We are on our way somewhere in the car. I am not aware of where we are going. We are driving into a field. We get there and there is a large, rounded driveway, around the front garden, covered in gravel. The field itself is very big, and behind the house there are some large hills blocking the view in that direction. There's a motorway behind us, and a few of coniferous trees and dark bushes surrounding the field. I stand up and feel dizzy after the long car journey. I jump as my dad slams the car door. A lady comes out of the house and welcomes us, and I remember seeing her before, she's my parents' friend. We go inside, and my parents talk with the lady for a while, while I sit on a wooden chair in the kitchen, which has a terracotta floor, staring through to where my parents are. Eventually, I give up, and ask my parents if I can go for a walk outside. I go outside, and decide to explore beyond the hills. There were some people picnicking on a red checkered blanket, with a woven basket, talking about birthdays, although I can't hear them properly with the wind in my face, and they sound muffled. I run up and over the hill, enjoying the rushing sensation. I collapse at the bottom, exhausted after climbing the massive hill. After a few minutes I feel like I can go again, so I do. I run up the next hill, but stop at the top. I look around to see where to go next. I see a forest to the side, and it looks sort of strange. I decide to go and investigate. I begin running down the hill, enjoying the wind rushing past my face. Then, I use the momentum I built up to run towards the forest. I run through the gaps between the first few trees, and panic as I see a small river. Right in front of me. I jump, and make it to the other side. I stumble and put my hands out to stop me hitting my face. After I fall, I spend a few minutes catching my breath before I take in the sight around me. I am sitting next to a river, in a forest, and there are two large trees on my side of the river. It's a normal forest, and the river isn't very wide or deep, and there are a lot of nettles and small plants on the floor. The main thing I notice is the mist. The thick cloud is everywhere, and I can hardly see more than a metre, and anything I can see further than that is all blurred. Suddenly, my cousin is here. I don't see him coming as a result of the mist. He steps out of the mist, and looks as shocked as I am.
"Hello!" He says. Although I can tell he's still surprised.
"Hello Storm!" I reply. I still can't see very far in this mist.
"Well then Yellow, what brings you here?" I don't really know. I try to think of an answer but none come to mind.
"I could ask you the same thing." I reply. "But I won't, because neither of us know the answer to either question."
"Never mind that, where are we? I've been wandering round looking for a way out for the past few hours. I keep ending up back here. Do you know how to get out?" He asks me. I almost laugh.
"Seriously? I just came here! Come on, the way out is just - oh!" It's gone. I have no way out. I don't understand, it's disappeared, just like that. Something hits me from behind. I gasp and spin around, getting ready to defend myself.
"I don't look that bad do I? I only fell through a hedge." Night's here. She's my friend, and one of the very few people who put up with me.
"Hello Night!" She's the youngest. Two years younger than me, and Storm's a year older than me.
"The way out has disappeared. Sorry to state the obvious." I look at her, and she's covered in brambles.
"Stop staring!" She replies, irritably. "Like I said, I feel through a bush."
"Was said "bush" a bramble thicket?" Asks Storm.
"No! Oh... ok, it was, but it's better than Yellow does!" That's true. I regularly end up with annoying injuries. I'm just like that, I can't help but fall over.
"We should work out where we are." He continues, "We need to find a way out, or at least some shelter until this mist lifts. Yellow, will you climb that tree?" He gestures to the tree behind me. I can climb trees, it's what I'm good at. I quickly get to the top and have a look around. It's just forest as far as I can see. I climb down.
"Nothing. I can't see anything but misty forest." Then I have an idea. "Let's just walk this way for a bit!" I point in front of us, and we start going. Within a minute we're back where we started. I then tell them to wait there, and walk off in another direction. Yet again, I reach the river again. It's a repeat. Wherever you go, you always come back to where you started.
"We're in the Lost Woods."
"What?!" Night exclaims.
"It would make sense." Says Storm, "But... we don't have fairies, so we'll die. It's only a matter of time. We have to get out as soon as possible, as we've already been here about an hour."
An alarmed look crosses Night's face, but she speaks in a strangely calm manner, despite her horror.
"Then the timer has already started."