I felt so terrible after their death, my mind couldn’t take any more of the questions, not from the police nor from my classmates. My heart only experienced the numbness that came alongside the shock. I soon realized this numbness would escalate into a downward spiral that I couldn’t escape, a bit like a lingering curse that never truly fades.

It wasn’t until when I managed to give one of my said classmates a severe concussion, that this fact became ever more clear.

Seth wiped his tears with both hands, and took a deep breath to calm himself down. He suddenly remembered the stab wound on his stomach he received back at the shack, and pulled up his shirt to check it.

“It’s… gone?” He gasped, perplexed by what he was seeing and feeling. Upon sitting up again, there was no wound, no blood, no scar, nothing. Just skin. Seth dragged his fingers across where he recalled it being, and repeated this pattern several times whilst in a state of subconsciousness. A few moments passed, until a swift wind broke it, allowing him to begin thinking about his current situation.

“Okay… so from what I can gather at the moment: I don’t know where the hell I am, and I don’t know how I got here, and it’s not Summer anymore— most likely mid-Fall. What happened? I know a nice lady helped me get here. At least I hope she was nice.” Wrinkles had formed on Seth’s forehead as he descended into deep thought.

He looked forward once more and stared off into the field of golden tall grass that surrounded him.

So what do I do now? It was the only question that he had left, one that had no definitive answer. Guess I have no choice. He stood up from his sitting position and stretched his arm over his head, as if he was preparing to exercise, and put one hand into the pocket of his jacket.

“For now, I’ll walk. I’ll keep walking until there is nowhere left to walk toward!” He announced to nobody in particular except himself, pointing ahead with his index finger. With that out of the way, he took his first step forward in this unfamiliar land, on an unpredictable path toward his fate.

The Sun had once again begun to set, and Seth had been roaming for hours on end, almost out of energy. The familiar yellow, orange and red colors lit up the sky, further emphasizing the golden nature of the grass, which had also been infinite across the vast plain. Up ahead, he noticed a path which was long and wide. When he approached it, he gazed down both sides of it, seemingly endless. In his state of intense exhaustion, he felt trembling through the ground. From his right, a large, pine green colored reptile was trudging in his direction on all fours, creating shockwaves in the earth and the now still evening air. It was pulling a covered wagon larger than itself, made of wood, like something you would see in mid-19th century America, and a man at the front with the reins.

“Huh—oh shit!” He came to his senses right as they were about to crash into each other, and fell backwards onto his butt at the edge of the road. As it came to a halt, the man peered down at the boy. From his appearance, he seemed to be of Arab descent, with black hair and oddly plum-colored eyes, and his clothes were definitely outdated for the 21st century: a brown leather vest with a black shirt underneath, a pair of gray trousers and brown leather shoes. On his head sat a beige straw hat, hiding his face from the Sun. His glare caused Seth’s attempt as standing to falter, and pierced his very soul. The man then turned his head forward and signaled for his lizard-beast to begin moving again, causing it to make more shockwaves with each stomp. He witnessed them ride off perpendicular to the Sun’s rays, and go over the horizon.

“Who the hell wears leather shoes in this day and age?” Seth grumbled, absolutely bewildered by what he just saw. “What was that big lizard-looking thing? I’ve never seen anything like it. A Komodo Dragon? No, it was too big.” He was debating with himself, which never led to an answer. But this was normal for him. “Well whatever, I’m tired.”

Remembering where exactly he was, he allowed himself to stand back up and retrace his steps a bit. Walking back into the tall grass, he felt a droplet on his hand, then one on his neck, and before he knew it, there was a massive downpour. His jacket, jeans and tennis shoes were drenched in a matter of seconds.

“Well I was gonna lay down in the grass and sleep there for the night, but I guess nature decided to give me the finger once again…” Seth’s voice turned monotonous and his face signaled incredible disappointment. He turned around, walked back, and laid on the edge of the road, letting the surplus of rain strike and trickle down his face. His eyes closed themselves, and waited for the time when he would fall asleep.

This hurts… I couldn’t imagine my life without those four, and yet here I am, living that nightmare. What luck… he thought right before feeling something rub up against his right arm. He lifted his head up whilst using his left hand to cover his face from the downpour to see what it was. A small, orange rabbit laid down beside him, not concerned whether Seth was dangerous or not, nor concerned with the consequences that could result. He laid back down and closed his eyes, drifting off into a deep sleep.

What luck indeed…

“Mommy? Daddy? Wake up please!”

Wake up. I beg of you.

Seth awoke. It was now dark and the rain was still pouring down from above. But that wasn’t what had caused him to wake.

