Disclaimer: Not mine.

It was a beautiful late spring evening that Friday in southern California. The sky was crystal clear, the temperature wasn't too high nor was it too low. The soft wind allowed the ocean's refreshing mist to be detected miles into the coast. The sun was due to kiss the horizon in only an hour or so, and Zack Taylor was determined not miss it. He slipped his shoes on as he stared out the window of the dojo wonderingly, nearly deaf to the the chatter of two of his friends. Today was perfect day for the bike ride he and his friends had planned for. He reluctantly forced his attention away from his own private thoughts, and tuned into the conversation.

"And when you enter the cave," Billy explained enthusiastically to his friends as he fumbled with his own sneakers, "you have to go off to the left section and defeat the bat army before you can open the center chest in the main hall."

"Oh!" Jason exclaimed excitedly. "I thought maybe you had to open the other chests in the main hall in a certain order to get to the big center one."

"Nope," Billy reasoned. "I thought so too. I looked it up in a game manual."

"Big Bad Bug Heroes?" Zack interjected, referring to the new video game Billy and Jason had both gotten recently. He finished tying his shoe laces and stood up, grabbing his bag.

"Yeah," Jason replied as he finished tying his own shoes. "You should get it!"

"Maybe for my birthday my mom will get me one," Zack said with a smile. He took another glance out the window and looked at his watch. He really didn't want to miss the sunset. "Where are the girls?"

"Probably still getting changed," Billy responded with a shrug. The girls always liked to change out of their martial arts gear after class. "You know how Kim is."

Jason nodded. He knew Kim liked to keep her gi clean, much like she kept her gymnastics leotards spotless and folded neatly. It was one of the many "Kim rituals" they lovingly put up with. Jason on the other hand, had a tendency to stuff his uniforms into his bag carelessly so they got wrinkley the next time he pulled them out again. Granted, he would've liked having a nice looking gi all the time, but he reasoned to himself that the effort of folding and neatness was an unnecessary amount of labor for a ten-year-old. Kim, on the other hand, did not agree.

Kimberly and Trini emerged from the dressing room and bowed towards the mats respectfully before they followed the boys outside. They unchained their bikes from the bike rack in front of the dojo.

"Okay," said Trini. "We're taking the path in the woods through the park right? Because that's what I told my mom we were taking."

"Yeah, me too," Zack said.

"Yep," Jason clarified, hopping onto his bike. "That's the right way, and the other side of the path is the closest to my house. Remember my mom said she'd have snacks ready for us when we get back!"

"Mmm," Kim smiled, swaying in place at the thought of Mrs. Scott's sweets. "I love your mom's cookies."

"I think she said she'd make snicker doodles," Jason said appreciatively.

"Okay," Zack said. "Let's go before the sun sets! I can't see it from inside the woods. We gotta see it at Jase's."

"Zack, you're such a romantic," Trini teased as she and Kim giggled.

Zack, however, was not easily embarrassed. It was a widely known fact in the fourth grade that he had a puppy crush on a beautiful little girl in class named Angela. He smiled smugly, secretly hoping that Trini and Kim wouldn't be too shy about letting Angela know of his romantic tendencies.

They took off through towards the park down the block, and rode through it racing and laughing at each other's bad jokes. As they approached the woods, however, Kimberly slowed down and trailed behind the others until she came to a halt. She perched still on her bike just before the entrance to the wooded path and gazed curiously inside. She felt something inside her try to pull her back, away from the woods. She had never felt this way before. She wasn't sure what to do about it.

She'd ridden through these wooded paths by the park for as long as she could remember. Not one tree or twig looked out of place or unordinary from what she could recall in her past experiences riding here. And yet, something in her gut had stopped her. In the pit of her stomach, she began to feel nervous. The woods were eerily quiet. A feeling as though she were being watched began to burn intently. She stole a glance behind her at the park, where several young children and their mothers were getting ready to depart. Everything behind her felt normal. And yet, there was something… something in these woods that didn't seem right.

