Falling World

Looks can be deceiving

The four children ran blindly through the forest. No matter which way they went, the forest just continued on and on. It seemed more like the forest was turning them back around rather than just being vast. However, that wasn't the only thing they had to worry about. Every second they spent running through the forest, the colors around seemed to darken and the creatures they saw scurrying around them became more grotesque. Who could have guessed that what seemed like a beautiful place could turn into something so horrible. When they first arrived, everything had been colored the most vibrant shades of the rainbow and the animals had be so cute and friendly. Now there was only steadily darkening grays and other dull colors. Worst of all, f they couldn't return to the door they had come through within the next twenty minutes, they would be trapped here forever. They had known from the beginning that they had a limited time here, yet they had pushed their luck. Now they were paying for it as they were being chased, both by the creatures, and the ticking clock.

            They were busy running full sprint when the younger girl suddenly tripped and fell to the ground with a loud cry. The others stopped running and turned back to help her, though their hearts thumped wildly with the knowledge that time was running out. Try as they might though, something seemed to prevent them from pulling her up. Suddenly, the older boy saw something move up the girl's arm and towards his hand. Yelling, he tried to let go, but it had already wrapped itself around his wrists. Though it looked like a simple gray vine, it seemed to tear through his skin as if it had teeth. When he finally got it to release his hand, it was covered in bloody scratches that continued to ooze steadily. The other two, seeing this, renewed their efforts to release the girl. Slowly, they managed to pull her out of the vine's grip. When she was fully out of its reach, she collapsed to the ground, weak from the blood loss caused by the gashes that covered her body as pained tears streaked her tired face. There wasn't time for that however, so the younger boy had to support her as they started to run again. The other boy ripped up his sleeve to cover his bleeding hands while the younger girl ripped up her jacket to cover up the worst of the bleeding girl's wounds.

            The older girl felt guilty as the other girl limped in front of her, supported by the younger boy. She knew it was her fault that the four of them were in this mess. It was she who had wanted to find a place more interesting than where she lived. It was she who had jumped through the door without knowing what would happen. It was she who had insisted on exploring even though they knew they couldn't stay long. It was she who had insisted on staying, despite the ominous warnings that hinted at what was soon to happen. It was her fault they had to run through this demented forest, chased by those she had insisted were harmless. Her fault that the four of them were gasping for air as they dodged their attackers while they struggled to keep their footing. If not for her, her friends wouldn't be in such a sorry state as they quietly nursed their wounds. The girl's spirits darkened like the forest around her. She wondered darkly if they even considered her a friend anymore.

            Before long, more vines began to creep towards them. They slithered forwards like snakes, and several had something dripping from the tips. Not only that, but the branches of the trees also started to dip down at them. Their menacing branches were sharpened to a point and swooped down over them as the four passed underneath. Though they managed to evade most of them, some still managed to catch them, easily tearing though their skin. Meanwhile the plants at their feet threw out long thorns as they tried to trip them up and gave them numerous scratches on their feet. Their bodies strained under the constant abuse. Biting their lips to keep from crying out, the four of them continued to run until they came up to a large cliff.

            “What do we do now?” the younger girl asked hopelessly.
 

           The eldest boy looked around, searching for some way to get up. Behind him, he could hear the sounds of the creatures in the forest nearing. They didn't have much time left. He kept searching frantically until he finally found what they needed. To the left of where they were standing, there was a very narrow path that lead up to the top of the cliff.
           

“Here,” he called to the others as he led the way. They quickly followed despite causing the path below them to crumble as they went too fast for it to hold. They scrambled to keep ahead as they climbed higher and higher. It slowly became hard to breathe as the atmosphere thinned, something their overworked bodies couldn't afford, but they pressed on. There was no turning back anymore, and they only had ten more minutes to get to the door. Soon, they were too high for the plants to get them, but they were still nowhere near safe.
           

High above, they could see flying creatures flying towards them. They looked like giant griffons with their half bird, half lion bodies. Earlier, when they had first arrived at this place, they had accidentally fell on top of one of the creatures. Luckily, it didn't seem to mind the small creatures and its back and they were able to use it to get to the ground safely. Unfortunately, they knew the creatures wouldn't help them now. They too had fallen to the darkness that had almost completely sucked the light out the forest below. Earlier, they had been magnificent, golden creatures with graceful bodies and beautiful wings. Their eyes had communicated that they didn't have any desire to cause harm to them. Now their bodies were distorted and their wings looked ragged. Their golden fur was a mixture of gray and red as if they had recently taken a bath in a pool of blood. Their wings shed tainted feathers with every flap of their wings. Long claws dripping with something that looked like poison, slid out of their rough looking paws as their eyes stared menacingly at them, craving blood.
           

