Amy couldn't remember how far she'd walked, but the forest seemed very dark, even with the bright midday sun shining through the leaves. The moss hung from the branches of the trees and coated their trunks. She ran her hand across the fuzzy green moss. It felt so soft, like she could make a bed out of it and just lay down. She sat at the base of one of the biggest trees and leaned back against nature's carpet.

"What you doin' 'ere? You, there! Why you be 'ere?"

"Huh?" Amy woke with a start. The forest seemed bright now, but she knew that couldn't be true. It was as if the bright green moss itself was giving off a glow. She looked around for the owner of the squeaky voice, but didn't see anyone.

"I says, what you be doin' 'ere?" The voice said again.

"I, I fell asleep." Amy was still searching for the owner of that voice. He sounded small, and she started to look under the low branches that were close to her, moving the leaves and pine needles out of the way.

"Up here, silly Child!" The voice taunted, impatiently.

Amy whirled around and looked up. There, high up in the tree she saw a pointy blue hat. The hat was all she could distinguish through the heavy cover. She backed away, hoping to get a better look, but tripped on an exposed root that sent her sailing and landing hard on her backside.

"Is you okay?" The blue hat was next to her before so much as a tear could escape her bright green eyes.

"I…I…I'm okay, I guess." Amy snuffled. She backed away from the little man and tried to get a better look at him. She winced at the sharp pain in her ankle.

"You're hurt. No don' move. Benny have you fixed up in a jiff." The small man scrambled off, his long, skinny arms let his hands brush the tops of the short grass as he disappeared behind a tree.

Amy tried to move, but her ankle hurt too badly. She tried to stand on just one foot, but she knew she wouldn't get far that way. Suddenly, she couldn't move at all, and dropped back to the ground. She tried to yell out, but no sound came out when she opened her mouth. She didn't know what was happening, but she was sure it would end badly.




Do you love SteamPunk? Check out this group:

The Steampunk Boiler Room  (E) Discuss, learn, practice, promote, write and review Steampunk, Sci-fi & Fantasy with us. #1776068 by Beck Firing back up!