"Hey, Damien!" I yell, running across the yard. Damien responds with a low down, simple wave. I see he is trying to keep up his cool act. "Do you want to come play footy?" But it isn't long before Damien receives another offer to go somewhere, and completely shoves mine off. Then he turns his back on his best friend.

Seriously, Damien can be quite cold to me, not to mention that his popularity can go to his head. I mooch across the road, to the park. Then I feel wet mud on my foot. I dropped my shoe in the middle of the road. It is only then I start to panic.

My mum will be extremely mad if I don't get that shoe back. On the other hand, it is a fairly busy road. Oh well, screw road safety. I jump into the middle of the road, dive in to grab my shoe. But, I don't see the Transit that is less than an inch away from me.

Next thing I know, I am lying flat on the ground. I can hear voices and feel the pain, yet I cannot see anything.

I feel myself drifting off to sleep, slowly. It is relaxing and calming, despite the pain…

When I wake up, I am lying in a field. Not any kind of field, though. It is more like a meadow with all sorts of flowers and animals around it. I stagger to my feet; this place makes me feel really strange. I feel for any injuries, but I can't find any.

"Where, and more importantly, what is this place?" I wonder aloud. A voice responds from in the trees.

"This is, well, not really anywhere. Here is basically where somebody in a coma's conscious comes. You have to try and get out of here before, well; before they turn off the life support machines" That makes me turn to jelly inside.

Then, a boy around my age jumps out of the trees, doing a flip before he lands. He has big wings sprouting from his back, wings like an eagle. He also has sharp claws for feet.

"Let's make a start. I'm Mitchell, and you are…" He raises an eyebrow at me. Then, it just rolls off my tongue; before I have chance to even think about it.

"Atticus" I respond. Mitchell smirks at my name, and that really annoys me. "What are you smirking at, Bird Boy?" Mitchell quickly wipes a smirk off his face, and continues rambling on.

"So, Atticus. A few things you gotta know about this world. Number 1: Almost anything can happen here, so be wary. Number 2: That room over there can let you see and hear what is going on in your hospital room" He explains, while pointing to a hole in the tree.

"And Number 3: You'll definitely need this" He says, before tossing a gold charm to me. I look over it in confusion, when it starts glowing in my hand. I feel it; it is bursting with power, power that is slowly filling me. Mitchell fetches me a mirror, and shows me. I have transformed into a half-cheetah.

At first I am alarmed, but then I relax, and shoot a small smile at Mitchell. He hands me something else, something long that is keeping something hard, with a handle in. It also has a strap, so I can carry it on my back.

I strap it, when Mitchell beckons me to take it out. When I draw it out, it is like nothing I have ever seen before. It is a sword, a golden, knight's sword. I slot it into its pouch, before pausing. I forgot.

"But wait: If I've got this, then what's your weapon" I ask. Mitchell shoots me a kind of look that says: Did you think I'd forget myself?

He pulls out a whistle, and blows into it. Then a flock of several eagles surround him. "Alright, you start through that cave. Prepare here, do whatever you like until you feel you're ready. Good luck. Oh, by the way, you're on your own now."

I take one glance at the deep, dark cave, and gulp. It certainly doesn't look welcoming, in fact, it looks depressing. I give rushing straight in a miss, and decide to head to the room that Mitchell was talking about.

I am surprised at how fast I can run there. I slowly walk into the room. It is completely dark except for a giant, purple, glowing crystal. I look into it. I see myself lying on a bed, with lots of tubes and wires. I see my older sister, Lottie, holding my hand, my mum buried into my dad, who is comforting her.

But what surprises me most, is that Sapphire, my tomboy little sister, actually missed her football match; she missed it for me.

Tears start to roll down my cheeks, I try to blink them back, but it is no use. I hear my mum's voice, despite being muffled, and shaky. She is saying: "But what if he doesn't come back? What if he never wakes up?"

I clench my fist, and walk out if the room. I've got to do this; For Lottie, Sapphire, Mum & Dad. No matter how scared I am, I've got to do this. I run into the cave.

As soon as I set one foot in the cave, I hear a splash. Darn it! This cave is damper than I thought. Then I start shaking, half out of nervousness, half out of the cold of the cave. I press on anyway.

Then I see somebody in the distance – No, something. It sort of looks like a horse, only with a horn sprouting from the top of its head. A unicorn?! B-B-but I thought they only existed in fairytales.

Well, whatever. This is the fight to save my life. Whether I like it or not, this fairytale is for real.

Author's Note

Hey! This is a joint story between me and manga-han-han. Every chapter with an odd number, I (Pikachu123angel) will write, every chapter with an even number, manga-han-han will write.