“Another bad dream? Probably…” He was about to fall back asleep, when another sound interrupted him. It wasn’t the rain, it sounded like something being crushed, specifically: flesh and bones.

His blood pumped faster, the adrenaline stimulating his senses, the fear returning. He rolled onto his back, and stared directly into the eyes of the small orange rabbit. They seemed dull and lifeless, devoid of any more emotion. It didn’t seem quite right. As Seth widened his view he could notice the rabbits lone head, dangling by muscle and bone. He felt a warmth on his chest, and lifted his jacket slightly. More blood had splattered, the rabbit’s blood.

“Huh?” To Seth, seeing a dead animal was nothing new. He had gone hunting with his uncle many times, each time looking down upon a bleeding animal, begging to be spared from its inevitable fate. But this was different. Usually the head was always completely intact, but this rabbit’s head was being hoisted by bone and muscle. He adjusted his view further, now seeing the present threat at hand: a gigantic, gray-colored wolf-looking creature, probably twice the height of Seth, had sunk its fangs into the rabbit, causing its neck to snap and the warm blood to drain from its corpse. As opposed to running away, he laid there, petrified from watching the wolf-creature proceed to rip its entire body to shreds and swallow it. It followed up its meal by opening its massive jaws, and belching blazing orange flames, along with a bellowing howl that shook Seth’s mind to the core. All he could do was watch, fighting the beast was futile, his body refused to run away. Just watch, like he was an audience to some kind of sick theatrical play.

“What…” The only word that his lips could form while staring at this thing. The creature shifted its eyes downward to examine its next meal. He could see them now: deep crimson eyes, glowing similar to its own flames, threatening to bring hell down upon the plain that so many called home. Seth’s legs finally gave in, and in his attempt to frantically stand, his feet slid against the soaked mud, each time making it more difficult. The growling behind him intensified, but the ground refused to let up, even though his legs were in overdrive. He gritted his teeth, his eyes pulsated, and his brain pounded.

No! This can’t happen again! His mind was now racing from the utter despair and horror. Then, from behind, a warmth grazed his neck. A starved warmth that held the desires of a rabid creature, which could no longer be contained.

"AHHHHH!" With this being a final warning for Seth to run, he screamed at the top of his lungs, and his shoes gripped the mud allowing him to launch himself forward on all fours onto the wet, muddy road. He eventually reached his feet and continued sprinting, tearing through the blinding monsoon. The beast took a few steps forward and expelled more of its flames, this time much larger and more intense than the last. They swallowed the damp air around them, simultaneously being weakened and strengthened. It was like an enormous molten claw attempting to snatch him and burn him alive, with only scattered ashes remaining. Seth was stumbling and still sprinting without thinking much at all, except for the recurring thoughts of avoiding death. The encroaching flames sped towards him with such speed that any other attempt at fleeing would be pointless. Until, they ignited his left sleeve, scolding his skin.

“UGH!” A loud grunt paired itself with the influx of pain and intense heat, and were paired with a sharp stinging as his arm was engulfed. Luckily, as the rain poured and the flames weakened even further, the glow quickly faded with the darkness absorbing the remaining light, and the burning of his skin and clothes ceased as well.

Seth now was fully conscious of his situation, having snapped back to reality thanks to the pain by the flames. He briefly peered over his shoulder to see the giant wolf-creature bolting toward him. Now knowing what he was up against, he faced forward again and weighed his options.

I can’t fight, there’s no fucking way. The only thing I can do is run forever or hide. I’ll probably die again if I keep on running for my life, so that leaves hiding as my only option. But where? There’s nothing but tall grass here for miles… Seth was at the epicenter of his thought process, when something caught his eye, a saving grace. A small ditch was visible in the distance on the right side of the road in the tall grass. As he came closer, he noticed the heavy amounts of water and mud inside. However, a hiding spot was a hiding spot no matter the circumstances, and Seth took what could have been the only chance he had to escape, leaping face-first into the muddy water that smelled somewhat of manure. His left sleeve had been completely incinerated, the remaining fabric having turned over on itself with blackened, crispy edges. He laid there on his stomach, when he heard the beast approaching the ditch. It stopped, and lowered its head to sniff the ground, then lifted it back up again to smell the air. The glow from its eyes had eased, and it turned opposite to Seth in order to wander off somewhere else, each step shaking the ground a little. Seth pushed himself up onto his knees, then to his feet and carefully climbed out of the muddy ditch.

Now in the middle of the once dirt road amid the dark, perpetual downpour, Seth slowly limped forward, unbeknownst to what his future may hold.