Find the Teddy Bear

Chapter 8

Belle let out a scream as she opened her eyes.

She was falling, and all she could see were the clouds splashed across the night sky as she penetrated each one like an arrow, feeling the cold tingles stab her skin each time.

She screamed in fear once again, closing her eyes and getting ready for impact. She felt her body shiver, both from cold and fear. She was still barefoot, but she decided it didn't really matter- she would die, anyways.

After a few minutes of falling, Belle's adrenaline rush worn out, and her fear subdued, supplemented by confusion. Why was she still falling?

She dared open her eyes, and she instantly regretted it. She saw the ground below her, a thick spruce forest stretching out under her.

And it was getting closer and closer.

Belle screamed again, her survival instinct kicking in once more as she closed her eyes, twisting and turning in the air in a hopeless attempt to live.

Suddenly, she stopped falling, and breath was knocked out of her lungs. She felt like she fell on a trampoline, which was now bending from her fall.

She attempted to breathe in, grateful that she was alive but also concerned by the fact that the trampoline he landed on was sticky.

Once air found its way into her lungs, she was able to open her eyes.

In front of her she could see nothing but trees, dark and brooding in the cold night. She shifted her gaze downwards, letting out a high-pitched shriek.

She was suspended in air, stuck in a giant, thick spider web. Her arms were stuck by her side, and she couldn't move them.

She was like a fly, and she could only hope that the spider was away.

Terror ate away at her heart as she struggled to go free.

There were no sounds apart from her quick breaths and moans of fear. No birds singing, no owls hooting, and no crickets chirping. Just her and the giant spider web, alone in a dark forest.

Belle was shivering from cold, and could already feel sharp pain in her fingerprints and her feet.

Suddenly, she stopped squirming. She didn't move an inch.

Because she heard something.

It sounded like flapping of wings, and it was coming from above her.

She gazed upwards, and saw a black bird, probably a raven, circling above her head. It was carrying something in its claws, and before Belle could wonder what 'it' was, the 'it' got dropped.

It turned out to be a piece of paper, floating towards her slowly as the bird sped away.

Belle didn't know what the paper was, but she knew that it was important.

Putting all of her strength into her right arm, she pulled with a sharp yelp of pain as her arm broke free.

The sharp pain forced tears out of her eyes, and she almost fainted when she saw blood dripping from her arm and covering pieces of her skin that were still stuck to the web.

Ignoring her agony, the brave girl reached out towards the letter which made her work easier by falling straight into her outstretched palm.

Belle clasped the paper firmly, aware of how much her hand was shaking. She brought it close to her eyes, hoping that the moonlight would be enough to read the writing on it.

It took a few seconds for her eyes to adjust, and she whispered the words out loud so she could understand easier: "Dear Belle, congratulations on making it this far. Over half of those trapped in the Nightmare land fail before this point. You might be the first one to make it out. There's a house inside of the forest that you might want to take a look at. Or not. It's up to you." She read slowly and carefully, tears still sliding down her face.