His mouth stuffed with grass, the wild-eyed young man opened his eyes and took in the world.

He was laying in a meadow of richly green foliage. The forest surrounding him was alive with the singing and chittering of countless small animals.

Adam sat up and the world lurched around him as he spat up large pieces of nature. After a few minutes of dry heaving, he looked around with fresh , although watery, eyes.

The trees were a type he couldn’t place, but they were enormous. Redwoods maybe? Wait, where am I? Was I flung here?

He checked his body, Huh? Not a scratch? And then a thought struck and he stood, looking back and forth, “Nana!”

“Hello!” Nana! Anyone…?!” After ten minutes of frantic wandering and screaming, Adam’s voice was shot. He slumped back down and took a few deep, ragged breaths.

Calming down, Adam, again, took stock of his situation. “What, am I Dorothy now?” He asked no one in particular.

Boy Scout training already kicking in, he checked his pockets for anything useful in a survival situation; what he found was only somewhat heartening: no cellphone, only lint and a pocket knife.

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Then, glancing at the sun, he stood and started walking downhill in the direction he assumed was South.

It was slow-going as Adam was barefoot. By the time he reached a small creek, his feet were a map of new scratches and marks.

Like a symphony of nature, the gently flowing water was music to his ears. Not that he would drink from a stream, but hopefully he could follow it to … somewhere?

Am I dead? Is this the afterlife? Where is everybody else? Maybe I’m in purgatory? Thoughts crashed through Adam’s head as he walked downstairs. So lost was he in his thoughts that a beastly growl took him completely by surprise.

The beast, a muskrat by the looks of it, snarled at Adam who took a step back. It’s fur bristled and stuck out in a show of aggression.

“Whoa, whoa, settle down.” Adam put his hands up defensively and slowly continued to retreat. The animal, however, began opening its mouth. As if its jaw hinged mid-torso, its mouth continued opening, revealing rows of needle-like teeth. Drool cascaded down its ebony gums.

“W… w… what the f…?!” Adam backpedaled quickly but tripped on a rock, splashing into a creek. The needle-mouth creature charged. Frantically, Adam fumbled into his pocket. The creature was upon him before he could open the blade: its pointed teeth sinking deep into his forearm.

“Aaaaaaah!” If Adam hadn’t screamed so loudly, he would’ve heard what teeth scraping on bone sounded like. With a flick of his thumb the three inch blade flashed out and with all of his strength he plunged it into the ratty, matted beast. Again, into its head. Again, the eye. Again, again, again.

White-knuckled and panting, his blood-shot eyes now more wild than ever, Adam delicately peeled the messy remains off his arm.