Ofelia sat up inch by inch, every muscle in her body tensed as the leaves and twigs on the jungle floor softly crackled beneath her. One movement too loud and all the monsters in the trees above would come swooping down.

She craned her neck upwards, looking into the thick darkness. Most of the jaguars were up there, she knew, stretched out on branches and tired out from hunting. Looking in front of her, she saw the curled-up form of the one they called Pax, leaning against the trunk of the great tree as he slept. His ears twitched at the sound of croaking frogs somewhere in the distance, and his nose crinkled as he caught some wayward scent hanging in the air. Sharp claws slid in and out of their sheaths in time with his waxing and waning growls of pleasure. The girl shuddered at the sight.

Dark gray clouds were gathering overhead, covering up the moon, as the jungle air grew more moist and cool. The rain came only moments afterwards, cascading from the sky in a thick and sudden torrent. Ofelia flinched as the fat drops of water quickly drenched her, the cold sinking deep into her bones. The more rational part of her welcomed it: the sounds of the thunder and downpour were covering up the hum of the jungle, and they would surely do the same for her footsteps.

Still moving as slowly as she could, Ofelia pushed herself to her feet, keeping her eyes on Pax the whole time. The beast moved in his sleep and licked his lips, but he did not seem to wake. By the time she was standing, she could hardly feel her legs beneath her: they were trembling with the cold, and with the fear of what she was about to do.

She wiped the filmy layer of grime from her glasses, then pulled her now-tattered robe tighter around her body. Holding her breath, she began to creep away from the jagaurs' tree.

When she had been much younger, her mother had made a point of teaching her how to properly sneak about. "Slow steps," she had said, guiding her daughter across the parlor floor. "Don't put your whole foot down at once. Toes first, and then the rest. That way they'll never hear you, and they'll never catch you."

Ofelia was certain that Maria hadn't been thinking of creatures such as these when she said 'they,' but she prayed it would hold true nonetheless. Her backward steps were gradual, almost agonizing in their slowness. Toes, then the balls of her feet and then her heel, set down one by one as though they would shatter if dropped too hard. They made only a gentle thud in the soft earth, and that was masked by the rainfall. The jaguars remained still.

When she had managed to clear a few yards without being discovered, Ofelia finally turned her back on the tree. Before her, the jungle foliage grew thick and tall, forming a wall that stretched off into the dark. Parting the dark green leaves, she stepped through the barrier and let it swallow her up.

The smell of dirt and rot was much stronger in the midst of the jungle's growth, mingling with the sweeter scents of ripe fruit and flowers in bloom. Ofelia covered her nose and mouth with both hands and started to quicken her pace. Twigs snapped under her shoes, and more brambles tugged at her skin and hair. She winced, but never more than a moment, and then she kept moving. There wasn't any time to get around them, she had to find a hiding spot and then…and then…

She came to a stop and nearly collapsed as the weight of what was real pressed down on her. With the jaguars, she would at least have had some kind of protection. Now she was alone and lost, surely surrounded by creatures that wouldn't want to see her alive in any sort of form.

Perhaps her parents weren't far behind, and she only needed to wait to hear them calling her name. But perhaps they were still miles away, unable to outrun the monsters who would soon be searching for her. Or they had simply given up and turned back towards home…

No, they wouldn't. Would they?

A faint sound from up ahead pulled Ofelia away from her musings. Something deep, loud and churning – the sound of a river, she realized as she listened. Her nerves regained strength at the thought; a river meant a path to follow, maybe back towards San Angel. And if not, then maybe another village where she could seek shelter. It would be better than staying where she was or stumbling back into the pack's grasp, she knew that much.

Taking a few breaths and grabbing a branch to steady herself, Ofelia began to walk towards the promise of water.

It took her a few minutes to notice that the sound of her steps had changed. She was still creeping along as she had before, but now the footfalls seemed a bit louder. There was more of an echo to them, a quiet thud like the treading of a -

She froze. The echoing noise stopped with her, but she strained her ears for something that might come to take its place. Through the leaves and vines, she thought she could sense a pair of eyes locked on to her from the shadows. From beneath the patter of the rain came what sounded like a low growl and a gust of breath. Twigs cracked under the weight of a paw stepping forward.

Ofelia bolted, and so did the jaguar behind her. She was smaller, though, and more easily tore through the sharp thicket. Her pursuer crashed through the tight bonds of the foliage, yowling in anger as though calling for the rest of the pack. She shrieked as its ragged claws cut into the air, barely missing the hem of her robe. Her arms and legs seemed to move of their own accord, channeling energy she hadn't known she still possessed. The sound of her beating heart and rushing blood dulled out all the noises around her - even the rapidly approaching river.

