The Meadow
Jackson opened his eyes to green. Not the sterile green of classroom walls or the sick green of fluorescent lights, but the living, breathing green of grass and trees and open sky. He sat up, heart hammering. The last thing he remembered was sitting in third period, and then... nothing.
Around him stretched a meadow, impossibly large and beautiful, filled with teenagers. Dozens of them, maybe more. They all looked about twelve to sixteen, all wearing the same confused expression he probably had on his face. At the edges of the clearing, a dense forest pressed in like a dark wall.
Jackson stood, his 6'0" frame unfolding as he scanned the crowd. Blonde buzzed hair, flat blue eyes, athletic build. Most of the other kids were sitting or standing in small clusters, looking around nervously. No one seemed to know what was happening.
Then he noticed the boy.
About a hundred yards away, near the forest's edge. White kid, freckled, heavy, maybe fifteen or sixteen. The boy was laughing at something, reaching toward the trees. "Whoa hehehe guys look at deez trees!"
The forest exploded.
The thing that burst from the shadows was nightmare fuel. Humanoid but wrong. Green skin, yellow eyes the size of tennis balls, teeth like broken glass. Thin limbs that moved too fast, ending in claws. A distended gut that swayed as it moved.
It latched onto the boy's arm.
The shrieking started immediately. High-pitched, agonized. The boy thrashed but the creature held on, those razor teeth sinking deeper.
No one moved. Everyone just stood there, frozen in shock.
Jackson's body moved before his brain caught up. His athletic training kicked in and he was sprinting across the meadow. Behind him, he heard others start to move, but he was already pulling ahead. His strong nose flared as he ran, adrenaline flooding his system.
He reached the boy first. His fist connected with the creature's skull with a sickening thud that sent pain shooting up his arm. It felt like punching solid rock. The thing didn't even flinch.
Change plans.
The creature's neck was thin, almost fragile looking compared to that massive skull. Jackson wrapped his arms around it and squeezed. The thing released the boy immediately, turning its attention to Jackson. Those claws came at him fast, swiping through the air inches from his face.
This was it. He was going to die.
A large stick cracked across the creature's head with enough force to send it rolling across the grass. Jackson looked up to see another kid, Black, about his age, maybe taller. The kid stood there with the stick raised, ready for another swing.
The creature sat up, patting its head with one clawed hand. For a moment it looked almost like it might cry. Then it growled, low and threatening, before scurrying back into the forest on all fours.
The other kid extended his hand. Jackson took it, letting himself be pulled up. The kid was tall, maybe 6'1", with braided hair and a scar cutting across his upper lip. Their eyes met for a second.
"Jacks," Jackson said.
"Derrick."
"Thanks man. That was a life saver."
"Don't worry about it. What the heck was that ugly thing anyway?"
"Heck if I know. Looks like a gremlin to me."
Derrick's eyebrow twitched slightly at the word "heck" but he didn't say anything.
The wounded boy's shrieks pulled their attention back. Jackson had honestly forgotten about him for a second, too busy processing his near-death experience with the ugliest garden gnome of all time. The kid's arm was bleeding heavily, dark red soaking through the makeshift bandages other teenagers were trying to wrap around the wound.
Jackson turned back to Derrick. "Where are we anyway?"
"No clue, man. Last thing I remember I was riding the metro and now I'm in Narnia."
Jackson's flat blue eyes registered slight judgment at the reference, but he kept his face neutral. "Wait, what metro? Where are you from?"
Derrick's expression shifted, became slightly guarded. "Uhm, Queens." He paused. "What about you? Don't say Staten Island."
"No... a little further away."
"Like Jersey?!" The growing worry in Derrick's voice made Jackson wonder what was wrong with these places.
"Nah man. Like California."
They stared at each other. Under normal circumstances, meeting someone from across the country would be the most confusing thing to happen today. But normal had ended the moment they'd woken up in this meadow, surrounded by confused teenagers and attacked by whatever that thing was.
In the distance, the forest rustled. Both boys tensed, but nothing emerged. Around them, the other teenagers were starting to group together, voices rising in frightened questions.
Whatever this place was, wherever they were, Jackson had a feeling things were about to get a lot worse.