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Carefully setting the stick in a standing position, she tested her weight on it. When it held, a glimmer of hope began to bloom in her heart. She gripped the stick and took a cautious step, leaning on it. It helped and her mood began to lift. Maybe now she wasn't so helpless. Setting her mind on the plan, she hobbled back toward the river, avoiding the sharp rocks and sticking mostly to the soft moss as she walked up river.

She yawned and fought off another. She hadn't slept since the morning before and with her blood loss she knew she should rest and heal, but she also knew that once the sun set in the limbra bubble, the dangerous animals came out. She shivered at the thought of the Torin and pictured the statue she had seen in the gardens of the horrible beast.

She pushed herself faster, while pacing herself. She needed to get out of here! Picking her way along the shore, she tried her best to stay right by the river, but at one bend, the river edged up next to a cliff, therefore she was forced to go deeper into the trees in order to walk. She tried to stay close enough to where she could hear the rushing water.

It seemed as though Alison had been walking for ages and knew she needed to rest or she wouldn't be able to walk another step. Picking a spot, she rested heavily against the tree trunk and sunk to the soft earth. She fought to keep her eyes open, though she was tired, now was not the time for sleep. She promised herself that once she was back over that wall, she would sleep for days.

She studied her surroundings, praying that she was close. She knew she had been traveling for a few hours at least but had only covered maybe a mile, what with her slow pace and the twists and turns of the river. Then she spotted it, a tantalizing bush that was laden with beautiful red berries. Immediately, her stomach began to growl. All of the food she had packed had washed away in the river. She carefully made her way to the berries, trying to remember if a plant like this was known for being poisonous.

Unfortunately, all of the plants in Vidar were completely different from those on the surface. She plucked a plump berry and rolled it between her fingers before squashing it. She sniffed it and her mouth watered. It smelt divine! When it didn't sting her fingers, she took it as a good sign and picked another, hesitantly lifting the berry to her lips.

She groaned in pleasure. The berry was a burst of sweet flavor, almost like a strawberry and cherry mixed into one fruit. Before she even knew what she was doing, she picked more, shoving them into her mouth. She couldn't get enough. She ate until she was satisfied and then sat under the tree. She even sucked the juice off her fingers.

She sighed contentedly and yawned again. Though she knew she shouldn't sleep, she couldn't seem to fight it any longer. She felt so light, without a care in the world. She could hardly remember why she was so scared in the first place.

Her vision started spinning and she giggled as she swayed drunkenly against the trunk of the tree trunk. The world was a burst of vibrant color, and everything seemed so bright, even though she knew she was under the canopy.

She lifted her hand sluggishly to brush away a strand of hair that had fallen across her eyes and giggled at the sight of three hands instead of one.

Somewhere in her mind she realized something was not right, but she couldn't bring herself to care. She yawned again and snuggled back into the tree, which suddenly felt as soft as a cloud, before letting her eyes fall closed.

QWINN EYED THE SHORE, SWALLOWING HIS FEAR. He prayed that he would find her in one piece and alive.

His men were scouring the area with alert eyes, they'd been walking for almost an hour and had no sign of her. The rivers twists and turns made it hard to make much progress. The river ran for miles through the wilderness territory. From the city, Vidar didn't look very big, but once you entered the forest, it could go on for days.

He held his spear before him as he scoured the trees for her. No sign. He fought to keep his fear and worry at bay.

He called for a rest. His men passed the word down the line. Spread out side by side, his force was very large and very intimidating. The fact made him glad, because nothing had attempted to attack any of his men. As he looked up into the trees, he saw a small creature staring down at them with its large yellow eyes. It made sure to keep a safe distance. Qwinn knew he didn't have to worry about the forest creatures, at least until the sun went down, then he would have to worry.

A piece of him was greatful for Alison running at the time she did, that way, at least they had a chance to find her before the Torin woke up. They had only brought minimal food with them, Qwinn knew this search probably wouldn't continue past a day. Either they would find Alison, or find the Torin.

He gave them only a few more minutes then had his men change positions, those on the outside were now by the river and visa versa. They began the search again. Looking up into the Limbra, he knew it was past noon. They still had a few hours until sundown. He couldn't help but feel the urge to push his men faster, because once they found her, they still had to get out of the forest.

ALISON DRIFTED ON A SLOW STREAM that bubbled and ran purple. She was not cold or hot, he just was. As she drifted, she looked to the sky, which was a kaleidoscope of colors.

A peaceful smile settled on her lips as she stroked her arms gently through the water. Suddenly, she spotted tiny flowers drifting beside her. They were beautiful blue flowers with perfect petals. Their sweet scent filled the air. One drifted into her arm and she frowned. It hurt her. it felt as through the flower had burned her.

Another touched her arm and she gasped in pain. It was burning! She looked around in sudden horror at all of the small burning flowers floating around her.

She tried to splash them away, but another burned her, right next to her previous burn. Panic began to set in, then her vision began to blur. For a moment, she thought the flowers were poison, then she opened her eyes and realized it had all been a dream. However, she could still feel the burn.

Her vision blurred and she felt light, but her heart was picking up sluggishly from fear. she looked around and to her horror, it was darker than it had been when she fell asleep. She had wasted the day light!

That thought was quickly banished as she felt the trail of fire running down her arm. She turned her head in what should have been a fast movement, but ended up being her slowly swinging her head to the side. What she saw stopped her heart. On her arm stood a beetle the size of her palm with a furry blue body and yellow pinchers that looked like they could take a chunk out of her if it wanted. Its legs ended in small blue pads that looked almost like suction cups. It looked up at her and began to click its pinchers together, creating a horrifying clacking sound.

