chapter3a2

I decided to jump out and surprise the creature right before it opened the box. Hardly breathing, I waited. The creature scrabbled around in some leaves and sorted out a shining piece of metal and fitted it into a gap in the box. It seemed sort of like a key. The box was slowly opening - by itself. The creature showed no surprise and waited. I waited. It's time! I lurched forward and stretched my hand out, trying to knock the box out of the creature's paws. Then suddenly, just as I was jumping out, there was a light brighter than anything that I would have imagined. It was as if the whole world had turned into a sphere that was burning with white fire. The creature blended perfectly with the light, but I could still clearly see the box. I crawled towards it, squinting my eyes to find the creature.

Then suddenly, the whole forest disappeared, not that I could see it anyway. I seemed to be falling from nothing, into nothing. Not really meaning it, I drifted off into a restless sleep.

=* * * * *=

I groaned and tried to stand. Only then I realised that I was no longer falling. I was sitting on a pile of leaves, but I was not in a forest. Instead, I seemed to be lying on a dirt road, with orange leaves splattered here and there. //Where am I?// I wondered, trying to get my head around everything. The last thing I remembered was the light swallowing the forest up. I looked around myself, taking a mental note of everything. It was strange. Very strange.

For one thing, the 'road' was in such a bad condition that I felt awful sitting on it. It had bumps every where, and putting your hand gently down would result a shower of dirt. There were plenty of rocks that cluttered around the edges and scraps of food and clothing scattered everywhere. The constantly buzzing of the flies roaming around, exploring the rubbish, was already driving me mad.

In the distance, I could see a long, grey object looming over the far end of the track. It almost seemed like a wall. I could also hear voices far away, but it was too distant to be able to understand or tell the direction from.

And the leaves. The orange and brown leaves, fallen from the autumn trees. But it wasn't autumn. Was it? If I had rememberd correctly, it was late spring when I last seen Josh. Had time passed so quickly? I suddenly remembered Josh and wondered how he was getting on. Maybe he was worried about me. But knowing him, he probably didn't even notice me missing.

//Am I in a different region? Or even a different country?// I puzzled. I knew that there weren't any places like this around Bekura Forest. //So where am I?//

I thought of going to investigate that grey thing in the distance. But then again, what about the creature? Perhaps I should search for the creature? And what about Josh? You never know, he might be worried about me! Maybe I should try find the black box and tell Josh? Sitting there, on a pile of leaves, I really didn't know what to do.

To find the black box and tell Josh of this place

click > here <

To go down the dirt path and investigate the grey thing far away

click > here <

To search for the creature that led Sarah here

click > here <