a canine, and my face stung as one of them found my cheek and tore the skin.

I started to punch the wolf in its ribs, and was rewarded when it finally let go. It wasn't showing respite however, and moved in for another attack. But I was ready this time, and brought my arm up to catch his bite. It hurt like hell, but it gave me the opportunity to search the ground for a weapon. It came in the form of a rock, slightly larger than my fist. It brought it down on the wolf's face. It yelped at the sudden strike and let go, trying to recover. It was then that I remembered that I still had the knife on my leg.

I pulled it out and held it with the blade facing forward. The wolves didn't seem phased by it though, in fact, I think the other wolves were getting impatient, as the wolf blocking off my right exit took it upon itself to finish me off. As I saw him pouce at me, I brought the knife round and plunged it into the wolf's stomach. It howled in pain and writhed on the blade, as if trying to remove it. I twisted the knife for good measure and, using strength I didn't know I had, threw the dying beast at its packmates. They moved out the way, but their body language gave one of fear. I had just killed one of them, and they didn't want to end up the same way.

I took advantage of this moment of hesitation, and ran. I don't think I'd ever run so fast in my life.

I could hear the wolves howling and mourning for their fallen brother, but I didn't stop running. I needed to get as much distance from them as I could. Eventually I heard twigs snapping behind me as the remaining wolves started to gain on me. I couldn't see them when I turned round, but I knew they didn't need to see me; they could just smell me out. I remember hearing somewhere that water could help hide your scent.

I kept running, hoping I could find some water. Fortunately, my luck turned, and I saw water glistening in between the trees. I ran towards it. I turned out to be a river, about ten metres wide, but with a fairly slow current. I wasn't wasting time, I threw off my pack and pushed it in front of me as I swam across.

If the water was cold, I hadn't noticed. I also thought the pain in my arm and shoulder would be more distracting. But I wasn't feeling any of it.

I'll take adrenaline over painkillers anyday.

As I reached the other side, I saw the wolves reach the shore. They seemed hesitant at first, not knowing how to get across. Then one of them plucked up the courage to just jump straight in. The rest of the pack saw this and followed suit. But I was already on the other side and running again. My jeans and fleece were soaked, and rubbed uncomfortably as I ran, but I was pretty sure I had lost my scent.

I took another look behind me, and was so distracted I tripped over a root and fell off a small ledge. I landed on my right shoulder, and I felt a stab of pain from the bite. As I rolled over to get up, I noticed the earth under the tree had been dug out. It was just big enough to fit inside, so I crawled in and dragged my pack in with me.

Almost immediately after doing so, I heard the wolves approaching. I huddled into myself further and prayed I had lost my scent. The thumping of paws came closer, and five wolves jumped off the ledge above me. The ground shook as they landed, but they kept running through the forest. I held my breath until they were gone, and slowly crawled out from my hiding place.

Right then, I thought, If they went that way, I'm going this way. I put my pack on and headed off to the left of where I had been running. I continued to run; I didn't want to risk the wolves doubling back and finding me again.

I must have run for another half hour. But eventually, I saw a light in the distance. I wasn't used to running long distances, and I felt my adrenal glands running empty, but I forced myself to keep going. If I gave up now, those wolves would surely find me.

I continued to head towards the light, and felt relief as, finally, I exited the forest. I found that the light was coming from a building, it looked like a farmhouse. As I got closer, I noticed a large barn nearby. I decided that would be my source of shelter tonight. If the owners of this farm found me... well, I hadn't thought that far ahead, but surely they would take sympathy on an injured traveler.

As I entered the barn, my body thought it was ok to rest, and the signals of pain that had been blocked before all flowed into my brain at the same time. Indescribable pain exploded across my body, but I tried my best to ignore it. I had to get my top off so I could bandage my wounds. I almost tore my fleece and shirt apart to get at the bite marks on my arm and shoulder. The cold wind also hit me hard, but I forced it out of my mind. I was probably going to pass out soon, I could already feel myself getting weak, and I had to treat these injuries.

I managed to pull my first aid kit out and crudely wrapped a bandage around my arm. It wasn't my best work, but it would hold the bleeding for now. I then moved onto my shoulder; this would be trickier. I tried to hold the bandage in place with my chin as I wrapped it round my torso, but I was starting to feel drowsy. Eventually I figured I wasn't going to get my shoulder covered, so I gave up, and took comfort in the fact that I had found some proper shelter, and maybe civilisation.

As my mind slowly drifted away from the world, the sun finally started to shed its light across the land. I absorbed what little heat I could from it, and thanked whoever had been looking down on me that night. Pain and fatigue finally overcame me, and I collapsed on my face in the barn, unconscious.