Chapter 2

 Last night, after explaining things to Charles, Josh, and Alexa, we all watched whatever we could find on Netflix. Some comedy to lighten the mood, and a horror to make Josh piss his pants. It was my turn to cook dinner that night so I made a beef stew for all of us... Granted, it wasn't a proper stew as I only had an hour to cook it, but it was decent... Mom came home in time to enjoy the stew with us. I told her the same news I had told earlier. She absolutely refused to believe me and grew angry when I tried to convince her, so I changed the topic. That night I locked my bedroom door. Normally I left it unlocked or open so mom or Charles could help me if I needed it in the night. I felt that this night was different, something was going to happen to me and I didn't want them to be caught up in it. I'm glad I did, because something did happen.

Around midnight, I woke up with a jolt. Pain was smashing itself into me from all sides. I tried not to scream, to not wake the others, but I didn't know if I succeeded. The colors appeared again shoving me gently, and then violently, towards the hole. A vortex formed as the colors were sucked in, making the blackness grow bigger and bigger. Wave after wave of light and pain struck me. I gripped my sheets and sobbed, not wanting to give up, but the force fighting against me was too great and I felt my body start lifting in the direction of the hole. The last thing that I saw was my door being kicked in by Charles, mom following close behind him. They froze, a look of terror plastered onto their faces, as I was pulled into the void.

<<<>>>

I was surprised I wasn't dead. Wasn't I going to be eaten by some void monster or something like that? This was seriously not what I was expecting when that void-hole-thing consumed me. Yet there I was, laying down at the base of a tree. I grunted as I sat up, using one hand to push myself up. Looking around, I noticed that I was in a forest with a thick underbrush. The foliage overhead wasn’t that thick and I was able to see clearly from the sunlight coming through.

Seeing no immediate danger, I gave myself a quick assessment. The attack last night happened when I was in bed, so I was still in my pajamas... Wait a minute, I thought, why are my pajamas so big? The pajamas in question hung loose, as if they were three or four sizes too big. Did I just Shrink?! OK Seth, take a deep breath and remain calm. What are some possible explanations? First off, you are in an entirely new place after being sucked into a swirling vortex of light...Did the Lights shrink me? What even are the lights? Mana? Energy? Universe-Juice?...  hmm, now that I think about it, that vortex was obviously some sort of portal. Why did I think it was aliens? Was it magic? Magic aliens? Is magic real? Either way, something must have caused the portal to open so there must be a way to get back home. I just need to find out how... But why me? Why did the portal open on me of all people? That’s not important right now... I need to focus on my situation right now. I’m in the middle of a forest in pajamas, that’s not good.

I reached down and started rolling up my pant legs so I could walk without tripping, tucked in my shirt, pulled the waist string tight and tied it, then rolled up my sleeves. It was all still really baggy, but at least it won’t be in my way so much now. I stood up and brushed leaves and mulch off of my backside.

“OK,” I mumbled, “Step one: Find a vantage point to see where I am. Step two: find civilization...shouldn’t be too hard.” 

Glancing around, I didn’t see any particularly tall trees, so I slapped the trunk of the tree I woke up under.

“OK tree, you’ll have to do. You ready for this?” I asked, but didn’t bother waiting for a reply and just started climbing. Climbing the tree was fairly easy, there were plenty of hand and foot holds to use, but the climb up reminded me of something... I didn't have shoes on.

Aw crap... Ok, so i can unroll my pant legs and tear off the excess to use as wraps for my feet. I'll do that when I get out of the tree.

I climbed the rest of the way up the tree, and pushed some leaves out of the way to see. Staring at the view before me, I gaped. There didn't seem to be an end to the forest I was in. Far in the distance there was a shimmer, like reflected light. That could be a lake, I thought. To my right I saw some mountain peaks and to my left there was a massive cliff wall that stretched off into the distance, shrinking as it went. At the base of the cliff was a river that looked like it would connect to that lake. Behind me was just more forest.

OK, this sucks... No civilization in sight, meaning no quick rescue. Unless there is a hidden leaf village around here, I'm going to be in the forest for weeks at least... If there is one, it'll be along the river or by that lake. Here's the plan Seth. Make something to hunt with, because you'll need to get food. Then head towards that river, follow it until we find civilization, and bam! You're saved... What a perfect plan.

After climbing back down the tree I unrolled the pant legs and promptly tried to rip off the excess. You know... The movies and stories make it seem so much easier than it really is. After struggling with it for a minute, I got fed up and started smashing rocks together until I found a shard reasonably sharp. After another minute of rubbing the sharp edged rock against the pant legs, I was finally able to cut off the pant legs at the ankles. Crap, that was a lot of work.

With my feet wrapped and protected, and with a newly acquired sharp rock, I set off towards the river. 

That river was pretty far off though. I'm going to have to make camp before I get to it, the sun seems like it's halfway between noon and the horizon... Maybe five hours before sunset. Save one hour for building a quick shelter for the night and I should be good.

The trek was slightly downhill so it wasn’t too bad, and the sound of the forest was full of life. I could hear animals calling and scampering about, I even saw a little herd of deer. Although, those were some strange deer... the buck was as big as a horse, and had massive antlers. All the deer were brown and had black stripes, which I don’t think any deer that I remember looked like that.

Just where did that magic alien portal send me? I thought, glancing around me.

As I walked I kept an eye out for any more strange animals, but I was also keeping watch for any fruits, nuts, or anything I could find useful. I had no idea how long I would be in this forest but I need to find everything I can if I want to survive. 

