My Perfect World

2 men stand at the crossroads of destiny, trapped in a mysterious forest they cannot escape. The men had tried everything to escape, but the thick fog and large, black trees destroy every sense they have. Unable to move forward, the 2 men face a different obstacle.

"Hey, Phil!" John shouted over to his partner. "There's claw marks over here!" Phil looked into the woods with intrigue. "Yeah, I see it here, too! This beast we're hunting is definitely powerful. Whatever it is, it's smart, too. I've never seen a creature this intelligent. Every trap, every form of bait, every gun, even the bear traps couldn't work on it! It tore right through them!" John thought for a second. 'What kind of animal is this? Is it invincible?'

"Maybe we ain't fighting an animal!" John shouted to Phil. "Haven't you heard of them Chaotic Demons? They all have insane powers, and they ain't even that rare!" Phil thought for a second 'Not that rare? They're only 1% of the population. Them and the Celestial Angels...' Suddenly, an unsettling feeling of fear & upset hit him like a wave of desperation. "Let's go! Whatever this is, we don't wanna piss it off... John?" Phil couldn't find John anywhere. 'Oh, shit!' Phil thought, seeing his buddies' empty remains flayed out across a tree. "OH GOD HELP ME!!!" Phil screamed with absolute horror and mortification. John's flayed face looked like something out of a gorey horror movie, or even like an alien from another world. His bloody face, torn apart, looked so mangled it was almost uncanny. The sight was sickening. Phil couldn't believe his eyes. John was still alive. He struggled to speak, but with his face so mangled & gorey, his tongue moving looked sickening, like a small red rod sticking out of his busted open face. Suddenly, Phil heard a swift sound. 'It's him! The monster we've been searching for!' The monster instantly ran with speeds that were inhuman. Phil couldn't make out the size, shape, or face of the thing that killed him. His death was so quick, the last thing he saw was John's flayed open face, and he didn't even realize he had been stabbed by vicious claws through the heart. As he fell down, the monster gouged, crushed, and cut, ripping his body apart instantly in pure desperation and hunger. This night, in a normal, unsuspecting forest, these 2 men died, with their bodies being eaten so much, that not even their bones were found by the local authorities. They are still missing to this day.

Meanwhile...

"Where are we going?" Kyle asks, oddly curious. "We're walking, can't you teleport?" This kid...

"It's not that easy. I only have a few teleportations per day. I can't just teleport all the time. I have to save them. And where we're going, its gonna be dangerous, so let's just walk for now. We can even sleep anytime we want. I have a tent!" He looks at me, uninterested. "Yeah, great, mister rich guy. You're so cool. Freakin' dumbass..." I hate kids like these. I look at the chain on his neck. A small orb is on the chain. "What's with that weird orb on your neck? Is it some kinda pretentious jewelry?"

"This? It's nothing important. Don't worry about it." I can instantly tell that he's lying. "Yeah, sure, veeerrrryyy convincing!" I say, mocking him. As I continue to set up the tent he tries looking around. "Hey..."

"Yeah?" I shout, looking up. "This is the woods. What if we encounter a monster?"

Both Shelby and me chuckle, taking his words as a joke. Shelby starts laughing at him "Are you serious? C'mon, there's no monster in these woods. Unless you call your ugly face the monster!"

"That doesn't even make sense, idiot! How am I a kid & still smarter than you!!" He runs over to Shelby, trying to hit her, but as the stronger one, a grown woman, his hits do nothing. I just sit there and laugh at him while watching him try to hit Shelby. I decide to join in the teasing a little bit. "If you're this energetic, go get some fucking firewood, you fucking loser!" I shout, while he's still trying to hit her. "You get some firewood, you ugly overgrown midget!"

"I'm 5'5, it's average! You loser!" I scream "Yeah, average! Is that what the ladies tell you? Sounds like you guilt them into saying that a lot, don't you!" This little jerk! "The ladies love me a lot. Don't question my popularity! I'm world famous, you know." Here it comes! He starts giving me the side-eye again. "Yeah, world famous for being a criminal!"

