short story, story promptTaea finds herself in a strange place, trapped with a small group of other people. How will she get home again?


 

Taea cried out as the ground shook beneath her. Stumbling, she managed to keep her balance until the pavement buckled. She tripped over the uneven surface, landing on her hands and knees. Ominous groans came from a street light nearby. Looking up, she was just in time to see it tipping towards her. She rolled out of the way, squeezing her eyes closed as the glass shattered on the concrete.

The shaking subsided. Relieved, Taea opened her eyes. She blinked several times and frowned. This wasn’t right.

The concrete beneath her had become soft, springy grass. The buildings had been replaced by trees, stretching in all directions. There wasn’t another soul to be seen. In fact, the forest seemed eerily quiet. No birds sang, no critters chattered in the trees. There wasn’t even a breath of wind.

Where am I? What just happened?

The silence was broken by the sound of feet running through the underbrush. A girl scurried into the clearing and peered up at Taea with wide blue eyes.

“We’ve got another one, Zack!” she yelled at the top of her lungs. In the strange silence, her voice seemed even louder.

The sound of leaves and twigs crackling underfoot heralded the approach of more people. An older man stepped close to her, inspecting her. He was probably only in his mid-thirties, but he looked to be the oldest among the group.

“Name?” he asked brusquely.

“T-Taea. Where am I?”

“You’re in the Lost Forest, Taea. Let me guess, you were minding your own business and found yourself here? You might have experienced some shaking ground?”

“Yes, exactly! How can I get back home?”

Laughter rippled through the gathered crowd. It didn’t sound like happy laughter. “That’s a question we’ve all been asking ourselves,” Zack told her. He gestured around the circle. “We’re all like you – we were brought here by some unknown force and there’s no way back. Trust me, I’ve been here the longest, I’ve tried everything.”

Taea shook her head. “That’s impossible. You’re making it up.”

“I only wish I were.” He turned. “Come on. Let’s get you settled.”

The crowd started melting into the trees. Not knowing what else to do, she followed Zack through the tree trunks. He must be wrong. There had to be someway of getting back home.

After a ten minute walk, the finally reached the edge of the forest. A ridge of mountains lay in the near distance, seeming to circle round and encompass the forest. Scanning the peaks, she realised that the mountains continued in one giant circle.

“They’re impassable,” a boy said coming to her side. “We’ve tried it.”

“What lies beyond them?” she asked.

He shrugged. “As I said, we haven’t breached them, so we’ve no idea where we are. This small circle inside the mountain range is all we know.”

“You were all taken and trapped here?”

“Yep. But that’s not even the most bizarre part.” He leaned closer, almost conspiratorially. “We all from different worlds. Not a single person here is from the same planet, realm or plane of existence.”


Bit of an odd one! (I’m sick again, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it!)

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