Into the Darkness part I: Voices in the night

“Julia? Julia?” The voice seems distant ...calling...julia? then i remember. julia Jackson was me---or still is me. One way or the other...my head feels light and foggy, I find with a distant pang of alarm that i can’t remember anything other then my name and that this voice is somewhat comforting....the voice sounds sad---why so sad? something about this voice....sounds so--so familiar..i can’t place it “julia? darling it's going to be alright...” the voice is saying. Why bother telling me that? i’m alright\. oh.i realize the voice must be trying to convince itself not me. “its going to be...” the voice grows fainter. Suddenly i’m falling.falling? i scream. Terrified. After awhile i began to think that i will never come to rest on solid ground again until with a sudden muffled thud i hit the ground. The first thing i do is put one hand on my head. Dizzy. I rest there for a few more moments. When i have regained my bearings once more i look about me. I have landed on a soft bed of wild lilys. in front of me stretches a vast field. To my right, an equally large forest of pine and a tree i have never seen before, the tree has a slender trunk with black bark. and like the trunk has long slender branches. some close to the ground others breathtakingly high (i’d estimate roughly a good 60 feet). The tree has no leaves nor any signs that it has ever had. Strang. What a peculiar tree i think. I make a mental note to keep the tree in mind when i decide where to spend the night. I turn again this time to the west i am facing a large lake with healthy looking waters. behind me is a very different view---a large waste land spans as long as the field. Steam rises from the many cracks in the ground. Dead trees stand like charred crooked shadows. debris,stone,brush,and bones are scattered as far as i can see. I glimpse a mound of Debris and shriek. At the foot of the pile is a human skull. Jaws parted in a silent scream...i dare not look any closer at the poor soul. I shudder and get to my feet. I only have one rather important question...where am i? i hope for this question to be answered once i find civilisation. If there is any. I think darkly and push the thought away. Until then I’ll need a shelter, food and drink. So i set out to find food or, rather, water since that seems more important than food at the moment. I set out for the lake. Praying that the water, as promising as it may look, is sanitary. Once i reach the water i become more hesitant. along various sides of the lake, are what looks to me like many bones of all sizes. What could have left them? I think uneasily. I look around and soon spot a rock laying on the ground, and pick it up. Its not too heavy, so i throw it experimentally. It lands with a plunk a few yards into the lake. Nothing happens. I am about to approach the water and take a drink when I see it jump above the water and crunch the rock between its massive jaws. Before me is what i think people call, a sea serpent: It has two long serpent like heads, encrusted on the top of its head is a crown of golden spikes that match its catlike eyes, it has glistening blue scales,two long sharp yellow canines protrude from its jaws, top and bottom. Its body is like one of a dragon, minus the feet, in their stead is one giant fin. And its tail, its tail is a gruesome looking thing, with sharp barbs dripping green venom (which i am guessing are poisonous) continue from the base to the middle section, Thicker longer spike-like things continue from the middle to just above the fin. I fall backwards.Terrified.then scramble to my feet and back away. I had assumed something lived in the lake but i never actually expected a sea serpent to actually emerge. The serpent disappears beneath the waves. The once wellcome looking lake now seems sinister and forbidding. Without hesitation i turn around and head back to my flower bed. Once i have composed myself i wonder where i will get water. I consider my options; the dry land? not likely to find anything live or edible in that desert. The lake? out of the question. The forest? this seems the most promising since i have no other choices most likely to be rewarding. I stop at the strange black tree. For some reason, i feel drawn to it.I stare a moment longer then continue walking. I start searching the ground closely for any signs of mud, where there is mud there is bound to be water. After what i think must have been a few hours. I have had no luck. I sigh despairingly and sit myself down on a log and gaze up at the sky, it's getting darker. I must start considering where to spend the night. I suddenly realize that i am famished, well it can’t be helped. I look around. My stomach starts making undignified rumbling sounds. Since the black tree i had seen is miles behind me by now i start scouting the area for another. I find one in a few minutes since there are are literally thousands growing around here. I start to climb until i find a nice fork in the tree about 15 feet up. I am going to hope that this is safe from any unwanted predators who might prowl this forest at night. I settle myself against one side of the little scoop at the bottom of the fork in the tree. My last waking thought before i drifted off is that i hope i won't fall out and kill myself. Then i fall into a dreamless sleep. I’m awakened by the sound of hushed voices below. cautiously i inch to the edge of my makeshift bed and peer down.