Alison's eyes grew wide as it stepped closer to her face and with every step, leaving a little pink burn circle on her flesh. She began to hyperventilate as she tried to back away, only to press her back into the bark of the tree.

Her body was still sluggish, but she was beginning to wake out of her drugged haze. She heard the clicking grow louder and turned her fearful eyes to the dark earth. Two more burning beetles were about to climb up her legs.

Her flight or fight finally kicked in and she pulled her legs up to her chest, which took her out of range of the beetles on the ground, but only managed to anger the one on her arm. It bared down on its legs, as if it were getting ready to jump. She leapt to her feet and almost stumbled over. She swatted the beetle on her arm and cried out in pain, as it left a burning slime as if fell to the ground.

She grabbed a leaf and tried to wipe at the slime. It helped a little, but the other beetles had reached her and were clicking angrily. One jumped on her bare foot and burned her with its legs.

She screamed and tried to kick it off, only to have the other jump onto her calf. She cried in pain and desperate grabbed for her walking stick, using it to knock them off. As soon as she was free, she hobbled away, trying her best to keep her balance as she ran and prayed that those bugs couldn't fly.

The berries still had affect on her and caused her vision to double. She stumbled a few times, but was so afraid that the beetles were following her that she didn't stop running. It was too late that she realized she didn't know which direction she was running or where the river was. When she stopped, to her horror, she could no longer hear the river. She had been so focused on running that she was now completely lost.

When she looked around, she realized everything looked the same. Tears sprang to her eyes, she felt helpless.

She swiped at her wet eyes and shakily held onto her stick. Picking the direction she thought she had come from, she started walking again, eyeing the ground wearily, hoping she would encounter no more beetles or anything remotely close to them. Her foot throbbed to no end and her skin ached from being burned by what she could only guess to be some sort of acid slime.

She looked her arms over and tried not to sob. She was burned and blistered pretty badly. The circular burns made a trail up her arm. She was a mess and she hadn't even been in the forest for an entire day.

She stepped over roots that had grown up through the ground, and perked her ears. She thought she heard something. Remaining still, she listened with all her might. All she could hear were insects making chirping noises. After a moment, she decided it was merely paranoia and continued walking.

Not five steps later she heard it again. It sounded as though something were following her, something bigger than a beetle. She swallowed hard and decided to keep walking. Picking up her pace, she hobbled over the earth, then she heard it again. Now she was sure something was following her. She felt like crying. Why was everything so against her?

Suddenly, the bushes behind her shook. She turned quickly, eyeing the bushes with fear. It shook again and her heart stopped. Out from the dark bushes stepped a creature that looked almost like a large wild pig, only it had teeth as sharp as knives and fangs that puckered through its lips. Its six red eyes watched her intently, showing no fear. Its bluish black body that seemed to be sharp needles instead of fur, blended in with the night perfectly. It stepped closer, sniffing at her.

Deciding she was a threat, or food, it growled low in its throat and glared up at her. Alison licked her lips in an effort to quench her dry mouth and kick start her brain into working on a plan. The pig creature shuffled its hoof in the dirt.

Though Alison had not spent much time around pigs, she knew that wasn't a good sign. Her eyes flicked quickly around her, looking for something, anything to help her against this beast.

The only things she spotted were large tree trunks with limbs too high for her to climb, bushes and logs. She gripped her walking stick tightly, deciding that was as good a weapon as any. As if sensing her preparation, the beast lowered its head closer to the ground, its muscular legs bulging as it prepared to strike. Alison prayed she would win this fight.

With a deathly snarl, the creature lunged forward, picking up speed and brandishing its teeth. Alison screamed, holding her stick like a bat, closing her eyes and swinging desperately for its head. To her surprise, she connected, sending the beast skittering and disoriented.

Without wasting a moment, she turned and ran. It was tricky, due to her sore muscles and wounded foot, but adrenaline was coursing through her at such speed that she was shaking with it.

Her breath came in ragged spurts and she could have sworn she heard hooves beating after her. She looked desperately for somewhere to hide or climb. She finally spotted a tree with low enough branches she thought she could climb.

At that moment, she felt a force slam into her from the back, knocking her to the ground. The hooves cut into her back painfully as she tried to knock the beast off. She cried out in pain as the heavy pig lowered its sharp teeth to her shoulder, nipping her.

Finally, she got enough leverage to roll the beast off. She grabbed her stick and swung it for its spiny haired back. It darted out of the way, squealing in anger. She tried to sit, only to have the beast knock her back down and try to bite her again.

Alison's mind was racing as she used the stick to keep its mouth off her. Her arms shook with effort from keeping it off her. Its gnashing teeth were growing closer. She screamed its strong jaw snapped her walking stick in half. Its hoof dug into her stomach, causing her to sob in pain. She prayed and cried, eyeing the sharp teeth in horror. She was going to die!

Suddenly, a huge body slammed into the beast, sending it flying and following quickly after it. Alison snapped out of it and quickly crawled, rushing toward the tree, which seemed to be her only hope. She could hear the pig snarling and rushing whatever had saved her, but she wasn't going to stick around long enough to see the fight. She was almost there when she heard the sharp mournful cry of the pig being slaughtered, then everything went silent.

Alison froze, the silence so thick not even the bugs chirped. She held her breath, tears streaming as she suddenly felt a presence behind her. she whimpered slightly as she felt something warm breath on her neck.

The smell of blood filled her nostrils. She would almost rather die by the pig than this unknown monster.

She stupidly slowly turned her hear, trying to peer out of the corner of her eyes and see what it was. She heard a slight growl and her heart stopped. Out of the corner of her eye she could make out a nasty blackish gray face with piercing red eyes, a long almost dog like snout, and fangs that glistened with saliva. It looked just like the statue of the monster in the gardens. The Torin!