Slowly he awoke and smelled the air. Something was not right. For one thing he could not hear the sound of the forest. He could hear no animals as they made their way through the forest. Where was the morning call of the Cuckoo echoing throughout the forest. For sixty odd years he had lived in the forest and not once has anything like this happened before. He arose and stretched his creaking joints. There was a nice tree stump near his lean to which he used as his seat and ate his breakfast. This consisted of berries and wild fruits that he had collected the previous days.

By the time he had finished there still were no sounds. This was very disconcerting and needed further investigating. As he walked along he realised that not only were there no larger animals but even the small bugs and insects seemed to be absent. Now he was beginning to be really concerned. He climbed a nearby tree which seemed taller than the rest. It appeared to reach high into the heavens. Higher and higher he climbed it until he reached the very top.

There far off into the distance something was happening but he couldn't quite make it out. It was coming from far inland and heading this way. What was it and what did the animals know that they deserted this part of the forest. Slowly and carefully he climbed back down. Finally he stood on solid ground once again. He was perplexed as to what was happening. On one hand he wanted to know what it was but on the other, if the animals showed the need to escape it was advisable to follow their lead.

He would have to head to the coast. Over sixty years ago he left Hamburg and he never wanted to return. He doubted if anyone would even remember him. Theirs was a love affair that bards recite verses about and minstrels sing about. Sadly she died in a tragic accident and he could no longer look at anything in Hamburg that did not remind him of his love. He knew that he had to leave and it was the forest he made his home in and there he had lived for over sixty years. His time keeping was a bit sketchy but close enough.

As he finally came out of the forest he could not believe what he saw. Where was Hamburg and the bustling of people here and there. Where were the animals that lined the streets and worst of all where was the Meeting Hall that had stood there for centuries. In a daze he wandered through the streets unable to comprehend as to what had befallen Hamburg. All the houses were emptied and there were even complete buildings missing. The only things of value left behind were the Skuddles. They were pulled up on the beach here and there and it appeared all in perfect condition.

At some point he suddenly became aware of a faint noise coming from the forest. It was unlike any noise he had heard before and it was rapidly getting louder. As it came closer to the edge of the forest he realised what it was and he was chilled to the bone. He had never seen it but had heard of it before. Oh my God, what to do?