...Shaking itself free of the ground and its rubble, the craft hovers. Like a shattered flower-pot in reverse, it appears to fix itself; sucking all of its broken pieces back into one.
Then, with inconceivable speed, the ship zips up through the trees and into the sky – until it is no bigger than a tiny star – disappearing entirely.
Slowly, you rise, dusting yourself off. You help your cousins to their feet as well.
What sense can be made of this? What on – or off – Earth just happened?
And what about that strange writing? How can you possibly figure out what it means, and why was the alien pointing at it?
“Help us help you…” the alien’s last words echo through your mind.
So many questions, the exhaustion makes you dizzy.
Perhaps a quick scan of the area will yield at least a small clue…
~*~
“What exactly should we be looking for?” Steven says in a shaky voice…
“Anything,” replies Anthony. “Hopefully something that can tell us what the writing means…”
Section by section, the three of you cover quite a good deal of ground. Turning up nothing has more than frustrated you.
“That ship sucks!” Anthony says, attempting to lighten the mood, “It sucked up everything...”
“That’s not even funny, Ant.” Steven jabs.
“Yup. Everything,” replies Anthony, “everything except for you… It should have though…”
You try to hold back your laughter. Snarling, Steven squints his eyes.
“Be careful Steve, I’ll call them back.” Anthony threatens.
Steven ignores him.
“I’ll do it,” Anthony continues, cupping his hands around his mouth. He takes a deep, very loud and obvious, breath.
“How come you weren’t so tough when the aliens were here a second ago?” adds Steven.
Anthony draws in as much air as his lungs will hold. Widening his eyes, he readies himself to let loose a call of some kind. Nodding, he gestures for you to do the same…
A good joke to make you laugh feels like exactly what you need right now. It would definitely calm you and rid you of the fear and frustration. On the other hand, what about Steven?
His face tells a tale of anger and sadness.
Putting that aside, you chuckle, cupping your hands around your lips. Together, you and Anthony blow out deranged duck-like calls.
"Mr. Alien..." Anthony mocks in nasal tones. "Mr. Alien, come back for Steven… He said he is one of you…"
"Stop it." Steven answers shortly.
"Steven… Steven is an alien boy." Anthony continues.
"Stop it!" yells Steven.
"Too late…" insists Anthony. "They are already on their way."
The look on Steven's face causes you to laugh so hard that you can't even speak. Snarling like a confused and rabid ape, his nose is squished and wrinkled almost all the way up to his eyes.
"See," Anthony gestures to you. "He really is one of them."
"You know what?" Steven says sharply, "Forget you guys. You're on your own." Turning his back to you and Anthony, he stomps off toward the house.
"Come on, Steve," Anthony calls out. "It was just a joke."
Steven ignores him, continuing through the woods.
Anthony shakes his head. "Let's go," he says, motioning for you to follow.
The two of you keep your pace, making sure Steven is in your sight as he walks briskly ahead.
CHHKK
Something rustles through the trees above you. Jerking your gaze upward, you stop dead in your tracks. Silently, you and Anthony scan the canopy.
A crippling fear grips you. Hot breath on the back of your neck sends shivers down your spine…
The only thing you can think to do is run, yelling for Anthony to do the same. You push him forward, but neither of you are fast enough to escape.
A pair of scaly lizard-like claws wrap around the two of you, squeezing you tightly together.
"Steven!" Anthony screams. "Help us! They're back!"
Both of you call out to Steven, pleading for your lives as you try to wriggle free from the creature's grip. Unfortunately, because of the prank you pulled earlier, Steven doesn’t believe you. He continues to walk with his back to you as the claws snatch you up; springing you swiftly into the starry sky.
~*~
The feeling of cold metal against your face awakens you. Your head is pounding and your muscles are weak; as though you have run a great distance. Forcing yourself to stand proves a wobbly venture.
Clearing your eyes, you find yourself in the middle of a vast old-growth forest, aglow with a faint violet-blue twilight hue.
The tree-trunks are immensely thick and impossibly tall, decorated with long willowy moss, which stretches, carpeting the leafy ground.
Odd. The feeling of metal against your face was unmistakable. That, along with the eerie low-frequency hum permeating the air, has you thinking. There are no frogs croaking nor crickets chirping or any other sounds for that matter. Only the hum.
Wondering what happened is causing you to forget one thing:
Where is Anthony?
Frantically, you begin to search, making your way through the trees.
Over and over again, you call out your cousin's name, but there is no reply.
You trek through the strange wilderness, combing every inch in search of tracks or signs of any kind, but you turn up nothing. Finally, you come to an impossibly tall, smooth rock-wall. At its base is an opening…
Placing your palm against the stone, you follow the course of the wall. It feels metallic and seems to lead you around the entire forest in a rather large circular path. You find yourself right back where you started – near the opening.
Crouching to investigate further, you can see a blinking red light at the other side.
You are anxious and frightened; what could the light be coming from? What if certain doom is waiting for you at the other side?
Then again, where else is there to go? Doesn't the rock-wall stretch around the entirety of the forest? Have you seen it all, or might there be something you missed among the trees?
You'd better think quickly. You've got to find Anthony and get out of… well, wherever you are…
Continue searching the forest on page 261? If so, click here