She saw Jason slow to a stop ahead of her when he looked back to see that she had had halted. "Are you coming?" he called over the heads of their friends. They all turned to look back at her.

Kim drew a deep breath and looked into their happy faces. She was with her friends; everything, everything, about life was always better when she was with them. Everything would be okay. This is the same path she took all the time to get to Jason's from the dojo. She couldn't fathom any possible reason why anything should be different today. It was only a mile-long path, and they were on bikes. They'd get through it quickly enough. There was nothing to worry about, she assured herself silently. "Yes," she called back, doing her best to will her sudden insecurity away. "I – I'm coming!"

After stealing one last glance back at the safety of the park, she pedaled bravely onto the path. Once she had caught up with them, they continued on their way. Kim trailed behind them a bit, still glancing around. Besides the bright chatter filling the silence from her friends, she could hear nothing else. It was as if they were biking within a bubble, and no sound could be heard from outside of it. She tried to focus on another sound besides her friends, and she found none. A feeling of dread began to overwhelm her. She was surprised to find her hands had turned white from gripping her handle bars so tightly.

They had continued along for a quarter mile when Kim began to notice the path was beginning to thin. And then she heard it.

At first it was subtle, a very soft creaking in the distance, as though the trees of the forest were contorting themselves. The eerie sound made a distinct crescendo, growing a little louder. Kim's stomach churned. Something wasn't right. In the distance, she caught sight of a flock of birds bursting from the trees. They were fleeing from something. She pedaled faster to catch up with the group; none of whom seemed to notice the strange sound.

Up ahead, Jason became quiet very suddenly. He stopped his bike, and the others followed suit, finally taking in their surroundings.

"This isn't right," Jason said plainly while looking around. "The path looks… different."

He shot a look at his friends to see if they agreed. He noted Kimberly was staring off into the distance. He followed her gaze until he noted the fleeing birds. He glanced back at Kim. It had only then registered to him that she hadn't said a word so far on their trip. She looked ghastly pale. Something was scaring her. The sullen look on her white face was enough to make him worried.

"Kim?" he called softly to her. "What's wrong?"

She didn't answer right away. She looked back at him, her dark eyes reflecting a shadow of clairvoyance unnatural to a child's face. It was a look Jason had long learned to trust from her. It meant danger. "You're right," she managed finally. "This isn't right."

"Guys?" Billy interrupted nervously, still perched on his bike. "The path behind us has disappeared." Trini let out an audible gasp as Zack and Jason turned to verify Billy's observation.

"It's getting kind of foggy," Trini remarked quietly. Indeed, the forest was developing an eerie mist low to the ground. It began to get thicker quickly, and soon enough the children couldn't see their feet any longer. "I'm scared," Trini added in a tiny voice as she looked up.

Zack looked up as well. The clear California sky had vanished into a dark and cloudy mass. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "It was clear earlier!" he exclaimed. "The forecast mentioned nothing about fog or cloudy skies. I checked!"

Jason felt his heart rate increase rapidly, and his stomach twisted into a sudden knot. He looked back to Kim. She still hadn't moved, her motionless eyes still fixed on Jason. She had been trying to convey her message to him. Something is wrong here, her eyes told him. Don't let the others panic. Jason didn't know where the sudden understanding came from, but he knew she was right. He nodded.

"Come on," he directed loudly and suddenly to the group, trying to sound as brave as possible. "Let's just keep going. We'll be at my house in no time."

The farther along they travelled, the more dense the trees became. The foggy earth had thickened so badly that it was hard to guess the terrain while the biked. Several times, their bikes would hit hard bumps. In their agitated state, no one had spoken. With every glance back, Kim noticed that the trees had seemed to shift, covering their tracks so that there was no way to retrace their steps. She found her insides trembling at the thought of no way out. Zack, afraid she would disappear behind him, had forced Kim to bicycle ahead of her so that he could keep an eye on where everyone was. The most remarkable change in their predicament was how cold it suddenly became. The woods eventually became so dense and the fog too thick along the ground that they couldn't maneuver their bikes any longer. They stopped reluctantly.