Hearts beating faster than ever, the four climbed faster, rocks slipping off the narrow path as their weight started to make it crumble worse than ever. Even without looking, they could feel the flying creatures approaching. Sweat dripped from their faces as their hearts went into overdrive. Fear unlike anything they've felt so far fueled the as they pushed way beyond their limits. Their bodies creaked as muscles teared and lungs cried for air. Finally, with only two minutes left before the door closed, they reached the top of the cliff, but so did the flying creatures.
          

“Duck,” The older girl cried. They threw themselves down just in time to avoid the creature's poison tipped claws.
         

“Run!” The eldest boy yelled. Even though they were at the top, there was still at least hundred meters from the door and they only had around a minute left. Though they wanted nothing more than to speed up, they found themselves slowing instead at heavy fatigue finally really set in. Stopping to duck from the creatures had allowed the fatigue to catch up with them. Now it was all they could do to keep their bodies moving.
            

Out of the corner of her eye, the younger saw wolf-like creatures pursuing them. Her breathe caught at the sight of them, making it impossible for more than a little gasp to escape her lips. Though they looked like wolves, they were actually much larger and their mouths dripped with saliva as they chased them. Blood lust and insatiable hunger shined in their eyes as they followed their prey. There were at least a dozen of them giving chase and more could be lying in wait. If they didn't hurry, they would fall prey to the long yellow teeth lining their large, cruelly smiling mouths.
           

Finally, they saw the door looming closer. Only a few more feet and they'd reach it and escape from this ruined world. However, as if it sensed their presence, the door began to slowly close. The four pushed their muscles to the extreme as they forced themselves to speed up despite their exhaustion. Their bodies screamed as fiery pain, trying to tell them that if they continued, their bodies wouldn't hold out. Even so, they braved the pain exploding throughout their bodies and picked up their pace, using their desperation to force themselves forward. Unfortunately, even the best they could put out wasn't enough to reach the door soon enough. By the time they had reached it, the door had closed with a slam. Crying out, they began to pull at the handles, but the door wouldn't budge. When pulling didn't work, they tried pounding the door, hoping that the inventor of the machine would somehow hear them and open the door again. But what they didn't know was that on the other side of the door, the machine that had transported them to this world earlier that day had crumbled to pieces from the strain of keeping the gateway open. The destruction of the machine also meant that the door could no longer stay. Though they pounded harder as the door faded, no one answered. Their battered hands left bright splotches of scarlet blood on the fading metal as they desperately tried to get someone to answer their calls.
          

As if laughing at them, the last glimmers of the door finally disappeared, leaving them alone in this world of black and gray. Who would have known that a innocent trip to visit the unknown would turn out to be so painful. Who would have thought that such a beautiful world would turn out to be so malicious, so evil? Dejected, the four fell to the ground, backs together. Even though the wolf-like and flying creatures surrounded them while sharp plants poked through the ground around them, the kids no longer had the energy to move.
           

Crying, the four of them held onto each other's hands. The older girl felt absolutely horrible. It had been her that brought them all to this dark world. She had recklessly jumped through the door created by the inventor's machine, only thinking of herself. The others had only followed her. Her selfish wants had trapped them in this hell-hole. Now none of them would ever see their families again. They'd never see the people they had known their entire lives. Not that that was long. Tears sprung to the girl's eyes as she thought about how many years they should have had ahead of them. She thought about how short her life really was.
           

Please. If there is anyone out there, please help us, she called out silently, staring at the gray sky. Please don't let us die. I want to go home. I want to see my parents again. I even want my boring life in that boring town again. Please, someone save us. Tears were spilling in torrents out of her eyes now. Beside, her, she could hear the younger girl whimpering as she did the same. The two boys, though they didn't cry, had their eyes closed as they bit hard down on their lips. Somebody, anybody. The girl called again. Please, just please save us.
         

As if the world was laughing at them, the last of the light faded as the creatures jumped at them. Everything around them seemed to say, too bad.
           

The four of them huddled together as the world darkened further, leaving them in pitch blackness as they felt the hot breath of the creatures on their faces.