It came. Through the darkness of the tress I ran, with it close on my tail, scampering faster than I could ever imagine. The sun was not yet awake, mist was engulfing us, and there was no help to be seen. The only choice I had was to flee.

My legs were trembling with the effort of bolting from my predator. I needed to rest. Behind a tree, I hid fearfully. From where I was concealed, I could see that evil killer prowling through the forest. Its yellow, pointy teeth were bared, while its ugly rough tongue disgusted and terrified me. Towering above the trees, it snarled and growled, searching with its beady eyes for food. Well, for me.

Eventually, I just had to look away because merely glancing at it was now causing my heart to flutter at an increasingly dangerous pace and a nauseating feeling gathered in my stomach. I decided to take a chance, and try to escape my inevitable death.

So the chase began again. On and on we ran, while crashes of falling trees followed nearby me. However, I couldn’t run for much longer. My whole body was aching from exertion. Quietly, panting with exhaustion, I whispered to whoever might be near, “Help me…”

Just when I thought my time had run out, a high pitched cry echoed throughout the forest. Unsure of what was happening, I threw my hands over my ears and leaned against a tree. Something rushed at me and I was catapulted sideways into a fast-flowing river.

I felt freezing cold water surround my body until my head hit something hard. I had just enough time to shout out in pain before I lost consciousness.

Groaning, I slowly tried to sit up. My head felt like it was blowing up like a balloon, and I knew enough to realise that I almost definitely had a concussion. Glancing around, I tried to take in my surroundings.

There were a couple of small, rectangular windows next to the sloping roof which were making the room glow a pleasant honey-yellow. A highly-polished wooden table with similar chairs were in the corner and there was a pale blue rug on the floor.

The bed that I had been placed on was also made of wood and someone had laid a soft patchwork quilt on top of me. However, at this point I knew to be wary of everything, even if it looked like a kindness. Gradually, I eased myself out of the bed and tried to find anything I’d missed.

Unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be a door anywhere, but maybe it was just hidden and I wasn’t well enough to spot it. Nevertheless, there was a big, blue, flashing button on one of the walls. I reached over to press it, before hesitating. Maybe it was a trap?

There didn’t seem to be any alternative. Wincing slightly at the pain in my head, I pushed the button firmly.

With a flash of light, I found myself a short distance from the woods I was being chased in earlier. Breathing a sigh of relief as I saw my transport pod was still here, I took one last look around, thinking carefully. I assumed the teleport from that room had simply taken me to where I was thinking of, but I still wanted to make sure it wasn’t an ambush.

After a few more minutes, I was satisfied there was no one else there, so I took off in my pod, the roar of its engine covering up a growl I would have recognised from earlier and an exhausted voice whispering “Help me…”