"How far do you think we've gone since we stopped last?" Jason asked, panting.

"I'd say about three-quarters of a mile," Billy guessed, adjusting his glasses and hopping off his bike. "I can't really be sure."

Trini let out a small whimper. "We're lost, aren't we?" Kim glanced at Jason and hopped off her bike as well and took Trini's hand to comfort her.

"We'll find our way out," Jason replied firmly, taking note of Kim's meaningful look. They had to keep moving. "There's no way we can bike any longer. The trees and bushes are getting too thick. We'll have to go on foot from here."

"My dad is going to kill me," Zack groaned. "I just got this bike for Christmas."

"Don't worry, Zack," Jason said reassuringly. "We'll find the bikes again later on. But right now we gotta keep moving."

He led the way on foot, not really sure where he was going. Billy followed right behind him loyally, followed by Kim and Trini holding hands. Zack took the rear, as he was the tallest and could make sure no one strayed. It felt as though the fog's growth had plateaued to a steady thick blanket upon the ground. Jason took that as a good sign. He only prayed he was leading his friends the right way. They soon began to grow weary. Behind him, he could hear Billy stumble every few feet. They were all panting heavily from the dangerous hike. He severely hoped no one would get hurt. After a good long while, he asked while still hiking, "How long since we started the trail?"

Billy glanced at his watch. "It's been an hour and fifteen minutes."

"That's a lot longer than it's feels," Jason remarked. "Our parents will be looking for us by now. It doesn't take long at all to get to my house from the dojo. I bet they're worried."

Kim suddenly felt a pang of guilt. She had only just remembered that she had come along on this trip without permission. Then again, her mother hadn't returned the night before and she was still gone when Kim woke up this morning. It wasn't as though she had an opportunity to ask. Kim wouldn't have been surprised if her mother had taken another business trip without informing her. In any case, if they were lucky, she could be home before her mother noticed she was missing. After all, she had gotten away with it on more than one occasion.

Zack sighed from the rear. "The sun should've set by now," he wondered. "But it hasn't gotten darker at all. Just foggier."

"I don't think we're where we're supposed to be," Trini spoke up as she stepped over something solid along the ground. "I mean, I don't think we're in Angel Grove anymore."

Kim had hoped they wouldn't have come to that conclusion. She'd been suspecting the same thing. She somehow felt very far from home. Far from the dojo. Far from Jason's house. Far from snicker doodles. She wasn't sure how to get back or how long it would be before they could, if at all, return home. She just knew that no matter what direction they went in, there was a slim chance they would find themselves on the right track. She resolved not to reflect her opinion to the others. She could feel Trini's hand squeeze hers tighter in fear. She gave Trini a smile for reassurance that seemed to calm her a bit.

"Then where are we?" Zack asked, taking in their surroundings.

Billy grunted as he hopped over what felt like a large pile of stones. "Definitely not California," he reasoned. "The trees here aren't native to California. I'd say somewhere in North America for sure, but not anywhere near Angel Grove. I just don't understand how we got so far!" He proceeded to examine a tree he knew was not native to his home.

Jason stopped a moment to let his friends rest. He kept feeling Kim's pressure to keep moving, but he could see that she needed a break as well. She whispered something soft to Trini, as though to comfort her. Jason knew the others couldn't see it, but he could tell that Kim was on edge. If anything made her nervous like that, he knew it couldn't be good. He'd known her long enough to be able to tell when she was agitated. This was the worst he'd seen her. It was the way she obsessively tucked the loose strands of her pony tail behind her ears. Or the way she pursed her mouth tightly shut when she wasn't speaking as though determined not to let out a terrible secret. It was also the way she stood still, when normally she was relaxed she would sway back and forth in place in a playful manner. He felt as if she had somehow transformed into something or someone else. He could see in her eyes that she felt deeply unnerved. That, in turn, made him grow even more fearful. He would not, however, according to Kim's silent message allow his fears to surface in front of the others. He knew she was out to protect them, and she needed him to lead them all to safety. He only hoped this was a task he wouldn't fail.

