Day 1:
10:26am
I don’t know where to start with this one. My name is Nathan Crawford and I am writing these journals because… well, it’s something I do for one and that if something were to happen to me, at least whoever gets this will be able to let everyone back home know about what happened to me. It has been a really crazy day. I guess I should start at the beginning of what happened.
It started out as a normal day for me. I had just left my home to go to school. I decided that I should have walked to school for a change even though the weather looked like it was about to rain hard but I wanted to meet my friends before the bell rang since my mum always takes us to school just before they ring.
I had just gotten through the primary school without a problem other but after walking several meters from the oval, rain starts pouring like mad from out of nowhere. I wasn’t far from school now. All I had to do was to take the bridge over the creek and then make a run for the school grounds. As I made my way closer to school, the wind started to blow hard at me with the rain hammering in from all directions. I wasn’t looking forward to getting yelled at by a teacher for being completely soaked so I started running in hopes of avoiding getting a detention.
I ran through the neighborhood while the rain continued to pour on me. I was close to the bridge that lead strait to my school and dry ground. But as I drew near the bridge I hear a loud roar of thunder and had become startled. That may have caused me to lose my footing and start to trip into the creek below, missing the bridge completely. I trip again now rolling to the creek bed. Well, so much for not getting soaked before arriving at school.
I knew that I was going to land in the large amount of water at the bottom of the creek. When I land in that creek, every part of my body and everything I had on me would be drenched, including my backpack. I thought it would be a good be a good idea to place all of my electronics in there earlier today so that if it did rain, they would have a good chance of being dry by the time I reached school. However since I was tumbling down towards a creek bed, I don’t think that would be possible anymore. I had to get this thing of me.
As I drew closer to the bottom, I tried my best to slip my arms from my bags’ straps. It wasn’t an easy task since I was kind of end up taking a bath in my cloths. But lady luck smiled down on me as I was able to be free of my bag and leave it safe of land. It may not have been dry land thanks to the rainfall, but land. I have finally come to a stop in rolling downhill and have landed in the middle of the creek bed. Only, it didn’t seem like a creek bed.
The creek was a lot deeper and wider than it should have been. The creek bed by my place was at least a meter long, but the one I was in seemed to be two and a half meters long. Maybe even three meters. I know that looking at water from above always makes it look shallow, but this is too deep. However that wasn’t important as I had to get to the surface and back to land soon. So without any more thought, I swam back to the surface.
I made it up and instantly started swimming to the closest piece of land I could see. What I noticed while in that creek bed was that the current in it was very strong. I was lucky I didn’t get swept away with it. As I reach land I start clawing my way up to get out of the cold water, digging my fingers into the mud and pulling myself to safety. I must have spent some time down there for I was taking really deep breaths.
After a while I took note of my surroundings. There were a lot more trees here then I remembered and the concrete bridge was no longer there. “Had I traveled downstream?” I asked myself. I looked around and found my backpack was where I left it. It was getting weirder and weirder by the second. As I got to my feet I heard what seemed like… animal noises? We were nowhere a zoo and the fact that I could the sound of monkeys, birds and other strange calls started to scare the hell out of me. Other than that the only things that were normal was me, my bag and the fact that the rain was still pouring hard on me.
I had to get outta there. The rainfall alone was going to be a pain but the problem with me not being where I should be was scary. I walked over to collect my backpack and be on my way back to school. However I would need to either be sent home of spend several lessons drying off in the school office. I slid my pack on and made my way for the nearest shelter I could find. I needed to know where I was exactly. Before heading off a looked around the area once more and saw that I was more or less in a small forest. “Where on earth am I? This is nowhere near where I live.” was all I could get out of my mouth. I wasn’t going to get much done just standing around in the rain in my soaking wet cloths. So I made my way through the forest.
I walked for about an hour or so before come to a well-covered area which seemed decently dry. I set my pack down and unzipped it to grab a few things. Thank god I had PE today and brought a towel with me that I used to dry myself off. I tried to dry my cloths as best as possible seeing as I would need them to keep warm. While drying myself off, I noticed that I had stolen my mums lighter before leaving the house. Mum doesn't need to smoke.
After I was finished drying myself I grabbed my phone from out of my bag. I needed to check the time and contact home. I press the select button on the device, hoping that it wasn’t damaged after what had happened. Phone lit up and my spirit was lifted at the sight. The time on the phone said 10:02 am which meant that I had been wondering around this place for quite some time. Man, my mum’s gonna kill me.
I scrolled through my contacts list until I came across “mum”. I selected the ring number option but the events after scared me even more. I couldn’t get a good phone signal which was weird coming from my phone. I thought it was just mum’s phone so I tried dad’s number but got the same results. Then I tried 000, then my friends’ numbers, and then I just started putting in random numbers. It all ended up in the same results.
After trying so many phone numbers I suddenly felt tired and worn out. I figured that it might have been from swimming in that river earlier. I needed to rest up and keep warm. So I collected a few sticks and dry leaf’s and placed them in a pile together so I could use my lighter to start a fire. It’s doing a good job keeping me warm while I write this journal entry. But now I’m very tired and in need of some rest. I’ll wake within the next few hours. Good thing the rain has lightened up. Maybe I’ll be able to sleep after all.
7:38 pm
Ok, now I think I’m going crazy. I slept for two hours before waking up and eating a sandwich from a lunch pack and drinking some water. The rain look like it had come to a stop which gave me time to collect some more sticks and leafs for the fire. My clothing had mostly dried off thanks to the heat from the fire pit. Thank goodness.
