Author's Note: Decided to add this snippet in here upon request. What meant to be a small scene became a chapter. The next chapter after this one does things a little out of order, but it still works. :)
Okay—ground coming at me—I tuck my legs up to my chest, hoping to minimize the impact. And…now! I make contact with the ground. Before I can try and absorb the jarring pain with a roll, I find I'm already slanted.
"Oof!" I gasp as I roll down the hill in surprise. I land on my back when I reach level ground. Dizzy, I close my eyes and wait for all of the pain and shock to subside.
"So that was clearly a bad idea. Thank you, Jareth."
I find I'm covered in dirt, grass and leaves. Just where the heck am I? I look to the left—the Bog of Eternal Stench (so that's where the pleasant smell was coming from). To the right, I make out a forest overshadowed by a sloping cliff. At the top, I make out larger, denser foliage.
I stumble to my feet. "Hoggle!" I shout, "Ludo! Where are you?" Coming to a stream, I bathe my face and brush myself off, pulling leaves and twigs out of my hair. I call for my friends again, but no response. No telling where they could be.
Venturing into the small wood, I hear nothing but the sounds of my own feet crunching twigs and dead leaves. Weird. And then—
Giggling.
I freeze, alert. Closing my eyes, I try to pinpoint the fading echo. Sensing nothing but thick stillness, I continue, unnerved.
Raucous laughter shatters the tense silence, causing me to flinch. I whirl around to see a flaming red creature nestled with the branches of a tree. A Firey.
"So you want to slow me down, do you, Jareth?" I whisper. "Not if I can help it." I turn tail and run. If I can get to the cliff via the slope, then I can lose these guys! I skid to a stop as Fireys drop down from the trees, surrounding me.
"Time to par-TAY!" One whoops with glee.
Chuckling high-pitched giggles that set my teeth on edge, the lanky creatures begin to dance around me, thwarting any opening for escape. Mind racing, I count roughly fifteen. Too many for me to keep track of.
As some break off to roughhouse, I feel a slender hand curl around my shoulder.
In no mood for games, I whirl around, surprising the gremlin. "Remove your hand, or your head will roll," I growl.
The crazy smile remains plastered on the imp's face before he springs away. He simply snickers and rejoins the rowdy cluster.
The larger of the two groups begins hooting and whistling. A bright flash catches my attention and my eyes widen in horror: Fire. They're playing with fire in a forest! Are they insane?
A ball of flame is suddenly launched in my direction. I drop to the ground just in time, heat soaring over me. A Firey catches the burning orb, juggling it dangerously. As I recover from nearly being incinerated, I feel two furry hands grab my arms. "Hey!" I cry, as I'm pulled to my feet.
"Chill out, girl!" the creature exclaims as I break an arm free.
"I need these!" I reply hotly, trying to wrench the other arm away.
"What for?"
"So I can do this!" I throw a solid hook to the creature's head, causing him to careen to the side and drop my arm.
Now that I'm free, I sprint through the crazy crowd, more than aware they've started detaching their limbs. My speed spiking with adrenaline (Thanks, God!), I quickly cover ground to the slope. I hear scattered giggling behind me; they're probably swinging from the trees like the monkeys they are. I evaluate the slope as I near it: rocks, sand, large boulders. As long as I don't slip, I should get to the top no problem. I start a small leap off a rock to get my momentum going. Don't look down, don't look down, don't look down! Using my hands to pull myself along, I glance back to see the fire gang scrambling up after me. One of them, the smartest of the bunch, follows the path I've taken.
"We can show you a good time, dearie!" he hollers after me.
"No thanks," I reply quickly, "as our ideas on fun are two completely different things. I like to keep my body in one piece, thank you very much!"
I turn back to my task to gauge my progress—almost there!
My fingers brush over the blades of grass, causing me to grip to them tightly. Getting a better grasp, I begin to haul myself over the edge when a burning claw seizes my ankle.
I look down in shock to see the Fiery has clearly caught up with me.
"Let GO!" I shout, trying to shake him off.
"C'mon and play with us!" he begs.
"I think you need a time-out!" I answer firmly, using my free leg to aim. I kick him squarely in the face, causing him to let go and tumble down into the rest of his comrades. I watch as they roll down the slope in shrieks of glee and terror, landing in a dazed, tangled heap at the bottom.
All I can do is sigh with relief. My hands now shaking from the strain, I pull myself up and over the edge. My heart pounding, I glance down to see the fire gang has retreated back into the woods to resume their antics, limbs flying.
"Good riddance!" I say, shaking my head. "Those imps make my skin crawl."
I sit on the ground for some time, waiting for my heart rate to slow down. Once I'm calm, I look to my next challenge: another forest. Deep down, I tighten with apprehension. Something tells me it's the forest…where it happened. And yet, beyond the trees I can make out the faint outline of a bridge. That means Sir Didymus!
Okay, I tell myself, just get through the forest to Sir Didymus. He's your only goal; block everything else out. God'll take care of you.