All at once, the atmosphere around them seemed to change. The sky was as dreary as it was before, and so was the misty blanket of fog upon the earth. But the air itself felt suddenly quite thick, and quite cold. There was a soft rustle in the trees not far from them. Instinctively, Zack had stepped forward, putting himself between his friends and the source of the mysterious sound.

All heads turned in that direction, and none of them dared to move. Kim felt Trini's grip tighten and heard Billy's breath become shallow. Without taking her eyes off of the spot where the rustling came from, she reached out her other hand and tugged Billy by his elbow closer to her. He complied subconsciously. Kim felt danger. She couldn't understand how she knew that something was grossly hideous was creeping along the wood before them, but she knew it was something that resembled a monster. Something that would kill them if they didn't leave soon. She forced her bursting fear out of sight, determined not to scare the others. But she knew they had to act soon or they would face their doom. She looked to Jason and willed his attention to her.

Jason could feel her calling to him silently. He looked back at her, and quite suddenly he knew what she knew. He nodded.

Zack squinted his eyes and tried to concentrate on the sound. It started to sound like a slither. Something was definitely moving there. There was a great rumble, and only then did Zack turn to look at Jason.

Jason held back a gulp and directed quietly to their group, "Let's go this way." He gestured towards the opposite direction of the creature and led them in a quick pace away. They followed him loyally in a single line.

Zack once again forced Kim ahead of him and took the rear. He could hear the creature behind him, slithering along at the same pace. It was following them, Zack realized, and it was having absolutely no problem keeping up. In fact, Zack thought nervously, it was starting to gain on them. Kim had tripped slightly in front of him. He helped her up by the arm and gave her a small push to will her to go faster.

Trini had never felt the overwhelming sensation of fleeing for her life. She wanted to go faster, but she couldn't find the strength in her worn legs to move quickly. She could feel her own body shaking, and she didn't like this. This was the first time in her life that she had felt so scared. She could hear Billy behind her panting. Jason was just in front of her, and he showed nothing but the determined demeanor of escape.

"I think we have to go faster," Billy called to Jason. Billy had caught a glimpse of a shadow traveling alongside them in the distance.

Jason didn't want to go too fast, however, in case anyone had trouble keeping up. But he sensed the urgency in Billy's voice and complied. He broke into a soft jog, risking a quick glance behind his shoulders to make sure no one was left behind. Trini was surprised to able to keep up with his stride.

"Jase!" Zack shouted. "There's more than one!"

At the sound of his voice, Jason broke into a sprint, praying that he wouldn't trip on something hidden beneath the fog. He could hear the creatures nearby, but he didn't dare chance a look for fear of what he might find. As long as he could hear the others behind him, he would keep running. In the distance he saw a light. He didn't know whether there was something there that was good or bad, but he took the chance. The lit patch of wood was drawing nearer as he pushed himself forward. He could hear the girls' whimpers behind him, and that only motivated him to move faster.

Finally, they were only twenty feet from it. He heard one of the girls, he wasn't sure which, let out a yelp. Fifteen feet. He could see there was a clearing within the lit patch. Ten feet. "Faster!" he heard Zack yell. Five feet. Almost there. Two feet. He took a great leap into the clearing and stumbled to a halt.

He felt Trini run into his back, sending him forward onto his knees. He felt the others pile up behind him he turned to look at them. They were tangled in each other, panting. There was no sign of the creatures that had chased been chasing him. His friends looked tired, but unhurt. Billy was trying to adjust his glasses, and Zack had managed to get onto his feet and was helping him up. Trini face was stricken with utter relief at their momentary safety. They all looked tired and relieved.

And then he saw Kim… who sat still on the ground, her mouth parted slightly and staring at something behind Jason.

Jason turned to follow her gaze. He was unable to suppress an audible gasp.