Emily wasn't sure what had really happened. She didn't know where she was or why she was there. She only knew that this was where she belonged. 

She wasn't sure how she knew it, it was just a gut feeling. This place stirred a memory, though one she couldn't quite indentify.

Tyler let go of her arm and swept his arm around in an introductory motion. "This, Maple, is the place where you were born."

Emily shivered slightly. "I wasn't born here. I was born at...a hospital...in...er..."

"Exactly." Tyler said, starting to walk away. Emily huffed and followed him, sending up puffs of the powdery snow as she walked.

"Why do you keep calling me Maple?" Emily asked, trying to catch up with Tyler as he sped up. "Because that's your element." He replied simply.

"Element? What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you can control it. My name is really Flame. I can control flames."

"So I can control maple syrup?"

Tyler laughed. "No, Maple, it means you can control a certain type of tree. Or make it grow out of no where...in the right conditions, that is."

Emily sneered at him. "I think I would prefer the maple syrup. What have trees ever done for me?"

Tyler whirled around angrily. "Trees have given you air to breath, paper to write on, wood to eat and walk on. And humans are killing them for more! Why not plant a couple before killing off a couple? You're taking away the homes of millions of animals just to develope your world more? I don't think that's going to work."

"Well, we can't plant trees faster than we can cut them down!" Emily said defensivly.

Tyler glared at her. "You keep saying we. There is no we anymore. You're not human. We'll be severing those ties for good."

"What if I want to be human?" Emily snapped, getting in Tyler's face. Tyler didn't even flinch away. "It doesn't matter what you want. Wanting doesn't exist in this world. You do what you're told until your parents decide you're old enough to be on your own. The average age is eighteen. You, Maple, are only sixteen."

"So I've earned no freedom?"

Tyler laughed bitterly. "Even when you are old enough there's no freedom. I don't care what you want to think, Maple, but I do care what you want to do. If you don't listen to our leader, you'll die. It's simple. He inspires fear in our lives and then works as hard as he can to keep us in line.

"Of course, there's a resistance against him, but no one knows who's in it. Obviously they can't talk about it, or they'll get themselves killed. They work silently, but they work well. Our leader is going crazy trying to find them."

"You keep referring to your leader as...well, a leader. Are they a boy or a girl? King or a queen?" Emily asked.

Tyler froze, his green cat-eyes widening. Emily tilted her head at him and suddenly, he lunged at her and grabbed her shirt collar. He held her up to his face and spoke in a deadly quiet voice, though it was far from calm.

"There is no king or queen, child, there is no boy or girl. Our leader is everything, everyone. There is no one you can trust here. NO ONE!"

His grip tightened and Emily couldn't breathe. She gasped and choked but Tyler continued to speak, his hand shaking in fear. "You can't ask these questions, you can't! You have to just listen and accpet."

Emily's vision began to blur. She lifted her hand and slapped Tyler across the face. He was so stunned he dropped her, and she coughed and gasped and dropped on her hands and knees.

Tyler put his hands to his mouth as Emily collapsed, her chest heaving. After a moment, she found her voice.

"Why the hell did you just try to strangle me?" She snapped through a coughing fit.

Tyler widened his eyes in a somewhat innocent way, not removing his hands from his mouth. Emily glared furiously at him and got to her feet, rubbing her throat angrily. She desperately wanted to throw a punch at him, but she figured it would be a bit harsh, considering he obviously hadn't meant to do what he did.

"Just lead the way, Tyler. I want to get to wherever we're going." She muttered.

For a moment, Tyler did nothing. He simply looked at her, his expression rather confused. "What is it?" She hissed.

Tyler sighed. "You can't call me Tyler here, Maple. You just can't." He said, his eyes suddenly flicking from side to side in an apprehensive way.

"Well, why?" Emily asked coldly. She didn't really feel like doing what Tyler told her to do, especially because he had just come close to strangling her.

"You don't understand, Maple."
"Then please, explain it to me."
"I told you that you can't ask these questions."
"Explain it to me or I swear on your life-"
"My life?"
"Your life, that bad things will happen."

Tyler stared at her for a moment, his face blank, and then he broke into a wide grin, showing off long fangs that made Emily take a step back.

"You, child, have no idea how humorous I find you." He said, losing the apprehensive air he had had just a moment ago.

Emily's mouth dropped open. She wasn't trying to be humorous! She was trying to get this idiot to tell he the truth about where the hell she was!

Furiously, Emily lunged at Tyler and tried to punch him. Tyler jumped back and, at the same time, swung his foot around and hit Emily in the gut. Emily staggered back, the breath knocked out of her, and struggled to breathe yet again.

"In case you haven't noticed, Maple, I am stronger than you, faster than you, and, dare I say it, smarter than you. You cannot fight me and win." Tyler said with a harsh laugh.

"Stop talking like that!" Emily screamed. "This is the twenty first century! And we're only sixteen-"

"Actually, I'm eighteen." Tyler pointed out slyly.

"Shut up!" Emily yelled furiously. "I'm going back home!" She added, turning around to go back the way they had come.

Suddenly, Tyler was in front of her, his eyes glowing angrily. "Oh no you won't, child. This is your home, you have no where else to go now." "Oh, I can go somewhere." Emily growled, trying to get around Tyler. He caught her with his arm, which was surprisingly firm, considering its stick-like appearance.

"You can't go anywhere, Maple. Now that you're here, no one in the real world will remember you. You don't exist anymore, you were never there, and now that you've been introduced to the place you were meant to be, you wouldn't be able to handle the real world anyway."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Emily whispered, something clicking into place in her brain.

"Only that you're one of us now." Tyler informed her, his voice suddenly sympathetic. "And you can't go back into the human world because you're not going to be accepted the way you used to be. I know it's hard, Maple, but you're not Emily anymore."