I don't own any characters that aren't mine, and I don't pretend to. Anyone you don't recognize from the movie, however, are my ideas and mine alone. Thank you.
Prologue
Rain pelted the ground like rock falling from the darkness. The clouds were swollen with moisture. Here and there, a streak of lightning flashed, slicing through the storm-blackened clouds and flickering through the branches of tall trees.
Below the violent sky lay a park in the middle of a forest. Wind blew garbage off a lone picnic table; the remains of a meal left by some careless human visitors. A garbage can stood nearby, nearly brimming with discarded food containers.
There was no one around. It was all his.
R.J. smiled in his sleep. This was the kind of dream he enjoyed!
The raccoon made a beeline for the garbage can. Around the outside lay all kinds of goodies. He checked again for any fellow scavengers. Satisfied that no one was going to try and fight over his find, R.J. reached for a small plastic bag and scooped out crumbs and bits of what tasted like trail mix.
R.J. smiled again, snatching an old Spuddies can off the ground to inspect its contents. It was half full!
"Wow, good haul tonight!" R.J. muttered happily. It was rare when he could find this much food in one place. Ignoring a slight, pesky feeling of foreboding, R.J. dove into the garbage can. The can contained even more food…scraps and treasures beyond the raccoon's wildest dreams! Too bad it was a dream. Ahh, but it was a good one; might as well enjoy it!
A rustling sound caused R.J. to look up from the old sandwich he'd found. "That's strange," thought R.J., "I shouldn't be able to hear anything over this storm!" He popped his head up through the garbage and tried to see where the sound had come from.
Some nearby bushes moved.
"Who's there?" R.J. demanded uncertainly.
There was no answer.
He watched nothing happen for a while. Just as he was about to return to his feast, the bushes rustled again.
"Huh?" R.J. frowned, "Whoever you are, you can come on out. There's plenty for everyone here…hello?"
The continued absence of a reply was starting to really bother R.J.
"Hello?" R.J. repeated, "Hey, you in the bush…"
His words were cut short as something caught his eye. There was something on the road that went past the park. Two small furry things were sitting there, eating a soggy pizza that was lying across the center line.
"No!" R.J. gasped, inexplicably feeling his stomach sink.
Then everything happened fast. Something huge hurtled out of the bushes and galloped toward the small furry things. Images appeared, swirling around the raccoon in the garbage can. Lights flashed, faces went by. There was someone yelling something, yelling his name! A truck…with lettering on the side that he couldn't make out…rain, food, fur, tires, yelling, wet…
Then a van upside-down in a house. Vincent appeared by a vending machine. "Don't think I've forgotten what you did to me, R.J. I'll get you for this. And your little friends, too!" the bear growled. He stalked forward menacingly. R.J. saw his new family in front of the bear. Vincent attacked, sending the other animals sprawling against the rocks of a cliff. R.J. leapt from the garbage can in time to see Vincent turn. He fell towards the claws and teeth…
"Ahh!" yelled R.J.
"Ahh!" said a bunch of other voices.
R.J. blinked in surprise, then remembered where he was. He was in a log with his new family. He looked over at the eleven sleepy, annoyed animals he was sharing the log with.
"Sorry guys," R.J. apologized, a little embarrassed, "Nightmare."
The others groaned good-naturedly and turned back over. They all fell asleep quickly.
R.J. closed his eyes, halfway worried that he might return to the nightmare where it left off. Instead of letting himself think about it, he began to imagine happy thoughts. Giant piles of food. Friends. Family. The animals around him having a good time. Smiling, he settled into his leaf-nest. He took one last peek at the sleeping mammals and reptile before falling into a nightmare-free sleep.