The only thing she could hear was the sound of wind rushing past her, and she reveled in the sensation of weightlessness.

Van opened her eyes and looked longingly at the bright, blue sky above of her; clouds drifted gently past and seemed to be shrinking in size by the second. Her clothes rippled with the wind and the dog tags around her neck reached towards the sky. She closed her again again, reveling in the sensation of the rushing wind and weightlessness before snapping them open and flailing her arms to find a hold.

She was falling--

She turned to look at the ground, quickly approaching, and opened her mouth in the imitation of a scream before she was plunged into a warm pool of water.

It was deep, she thought, as her body recoiled from the impact. Her side stung and ached, having hit the water at an uncomfortable angle, but she was otherwise fine. Van kicked her feet and flapped her arms wildly, struggling to reach the surface. She reached out, fingers breaching the surface of the water and emerged, sputtering for air.

She was in a pool of water, surrounded by forestry further away on all sides. A small waterfall rushed to her right, and it scared her to think of how close she was to landing on solid ground. Van reached the edge of the water and dug her fingers in grass and dirt, heaving herself out of the pond. It took considerable effort to get out of the water; her body felt heavy and her soaked clothes refusing to cooperate.

Her feet danged over the water, and she rolled over onto her back, shedding her black leather jacket. The sky was a beautiful blue and the sun shone gently on her—the same view that was so peaceful moments earlier, now seemed so unfamiliar.

She lied still for a few moments before the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps came from above. She tilted her head backwards to see the figure of a boy.

“Uhm,” she said, anervously bending her neck to look at the boy who hovered above of her,”..Hi?"

Van rose to her feet shakily and stood to face the stranger. Water dripped from her hair and clothes--she must have looked like a drowned mouse. The waterfall babbled softly behind her, birds sang without care, and sunlight danced in her vision. She lifted a hand to shield her eyes and felt unease settle in the bottom of her stomach.

Where am I?

The boy said something and she snapped to attention: "Uh, yeah. I did, didn't I?" She fidgeted, wringing out the water of her shirt. She couldn't remember what she was last doing before she found herself here--or who she was entirely. The dog tags were cold against her skin, and she looked down to the etchings on the metal.

"Van. I'm Van..." she muttered, looking at the inscription. She picked up the metal and angled it to get a better look; her date of birth and name were on the front, and in the back, there was an intricate drawing etched into the metal. For a moment, she got lost in admiring the metal work, and memories of a woman with red long hair flashed through her mind's eye for a moment before she stumbled slightly.

She shook out her limbs, a practice she did to focus on the present before noticing that the boy--Malcolm--was standing their with his hand outstretched. Van hesitated before reaching out to grasp it. They shook hands awkwardly, the way teenagers did it, loosely and with sweaty palms.

"I don't know. I-I don't remember much at all--"

They both moved closer to the bank of the lake to escape the harsh sunlight. She picked up the sweater on the floor and tied it around her waist--it was drier than she expected. The rest of her clothes were uncomfortably moist, but she hardly noticed in light of the bizarre circumstances she was in.

Sunlight glittered on the water's surface; it was a clear, aqua color, and that complemented the rest of her surroundings. Everything seemed to perfect; on any other occasion, she would be absolutely thrilled to be in such a beautiful place, but now she was only puzzled. The fact that she could not remember anything troubled her.

A blur of red appeared in the water, and she stared, watching the unnatural colors take shape. A creature that resembled a dinosaur approached the surface of the water and she stepped back. It's figure grew and grew in size, it's eyes fixated on the two of them. Van stood in shock as it breached the surface, rising to hover over them.

She gulped and slowly reached out to grip Malcolm's wrist.

"Run," she breathed, and sprinted away, dragging Malcolm with her to the trees, where the dense forestry would make it difficult for the creature to reach them if it did go after them.

They sprinted past the tightly clumped trees, stumbling past thick tree roots and scattered debris. Van let go of Malcolm's hand when she was sure he was meeting her pace. Behind them, the sound of wood cracking and breaking was deafening. The creature's heavy footsteps shook the earth in a steady pace.

Tears prickled at her eyes as she ran, heart feeling as if it would break out of her chest. No matter how hard she tried, she could remember nothing. The dog tags clinked against each other, mocking her lack of remembrance.

The sound of rushing water erupted from behind and she ducked her head, wiping her tears. Splinters of wood flew past their heads, and they moved faster, zig zagging around the trees. They gained some ground on the creature, which had tripped on a larger tree root.

