As peace returns to the forest after the cataclysmic event, James who had passed out after his descent stirs. Slowly propping himself up, he winces and holds his head. "Where am I?" He peers around at the surrounding woods. "God my head is killing me." The only thing that meets his eyes are trees, lots and lots of trees, but not normal ones. These trees are massive and alien to him, With bases more than 30 ft feet wide, they remind him of the redwoods he had seen as a child, only scaled up. Raising his voice in an attempt to find if he is alone, the only sound to be head back is the echo of his own voice.

"Well I guess that settles it. I am well and truly alone." Finally calming down enough to stop and think. He tries to remember that last thing he remembers. He took a trip out to a favored fishing whole, and then there was the landslide that sent him plummeting over the edge of the cliff. Then he remembers light follows by eyes in the darkness. What should he do now he thinks to himself.

"Seeing as how I don't know where I am and one direction is as good as any. I better start walking and see if we can find anything. I did want to get away from it all so I guess I'll just think of this as an extended vacation." As he starts walking into the woods he can't help but marvel at how good he feels. Like the best nights sleep ever. The air is fresh and even the large alien trees are a novel experience. No bosses, no reports, no obligations. He only needs to find civilization and he would be set.

As he continues on his journey to find anything besides trees, he starts to get hungry. "I cant even remember the last time that I had eaten. " Keeping an eye out for anything edible, he continues. "Maybe I'll get lucky and find berries or something like that" A feeling of warmth rises up in his chest. Holding his hand to his chest for a second while it passes., that is when he is treated to a sight he would have never guessed he would see. In real time a bush springs up and starts to fill out with fruit of some variety. Like a cherry the size of an apple and a vivid red. "Well that is odd." Seeing the supernatural event he is calmer than he would expect, like of course nature would provide on his whims. Walking up to the bush, he experimentally pulls one of the fruits of the bush and sniffs it.

"Seems fine." He takes a bite and his eyes widen, "Oh my god this might be the best thing I've ever had." All pretense of caution thrown aside, he started to gorge himself on as many of the delicious fruits he could fit in his mouth. Soon the full miraculous bush was pick clean and James belched in satisfaction. The pile of discarded pits to his side the only proof of the miracle he had witnessed remaining.

A rustling sound to his side drew James attention to the brush to his side. A small rabbit like creature that appeared to have a flower growing out of its back, slowly edged closer to him. Its eyes fixated on the discarded remains of the fruit. "Hey there little fella. What do do you happen to be." The rabbit like creature edges closer and closer. It finally gets close enough that it is able to rush to the prize it seeks. The pile of pits disappear into its ever widening cheeks. It reminds James of a hamster filling its cheeks with pellets.

Lost in thought as he watched the rabbit, he didn't hear the approaching rumbling sound. The stopped and perked up its ears. Bolting to the safety of the underbrush it slowly dug into the ground until the only thing that was visible was the flower on its back. That is when he heard what spooked the rabbit. A loud earth shattering roar spilt the silence.

Doing the only thing that he could think to do in this situation. He turned to the nearest tree and scaled it as if his life depended on it. Higher and higher he climbed until he finally was at the lowest branch that would support him. Being more than 30 feet up, he hoped whatever it was wasn't going to be able to climb the tree.

"What the fuck is that?"

Crouching down and watching the direction the sound was coming from; he witnessed the beast bound into the clearing. The rabbit with the flower hat was one thing. Just a rabbit with a flower growing out of it. This was a 10 foot tall monstrosity of scale and fur. The head of a crocodile with teeth the size of a dagger. Spikes ran the entire length of its body down to its tale, but it also had the powerful limbs of a bear. The paws thicker than his chest. Using its two sets of eyes it scan the clearing. First bringing it head near the area he had spit the pits out at and then finally stalking toward the brush the rabbit had buried it self under.

The squeaks of the terrified animal all he could hear as the beast dug it out of its hiding spot. James was confused because it just didn't seem worth it for such a large beast to go out of its way for what would amount to a mouth full. The beast now satisfied with its haul, stalks back into the woods just as fast as it entered.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Well that was terrifying. Glad I hadn't run into anymore beast like that. Guess I'll have to be more vigilant because that thing came out of nowhere."

Slowly he makes his way down the tree, keeping an eye in the direction that the bear croc had left in. Just in case he needed to scale the tree in case of an emergency. " I guess I probably should get away from this area, just in case what ever draws in something else that would eat me." Heading in the opposite direction of the beast he continue his trek through the woods seeming to be a little bit darker than they were before.

