Jim always liked danger, so he decided to head into the forbidding forest. Smokes spat out some sort of anoyed muttering and began to walk after him. The trees were ancient and seemed to have some dark purpose. The world grew quiet as they entered the forest along a trail. He couldn't hear anything other than his breathing and the crunch of leaves below his feet. Up ahead the forest opened up into a dimly lit clearing. Jim walked into the clearing to get a better view.
Looking around, Jim saw several paths leading off in various directions, deeper into the forest. The grass here was dry and brittle in contrast to the lush green of the trees. As Jim tried to determine a course of action, his thoughts were interupted by Smokes's gruff voice.
"Hey, you! Are you all right? Wake up!"
Turning, he saw the future man lifting a young woman from a bed nestled snugly in a corner of the meadow. It was Sharon, Jim's girlfriend.
"Wh... who are you?" Sharon spoke unsteadily at the sight of the gruff warrior.
"Sharon?" Jim spoke up, hurrying over to her.
"Wha..What? Jim! What are you doing here!" Sharon looked around, fear visibly building in her, "For that matter, what am I doing here? Who is this guy?"
"This guy's name is Smokes," Jim said, the word still sounding strange on his lips, "And I don't know what we're doing here, I don't even know where here is. Calm down. I haven't seen anything that's threatening, but I'm sure relieved to find a familiar face."
Smokes released his hold on Jim's girlfriend with some reluctance. All she was wearing was a skimpy black teddy and black panties that Jim had gotten for her. She would normally be bashful about the situation, but since Jim was only in his boxers, she only let it bother her for a moment. The three of them looked around and saw there were five trails leading out of the meadow. However, Jim couldn't find the trail back to the hill. It was almost as if the trees themselves had moved to block the path.
Down one of the trails, a bright meadow could be seen. In the center of the meadow was a massive tree with what looks like fruit growing on it. Down the next trail they could see a pond, and they could hear splashing sounds from this direction. Down the next trail, barely visible in the darkness, is a massive black obelisk in the middle of another dark clearing. Jim and Sharon's hearts rose as they could see the feint outline of a hut down the fourth trail. And the fifth trail receeded into the darkness. Summoning up all their courage, they pressed on...
Tue Jan 25 22:08:42 2000