Chapter 1

Tom and his friends Charlie and Max were all best friends and they were all ten years old. They did pretty much everything together from taking long, refreshing walks in the forest they lived in to versing each other in multiplayer video games.

Tom was a short black haired kid with a good sense of humor. He was also quite the prankster. He would always play practical jokes on his friends whenever he could. When he wasn't pulling pranks, he was a half decent kid. He would try to keep his friends out of trouble if he could and he was a good voice of reason at the best of times when it was needed.

Charlie was a rather tall kid with curly red hair. Everyone bugged him about his hair and his height. They would call him red and stretch. He hated the names, but he was too laid back to tell anybody to knock it off. He was a quiet boy, but when something excited him, he would almost yell at people accidently.

Max was a blonde haired kid with big awkward looking glasses. He was one foot shorter than Tom, but it didn't bother him much whatsoever. He was a big know-it-all. He always seemed to have an answer for everything, no matter what the question was. He would also correct a lot of people and this caused him to be hated in school. Tom would stand up for him all the time, but he never seem to learn his lesson because he would do the same thing a day later.

The three friends were all big time gamers. Whenever they had free time on their hands, they were found sitting in front of a tv playing a game console, which was usually a Nintendo Gamecube. They would play games like Mario Kart and Super Smash Brothers Melee. It was relaxing and it took them away from the stress that everyday life offered them. They recently bought a copy of The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time out of their allowance money they had saved together. It looked like a fun game and they were all eager to play it. As soon as they started to play it, they were instantly hooked. They all took turns and they got almost all of the way through the game with no troubles at all. They had all of the various medallions and they were now inside Ganon's Tower. Tom grinned as he looked at his friends.

"No far to go now, boys. We are almost done this game. It was definitely worth the wait.."

Charlie nodded in agreement.

"I'll say. I've never played a game that's so full of adventure like this one is."

Max shook his head and crossed his arms.

"It's all right I guess. You two do know that there are a lot better games out there, right?"

Tom smirked.

You've got to be joking! This game is amazing. I don't care what you say, Max. Quit being such a know-it-all already!"

He merely shrugged.

"Whatever. I can't change who I am. I was just pointing that out, that's all."

Tom's mother Susan came walking into the room. She was a tall woman with long black hair and a slender form. She didn't mind the boys playing video games, but sometimes, it got out of hand. They would play for hours on end at times. Charlie and Max were staying with her and Tom for a month while their parents went on a huge business trip to Florida. It was summer vacation anyway, so she didn't mind at first. but now, all they wanted to do was play video games! They lived right in a big forest, so they could easily go on hikes. She walked in front of the television and blocked their view. They grumbled in annoyance. Tom stood up.

"Mom, what gives? Can't you see we're playing a game?"

She nodded.

"Yes I can. What else is new? Listen to me, I want all of you to actually stop playing this game system for a while and get some fresh air. None of you have been outside all day. I don't want your parents to find out that all you did here was play video games the whole time they were gone. Please take a break and go for a walk or something. It will do you some good, trust me."

They all looked at each other and nodded. A walk sounded like a great idea. Tom looked at his mother.

"Alright you win. We will take a hike through the forest and get some fresh air and exercise."

She gave him a beaming smile.

"I knew you would see things my way."

He nodded as he quickly saved his game and shut off the system and tv. His friends got up and stretched as they got themselves ready to go for a walk.

As soon as they walked outside, they were greeted by bright sunlight and a light breeze. What a beautiful day it was for a walk!

The forest they lived in was known as Greenwood Forest. It was in Canada and it was close to the city of Toronto, but not too close. They were about thirty kilometers away from the big city. They were glad too. They hated the city life. They would much rather walk in a forest instead of walking big city streets. There were all sorts of trees scattered throughout from beech such as beech, elm, oak, sycamore, maple and cheery trees.

They began their hike in earnest, happy to be outdoors but also wary of the time. None of them remembered to bring a watch, so they decided to head back to Tom's house when the sun began to set. While they were continuing their hike, they looked around at all the trees, trying to find any that would be suitable for possibly making a tree house. Charlie managed to find the perfect tree. It had lots of room to build one, but they would need help from Tom's mother first. Tom nodded admiringly as he surveyed the tree.

"This is a great find, Charlie. Well done! If we had a tree house in this tree, we could bring some of my comics here and hang out."

Max sighed.

"As much as I love the idea, how are we going to remember which tree it is?"

Tom shrugged.

"I wouldn't worry. It won't be too hard to find again. I haven't seen another tree like it yet."

Tom noticed that Charlie and Max were staring intently at the tree and not at him. He spotted a small rock on the ground and he knew there were bushes near the tree. He quietly picked up the rock and tossed it into the bushes. It made a rustling sound like he hoped it would. Charlie and Max turned around quickly. Tom tried his best to keep a straight face.

"What was that sound? I think we're being tracked by something."

Max began to laugh.

"Yeah right! It's probably just a bird or something."

Charlie inched closer to where the sound came from.

"What if Tom's right? What if something is following us?"

Tom walked towards the bushes.

"Let me find out what it is."

He walked into the bushes and let out a scream.

"Oh my god! It's got me! The creature's got me!"

Max and Charlie sprang into action.

"Don't worry, Tom. We're coming."

They ran into the bushes and they were bewildered. Tom was standing there. There was nothing else around and he didn't look like he was ever attacked! Max glared at him.

"Really? Not another one of your stupid pranks!"

Tom laughed.

"Got you! I thought it was funny. You should've seen the look on your faces!"

Charlie stepped in front of him and gave him a rough push. It sent him sprawling to the ground.

"Why do you pull these pranks? We thought you were in real danger! One of these times, something's going to happen to you and we won't believe you when you cry out! Let's go, Max. I'll race you to his house. Let him make his own way home."

They ran away into the distance, leaving Tom still on the ground and covered in small leaves from the bush. He never meant to make them this angry. He got up and decided to try and catch up to them. They couldn't have made it too far.

Tom continued to walk in the general direction of his house. There were no signs of his friends, but he did spot an odd green glowing coming from deep in the forest. He grinned. It was probably Charlie and Max trying to pull one over on him. When he got closer, the green glow got even brighter. He decided to call out their names.

"Charlie! Max! Where are you two? How are you creating this green glow?"

There was no response. All he could hear was the gentle breeze causing the trees to sway gently. He decided to get closer to the glowing and see what was causing it. He was stunned by what he found. There was a big glowing hole in the ground. This intrigued him. Who or what made this hole? It was far too big to be a rabbit hole. He tried to put his head inside the hole and look down. What he saw took his breath away. He could see the green light, only it was creating a spiral effect inside of the hole! He had to show Charlie and Max this, he thought. They would be blown away. Maybe they might be able to see what's down the strange hole. He went to pull his head out and he knew right away something was wrong. He couldn't pull his head out! It was almost as if it was stuck. But that was impossible. The hole was very large, about fifty inches in diameter. He tried to pull it out, but as hard as he tried, he couldn't do it. Panic began to set in. What was going on? It almost felt like something was pulling him inside. He tried struggling even harder. This only made things worse. Whatever was pulling on his head started to pull even harder until it pulled Tom completely inside the hole. He was floating, surrounded by the swirling green light. It was beginning to make him feel dizzy. Suddenly, his vision began to fade and everything went black as he fell unconscious in the strange hole.

Author's notes.

Hey hey! I've decided to finally do a little revising. For those who have followed my story and read my chapters, let me know what you think of THIS first chapter. I personally love it!