I headed downstairs to the kitchen after my shower, raiding for something to eat before I had to leave for classes. Just about all I could figure was an apple, some Ensure, or a bottle of banana milk. I grabbed the milk, knowing I’d regret it when I was hungry again in an hour, but not really caring right now.

I chugged it on my way out the door, tugging up the zipper on my jacket with one hand against the early morning chill. Even the air was frozen solid at six AM in December, explaining why I couldn’t seem to get any into my lungs. I was still thinking about my dream. My Nightmare.

I scuffed the gravel driveway with my feet, shuffling stones with my feet as I walked. My home was really a glorified farm house, too far away from anything to really be part of town. Nearest bus stop was about two miles away, but I didn’t mind being out in the Boonies. I liked being alone, and I liked walking, even in this cold air. I pulled out my MP3 player, unwrapping the headphones before plugging them into my head and drowning out the sounds of my feet, the fields and the forests around me.

I only got to the end of the driveway before the shivers started. Little twitches that went down my spine, the ones that you got when you felt someone watching you. I looked behind me, Victim Effect still playing in my ears, trying to locate the pair of eyes I knew were around somewhere. When I turned back around, there was a man there.

Standing at the edge of the trees stood a small blonde, dressed in an odd Victorian-like style that suited him well. He wore a deep scarlet waistcoat with a gold belt, and black dress trousers whose pleats could probably cut glass. A white tie and a top hat completed the strange ensemble except for one thing: the man had a pair of fluffy white ears sticking out from under the hat.

What in gay hell? I thought, removing one of my ear buds. “Excuse me,” I said, stepping towards the weirdo, “Can I help you?”

The man curved his thin lips into a sunny smile, looking a little daft, truth be told. “Taemin-ah, you’re very late” he imparted. His voice was high, too soft and sweet to be frightening.

“Late for what, exactly?”

The man giggled, his laughter sounding as clear and cold as a bell ringing in the silence. “For your trial, you know.” His laughter rang in the quiet once more before he turned and ran off, disappearing into the trees.

Trial? “Hey, wait! What trial?” I shouted, slinging off my backpack onto the ground and pounding after the stranger. The thin light of the forest drowned me, surrounding me, as I waded in deeper. This wasn’t really a path I was on; I tripped over roots and slipped on old, rotten leaves, regaining my footing quickly each time. I could still hear the stranger’s chuckling, he didn’t sound winded at all, even though I was panting.

Where in the name of Satan’s apple-green boxer shorts did he go? Everything was quiet now except my breath, and I couldn’t see the stranger anywhere. I took one, two, three steps forward, and that’s when I fell down the hole.