1.02

I recheck my bag for a fourth time while the tears continue to make a river down my face. Why do I only ever bring chocolate with me? How stupid am I? Its been about an hour since I was teleported here. Teleported? Transported? Did I have a heart attack and die? I don't think the milk I drank yesterday tasted weird enough to kill me...

I also should not be saying here. Here implies I know where I am, which I most certainly do not. The only thing slightly resembling the school grounds is this stupid tree. God! Why did I ever care about a tree!

I wipe my eyes as I take out a Twix bar. I once again count the remaining chocolate as I un-package the left Twix (yes, the left Twix is the superior one): two Reese's buttercups, two Twix, one package of peanut butter M&M's, and two 500ml chocolate milk cartons. I swallow the right Twix in two bites and stand up.

Ok, its time to do something. What that something is however, I have no clue.

I check my phone again. It's so strange. I have never been anywhere that does not have a signal. I even tried turning it off and on again, but that still did not change anything. Thankfully I can still use the compass on my watch to see which direction I'm facing. Mostly North, but pointed slightly East. Through the huge forest (yes, I'm now surrounded by a pretty large forest filled with normal size golden curls willow trees) I can see a river. Did I say I hate these tress now?

I suppose the river is my best shot. All people build there cites by rivers, right? How would plumbing work without running water.

Well I suppose you could manufacture a river. With the right machines you could create navigation canals and.... never mind. Now is not the time to think about that.

Ok, step one, get to the river. How far away is it? No idea. I am only good at guessing peoples height, anything else is far beyond my abilities. I want to be a doctor, so anatomy is kind of my thing.

But I do have one advantage to figure out how far away the river is. Remember my handy-dandy watch? Well, my best friend Izzy has been out scoping the area for the better part of twenty-minutes. I raise my hand as Izzy slides back into my watch. She's much better than just a 'bully-watcher!'

I double check the data on my phone and my eyes grow dark. 4 kilometers is the distance I need to travel to reach the river. Is this is a joke? I must have been drugged and this has to be a prank. How am I supposed to walk that far and then hope to stumble across a city as I follow the river?

Drugged? What am I thinking. The bullies wouldn't go through all that to torment me. No. Something is a miss, and I am definitely part of some freak accident. Or I'm dead. Regardless, I don't really have time to think about that. Ill run out of food and really die if I don't do something.

Ok, time to move. With one AirPod in and some good music playing, I'm good to go. I glance back at the tree once more and stick up my middle finger. Stupid tree. Can't believe it would betray me like this.

I'm trying to make light of this situation, but I take one step and immediately start bawling again.What the actual **** is going on? Where am I? Who did this? What did this? Have I really been teleported? Teleportation hasn't been created yet. Flying cars haven't even been created yet! I'm in the middle of the god damn woods, by a tree that looks exactly like the tree from my school, however my school is no where to be found. Did I travel to the past? There's too many questions that I need immediate answers to. But the most pressing is where do I find people.

With that In mind I head towards the river. 4km. Gross. I really do not want to do that, but I guess it will get my steps in. Hah. Funny joke. If only there were people around to hear it.

Damn, I'm even starting to miss my bullies.

I start walking - again - and this time do not cry. That's progress. I start to pass the first sets of trees and immediately notice the fog. Strange. I did not notice any when I was looking down towards the river, or with the drone, but all the sudden its here.

Not only is it here, it is thick.

I can hardly see 5 feet in front of me. Couple that with the long branches of the curls willow trees and yep, I'm screwed. I thankfully boot up my watch compass as I continue my journey through the trees. Hopefully there are no animals around. If so, I hope they're just deer.

After about a kilometer of walking, I can see the exit of the forest. Finally! I can see again. I smile as I increase my pace (not that I was going fast initially). Maybe I will be able to find someone before it gets to dark out. What time even is it? Is my clock accurate or should I be -No. I need to stop thinking. If I think I will cry, and if I cry I waste time. I need to progress.

Time is an easy thing to guess. I know the direction I'm facing from my watch, and if I just use the Sun, I can roughly estimate what time it is from the Sun's position.

So for the first time since arriving here I look up. And up. And up. That proved to be a huge mistake.

My brain is in immediate pain. So much pain that I clutch the sides of my head. I need Advil, stat. I cannot comprehend what I am looking at. Yes, it is the Sun. That is normal. But the size is the problem. It's smaller. Not by much, but when the Sun has been a constant your entire life, and when you're as detail oriented as me, things like that tend to freak you out.

I could get over the Sun being a little smaller, but I feel my brain throb as I continue to look above.