My mind was pondering on what to do. There was no way I took that creek all the way to some forest miles away from Adelaide. I am lost in the middle of a strange land with no connection to home and with very little resources to spare. Then a thought went through my mind. After I collect the sticks, I should go out looking for something to eat. Seeing as I would be here for a while I figured that I should start gathering whatever seemed good to eat. Fruits and local wildlife most likely, although I wasn’t sure how I would catch something like a rabbit or something like that even though I’ve had no experience in hunting. It was going to be a long after noon.
After collecting several sticks from off the ground and finding very little fruits, I start to here strange calls from an unknown animal that was near where I was. I can’t describe what it sounded it but it was the sound of some sort of predator. I tried to calm myself down but it was no use. Later I thought I heard a second predator approaching my position. The sounds started to seem like they were circling me, waiting for the right time to strike. I was being hunted.
My heart was racing while my mind was trying to think of a way out of this mess. It was terrifying, knowing that something was stalking you in the distance, that you could be dead before you knew it. I wasn’t ready to die just yet. I kept my guard up, ready for whatever was about to come at me. although I wasn’t sure if I would survive or not. Trying to keep a lookout for whatever it was, I end up staring at one of the creatures that was stalking me. And I couldn’t believe my eyes after.
I saw what appeared to be a wolf. But it wasn’t a wolf. It had a wooden body and looked to be made completely from a tree. I looked closely at the creature, hoping that my eyes were deceiving my but it was no use. I continued to look at the strange timber beast in hopes of scaring it away. Wasn’t sure how I was going to scare it just by staring at it… wait, timber? Now that I think about it, it kind of looked like the Timber wolf I saw during some episode of MLP. But couldn’t be possible since that show is just a cartoon.
After staring at the beast for a while I was stuck thinking of a way out. Should I make a run for it? Or maybe I should try my luck and go up against them? I could… there was a sudden sound of a twig snapping from behind me while I was thinking and then I remembered the second set of noises. There was another one of those creatures somewhere around me and I had just let most of my guard down. As I responded to the sound by looking in the direction it came from, the unexpected happened.
The moment I faced the direction of the snapping twig, I began to feel a large amount of pressure on my back, forcing me to the ground, dropping all the items I collected. The first timber wolf had jumped my from behind. It was terrifying, knowing that you could be dead at that moment. I have so much to live for and my whole life to do it. I was not going to die today.
With all the strength I had with me, I pushed myself off the ground and the timber wolf off my back. Knowing that would most likely give at least a few seconds to escape from the predators, I do the first thing that comes to my mind. The moment I got to my feet, I began sprinting through the woods and get as far away from those things. I knew that I couldn’t run off too far away, otherwise I would lose where I had made camp earlier today.
As I ran through the forest, I could still hear the timber wolfs from behind me. They were getting closer. I was running out of time to lose the wooden monsters. After a while I came across the river I found myself in before after falling in that creek. With little choice left I decide to lay low there and hope that they go on looking for me somewhere else.
I hid among the mud and some of the leaves spread out all over the ground. I didn’t care much about my school uniform getting all muddy since I was lost in the wilderness. I tried to make myself blend in to the environment by rubbing a lot of mud on my body and piling leaves on several parts on me also. I had no idea how this was going to work so I hoped for the best.
Seconds later I could see the wolves approach the edge of the river, looking no question. They were looking around the area and sniffing with their wooden noses. My plan was working, the beasts couldn't see me. I continued to remain still for they were still on the lookout for me. After a while of searching, I assumed that they gave up their search and moved on to another location. Hopefully that would be the only time I ever see them again.
I waited a while for the beasts to move to another area completely. Wouldn’t be smart to get up and go right after they left. I slowly climbed out of my hiding place, making sure that I wouldn't make a sound to draw the timber wolves back over to me. As soon as I was on my two feet I began to wipe myself off of the mud and made my way back to my camp. If I cold find it again.
After I walk out of the mud and continue through the woods I find myself walking through a cave I came across. All of my instincts were telling me not to go in there but curiosity got the better of me once again. As I walk through the cave I pull out my flashlight to see where I'm heading. I walk deeper into the cave and I notice something glowing in the distance. I walk over to it and I start wishing that this was a dream.
Before me was a large pile of gold and gems of all different kinds. Man, all of me mates would be so jelly if they could see all of this. I grab a handful and stare at it for a short while, trying to confirm that these gems are real. After staring at the gold and gems I start grabbing handfuls and stuffing them in my pocket. But after I got the first handful in my pocket i could smell smoke and could see black smoke from the corner of my eye. I turn around and instantly regret it.
Before me was what appeared to be a dragon. You read that right. A FUCKING DRAGON!!! And not one from Skyrim or some game like that. But one that reminded me from, again, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I didn't know what to do. But if it's a dragon from MLP and I just stole his gold, I reach into my pocket, pulled out the stuff I took, and bolted out the cave entrance as fast as my feet my feet could carry me.
What was going on. First the timberwolves and now a dragon!? I must be still be in bed, dreaming about being in Equestria. None of this made any sense. But I was now hungry and didn't care much about it. I continued my way through the forest until i found my camp site.
I sat down and ate some of my sandwich for tea. I looked up toward the sky and saw that it was getting late. And seeing that I didn't have much to burn, it was going to be a cold night for me. Apart of me was hoping that this whole thing was just a dream and I was still at home in my bed. I'm still hoping for that to be true.
Well, I think I'm gonna call it a night not and get to sleep. Not much happened from then to now. Just stayed in that spot thinking about what I was gonna do. Hopefully I'll wake up in my bed.
See you in the morning, if this isn't a dream after all.
Author's Note
This my first story and it took me a while to to do. Let me know if I need and improvements at all.