"Yeah, what do I say, I'm just a bad boy! Girls love that." He starts to laugh with an incredibly shrill laugh, its almost enfuriating. "Yeah, maybe if they're 14, but you're a grown man. You got wrinkles on your wrinkles! I bet you'll start balding any day now, old man." How many times have I told this kid that im only 20! "Fine! I'll get the firewood, make sure not to fall and break a hip while im away, youngster!" He says, mockingly. Wait. Something's not right. "Kyle, wait..." I say. This is suspicious. It's already dark, at 6:00. The night sky is already set in. "Do you feel like we're being watched?" Kyle looks at me with an unsuspecting look. "I'm gonna go get some firewood now." As he walks away, the instinct inside of me tells me to warn him. It's an odd feeling I don't get often "Be careful."

As im genuinely thinking of punching him, he runs away to get some firewood. I look around the woods, hearing strange sounds. "Who's there?" I shout, somehow expecting someone to come out. Of course, nobody shows up. I'm just paranoid. I sit in my tent, ready to take a nap. It's already getting to be sunset. Good luck its summer. The night isn't going to be that cold. As Kyle returns with the firewood, I realize that something seems wrong. "Kyle?" He looks up at me, not understanding my problem. "What?" It might be more than paranoia. "Do you feel like we're being watched?" No. Even more than that, we're missing someone. "Hey, where's Shelby?" I ask, definitely sure of it. She's missing. She was just here when Kyle went to get the firewood. No. It's definitely strange. How did this happen? Shit! The one girl we were supposed to protect just up-and-went missing.

"Hey... J. I'm scared." As we both look around, I try to say something to comfort him, but I can't. The only thing that comes out is a strange whimper. By now, its so dark, and I notice the trees span tall & wide. They encompass the entire sky and blackness surrounds them. Not even the moon is visible in this darkness. "Me too, buddy." As I speak, I hear a strange rustling through the woods coming from all angles. "There's something in these woods. Stay close. As I begin to protect Kyle, I start to become wary of my surroundings. A set of glowing eyes open in the woods. 2 sets, 4 sets, 8 sets. Up to 20 sets of glowing eyes shine through, as I realize that we're being watched. Not only that, but we're being followed!

And finally, as my paranoia hits an all-time high, everything... stops. The noises, the eyes. The strange sensation I had at the back of my mind. Huh? Maybe it was nothing? No. I don't trust coincidences. Something else must be going on here, and i'm going to find out what! "Hey!" All of a sudden, a shrill female voice pierces my ears! "Ohmygod!" I scream out loud, only to find Shelby right behind me. "What the hell is wrong with you, you ugly freak!" I shout, eccentuating the comical tone of fear I have. "Don't do that!"

"Hey, you're the one who screams like a little girl when anything goes wrong! Remember our conversation, you're the oldest!" We're the same age! "Yeah, yeah, shut up. You're like my annoying little brother! Just don't start creeping out the children at the park, lady!" I shout, clearly making fun of her. Instead, she retorts. "You're the one who's scared! Look at your legs! They're shaking, ya big baby!!"

As the 3 of us start walking through the woods, Shelby starts making fun of us. She says "Hey, where are we going? It seems like you have no idea. Are you mentally disabled?"

Kyle even joins in on hurting my feelings. "Yeah, you weirdo. You gonna lead me into the woods and kill me? You already have the energy of a kidnapper!"

"Shut up!" I shout. These 2 have been annoying me all day. "We just need to find out where we're going."

"Maybe that old man will help?" Kyle says, pointing to the trees. "Old man? There's nobody here! It's a forest that hasn't had inhabitants for years!" I ask.

