by Kaitlyn Hoyt
“UFFH,” MY BODY HITS THE ground hard. The wind is knocked out of my lungs, and I’m having trouble catching my breath. This is the second time I’ve been thrown to the ground recently. I close my eyes and try to breathe normally, willing my body to cooperate. Every bone, muscle, and fiber in my body begins to ache, so I just lay there waiting for the pain to subside. With my eyes still closed, I assess myself, and realize that nothing is broken or sprained. Groaning, I push myself into a seated position, and open my eyes. Looking around, I’m utterly confused by what I see.
“Where the heck am I?”
I am no longer in my small second-story bedroom. I’m in the middle of a grassy field. The sky is a shade of blue that I have rarely seen before: the vibrant blue that only seems to exist in those desktop wallpapers of the beaches on new computers. The grass is the greenest green possible, and there are huge trees with voluminous leaves everywhere around me. Random wildflowers are dispersed throughout the open field. I would have loved this area if I had any idea where I actually was.
Jane is going to kill me.
My body aches as I attempt to stand. Looking around, I see movement in the closest tree.
“Hello? Is anyone there?” I call out. There is no reply, and no more movement. I brush it off as paranoia, and look around again in search of a trail. Unable to find anything, I’m about to give up, and walk blindly into the forest, when I see the movement again.
I cautiously step closer to the tree, trying to see what is there. I’m starting to get scared. I’m in an unknown place, and don’t know how to get back to Jane’s. When I freak out, my mind starts racing. I imagine every possible horrible scenario. What if someone is out there? It would be easy for someone to kidnap or kill me. No one would know what happened to me. What if there are cannibals in the forest? I can’t image that I would taste very good. I’d be a breaking news story for a day, and when there was no evidence found in the case, I’d be forgotten. With no family to alert, or friends to mourn me, my file would be put in another unsolved case box and placed in the back of a storage room to collect dust.
Without warning, the wind begins to pick up, and the leaves on the trees begin to fly everywhere, swirling in a vortex around me.
“Stop that!” yells a deep voice from the tree.
“Stop what?” I call back. “I’m not doing anything.” I can’t see anything through all the leaves of the tree, but I know he’s up there.
He jumps down and says, “Calm down. Your emotions are affecting the weather.”
Putting my hands on my hips, I push my chin out, and defiantly retort, “How the heck are my emotions affecting the weather? That’s not possib…” I trail off. The rest of the sentence is completely forgotten when I see the man standing in front of me.
He looks slightly older than me. It is hard to tell. He has long black hair that moves with the wind, and gray eyes the color of steel. The most interesting combination I’ve ever seen on anyone. A long, jagged silver scar runs across the length of his left brow, and extends onto his cheekbone. His nose is crooked, as though it has been broken a few times before. His full pink lips are set in a straight line as his hard gaze focuses on me. He is wearing a tight black t-shirt, emphasizing the muscles in his chest and arms, and has a dark leather belt strapped around his waistband. Around the width of his right upper arm is an extravagant flamed tattoo that disappears beneath the fabric of his shirt. Filled in with black ink, it reminds me of the tribal tattoos I’ve only ever seen on the Internet, or on those teen novels with the shirtless men on the cover. A large matching silver, flame-shaped pendant hangs around his neck.
He is very good-looking in that bad-boy way—the kind of boy that your parents would hate if you ever brought him home.
At the sound of him clearing his throat, I break out of my trance-like state. Still staring at him, my cheeks turn a deep shade of red. What is wrong with me? This is the second time in two days that I’ve been caught openly ogling an attractive guy.
Let me try this again. “What do you mean my emotions are affecting the weather?”
“You were confused and scared. It picked up on that. Watch what you think and feel. Everything is affected by what you do,” he says, as he begins to turn and walk away.
“What I do? Why?” When he doesn’t stop walking, I begin to follow him. “Where are you going? What is this place?” I get no reply. I stop and look around. Realizing that without him, I’m alone in this unknown place, so I do the only rational thing, and follow him into the dark and eerie forest.
I have to jog to keep up with his long quick strides. After following in silence for a couple of minutes, I speak again. “Hey, wait. Stop! Where am I? What is this place?”
Silence.
I pick up my speed, and run in front of him. When I stop, he collides into me. I would have fallen flat on my butt if he hadn’t reached out and steadied me. He lets go of my arms quickly and stares straight at me, silently demanding that I move.
“Why won’t you answer any of my questions?”
His piercing gray gaze locks onto mine. I can tell he’s debating with himself. The angry expression on his face softens, and he sighs in defeat, finally choosing to answer me.
“Because I can’t. You are not supposed to be here. This isn’t your world.” He tries to step around me, but I follow his step to block his move.
“And what world would this be? Narnia?” I snap sarcastically.
As he opens his mouth to reply, the sound of a twig snapping nearby causes me to jump, and for both of us to turn in the direction of it. There is nothing behind me, just darkness. The small distraction allows him to move past me and continue walking.
“Can you at least tell me your name?” I ask, and begin to follow him again.
Without stopping, he says, “Liam.”
