The moment before impact, Kiri felt the force of hurricane wind. Instead of that dreaded bone-shattering splat, it was as if she had been suddenly dropped from an airplane. The force was so strong, that her limbs which had been wrapped into a tight ball, were pulled painfully out in each direction. Confused, Kiri tried to open her watering eyes only to be further disoriented... Though it was blurry, she could see the clearing of a forest not far below her. She was not falling rapidly from some great height (despite what her miserable stomach was reporting), but slowly being lowered to the ground like some reverse alien abduction.
Oooff!!! When she finally met the ground, all the air rushed out of Kiri in a gust. It was as if gravity had returned all at once, and she lay starfish-ed in the grass for quite a while. A ringing sound her ears sharpened gradually into what she realized was a cacophony of bird calls. They echoed from all directions, seemingly one tree at a time, giving off a sort of rhythmic orchestral effect. Kiri struggled to a sitting position to take in her new surroundings: where the heck did the house go?? She was in a large clearing, the tall grass lit golden by the sunlight. The trees were an emerald green and so unbelievably tall she had to crane her neck to see the canopy. On closer inspection, Kiri realized the source of the rich color—populating the branches seemed to be a small army of beautiful green birds. There were so many, it made the trees seem alive as if the leaves were constantly fluttering about. Taking in the other worldly beauty, Kiri finally managed a cohesive thought- and sputtered out a hysterical laugh. She was dead. She had to be... The fall from the window was now a clear memory and IF she hadn't died from such an impact, she was most certainly in a coma. After preforming a quick physical check on herself and found that her dream self was fine at least, Kiri staggered to her feet and went to explore. She made for the direction the sun was arcing towards hoping that as it set, it would provide some sense of direction. She then laughed at herself, why consider her Girl Scout survival tips when she was so sure that none of this was real? And moreover, why did she actually feel so rough? With a burning curiosity to combat her exhaustion, Kiri trudged out of the sunlight and into the dark forest.
It was slow going, working through the thick underbrush and uneven ground. Luckily, some animal like a deer had recently cut a small path and Kiri did her best to stick to it. Though it was dimly lit, the forest around her glittered like a dark jewel. The rubbery leaves that whacked her as she passed were shiny with collected moisture and the branches that held them were dark and smooth. Even the moss underfoot had a faint iridescence that gave off a helpful yet eerie green glow.
Occasionally, Kiri felt the prickling unease of being stalked but she tried to limit herself to only peeking over her shoulder when it could be disguised as some other movement. Through her growing panic, the rational part of her mind realized that whirling around in the dark would only make her helplessness more obvious. So with little other option, she continued forward with her ears pricked for the snap of a twig or rustle of clothing behind her.