Strangewood by Christopher Golden

to know that
Strangewood wasn't real. At least, that's what his Daddy told him and his Daddy
never lied. But maybe, he thought, just maybe Daddy didn't really know.
    Nathan started to cry again at that thought; that and the
smell of his pee soaking his pants, already starting to dry. If Daddy didn't
know, then Daddy wouldn't be able to come and find him. Not ever.
    And if Daddy couldn't find him in Strangewood, then nobody
could.
    "What the hell is he crying for, Bob?" Cragskull
sneered. "I'd just started to like this quiet, and the kid's got to go and
ruin it. I'm gonna crack his head like a walnut and suck his brains out like
I'm at a cauliflower pie-eating contest."
    "Bossss wouldn't like it, Crag," Longtooth
grumbled. "You'd better not."
    "You're really no fun," Cragskull said, but then
didn't say anything else about eating Nathan's brain, or vegetable pies.
    They talked about him like he wasn't there, which was okay
with Nathan. He didn't want to be there and kept closing his eyes hoping he'd
wake up at home, or teleport himself from here to someplace else, like he'd
seen on just about every cartoon he'd ever watched, except maybe Scooby Doo.
    There was another turn in the Winding Way, and suddenly, the
sky brightened. He had a moment to hope the sun might come out, but then he
heard the crackling. Smelled the heavy smoke. A fire was burning, and it was a
big one.
    Quickly, he reversed his position in the wheelbarrow again,
and his belly felt sick when he saw the flames, roaring above a tiny village
that once was round and brightly colored. The fire was all colors, too, the
colors of the homes and shops and people . . . even the Melody Mill was
burning, its balconies and ornate iron and woodwork blazing.
    It was the Land of Bells and Whistles, and except for the
roar of the fire, it was completely silent.
    "Wow!" Longtooth whispered, stroking his whiskers
and licking his long tusks.
    "Ain't that a hoot!" Cragskull whooped with
delight.
    Heart drumming in his chest, Nathan realized the two
creatures weren't paying attention to him for the moment. He had to go, and so
he rolled on his side right out of the wheelbarrow.
    "Hey!" Cragskull shouted angrily, his voice rising
to a growl of fury.
    But Nathan was already running as fast as his little boy
legs could carry him, back down the Winding Way in the direction they'd come
from. He didn't even remember what was back there, except maybe for
Fiddlestick's cave, Grumbler's cottage, and the homes of some of the others. But
it was enough that it was the opposite direction than Longtooth and Cragskull
wanted him to go in.
    "I've got him!" Longtooth snarled, and Nathan felt
a tug on the back of his pajamas.
    He kept running, heard Bob Longtooth curse behind him. His
feetie pajamas slapped hard dirt and the tears kept rolling, but he wasn't
going to stop. Nathan screamed loud and long, as if it would protect him
somehow
    "Brat!" Longtooth screamed.
    "I'll kill you for making this such a pain in the
ass!" Cragskull added, and Nathan almost slowed down when he heard that
terrible, rumbling laugh. It took his strength away for a second.
    But he didn't stop. He ran on. Rounded a corner and prayed
that he would be able to find someone. He kept screaming for help, screaming
for his father who would never find him here, and if his father couldn’t then
nobody ever would.
    He felt the hot breath of the saber-toothed man behind him,
and then he heard Bob Longtooth roar and felt claws rip into his back and
Nathan Randall nearly passed out from the pain and the shock.
    Nathan lay on his belly in the dirt, praying to God that his
mommy and daddy would come now. Come and take him home. Home wasn't really
there anymore, not one home for all of them, but his room was still there. His
room, where he was safe.
    "I . . . want . . . my . . . Mom!" he huffed
hysterically through pained sobs.
    "Awwww," Cragskull said throatily behind him,
above where Longtooth had pinned Nathan to the dirt, the dirt he