Mud. I had to be standing in mud. Or maybe it was quicksand or something. I used to worry about that far too often. The stories I read as a kid made it seem like that was a real threat to my day-to-day life, that I could get sucked into it randomly and never be able to escape, but I’d yet to come across it.

  That could have changed, though. It was one of the places my mind immediately jumped to as I stared at my foot, trying to work out why it had sunk far deeper than the solid forest floor should have allowed it to. The ground beneath me was no longer solid, though. It seemed to be melting. It warped, twisting and growing softer before my eyes, and I stumbled.

  Everything around me was transforming. It was all changing and shifting, and I had no clue what was happening, but I could barely think about it as I stumbled, trying frantically to keep my balance on the unsteady ground.

  My heart pounded, and I was certain I was going to fall, but somehow, I managed to come to a stop. My knees were slightly bent, my arms were stretched out to the side, and I barely dared to breathe. I was too terrified that any movement would send me careening off balance again, and I didn’t want to risk it.

  But I had to look around. Slowly, whilst moving as smoothly as possible, I lifted my head. My eyes widened, and my mouth fell open as I stared at my surroundings, trying to make sense of them, but it was impossible.

  I was no longer in the middle of a forest. There were still trees around me, but they were further away and slightly more spread out. They looked different, less covered in vines and moss, but I was in a clearing of sorts. The dense vegetation had given way to… water.

  My breathing came in quick gasps as I glanced down at my feet again, and I wobbled, almost losing my balance as fear shot through me, making my knees weak. The platform I was standing on shifted at my movement, sending ripples through the water beneath it.

  A lily pad. I was standing on a lily pad in the middle of the water, and I had no idea how or why I was there. It had happened so suddenly. Moments ago, I’d been weaving through the trees and leaping over fallen logs, but suddenly, I was fighting to keep my balance on a leaf in the middle of a pond.

  Or was it a swamp? I wasn’t sure what the difference was, but a voice in the back of my head told me it was a swamp. It seemed like one. The water was dark and murky. Both living and dead plants floated on the surface, and movement seemed to flicker below.

  My breath caught in my chest as fear speared me. Was that a crocodile? They lived in swamps, right? I was pretty sure they did anyway. Someone had said that before, or I’d read it somewhere, but that didn’t seem right. There shouldn’t have been any crocodiles there. I was in Scotland, and wild crocodiles didn’t just live in the forests there.

  Hesitation shot through me, and my eyes flicked towards the trees again, scanning them quickly. Was I still in Scotland? I didn’t remember leaving there, but… it didn’t feel right. It didn’t feel like Scotland or even the United Kingdom.

  The air was too muggy. It was too humid, and every breath was a challenge. It felt like there wasn’t enough oxygen in the air; there was too much water, and mosquitoes buzzed around me, creating an endless droning that set me on edge.

  A sharp pain came from my arm, and I slapped it instinctively, crushing the bug and leaving a smear of blood. It was foolish. The movement caused me to sway dangerously as the lily pad shifted beneath my feet, and a small wave of water lapped at my shoes.

  It seemed to be made up of mud and debris, I realised as I stared at it, fighting the urge to step away from the oozing liquid. It was too thick, and there were bits of twigs and dead bugs floating within it. Disgust rose within me, and I longed to hurry away from it, but I forced myself to stay still and wait for the motion to pass.

  A silent prayer to any god who would listen bubbled up within me, and I couldn’t stop myself from begging them to intervene, to do something to prevent the leaf from tearing and sending me plunging into the sludge below. It would feel so horrible against my skin. I could already imagine the sensation, and I didn’t want to experience that. I didn’t want to discover whether it was even more revolting than what I was picturing.

  My muscles tensed as a shudder threatened to shake the lily pad again. If I fell in, it could get in my mouth, I realised. My lips clamped together, as if that would prevent it from happening. The smell was horrendous, and there was an almost sweet edge to it that turned my stomach, making bile burn the back of my throat.

  There was no escaping the somewhat familiar scent, though. It was thick and pervasive, sending to permeate everything, and I longed to get away from it. If anything did happen, if I somehow fell into the water and some went in my mouth or up my nose, I’d be sick. There would be no way for me to hold back my vomit, and that felt dangerous.