Malcolm stopped at a large tree and hopped up to climb in what looked like desperation. She skidded to a stop and watched him struggle up the tree, dumbfounded. He shimmied up to the middle of the trunk, which wasn't really that high, and beckoned for her to follow. Van looked from the Malcolm, to the tree, to the approaching beast which was preparing to shoot another blast of water from it's mouth, and time seemed to slow as possibilities ran through her mind.

A large beehive was strung on a branch that stretched out towards the lumbering creature and a long, sturdy branch lay near her feet. She grabbed the branch and approached the tree, offering it to the boy still clinging onto the trunk. He continued his ascent slowly, but she was sure the stick was long and strong enough for him to knock the hive down with a swift swing.

"Use this! Knock down the hive!" She hollered, and stood on her toes to offer the branch.

Malcolm took the stick and didn't even think twice about taking a swing. He hit the hive and the bees inside buzzed, the beehive shook, then with a hard snap the hive fell loose, just in time to land square on the head of one of the snarling creatures. The crocodile creature's roar muffled inside the beehive, the bees, which were larger and more aggressive than Malcolm had ever seen, stung the creature, causing thick red soars to spread across its coarse blue skin. Their troubles were far from over, the second creature, the one which had fallen behind, stomped into view. It lumbered past the other and gave a snake-like hiss which rolled in the back of its leathery throat.

Malcolm was too high to jump down now. He was frozen with fear. What's worse, the girl, Van, was directly in the creature's firing range. Malcolm reached for Van, but she was just shy of his finger tips, he just couldn't make it, not without risking his own spot on the tree. He couldn't bring himself to let go. The creature fired the shot, the hot blast of jet water blasted at the girl.

The sound of something breaking filled the air. The forest canopy opened up, blinding light poured into the forest, Malcolm couldn't see what happened, and he wasn't sure he wanted to.

'Oh bother...'

When Malcolm could see again he saw...a bear. A small, yellow-furred bear, with a red top. This bear held a honey jar, filled with honey, which he held by the handle. The creature which had blasted the jet stream turned in a circle, the other creature had turned and ran to the water to be rid of the bees which hounded it.

'I think, you better, go away, Mr.Crocodile' said the bear, the honey which had been in the pot pooled all over the ground 'I was going to eat just a smackeral of honey, I was quite hungry'

The creature couldn't decide whether to eat the bear or return to the water.

With a clean hit, the hive was knocked from the tree branch, and from it, emerged dozens of angry insects. Van felt victory swell in her chest, but it was short lived, as she watched the bees grow in size and number. They were abnormally large and were not the type she encountered in her family backyard.

They swarmed one of the monsters, and it fled back to the river, but the other came closer, opening its mouth to release another powerful jet of water. It’s belly grew in size as it inhaled deeply, and Van went cold; she could not move, and could hear the rumble of water arise from the trenches creature’s stomach and shoot out directly at her.

She turned her head and shut her eyes, waiting for impact. A few seconds had passed and she peeked open an eye; a small bear stood in front of her, honey pooling around its feet. Van opened her mouth in disbelief as the bear spoke in an almost cutesy manner. She shook her head and silently rushed to the tree, pulling at Malcolm’s pant leg.

“Get down! I’ll catch you,” she whispered. The two strange creatures seemed to be at a deadlock, and if there was a time to escape, it was now.

'Are you sure?' said Malcolm, his hands pinned the huge tree. He couldn't make himself let go. Beyond Van he could see the tiny yellow bear square up to the dangerous creature which was growing angrier by the second, several bee stings coated it's hide which drove it to further rage. The creature shot forward, jaws wide open descending on the tiny bear.

The bear stepped to the side, the jaws of the creature snapping shut an inch from the bear's left arm. The bear's eyes widened as the motion of stepping to one side had him hopping on one foot 'oomph!' said the yellow bear, who tumbled and span round one foot.

'I think, you better, leave, these children alone' said the bear in a huffy polite voice. The bear continued to swing on the spot, and as he did so he gained enough momentum, jar of honey swinging with him, to become a yellow and red blur, like a spinning top.

'Honey Hammer!' yelled the yellow bear, and with a hard swing the creature turned right into the bear's pot which smacked it across the face. The creature, to Malcolm's astonishment, was sent clean off its feat, this creature that was bigger than a bear, and landed on its back.

'Hurry children' said the bear 'we better get-a-going before he gets up'

Malcolm didn't need telling twice. He let himself lower down into Van's arms and the two climbed down as fast as they could.

