flames | The Lost Boys (1987) | revised

| FIVE |

Let me start off with this. I have no idea where I am. However, judging by the feeling of sticks and thorns digging into my back and the sunlight shining in my eyes, I came to the conclusion that I was somewhere in the woods, and it was the middle of the day.

I let out a low groan as I tried to lift myself, only to feel a weight on my chest push me back down. My eyes flew open, and I stared up at the offending force. It was one of them, the masked figures, the fox. His foot was on my chest, holding me down. I looked around, seeing three others surrounding me.

My mind began running, trying to connect the chain of events. I made it home alright, and I changed into my pajamas before passing out on my bed. The house doors were locked, at least, I was pretty sure they were. My aunt had left me a spare key before they left, and I think I remember locking it behind me when I got home. So, how did I end up here? Did they take me somehow, or did I sleepwalk?

I was pulled out of my thoughts as the fox pressed harder on my chest for a moment before pulling away. He stared at me. They all did.

"Where am I," I questioned, my voice hoarser than I thought it would be. When they didn't answer, I continued. "Are you going to hurt me?"

The fox shook his head. "No, we would never hurt you, Wendy. You're one of us, after all. Why would we hurt one of our own?" Who was Wendy? The voice was scratchy and a bit high-pitched, but from what I could tell, it was a male.

"One of you? What does that even mean?" I pushed myself up by my elbows only to have one of the masked figures – a rabbit – push me back down forcefully. I let out an 'oof' as my head hit the ground hard enough to make a vision go blurry for a second.

The fox kneeled, his knee right beside my head, and he leaned forward until he was only a few inches from my face. "One of us, almost, but never fully." He raised his gloved hand and traced the line of my jaw. "Unless, of course, you join."

"What does that mean? You're not making any sense," I cried, my head filling with question after question. The foot on my chest pushed a bit harder, and I feared that if it kept going, my ribs would crack.

"It's not that hard to understand, Ivy." The fox let out a low sigh and began humming a familiar tune. The hymn sung as my house burned down. After a moment, the others began to hum with him, their voice blending together in a synchronized rhythm. The fox placed his hand back on my jaw, this time cupping my face, and he whispered one word. "Sleep."

And I did.

When I came back into consciousness, I could tell that it was hours later because the sun was beginning to set. I was still where I was the last time, I believe, and a squirrel was laid asleep on my stomach.

I gently picked up the squirrel and placed it down on the ground beside me, happy that it hadn't woken up. Then, I tried to stand up only to let out a small cry and fall back down. Unfortunately, that woke the squirrel which immediately scampered off, leaving me alone but not before running across my chest and scratching me. I let out a deep breath and picked my upper half up, looking down at my feet. My left foot was twisted to an awkward angle, and bright purple bruises had lined the area.

I reached over and traced my fingers across the bruise before I hissed at the pain and stopped. How was I going to get back home when my ankle was twisted like this? 'We would never hurt you,' my ass. I looked around for a few moments, trying to figure out what to do, before I decided to try and crawl to civilization. I twisted myself so I was laying on my stomach and used my arms to pull myself forward, trying to ignore the fact that the sticks and plants digging into my arms hurt like hell.

I crawled for what felt like hours, though it couldn't have been that long because the sun had only just set, when I heard voices in the distance. I paused, my breathing hard and heavy, trying to listen. They sounded vaguely familiar, but with my state of mind, I doubted I would be able to figure out who it was without seeing them.