The ground dropped out from beneath her feet faster than she could realize it. One moment she was pushing her way through the wall of bushes, then she stumbled and was suddenly falling through the open air. Her path had ended at a steep cliff twenty feet high, and at the bottom lay the frothing, rock-laden river.

Ofelia screamed and flailed, a part of her still trying to run and another part trying in vain to stop her fall. Twisting around, she saw the shrinking form of the pursuing jaguar halt at the cliff's edge, glaring down at her and screaming.

The fall was mercifully short: it seemed only a few moments before she met the water's surface with the force of a fist and was enveloped in the cold murkiness. She resurfaced at once, gasping for breath and waving her arms about in search of her glasses. The whole world had gone dark and blurry, the river was picking up speed and there were more angry roars coming from somewhere up above.

Taking a deep breath, Ofelia dove back beneath the surface and began to push along with the current.

She hadn't any idea how long it might have taken: there was no way of guessing the time, only the darkness and faint shards of moonlight that she managed to discern. Perhaps she had passed out and drifted in the water, for the next thing she clearly remembered was the hands that reached down to grab her. Small, spindly hands that began to pull at her limbs with increasing ferocity as the river tried to carry her away. Her first instinct was to kick and struggle, but she was too weak for even that.

The next memory was the distinct sensation of being dragged along the ground, quickly followed by the sting of cold air on her face. When she forced her eyes back open, she was staring at the jungle canopy and the patches of night sky that broke through it. Her fingers grasped at the wet ground beneath her.

A small figure, impossible to know with her eyesight, darted into her field of vision. They said something to her and seemed quite worried, but the ringing in her ears still blocked out all other noises. She shook her head.

The blurry figure produced a small object, then leaned down and tried to shove it onto Ofelia's face. She jerked back and let out a loud whimper, then froze as the world around her abruptly came back into focus. Her glasses - they had found her glasses.

"Felia? Are you alright? Bry, she's not saying anything…!"

Now that her sight had returned, she refused to believe it. "…Vin?"

A redheaded blur suddenly shoved him out of the way. "See? I knew this would be a good idea!"

There were practically stars in Gabriela's eyes. "We found you all by ourselves," she said, admiring her silent friend.

Vicente crossed his arms. "I think we just got lucky."

"Everyone back home will be so happy!"

"Suuuure they will…."

The twins had set up a meager campsite not far from the river. Sheltered from the rain by a rocky ledge, they had somehow managed to start a small fire with a pile of sticks and leaves. It was here that they led Ofelia, who hadn't said a word since being pulled from the water. At this moment she was propped up against the shallow cavern wall, staring at the flickering light and occasionally shivering.

"Here." Vicente sat down beside her, pried off her sopping, ragged robe and slipped a thick brown coat over her shoulders. "We thought you might need this."

Ofelia pulled the garment tightly around herself, then slumped against the boy's side and rested her damp head on his shoulder.

"And now," Gabriela finished with pride, "all we have to do is wait for the grown-ups to catch up with us!"

Ofelia sat up. "We can't stay here."

The other girl frowned. "Why not?"

"They're still looking for me…"

"Who is?"

She opened her mouth, but the torrent of words refused to come out. Shaking her head, she wrapped her arms around her knees, hid her face and started to quietly cry.

Gabriela bit her lip as she stared at the scene before her, not certain of what she had done nor what she should do next. Vicente hesitated for a moment, then placed his hand on Ofelia's arm. "It'll be okay…"

She didn't answer. The silence continued.

"…Hey," Vicente eventually whispered. "We'll be home soon, amiga. Aunt Maria and Uncle Manolo, they weren't far from here when we saw them."

Ofelia raised her head almost immediately. "Mama and Papa are looking for me?"

Gabriela saw her chance to jump into the conversation. "Of course!" she answered. "We've all been looking for you, Felia. For days and days."

The girl's tears began to subside. Her eyes were still red and glistening, but a look of relief and triumph now lingered in them. She even managed a hint of a smile.

"You know what?" Gabriela continued. "I have an even better idea! We don't need to wait for your familia to get here. We'll go to them ourselves!"

Her brother's smile vanished. "Bry, I don't think that's a very good - "

"We should go, then," Ofelia said, standing up. "I want to go home."

Vicente tried to thinking of something to say, but settled for a frustrated sigh instead. "Fine…"

In a matter of minutes, the children had gathered up their things and extinguished the fire, which had needed little help putting itself out.

"Do you know how to go back?" Vicente asked his sister, the skepticism still clear on his face.

"I got us here, didn't I?" she answered with a scowl. "We'll just go back the way we came."

"But we don't know which way that is."

"You don't. I do." Taking off the compass that hung around her neck, Gabriela briefly fiddled with it and then began to walk forward. "It's this way! Vamos!"

Ofelia and Vicente exchanged a look before following her down the invisible path. The sky gradually grew brighter, and the sun began to rise on the three children walking deeper into the jungle.