Along the way, I found a patch of wild berries. They looked round and purple... I sure hope that these aren’t poisonous... I bent down, and studied the big bush and its leaves. It had long and thin thorns on the branches that looked pretty dangerous, and the leaves kind of looked like raspberry leaves but bigger... Seems safe to me, well, only one way to be sure. So I took a small bite of one and waited to see if there were any side effects. It tasted like grapes mixed with strawberries, and it had a big seed in the middle like a cherry. I waited about thirty or so minutes by breaking some thorns off the bush... well, I didn’t break the thorns themselves because they seemed impossible to break. I had to use my sharp rock to cut the branches from around the thorns. 

“I think I’m going to call you Steelthorns.” I matter-of-factly told the bush. “Obviously because of your awesome thorns. Thank you Steelthorns for your generous donation to my survival.”

Feeling no signs of poison and seeing no point in waiting longer, I started shoving all the berries I could into my pajama pockets. Once my pockets were full I started eating the berries straight off the bush until I was full. Man those berries were good! With pockets bulging full of berries and a few thorns, I headed off again towards the river. 

<<<>>>

It’s getting pretty close to sundown. I am going to need to set up camp soon. I thought to myself. Oh man I’m tired, I’ve been walking for hours. Looking around I spotted a large fallen tree that I could set up a little lean-to against and there were plenty of dead branches scattered on the ground. This seems as good a spot as any to set up camp, and ... wait a minute... do I hear...? I ran in the direction of the sound, pushing through some bushes, until I came upon the source of the sound. It was a small clear stream of water! I hadn’t had anything to drink since I woke up, and I was thirsty. The water was clear and was running fairly quickly, so I figured it was alright and drank my fill. I also used this short rest to eat some of the steelthorn berries I had. Sitting with my back against a tree, I quietly munched on the berries, making sure to keep an eye out for any possible threats. As I looked downstream I noticed that the water had formed a small pool.

Hmm, maybe I could finally see my reflection... and I got up and walked over to the pool. Kneeling down and leaning over it to see better, I could see it. I gazed at my reflection in a daze. Slowly I lifted a hand and touched the side of my face. 

I... I look like I’m ten... I guess that's why I shrunk... sitting there, fingers lightly stroking my face, I suddenly realized something. I was ten when I first noticed the headaches, I wonder if that is related somehow...

My train of thought was derailed by a distant scream. I froze, staring in the direction of the screaming. It didn’t sound like a person though, but rather like a wounded animal. Something was being hunted nearby. What was being hunted and what was doing the hunting I had no idea. There was a crashing sound as something was plowing through bushes and foliage. It was still a way off but it sounded like it was coming towards me. Not wanting to waste time I ran for the tallest tree I could see and started climbing as fast as I could. 

I hope whatever predator is out there can't climb trees.

Not long after I settled down, hiding myself behind some leaves, I was able to see what it was. One of those brown and black striped deer was running for its life. Its flanks were bloodied and it looked pretty hurt. Looking past it I could see what was chasing it. It wasn't a single creature, but a large pack of wolves silently encircling the striped deer. These wolves were massive, nearly as big as the deer itself, and had some sort of bony spikes coming out of their backs. Kind of like a stegosaurus, but more pointer looking. Their fur was a variation of blacks and dark reds... Not gonna lie, they looked awesome, but seeing twenty of them suddenly burst through the underbrush was terrifying. I stayed as still as I could be, watching as one of the wolves caught up to the deer and took out one of its legs. The deer fell hard screaming in pain and fear. The wolf jumped back to later as the deer twisted and gored it with its antlers. Two more wolves leapt onto the deer when it was desperately trying to free itself from the corpse of the wolf. Its screams were quickly silenced.

I watched in fascinated horror as the large wolves started digging into their kill. They were about 100 yards from where I was, much closer than I would rather be to so many predators, and I could hear their yips and growls to each other, and the sound of ripping flesh. 

Just where did I get sent to? Obviously I’m not on Earth anymore... Those things don’t exist on Earth, and I’m pretty sure those striped deer don’t either. I’m also sure this isn’t Hell, there would be more flames and suffering if it was... So those colors and portal must’ve sent me to a different world... Oh man, am I going to see some elves? That would be so cool!...although, to do that I need to survive first.

Looking at that scene I realized just how defenseless I was. I didn’t have any weapons of any kind. 

OK, new top priority. Build a ranged weapon; I do not want to get close to those things at all! But what sort of weapon would be best? I could make a bow, but that would probably take more skill than I have to craft. Slings are cool, but I have no idea how to make one...or use one... hmm, I could make an atlatl and chuck spears at them. They’re easy to make, and easy to use! A Boy Scout leader once showed me how so this should be a piece of cake. 

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a snuffling and huffing sound directly beneath me. My blood froze as I looked down. There was one of the wolves! When did it get beneath me?! It was sniffing around the base of my tree, searching for a scent. It soon got to the trunk of the tree and sniffed it as well.

Oh crap I’m screwed. Come on steggo doggo, nothing to smell here, I went that way not up this tree! I silently told it, while pleading to whatever God ruled this world that it wouldn’t notice me in the tree and would just go away.

It looked up straight at me.

Well... goodbye new world, it wasn’t nice knowing ya... Wait... is it grinning at me? Its tail is wagging to. What in the world… Is he a good boy?

But before I could do anything, it ran back to its pack. Then, shortly after, the pack ran off. 

OK, what the heck just happened?

Reluctant_Bear

Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up, there were midterms this week.

Hope you enjoy it!