There was damp undergrowth underneath my bare feet, and I couldn't see a thing. There were no natural sounds, but I could hear a chorus of clocks. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. They said without shame. It started getting lighter, though the sun was nowhere in sight. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. The clocks continued. I could now make out that I was in a forest: a twisted, cruel forest. The trees were very tall and growing in odd angles. The green was too blue to be considered natural. The proportions were cartoonish. There were clocks everywhere: ingrained into the trees, freestanding grandfather clocks, hanging from branches, protruding from the ground. I walked along the path, but the trees and clocks never ended. In fact, no matter how far I walked, I always ended up in the same place- like I was walking in a circle, but the path was straight. I sat down on a chair-sized mushroom to try and get my head straight.
An ocelot without any eyes emerged from the ground. "Hello." It said.
"Umm… Hello?" I said, utterly confused.
"Goodbye."
"Wait!" I plead, "Don't go."
"I have to." It said.
"Why?"
"My time on earth is up." It said. It started to shake.
"Please don't go!" I said. The ocelot opened his mouth, and an eyeless toucan climbed out. "Wait, how did you…" But the ocelot had sunk into the ground.
"Hello there." I said.
"Hello there." He replied.
"Can you tell me what's happening?" I asked.
"Can you tell me what's happening?" He echoed.
"You aren't very useful, are you?" I asked.
"You aren't very…" He started coughing and hacking. An eyeless anaconda head made its way out of his beak, followed by his long body. I found this rather strange, seeing as an anaconda could never fit inside a tiny bird.
"What's happening?" I asked.
"Well," Said the anaconda, "That was rude. I usually prefer a greeting."
"Oh, excuse me. Hello."
"Greetings. I am an anaconda." He said.
"Yes, I figured that." I replied coldly.
"Hmm… well, aren't you the smart one? When did you get here?" He asked.
"Just a few minutes ago." I said.
"That's impossible. According to my calculations, you got here exactly two hours ago." He said.
"That's not true."
"It is according to that clock." He pointed with his nose to a clock in the middle of a flower, ticking very quickly.
"That clock is going too fast." I explained.
"Is it? Or is your mind going too slow?" He questioned.
I thought about this for a minute… or was it two? "That clock is going much faster than the others. And besides- how do you see without eyes?" I asked.
"Who says that I see?" He asked.
"You did. You pointed me to the clock over there." I replied.
"I most certainly did not." He said.
"You did so! And why do you keep changing?" I asked.
"I don't keep changing. It's just that so many animals keep dying. My time will come pretty soon." He seemed calm about that.
"No! Please don't go!" I exclaimed.
"I can't help it. Everything dies." He explained.
"That's not true. Immortals don't die." I justified.
"Exactly."
"What do you mean?"
"Tell me, what is your greatest fear?"
I thought about that for a moment. "Spiders." I finally said, "Spiders and failing my homework."
"What about spiders?"
"My biggest fear."
"Why are you telling me your biggest fear?"
"Because you just asked me!"
"No I didn't."
"Yes, you did."
"Why would I ask you your greatest fear? I've only known you for a few seconds." He said.
"No, you haven't. You've known me for at least five minutes." I said.
"Not according to that clock." He pointed his head towards a clock nestled in a tree. It was ticking very slowly. I sighed.
"So where am I?"
"You are in the fox's lair."
"Why are there clocks everywhere?"
"It's your greatest fear."
"It is not! I have nothing against clocks. They are very useful." I said, getting rather angry.
"What about clocks?"
"You're hopeless!" I exclaimed.
"Why?" He asked.
"Oh, forget it!" I shouted, getting up off of my mushroom. It had since turned into a clock.
"That's not likely. I'm a snake, and you know the saying. 'Anacondas never forget!'" He exclaimed.
"Elephants never forget. Anacondas forget quite a bit." I said.
"How did we get on the subject of anacondas?" He asked.
"You're crazy!" I exclaimed.
"I wish I was an anaconda…" He started humming a tune before he sunk into the ground, leaving me all alone. He sprung out of a tree. "Wait, did you say 'crazy' or 'a daisy'?" He asked.
"I said you were crazy. As in insane. You are not right in the head." I said.
"Good. Daisies make me itch. Goodbye." He started to shiver and a jaguar emerged from his mouth. It, too, had no eyes.
"Oh, brother!" I said, exasperated.
"You have a brother?" Asked the jaguar.
"No, I don't have a brother." I replied.
"Oh, okay then. I didn't think you did." He said.
I paused. "What's your greatest fear?" I asked.
"I don't have any. My life is too short to fear." He replied.
"That's too bad." I said. A sudden gust of wind came and my jaguar friend turned to dust and was swept away. "Goodbye…" I wished him. That's when it struck me. The clocks. The friends being born and dying. My greatest fear is immortality. No matter, though, seeing as I wasn't immortal. I kept on walking on my never-ending path for about an hour. (Or was it a minute? Or a second?) I decided that it was getting me nowhere and strayed off the path. The trees grew shorter and shorter until I could eventually see over them. I saw an expanse of treetops and a cave in the distance. I ran towards the cave. The treetops changed color as I ran, and the tops were now at my waist. When I got to the cave, the entrance was about as large as the Whitehouse. I heard the scream of a woman coming from the inside. I was about to turn and run when I saw the woman come barreling out, panic spread across her face. It was a face I recognized. It was Atlanta.