“I’m Ryanne,” I tell him though he never asked, and based on his attitude, he probably doesn’t care or want to know it.
The sound of another twig snapping causes Liam to slow his pace, but not stop. I keep glancing behind me, searching for the source of the sound. I don’t know what sorts of creatures are found in this “world,” but I know I don’t really want to find out. The sound of footsteps begins to resonate through the darkness. The forest seems to get darker and the wind starts picking up again.
Stopping, he turns and looks at me. “You have to remain calm. There is nothing out there.”
“How do you expect me to remain calm when you won’t tell me anything? One second, I was in my room reading a book, and the next second I’m here. I’m sorry if I’m a little confused. And how do you know that? How do you know that there isn’t something out there?” I point behind me. “I think something is following us. I keep hearing footsteps.”
I start rambling when I’m freaked out. For some reason, I think that talking will make a solution magically appear. It never does.
“It’s your imagination. You are scared, and the forest recognizes that. I already told you this,” Liam says, and takes a single step forward, but then stops and looks up. The branches on the tree to my left, beside him, begin to shake as if someone or something is moving throughout them. He looks to me as if questioning my emotions. I shake my head at him. I am not responsible for that…at least I don’t think I am.
A dark figure jumps from the tree, and crouches on the ground before straightening out. Standing tall, the figure would have been over seven feet, but it’s hunched over. Surrounding its body is a thick black cloak with fraying edges and rips along the seams. A large mouth with huge jagged teeth dominates its face. Dark liquid seeps from the corners of its mouth, piling on the ground, while its piercing red eyes stare ahead at us. The beast appears to be floating an inch above the ground. An orb of gray with swirls of black and red surrounds the being.
A beastly dementor is going to kill me. That’s it! I’m in the Forbidden Forest.
Liam reaches out, grabs my arm, and pushes me behind him, shielding my body with
his. Cowering behind him, I watch as the mysterious figure opens its mouth, and lets out a deep, earsplitting growl. I double over in pain, and put my hands up to my ears, trying to block out the sound.
“Don’t move.” Liam pulls a long knife out of his belt, and runs toward the beast. The knife seems to have a glow around it. The beast lets out an even louder cry, as Liam jumps on its back and stabs it in the side. Sticky green liquid oozes out of the wound and cascades down its body. When the liquid hits the ground, it begins to smoke and dissolve. With the swing of its arm, the beast knocks Liam to the ground, and begins to walk toward me.
I break out of my fear-induced state. Trying to ignore my frantically beating heart and shaking limbs, I take a few steps back. I don’t know what to do or where to go. The wind begins to pick up again, causing my hair to fly across my face, obstructing my vision. Pushing my hair back, I scream when I see how close to me the beast is now. Standing less than three feet in front of me, it’s staring at me with its beady eyes. I don’t have any sort of weapon to defend myself with. I can smell its putrid breath as it moves toward me. A second later, it abruptly stops. Throwing its head back, it lets out a deafening wail. Again, my hands cover my ears to block out the sound. A bright piercing light appears behind it, and a long knife blade pokes through the middle its chest. Its short ugly arms reach toward the knife, trying to pull it out. Letting out one last scream, it begins to disappear right before my eyes.
Behind where the beast stood seconds before, Liam falls to the ground, breathing heavily. “I hate those things. They don’t usually die that easily. We have to get out of the forest,” he says casually, like this is an everyday occurrence for him.
I just stare at him, unable to speak or move. He begins to walk away, but stops when he notices that I still haven’t moved.
“W-w-what was that?” I yell, demanding that he finally give me an answer.
“A gorgoth. I’m not going to go into too many details. They are very dangerous creatures. They can suck your life essence out of you. It’s a painful way to die.” I feel like I was thrown in a fantasy book. When I don’t move, Liam continues, “Now, I repeat, we need to get out of the forest. There are other dangerous things in here.”
He grabs the crook of my elbow, and drags me forward. I stumble, but try to keep up. He is walking too fast for me. The wind begins to pick up again, and he looks at me questioningly, but doesn’t say anything. With each of my stumbles, I can see the corner of his mouth rise a little. Is he trying not to laugh at me?
When I am finally able to catch my footing and keep up with Liam, he lets go of my arm. “How much longer?” I ask. I don’t want to be whiny, but goodness gracious, we’ve been walking forever.
“You’re not very patient, are you?” he asks me, as he pushes a large tree branch to the side.
“You’re not very patient, are you?” I mimic as I walk past him. I hear Liam’s deep laugh behind me. I really want to be angry with him, but the laugh makes me smile. I keep my back to him so he can’t see my reaction though. Walking out of the dark forest, and into the bright sunlight hurts my eyes. The sudden change forces me to close my eyes, and wait as they adjust.
Exhausted, I turn toward him and say, “Can you please tell me where I am?”
“Where is not important. The question is why. Why are you here?”
“How in the world would I know that? I already told you. One second, I’m in my room reading a book, and the next, I’m here. I don’t understand what is going on, and I’m really confused.” I place my hands on my hips, and glare up at him. He tries to suppress another smirk as I continue to stare at him.