"No, there's clearly someone there. It's getting dark but I can see him. I look over, only to see he's telling the truth. "OHMYGOD!" I scream, jumping back. What the hell is he doing here? "Did I scare ya, hehe!" The old man shouts. I can see him more clearly now, even in the darkness of the night, through the towering trees & strange purple fog. He's strange. Sitting on the stump, the old man looks clear as his face is illuminated. "Kid, you must be confused. Being lost in a place like this is the worst thing that could ever happen in your life. You're in danger!" As I look at the old man, I look at his features more clearly. He's missing an eye, without even an eyepatch. He has a pegleg that seems almost fake. His weary eye, the only one that's left, that is, continues to stare into my soul. It makes me a little uneasy. "This forest is called the forest of the dead, young ones. Well, you in the middle don't look so young!" He says, laughing with a scratchy tone. "What do you mean by that?" Shelby asks "We're the same age. We're both 20." The old man starts laughing with a creepily sinister laugh. "Well, you might be 20, but this man seems far older than that. Just looking at his demeanor, you can tell that he's lived far longer than that." What? How did he...

"Well, you got it wrong, old man. I'm 20. Unfortunately, I don't have seniority over you, plus, I look like i'm 20." I say, jokingly.

"Well, you may have them fooled, but in this world, age is not decided by looks. I've met people far older than me. You give off the vibe of someone who's lived multiple lifetimes, don'tcha?"

Multiple lifetimes? "This old man is nuts. Let's go." I say, ready to easily dismiss his ridiculous sounding claims. "Wait! Don't leave too soon! Don't you want to know where you are?"

Hearing this, I let out a cocky smirk. "Don't worry, I can teleport out of it at any time I want! You see, im the Freedom Junkie!" I say, confidently & arrogantly. To my surprise, the old man bursts out in a laugh. "Hehehe! I know who you are! The man who changed the world and will someday change history. A man with a goal so ingrained inside of him, that without it, he would be nothing. You'll do great things in the future." What the... who is this guy? How does he know about my goal. In the dark forest, a suspicion starts to take over me. "Who are you, old man?" He starts laughing with that signature laugh once again. He says, "Even with the advanced power of teleportation, you can't escape these woods. Look around, buddy. Who I am no longer matters. C'mon, old man. Can't you remember how you got here?" What a ridiculous question! "Of course I can remember how I got here! I came with Kyle & Shelby!"

The old man looks at me with an expression filled with dissappointment. "No. That's who you came with. It's not how you got here."

"Oh shit."

Suddenly, a new sensation of fear and desperation overcomes all 3 of us. As I realize it, finally.

"I don't remember."

No! This can't be. What was the last thing I did? The last thing I did was leave the slums with Kyle & Shelby. But what happened after that? "Yep. It seems you youngsters and that old man finally realized it! You're lost."

"Everyone who enters these woods forgets why they're here. It's a mystery. Of course, I know. But that would spoil the surprise. Have fun!" The old man shouts, as he decides to leave. Instead of leaving by walking away, the man vanishes into thin air, turning into a giant blast of fog.

This can't be! And what was that about me being old? The guy had fucking wrinkles! What a douchebag!

"Well...", I say, ready for a long road ahead. "He said I couldn't escape, right?" How dare he! How can any forest constrain my freedom! I'll break right through this forest and teleport right out. Even if I have to die to do so. Nobody can stop me from being free! I won't allow it! Instantly, I begin to use my teleportation. As I feel every atom in my body disintegrating. Anything stopping me from true freedom in this world must be eradicated. Never to be seen again. Those are the rules I live by. True Freedom is unstable and jittery, ready to pop off at any minute.

As my body slowly starts to feel a strange sensation, the familiar feeling of my atoms dissassembling rushes towards me as I begin to teleport outside. I'll break through! Teleport right through this damn forest!

As I teleport, I look around to find myself standing in the middle of the woods, still trapped.

Shit!

"Shelby! Kyle!", I shout at the top of my lungs, but unfortunately, they're nowhere to be found. Standing here, in the foggy abyss of the woods, I realize that I am all alone.

The next words that come out of my mouth come as a shock to even me. As my lips curve up into a smirk, and my eyes form a shit-eating grin, ready to explore in an amazing adventure, I realize its finally my turn to truly enjoy myself.

"Well...

This'll be fun."