The sky.

The clouds.

Everything. It was all so much... more. So much...

Larger.

No, maybe larger isn't the word. As I continued to look, the sky seemed so much bigger. Is that even possible? There were clouds, yes, but they went on and on, and had many more layers than one would expect. I felt as though I was gazing upon a foreign concept. One that I have never experienced before.

Infinity.

My soul shook.

Not that I believe in a soul.

No, the sky could not be infinite. Obviously. If there was a Sun, there was definitely space, and if there was space, there was no way the sky could be infinite. However the sky above is brain damagingly more vast. Three times? Four times? Twenty times? I could not tell how much larger it truly was. All I knew was that yes, that was not the sky I was sitting under only a few hours ago.

So instead of accurately figuring out what time it was by easily looking at the Sun, I did what I do best.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

I cried.

Walking with trying to wrap my head around things seemed to only result in hurting my head more, so I increased the volume of my music.

Normally I'm not even this stupid to turn my music all the way up while walking in strange woods, but alas, I've been transported somewhere that is probably not my world, so thinking straight is not really on my agenda at the moment. After about a good two or more kilometers, and only being a few hundred feet away from the river, I started to run.

Remember how I said I don't run? I don't. Like ever. I've ran once actually, but that's when my little cousin chased all of my cousins and I down the stairs with a knife. So I basically had no choice but to run. Life or death situations will make you do crazy things (the crazy thing being running), right?

Oh yeah, that's why I am running now too. More like sprinting to be fair. I probably could have avoided the situation I put myself in if I didn't have my AirPods blasting, as I would have most likely heard the pack of wolves behind me.

I really want to ask Siri the average speed a wolf can run, but I concern myself more with the idea of living a little bit longer.

I sprint as I try not to piss myself. Wolves? I'm going to die. I can't possible outrun a wolf. The only thing I have is my phone. But its in my pack and I cant stop to take it out.

I try and make a dash through the trees, dodging from tree to tree and trying to make my movement as irregular as possible as I am pretty sure I can turn better than a wolf can. The first wolf is catching up very fast, and it is closely followed by a few others. I turn and face the direction of the river. I pray I can get there in time. If I can jump in, the river should be able to carry me away.

I'm really not trying to think at the moment. If I actually start to comprehend the situation I'm in, I think I'll lose my mind. I've been teleported to who knows where, and I'm running from a pack a wolves that even I know I can't outrun.

Honestly the wolves must think this is fun. A fat kid running down a hill away from a hungry pack of wolves. How much more hilarious can you get? The only saving grace on my part is that this is the first time my body has probably experienced an adrenaline rush, so it is moving faster than ever. I think I can make it!

I'm only about 100 meters away when the first wolf tears into my leg. I'm able to kick it off with my other leg before I stumble forwards and hit the ground hard. I look down towards my leg. Big mistake #3 today.

I start to scream in agony as the pain impulses finally register in my brain. This wolf bit deep, very very deep, and I can see a huge amount of blood escape from the gash. The wolf starts to get up from the kick and makes its way over to me. My eyes are bloodshot from the pain and tears a running down my face.

I really can't believe this is happening. Not even two hours into where I've been transported and I am already going to die? What a joke of a life this is.

The wolf begins to walk forward and does a low growl as it approaches. The other wolves are behind my attacker, however they don't dare interfere. Maybe its the law of the forest? Since he took down the fat kid, he gets first bite. Hah. Another good joke.

I'm dead. I'm really going to die. My life has been so pathetic and now I am going to be eaten by wolves. God I hope they end it quickly.

I sigh as I look upwards. Damn, the sky is so massive. At least its a nice thing to look at before I die. I wish my leg wasn't in misery.

Crap. I really don't want to die. At all. There's so much I want to do. I haven't even made a friend and I'm going to die? Could I at least finish my degree? Why does this have to happen to me!

I need think. Of a plan. Now. I look back at the wolf. His teeth are huge. Horrifying. What can I do against that? Could I offer it my chocolate?

Before I even begin to think of a plan as to what to do next, a roar is thrown from another hill. I look over to the source of the sound, and the pain is immediately gone from my leg when I see what begins to march over the hill.

A tree. No, a person? Whatever it is, it is certainly humanoid. A little taller than your average person, probably around 210cm I presume. But it also was not human. This... creature, has wood for skin. Wood. Real, actual wood. And it was walking towards me and the wolves.

