"Aaarrrggghhh!"

A shrill scream frightened Tai awake. Humongous jaws with razor sharp teeth filled his vision. A deep, deafening growl resounded in his ears and brought forth a strong gale that threw his body backwards.

The huge maw inched closer and snapped its jaws at him. Before he could accept his fate, the beast was thrown to the side then it collided with a colossal tree that was fifty times it's height. Tai realized the entire area was populated with those massive trees, along with flora and fauna save the small clearing where he was.

The beast quickly got on its four feet and growled at its intruder. It was another beast of a different species, with four feet as well but was bigger and thicker with matted skin, unlike the furry skin of the first beast. They stared off at each other for a few seconds. 

He did not know where he was, but he knew life-threatening danger. Years worth of escaping experience kicked in and he immediately propelled himself upwards to run, but then fell flat on his face. He felt his hands and feet bound by a rough rope. Terror began to rise from his heart as he aggressively tried to squeeze his bony hands through the rope bindings.

The matted beast pounced at its furry opponent and completely dominated it in the first move. The furry beast tore into the matted beast's skin with its teeth in retaliation. With each tussle, the ground beneath Tai vibrated, reminding him of how tiny he was to everything around him. 

How tiny he was....

The book Tziporah gave him popped up in his mind, and her comment echoed in his ears:

"A Thumbling knows he is not at home when even the grass is two times his height." He glanced again at his surroundings. The grass...was two times a Thumbling's height. He was in the forest outside the kingdom.

Boom!

The matted beast this time was thrown to the ground despite being three times the size of its aggressive opponent. Tai tried even harder to escape, tapping into every memory and experience he had to break free from the complex knot. Whoever did this to him definitely wanted him to die without resistance. 

Just like the people around him. Or rather, the people who once were around him.

Thumbling bones decorated his surroundings like a twisted graveyard. It spanned a ten meter radius, which was huge for him. The graveyard was a mixture of red, brown and black, giving the rancid stench stinging his nose a new meaning and threatening him to throw up. The strong scent of fresh blood mixed within the rancid scent reminded him of what cruel fate awaited him if he did not get moving right now.

He finally freed himself at the cost of deep abrasions on his hands and feet. At that moment, the two creatures were heavily injured, and were facing off in their final clash.

He did not stay to watch. He shot up to his feet and sprinted in the opposite direction of the fight. Running across the bone-infested field, he aimed for the lush grass bordering the area. Well, grass for the beasts, but a forest to him. It was the perfect place to conceal himself as he escaped.

In the corner of his eyes, he saw a girl, shivering in terror as she stared wide-eyed at the clash between the beasts. She was not bound like he was, and despite that, she was not moving—seemingly terrorized. The large burn scar on her face contrasted against her hazel eyes.

...Tziporah??? 

Without a second thought he changed course, dashing in her direction. He dragged her unto her feet. She snapped out her stupor.

"We need to run"

She nodded shakily.

Seeing she was physically unharmed, he grabbed her hand and dashed towards the grass with no reservation. He was halfway there.

Crunch!

Tai looked behind him. The furry beast howled in agony as its opponent clamped its jaws around its neck. The matted beast slowly released the now broken neck of the furry creature, turned in their direction, and revealed a bloody smile.

"You're next," it said.

That was the last scene he saw before he reached the grass.

...

Tai trudged on the muddy ground, his bare feet sinking slightly with each step. The stems of the grass running along the forest floor threatened to trip him, but he had yet to fall. Tziporah wasn’t so fortunate. She fell so often that he decided to give her a piggyback ride. She was very light anyways. Too light.

He looked up and tried to peer through the small openings the grass allowed. The orange glow of evening basked the forest in a warm glow.  At least, from what he could see. 

It was beautiful. 

"Tai...you've been squeezing my feet for two hours now," Tziporah's soft voice betrayed her weakness. It was then he realized that he was still tense. Tai chuckled nervously and loosened his grip.

“Thank you,” her hot breath tickled his neck.

Seeing that they really were not being chased, his preservation instincts fully wore off. He finally had time to think properly.

He was worried, and that animal with the creepy smile did nothing to help. Why did he end up here? Who will water his plants while he's not at home? Why was Tziporah here too? If she was here, what about his other friends?

...what about his parents?

The very thought of them being endangered tore at his heart. He suppressed it to have maximum awareness of his surroundings. 

Speaking of surroundings, Tziporah has been unnaturally quiet. She was quiet before, but this time, it was different. She must be much more scared than he was. 

Despite his messy mental state, he found himself smiling in fascination. In the Thumbling Kingdom, there were no trees or plants. Even the 'plants' he had at home were glorified weeds, at least that's what his parents told him. Looking around, they were right.

The stalks of grass surrounding them were lush and sported a healthy green unlike anything he had ever seen. Through the gaps above, the rich brown barks of the towering trees stood proudly, their crowns being adorned with leaves of various shapes, sizes and colors. 

The scenery served well as a distraction from all his worries, especially that beast. Well, a bear, according to Tziporah, and the other one was called a wolf. Heh, they were fitting names. He chuckled.

He rummaged in his makeshift sack by his hip that he made using his shirt.  Finding a piece of mushroom, he bit into it with relish as he waded through the grass.

The evening glow was slowly welcoming the dark of night. If what said in the book was true, they needed to find shelter, and fast.