Heavy eyelids tried to open while the ears tried to shut out the sound of the freight train that was passing by. Kitt drew up his hands to cover his ears to block the noise out, then coming to realize that the freight train was within his head. He brought his eyes open slowly only to find the world spinning dizzily about him. A wave of nausea overcame him. He rolled onto his side to retch, his thin body convulsing painfully with each spasm. His stomach was mercifully empty, curtailing the length of the retching to four bouts. A cold sweat beaded his pale face, his small frame trembled with the weakness that follows.

Kitt laid there panting through his mouth, bringing small ragged gulps of air into his lungs. As the nausea subsided, he wiped his mouth with the back of one hand, starting to feel better as he slowed his breathing down. He pushed himself up into a sitting position on shaky arms finally daring to open his eyes again. Things were a little gray around the edges, but, as he blinked his eyes, things grew clearer. He had his eyes directed at his feet, they were still bare. Around his right ankle the basket he had brought to the cellar was hooked.

He drew his foot up, dragging the basket with it. One box of candles, a box of matches and the snake flashlight remained in it. He scanned the deep grass around him for the rest of the contents. Wait a sec...grass? With mouth hanging slightly agape, the boy slowly brought his head up to observe his surroundings.

Sure enough, he was sitting in a glade surrounded by a dense woods. It seemed familiar, like a place he had read about in a book. There was a small waterfalls that feed a crystal clear brook that was about twenty feet away from where he was sitting. Above the waterfalls was, by first glance, a large mound of grass. What it really was, was a huge, moss covered boulder with a large, spreading oak tree sprouting from it. An impossible place for anything to be growing, other than moss. But, growing it was and thriving at that. In midst of all this, strange, brightly colored flowers grew in abundance. Upon closer study, one would notice them to be the same species of flower. Only, they were a multitude of colors, glorious reds, brilliant blues and sunny yellows. This place looked exactly like it was described in the book.

Kitt rubbed his eyes, then looked again. It was still there. He pinched himself, letting out a yelp of pain only to find that he was wide awake and it was still there! This was impossible! Kitt was becoming frightened with this storybook place. It was too much for his childish mind to comprehend. Had it been a dream, it might have delighted him.

He scrambled to his feet, hopping on one foot, the basket still hanging from his right ankle, nearly sending him sprawling. Once again, that acute sense of balance saved him as he freed himself from the shackling basket.

"MOM! DAD!" he called out on the verge of panic.

Kicking the basket aside, contents spilling out on the ground with the exception of the snakelite that had wrapped itself around the handle, the terrified boy turned in a circle, arms outstretched for balance. His wide eyes proof of his fear.

"KITT!!"

His mother's voice came clearly to him. He turned in the direction of her voice, seeing her, his father and aunt and uncle, emerging from the forest on the other side of the brook. Three oddly dressed people walked, unconcernedly, behind them.

Victoria Humphrey ran into the brook, gasping with surprise at the chilling cold of the water. She slogged through water up over her knees. The bottom of her simple blue shift soaking up the water, becoming a darker shade of blue up to her thighs. The rest of his family followed suit, Uncle Paul holding onto Aunt Terry's elbow, assisting her crossing. Robert had caught up to his wife in time to help her up the bank. The three strangers remained on the opposite bank, seeming reluctant to enter the water.

Kitt wasted no time, running down to throw his arms about the waists of both parents, hiding his face and the tears of relief in the crook of his mother's arm. He felt ashamed that he was crying, but he had never been separated from his parents like this before. He had always known where they were at home. In this strange place, he was totally at a loss. Victoria was now shedding a few tears of her own.