From atop the tree, Tori had heard in the distance the slight gurgle of water, and seen a dim glint of moonlight reflecting off a surface in the distance. Moving water would hide her scent a bit, especially if those whatever-they-were could sniff her out. Plus she needed water, the water bottle she carried to work was nearly dry, and who knows how long she would be here.
Tori slowly and carefully moved through the woods, trying not to make too much noise despite the fact that with every step she heard the crackle of dry leaves underfoot. Every so often, she stopped and strained her ears for the telltale sound of water, and adjusted her direction when she caught it. Finally, she came across a flowing stream, somewhat wide but relatively shallow. Taking off her socks and placing them in her backpack, Tori put her shoes back on her bare feet and started trudging downstream through the middle of the brook. After moving all night, despite her fatigue, Tori found a nook high in a tree and hid herself in order to get some rest and let her shoes dry, although she barely got any sleep.
As the next evening drew close, she began again, but this time staying along the bank as the stream joined another and became slightly wider. She tried to spot fish, but had no real way to catch any if she could find some. She was tempted to try some fruits, but since they were unrecognizable, she finished the last of the snacks in her backpack instead. Every time she heard a slight noise she couldn't place, she scurried up a tree or behind a bush until she was satisfied no one was tracking her. By the next day, she was becoming giddy with hunger and exhaustion. The small stream was slowly becoming a river, but Tori didn't know if that was good or bad, since a river might attract more of whatever passed for inhabitants of this crazy land.
Finally, Tori could hold out no longer. Her eyelids were drooping and she was stumbling over her own feet. Finding a small hollow at the base of a large tree, Tori passed out.
As she opened her eyes, for a second, Tori thought she might be back in her dorm room, since she was no longer sleeping curled up in a hole in the ground. Perhaps it had all been a long nightmare. She was disabused of the notion the minute she saw the wood ceiling above her. However, she was laying on something that passed for a mattress. Hearing the door open, Tori turned her head to see who had spirited her away. Blinking, she finally realized her savior was...