In all honesty, stepping into a clearing in the woods when he was expecting a cheap motel's parking lot was far from the strangest experience he'd ever had. Or even a unique one, exactly--though usually when he ended up suddenly in a place he wasn't supposed to, he didn't remember where he was supposed to be. He retained full possession of all of his memories this time, strangely enough. Not that that really made this any better.

It was a nice enough clearing, at least. Nicer than most, even--the stream was clean and clear, with a small child playing in it. And yet...

Perhaps because it was such a strange thing to happen--even for him--he couldn't help but feel there was something not entirely natural about this clearing.