'This way!' said the bear, pointing further into the forest 'I know a par-ticular hiding spot'

Malcolm and Van ran with the bear, but it became increasingly clear that what the bear made up in fighting prowess (or fluke pot-shots) he lacked in running ability. The tiny bear positively waddled like an infant as he ran. Malcolm found himself grabbing the bear and lifting him up in a bear hug. The creature roared as it got to its feet. It gave chase for a second time.

The small, cartoonish looking bear slammed it's honey pot into the creature's head with a powerful crack and sent the large creature flying. Still with her arms out, Van stared slack jaw at the furry animal. It reached up to her waist, but seemed to have the power of multiple grown men in that hit alone. The creature lie dazed on its back and Van beckoned to Malcolm once more.

"Oof," Van huffed as Malcolm dropped ungracefully into her arms. She let him onto his feet and did not hesitate to follow the bear, as it waddled away from the creature that would regain its bearings in a few moments time. She sprinted ahead as Malcolm picked up the bear and followed suit. A roar from behind them shook the earth, and the rumbling started again as the creature gave chase.

"Which way?!" Van yelled, heart pounding in her chest. She rubbed at her eyes again, willing herself not to cry; there was no time to bemoan over the circumstances--she had to get to safety.

The yellow bear in Malcolm's grip pointed to the right, and she skidded, stumbling over a tree root. They sprinted away from the creature, which had slowed for some inexplicable reason. Still running, Van turned to look back, and saw it struggle to keep up; it was an aquatic animal with short legs, and it seemed to be waddling more than running.

They turned another sharp corner and disappeared out of the creature's line of sight. If they were to keep running, they would tired out. She looked back to see if the beast was in view, and saw a large hollow carved into the base of a particularly enormous tree.

"There!" she said, turning back to run to it. She collapsed inside the meager protection that the hollow provided and pulled her knees to her chest. She tipped her head back, closed her eyes, and willed her heart to quiet down, hoping that the beast would run right past them.

Van felt a sudden clack as she fell backwards. She found herself looking up into a furnished room inside the tree. There wasn't much time to think on how strange this was as the bear, carried by Malcolm, entered inside and closed the door behind them. The yellow bear then hopped out of Malcolm's grip and waddled over to a cord by the door which he pulled. From a small window which had been made Malcolm could see a large bush fall into place in front of the door.

'Oh my, Pooh' said another voice. The sound of tiny feet tapping across the earthy floor approached Malcolm, Van and the Bear. It was a little person, no bigger than Malcolm's foot, that at once looked like a piglet but, like the bear, with decidedly human characteristics.



'It's alright, Piglet, we gave the Feraligator's the slip' said the bear.
This didn't calm Piglet much.
'But Pooh, what if we're found, what will we do, oh...'

Pooh sat in a chair in the middle of the room, which had all the amenities a cottage might have. Malcolm wondered how long it took them to make a place like this, especially with those creatures waiting to attack them outside.

'Come in children, make yourself at home' said Pooh 'we have some food if you're hungry...but I'm afraid we do not have a smackeral of honey left'

Piglet seemed to calm just a bit. 'Would you like some tea?' said Piglet 'I just boiled the kettle'

Malcolm wasn't hungry. He declined. He didn't know whether to ask questions about all this now. Or later.

The wood creaked behind her and she fell back with a yelp. Van lied on her back, staring at the a high wooden ceiling. The others rushed inside and she scrambled to her feet, helping close the opening she had fallen through. The rumbling of the earth became more forceful with each step that the monster took, closer and closer to the tree they hid in. She held her breath, nerves tingling, and hoped that it would not detect them.

The creature rumbled past them, it's heavy steps becoming less powerful as it went farther away. After she could no longer hear its footsteps, she exhaled in relief and turned to look at the rest of the occupants in the tree; a small pink creature was talking with the yellow bear, in a similarly cutesy voice.

She sat on a nearby chair and silently surveyed the room; it was larger than it seemed on the outside--a cozy home carved within the depths of an old tree. Her mind was running with questions, and she numbly muttered an affirmative to the pink animal, who placed a cup of hot tea in her hands. She took to spoon and swirled the drink, watching the tea leaves rise and fall.

After a swig that left her coughing and gasping, she slammed the mug on the table, "Where am I? Why are we here? I want to go home!" She wiped the tears that began to fall, and shook her head. Her tongue burned, her body heart, and she was utterly confused. She willed the anger and sadness that welled in her chest to subside and she took multiple deep breaths, clutching onto her necklace for support.

"S-sorry," she said, after a few moments of silence,"I just don't like not knowing what's going on."