  Would the crocodiles be drawn to it? Would that make them attack, like throwing chum into the water to attract fish? Sometimes, that made sharks attack, so perhaps it would for crocodiles too, but I didn’t know. I had no experience with them; I wasn’t sure if I’d even seen a crocodile before, but I pushed the thought aside, trying to work out how I’d gotten there.

  I’d been in the forest, I told myself, my thoughts moving as slowly as the water around me. My mind felt just as murky and clouded, but I forced myself to concentrate. It wasn’t easy, though. It didn’t want to cooperate, and I felt like I was walking blindly through fog, but a recollection finally came to me.

  An image flashed behind my eyes, a memory. The thick undergrowth was melting. It had turned to liquid and dripped away, the droplets moving so fast that I couldn’t catch them. They seemed to slip between my fingers as I reached for them, unsure of what was happening, but it was too late. They were already gone, and the world had changed.

  My eyebrows drew together as my eyes followed a ripple moving sinuously through the water, and my hands began to tremble. That wasn’t real. That hadn’t actually happened, I told myself. It couldn’t have. I had hazy recollections, and it felt as though I’d witnessed it, but it was impossible. My brain was tricking me. The floor couldn’t just turn to liquid. That kind of thing didn’t happen in real life.

  But… it wasn’t real life. I wasn’t in my reality, and I assumed things were the same in whatever world I was in, that the laws of physics still applied to it, but they might not have. Perhaps each world had slightly different laws of physics and… reality or whatever it was that stopped things like that from occurring. Maybe they were all slightly different, and there was no way to determine what was possible until I experienced it.

  No. That was stupid. I was being stupid. Things like physics and gravity and whatever it was existed for a reason. They were necessary, and it wasn’t possible for some worlds to not need them. They were essential for life, for existence.

  Something else must have happened. My memories, the few that I had, couldn’t be real. They had to be fake, wrong somehow. That was a thing, wasn’t it? Memories weren’t always accurate recollections of reality. They could be twisted or made up.

  Mom had said that before, I remembered. She’d said I was misremembering things quite often, claiming that she never said some of the things I was certain she’d screamed at me, but maybe I was wrong. Perhaps she was right the whole time, and it had been a dream or something. That’s what I was remembering when I thought she’d said those things to me, and I just assumed it had happened in real life.

  Maybe… maybe that was just a dream. The world hadn’t really turned molten and trickled away. I was sleeping, and my mind was playing tricks on me. It wouldn’t have been the first time I’d had a really vivid dream that felt real. I was pretty sure of that.

  Slowly, I lifted my hand to my other arm and pinched it hard. Dull pain radiated from it, and confusion washed over me as I dug my nails in. The pain became sharper, and I let go, a shaky breath escaping my lips.

  I should have known, I told myself. I’d already felt pain since I’d found myself balanced on the swaying platform. The drying streak of blood on my arm should have been proof of that, but I stared at it, trying to recall what had caused it.

  Had I caught it on a tree? It could have happened before, maybe? That felt right. I thought it did, anyway. The branches were sharp; it had felt like they were slicing into me as I rushed through them, hurrying to get away, but…

  I shook my head, causing another minuscule wave to threaten my balance. No. It was a mosquito, I decided, as another one landed on my arm. The urge to swat it away sparked within me, but I remained still, knowing it might make me fall. That must have been what happened before. I just couldn’t remember it for some reason.

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  A distant panic trilled in my heart. Why were my memories so fleeting and hard to access? I knew I was in a new world. I hadn’t been there long enough to be able to access all of them, but it wasn’t right. I was forgetting things that I’d been there to witness. I was almost certain I’d been present when the last bug had landed on my arm; I couldn’t recall leaving the world since then, but the memory was gone. It wasn’t right. That had never happened before, and I wasn’t sure what was happening, but it terrified me.

  It had to be a problem in the world I was in. That had to be the cause of my foggy mind. Things like that happened sometimes in other places. I was pretty sure they had, at least. I couldn’t remember any specific examples, but there was a vague sense of certainty in my stomach, which made me assume it had. Maybe there was another world where I’d gotten drunk or something, and my memories had been spotty.