Hours had passed since his encounter in the clearing and the going had been slow. The problem was, as he had gone further the relatively spacious area between the trees had shrunk down and filled with thick brambles. He had had already decided to go slow to be as careful as he can because of the beast but now he was going at a snails pace.

"I need to pick up the pace or I am just going to get hungry and thirsty again. If only the path was a bit clearer." As he sat there catching his breath and wishing for the impossible, that familiar sense of energy that he had come to associate with miracles started to well up in his chest. Just like the bush before it, the brush as if on fast forward receded against the trees creating a trail as far as he could see into the distance. "Once is a mystery and twice is definitely a pattern." he says aloud. What ever that feeling was seems to respond to his desires. He wished for food and the plant grew it. He wished for a path and the brush receded.

Thinking about his need for water, possibly even a river, something to quench his growing thirst and to guide him out of this forest. He felt a tug on his thoughts into a direction he hadn't been going to. As he turned into the direction the plants once again withdrew from his path. As he walked in the impromptu direction he heard it before he saw it. It sounded so close but as he kept walking he never seemed to reach it. About to give up he broke past some extra thick trees only to be greeted by the widest river he had ever seen. The shore was wide enough for him to safely go closer with out a risk of falling in.

Stumbling closer he sees that it is clear, not what he would expect out of river water. Putting his hand in slowly he bring a handful of water to his mouth. "Let's just hope this isn't randomly a salt water river." He drinks from his hand. It seems alright and he is thirsty, so he does the most logical thing to him at that time. he dunks his whole head in the water taking mouthfuls of water at a time and cooling his head. Whipping his head out of the water he lets out a belch.

"oh god I needed that."

He falls to his rear and lays down. A sense of purpose completed allows him a chance to sit and think for a second. Several things come to mind. The gaps in his memory, his current location, and the inexplicable abilities he has shown. After all the supernatural events he has experienced have all coincided with the feeling in his chest. It seemed to mostly be about plants but it also helped him find this source of water as well. Whatever brought him here mixed something else in. As he lay there lazily sitting on the edge of the river contemplating his circumstances, he felt a sharp pain in his foot. Hastily jumping back to get away from the river , he came face to face with it.

A ring of sharp teeth fill its maw. It was coated in a layer of slime. It appeared to be a giant leech of some kind. It Had gotten a hold of his foot while he had been drifting off. James backed up slowly. It slowly crawled on the show and reared back. "Hisssss."

"This thing is most definitely not friendly." James said as he backed up. "Well if I have some kind of power now is the time to show it." Holding his hand out and thinking real hard at it, he tried to enable whatever his ability is. It wasn't working and the leech wasn't giving him the time to trouble shoot. It lunges at him and he falls down. Slowly inching away he backs up further and further, but the creature wasn't giving him any quarter.

As he backs up he runs across a branch. Picking it up and holding it out in front of him to ward the beast off. "I need a weapon and this is the best I've got." What would make this stick deadlier he thinks to him self. "I need fire. How do you create fire without fuel. Friction, that is the answer." Coming to a conclusion as if by instinct, he concentrates on the stick imagining a force on the edge of the stick. Spinning and creating friction. That is when the sense of power in his chest starts to rise. Hotter and hotter in tune with the force he puts out on the impromptu weapon.

It starts with a spark which quickly turns into a blaze. He hold the stick up and yells "Behold, I have created fire!" The leech heedless of the danger it is now in lunges to take a bit out of Jakes face. Pulling the stick into place, he jams it down its throat. The results are immediate as the beast starts snap crackle and popping. "Die you piece of shit. How dare you think you can eat me. Don't you know I'm a wizard now." Screeching it attempts to flee to the safety of the water. Stomping on its tail as it attempts to flee to the safety of the river, James yells" Don't want none you best start none. " He keeps stomping over and over driven to see it dead. Finally it stops wriggling and squirming, and with that James finally is able to calm down.

Heaving with the effort expended he tries to catch his breath. He holds the stick up and looks at it. No longer of fire he realizes that he is changed in more way than one.

"If I'm going to survive in this world, I need to learn to control this power. "

He sits down on a rock far enough away from the river that he feels he won't be ambushed and gets to work on figuring out the changes he under went.