The creature was made of a dark thick wood that twisted and tangled to create the form that is it. The centre of this beast had a tiny tree, almost like a bonsai, sticking out of it. Was that it's heart? Some parts of the wood was overgrown with a wet moss, with other small fungi and even mushrooms on it. It held what looked like a very rusted sword in its left hand, while its other hand glowed green. Just like how the sky made my brain want to split into two, so did that green color. It almost looks like a fog, or mist emanating from its palm.

Hah. New world, attacked by wolves, probably will never walk again, and now a glowing green tree monsters. Just your average Thursday afternoon, right? I willed myself to look away from the incoming beast and diverted my attention back to my leg. It was malled. Probably permeant damage. ****. I need to stop the bleeding.

The fear thankfully is somehow outdoing the pain, but it is still almost utterly unbearable. I am quite delicate if I'm being honest. I don't play sports and have never broken a bone, so this is the most agonizing situation I have ever been in.

Damn, I'm in a terrible situation.

I look around at my surroundings. The wolves are all gathered together now, and are paying no attention to me. Each one has their fur standing up and fear in their eyes as the beast continues its trek towards us. This truly is my only chance.

I stand. Careful not to scream out to attract any more attention. I bite my lip so hard that blood gushes forth. I can not scream here. I refuse to.

I will myself to hobble towards the river.

The blood runs down my leg and lip as I try to walk. I begin to pray. Not that I believe in a higher power, or a God, but I still pray. I need anything to cling to, because if I lose this one feeling of hope, I know I will fall and not get back up.

As I reach the river I hear the wolves start to growl. The monster has finally made its way towards them. I turn to look one last time as I see the battle commence.

I must be dreaming. Or dead... or dying. At this point I really do not care what is happening. I watch as the tree-man slashes left and right at the wolf pack. The wolf that attacked me, one of the larger of the bunch, tries to bite at the tree-mans leg. As the wolf chomps down, he realizes his mistake. Unlike my flesh that is easily torn and consumed, this monster is formed from a tree, and clearly is unaffected by the bite. The tree-man swings his sword downwards, perfectly decapitating the wolfs head. If it wasn't for the pain in my leg, I would have smiled. Not only did he kill my attacker, but also slashed with perfect form. I use to watch a lot sword play videos on YouTube, so I know a nice cut when I see one.

The other wolves start attacking the tree-man. He clearly sees he's outnumbered, and takes a step back to stabilize his footing. The remaining wolves all circle him, but the tree-man seems unafraid. He raises his right hand and shouts a word that I could not even begin to describe. Once again my mind explodes as I see what transpires next.

Two of the remaining 5 wolves are pulled downwards as I watch vines as thick as lumbar erupt from the ground. They vines wrap around the limbs and neck of the wolves, and I can assume they are not only being restrained, but strangled as well. The other 3 wolves charge, but it is already too late. The tree-man begins to slash at the wolves with a finesse that can only be described as beautiful. He chops the head off of another wolf, and slashes the eyes out of the second.

The final wolf does manage to jump on top of the monsters back, knocking him to the ground as the sword he holds goes flying. The tree-man and wolf both fall, which releases the vines on the other two.

At this point I'm convinced I'm crazy as the tree-man starts to emit the same green energy throughout his entire body rather than just his hand. His eyes start to glow, as an unholy amount of vines emerge once more from the ground. This time instead of trapping only two wolves, it grabs them all, even the dead wolves.

The vines begin to pierce through the body of the wolves, ripping them to chunks of flesh as I am finally able to stop staring at this bloody horror happening in front of me. My thoughts start rushing back to me as the pain in my leg resumes its throbbing.

Is this tree-man friend or foe? Can I make it to the river? If I jump in, will it carry me to someplace safe? Is it a forest spirit? Was that magic?

Before my thoughts are finished I see the tree-man approach me. I feel... calm. Weirdly calm. Is this magic? Or is it because he is not going to harm me.

I look past the monster and watch as the vines continue to shred the wolves to bits and pieces. Its atrocious. The blood and intestines paint the ground a crimson red.

I look back to the beast that is approaching me and watch in a frozen trance as it extends its hand towards me. I am now so close to the river that I could jump in and be swept away. Far away. Somewhere potentially safe. Does he want a handshake? I look down towards his hands and let out a sigh. I reflect on the fact that I am truly stupid.

The moment I looked away when the vines bursted through the earth the second time was a fatal one, because the tree-man must have picked up his sword. His runs the sword straight through my gut, and does not allow me anytime to react. Not that I would be able to do much anyways. I cant even let out a scream as he rips the sword back out, and pushes me into the river.

I really hate trees is all I think before I black out into the river below.