  Perhaps that was the cause of why I was feeling so mentally unsteady. It could have been the reason why I thought I’d seen the world melting too, I realised. Maybe I was just really drunk. I didn’t remember drinking anything, but it could have happened.

  Or was it drugs? Had I taken something? That didn’t feel right. I wasn’t the kind of person who would do that, and I was pretty sure I didn’t know anyone who would even have any drugs, so that couldn’t have happened.

  Unless it was someone I didn’t know. A random person, a stranger, could have slipped something into my food or water. Surely, I would have tasted it, though. If someone had done that, it would have changed the flavour, and I didn’t remember eating anything that tasted off.

  Actually… I didn’t remember eating anything. I searched my memories, trying to figure it out, but they were blank. I couldn’t recall when I’d eaten last or ever eating, but I had to have had something. I needed food. Everyone did. All humans and animals needed food to survive, but I couldn’t remember a single time I’d ever actually done it.

  It didn’t matter, I told myself, trying to smother my rising panic. I just couldn’t access my memories properly yet, but it was only a matter of time before I could, and then I was sure I’d be able to recall food and how I’d gotten there. There was no need for me to worry about that yet. I had more important things to think about. I had to focus and remember what I was doing there.

  Ice slipped down my spine, and I lifted my gaze, scanning the trees at the end of the water. What was I doing? Why was I in the woods? I must have ventured out there for a reason, but I had no idea what it was. I didn’t like the woods. They creeped me out, so why would I have chosen to enter them?

  My eyebrows furrowed as I wracked my brain in search of an answer. There must have been something, something that drove me out there. I wouldn’t have done it if I had any other choice, so that was what must have happened. It was the only thing I could do because… I was following someone?

  No. That wasn’t right. I was being chased.

  There were people. I’d seen people. The memory seemed to burn behind my eyes, and I clutched at it desperately. The intensity of the relief that slammed into me because I could recall something was so strong that it almost drove me to tears, but it dissipated too soon.

  They were following me. I’d seen them emerge from the service station, and I’d run, leaving… someone behind. Who, though? I couldn’t recall, but I was sure there was something or someone that I’d turned my back on. There had to be. I’d been reluctant to go for some reason, but I had no other choice.

  Frustration burned within me, and my hands clenched into fists as I tried to work out who I’d left, but my mind didn’t hold the answer. I longed to hit something, knowing it was the only way to get the anger out, but there was nothing close enough for me to punch, and if I hit myself, I’d lose my balance.

  It didn’t matter, I decided. The person I’d left behind was probably fine, but I was being followed. Hunted. The fuzzy figures dressed in black were probably still looking for me, and I’d wasted too much time. I’d been standing still for too long, and I had to keep moving. I had to get away from them, but I was stranded.

  I looked around desperately, trying to find a way to safety. My eyes landed on the lily pad in front of me, and hesitation simmered in my stomach. A series of leaves stretched out across the water, almost like stepping stones. They formed a path, a way to get to the trees on the other side.

  My muscles tensed as I prepared to dart forward before my brain caught up with what I was doing, and I froze again. That was a stupid idea. The one I was standing on might be strong enough to hold my weight, but it might have been a fluke. There was no guarantee that any of the others would be able to do it, and I couldn’t risk falling into the swamp.

  I had to get out, to get back to the shore. It would be safer then. At least the ground would be solid, and I’d be able to run without worrying about my foot tearing right through it, sending me to my death. It could still happen, obviously. I didn’t trust anything in that world, but it felt less likely.

  Slowly, I began to turn. My eyes darted towards the rip that I’d already caused in the leaf as I moved, cautious of not making it any worse. It didn’t seem to be growing, though. It was much stronger and more solid than I expected, but it was still a leaf. They were fragile.

  I lifted my gaze from the thing beneath my feet, glancing up at the riverbank, and my stomach dropped. Confusion and fear jostled within me as I stared, unable to do anything else.

  How had I gotten so far out? There were five giant lily pads between me and the shore, but they looked even more frail and less likely to hold me than the one I was standing on. The edges of each leaf were withered. They’d turned brown and were curling in on themselves, barely able to reach above the surface of the water. It lapped at them, slowly dragging them under.