“Most people don’t know that they’ve come here; they experience it in a dream. You’re different, though. You are fully awake.” He stops looking at me, and focuses on something in the distance, apparently lost in his thoughts.
“Then, why are you here?”
He glances at me out of corner of his eye, but turns away, and stares straight ahead. “That’s not important,” he repeats. I’m getting really tired of that line. “The important thing is that I have to help you get back.”
“What if I don’t want to go back?”
“You have to. This isn’t where you belong.”
“You don’t understand. I don’t want to go back home. My life is boring. I have no family. I have no friends. I have nothing. At least this place is exciting.” My mouth speaks the words, but my mind is telling me otherwise. I don’t like this place. It freaks me out, but there is a part of me that doesn’t want to leave yet.
His face transforms. Instead of a hard calculating look, a look of pity crosses his features. Pity is one expression I’m completely tired of seeing. I’ve seen too much of it lately. As he opens his mouth to respond, the sky begins to darken again. The clearing transforms from a peaceful and serene spot, to something out of a horror movie. For what seems like the hundredth time today, the wind increases its speed as dark gray clouds loom overhead, and the familiar sound of thunder rolls through the sky. Liam looks up, and his body tenses as if anticipating an impending threat. Instinctually, I move closer to him, gripping onto his arm for support.
A large winged beast descends from behind the clouds, heading for where we are standing. Its dark and scaled body blends in with the sky. The length of its tail is covered with sharp, blade-like spikes. It has curved red horns, and deep purple spots on its back, while two large pointed incisors poke out of the mouth. Huge round eyes peer at us, daring us to make a move.
Liam stands up, hands me the knife he used against the Gorgoth earlier, and takes out another weapon. The weapon feels foreign in my hands. I hold the pointed end away from my body, and look up at him. I have absolutely no idea how to use a weapon. Liam’s holding a larger weapon in his hands. It looks like a long dagger. He starts speaking in a language I don’t recognize, and the blade begins to glow. Before my eyes, it transforms into a long and sharp, pointed sword.
Noticing my shocked look, he shrugs his shoulders and says, “It comes in handy.” He begins to turn in circles, assessing our surroundings. The beast lands on the ground, and stares at both Liam and me, only pausing for a second, before moving toward us. Liam takes a step forward and moves in front of me, pushing me behind him like he did earlier in the forest.
He takes off toward the beast with his blade pointing forward. Knowing what he is going to do, the beast turns around, attempting to hit him with his tale. Liam ducks at the last second, avoiding the bladed appendage. The beast turns back toward Liam when he realizes he wasn’t hit. This time, his tail connects with Liam’s torso, sending him flying toward the nearest tree.
With effort, Liam gets to his feet and silently walks toward the beast as it steps closer to me. I stare at it as it closes the distance between us. I attempt to back up, but my legs refuse to move. Why does this always happen to me in life or death situations?
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Liam bring his weapon over his head, and thrust it into the beast’s back. About a foot away from me, the beast howls in pain. Saliva spews out of its mouth, soaking my clothes with its putrid spit. It quickly turns around, and gives its attention back to Liam. He and the beast circle each other, waiting for the other to make a move. It is bleeding profusely, but doesn’t appear very affected by it. Liam, on the other hand, appears sluggish and quickly tiring.
The beast lunges forward, hitting Liam in an attempt to knock him backwards. He momentarily loses his balance, but catches his footing. He swings his sword over his head, and thrusts it toward the beast’s chest, but misses him as it moves back. With a scream, it stops moving and begins to flap its wings with such force that it knocks the sword out of Liam’s hand. The wind from the wings of the beast combined with my fear becomes so strong that it causes Liam to fall to the ground. Already down, I stare in shock, not knowing what to do to help.
As it begins to move toward weaponless Liam, I know that I have to do something. I close my eyes and take a deep brea
th, trying to calm myself. The wind begins to die down. I can’t let Liam die because I’m too scared to do anything. Opening my eyes, I stand up and take off running toward Liam’s sword beneath the tree. When it is firmly in my grasp, I turn and move toward the beast with the sword pointed ahead. For Narnia, I guess.
The beast has his attention focused on Liam lying on the ground, so it doesn’t notice me coming toward it. I reach the beast, and jump on its back, plunging the knife into its thick and scaly skin, causing it to screech out in pain, and fall to the ground. I look at Liam, and see him smiling at me. It’s a good look for him. I watch as his features quickly transform from a smile into a grimace of shock.
“No, watch out!” Liam shouts as an immense pain shoots through my abdomen. My eyes widen and mouth opens as I try to gasp for breath. The beast pulls its spiked tale out of my back as it falls to the ground dead. I land beside it, and try to remain calm as blood begins to seep from the wound onto the grass. Panicking will not help anything. My body becomes cold, and my vision starts to blur. The colors around me collide into one another, creating a swirling vortex of color masses. Liam jumps up and runs toward me. When he gets to me, my eyes are already closing. He starts yelling something at me, but I can’t hear anything and am quickly losing consciousness.