  I was certain they would not have been able to hold my weight. If I tried, if I put even a hair on them, it seemed as though they’d fold at once. I could picture it vividly. My mind was filled with images of the giant leaves wrapping around me like a blanket, making it impossible to escape as we sunk into the depths.

  A shudder wracked me as I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. Even if they’d managed to carry me before, I couldn’t risk it again. I doubted they’d be able to do it, which meant I needed to find another option. There had to be something else I could do.

  I peered over the edge of the lily pad, eyeing the water. I couldn’t see much, but surely, it wasn’t particularly deep. It wouldn’t only come up to my calves. Maybe my knees at most. I could wade through it to the edge. It might take a while to get there, but once I was on the riverbank, I’d be able to run again.

  Something darted through the water, coming far too close, and I barely managed to stop myself from jumping back. There was something in the water, some kind of creature. I’d seen it before, but somehow, it had slipped from my mind. I’d forgotten one of the dangers that I was certain was circling me.

  My eyes followed the shadowy shape as it cut through the water. It didn’t come above the surface, though. All I could see of it was a ripple as it swam around me threateningly, and I almost wished it would. If I could see it, if I knew what it was, there was no way I’d be able to forget about it, and then I would have known how scared I should have been.

  Maybe it was just a big fish, I tried to reassure myself, but the note of desperation in my thoughts made me even more anxious. The pond or swamp or whatever it was could have been home to some overgrown things. Perhaps someone had set their pet goldfish free there long ago. I was pretty sure they grew to fit the size of their tanks, so maybe once it was there, it just kept getting bigger.

  Or maybe it was a snake, a voice in the back of my head whispered. They could swim, couldn’t they? Some could, anyway. I’d seen it in one of the cheesy horror movies I’d watched with a friend a lifetime ago, and I wasn’t sure if that happened in real life, but that might not matter. The world I was in made no sense, so perhaps some snakes lived in water there.

  A thought slipped into my mind, making my heart thud. If that were true, if the world I was in was actually that different from what I knew, the thing in the water might not have been an animal at all. There were other options, worse options.

  It could be a hydra. They were fictional, but maybe that was only the case in my world. Perhaps the one I was in was infested with them. Sometimes, they lived in water. There was a Greek myth where one lived in a lake or something. I had no recollection of reading it, and I had no idea what happened in the story, but I was certain the creature rose out of the lake at some point.

  There was more than one thing in the water. I could see movement coming from multiple directions. They were surrounding me, but perhaps it was just the hydra’s many heads. They might have just been getting into position, and then… I wasn’t sure, but I didn’t want to know what would happen.

  That wasn’t the only fictional creature that lived in water, though. There were so many, I realised as tears burned behind my eyes. Countless stories and movies had been told about monsters that lived in swamps and lakes. They dragged their unsuspecting victims to the depths, playing with them as they slowly drowned, and I could have been their next target.

  I had to escape. I needed to get away from the water and back onto dry land. I’d be safe there. Nothing would hurt me. I just needed to find a way to get off the lily pad, and then I’d be fine.

  My head snapped up, my arms wheeling slightly as I wobbled, and my eyes searched the trees. The shore was not safe. Something was watching me. I could feel it, feel the weight of their gaze upon me, but I couldn’t see them. They were hiding in the shadows, blending into the darkness, and utterly invisible.

  I wouldn’t see them. Somehow, I knew that. I could scrutinise the trees for hours, for days even, and I still wouldn’t spot them. They were too good at it, too practised at being unseen. The only way I would catch sight of them was if they wanted me to, and then, it would be too late. I’d be dead.

  But who were they? Why were they there, and what could they possibly want from me? I was no one. I was just a regular person, and there was nothing I could offer them. I didn’t know anything. The only thing of value I could tell them was—

  Crowing laughter split the air, and the lily pad below me jerked as I slapped my hands over my ears to block out the mocking sound, but it still found a way in. Another voice joined the first, quickly followed by a third. A chorus of cruel shrieks echoed from the trees, bombarding me from all directions. I couldn’t work out where it was coming from. The noise was far too close. My mind turned blank from terror, and I could only form one thought:

  I had to move.