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Since the moment Patz set foot into the ancient forest, he felt fear worming its way up within him and could not stop his hands from shaking. There was something about ancient forests that made him very uneasy.

And it did not help that all the while the boys felt as if something was watching them and it did not like intruders in their lands. Over and over again they heard strange screeching and hoots coming from above their heads. Every time it made the boys jump and look up. Yet, the trees were very tall and their bushy branches concealed the light, making it difficult to see the face of danger.

The deeper the boys proceeded into the forest, the more wary they became. They began noticing now and then dark slender shadows gliding between the branches. The fear in Patz's limbs rose to alarming levels and his teeth clattered uncontrollably. The boys assured each other that it must have been just birds. No one truly believed it. And so they kept their eyes firmly on the ground as if not seeing what was lurking above them would also prevent what is lurking above from seeing their small group.

Yet it watched them and at least for now did not make any attempt to get closer.

And so the boys dragged their feet through thick layers of fallen leaves that covered forest floor. They concealed the roots and small holes in the ground that waited to trap any unwary traveller. By the end of the first day, the forest whitnessed many a time one of the other Flizer's painful cries.

That night, they made a fire and it almost reminded them of home and how they used to sit in a circle and tell each other stories. But this time no one felt like talking. Instead, gloomily they watched shadows moving, getting closer to their camp and then moving away again. The boys hoped that the fire they made with dry leaves and brunches would keep whatever it was away.

For the first time it was decided for one of them to stay up and keep watch. Klatz was first to volunteer.

The noises, occasional cry of an unknown bird, the buzzing and cracking of the forest life around them, and the tension in their bones made it hard to sleep. Once Patz and Zatz finally did fall asleep, it did not last long.

"The trees walk!" they heard Klatz's cry.

Patz was pulled by his feet. The rough awakening left him startled and confused. And in the little light that the dying fire provided, he saw the dark shadow of the trees moving. Their large roots pulled out of the ground like living snakes. The massive roots glided over the ground carrying the tree's heavy weight. Their long branches scratching each other with their wooden claws. The tree closest to the boys' sleeping place, glided to the spot where Patz has just been lying and he watched with a wide open mouth the roots growing into the ground again, smoothly and effortlessly. Many more trees moved about them as if coordinated by one powerful mind.

Zatz clang to Patz terrified. Klatz watched the scene with annoyance more than anything. And all Patz could think of was that Klatz had saved their lives. Again. If he didn't pull Patz and Zatz away, the tree would have certainly crushed them under its weight.

But this was just their first bad surprise that night. Sometime during the incident, all their bags disappeared. Gone was their food and gone was the map. The only thing that remained was Patz's walking stick and only because he held it in his hands foolishly believing that it could protect him from the trees.

The loss of all their provisions, devastated the boys. They thorught they heard laughter reaching them with gasps of wind which made them shake their fists in anger at the invisible foes. No one said it, but it was understood that if they did not leave the forest soon, they would be doomed. They had not spotted anything at all yet in this fresaken place, that could fill a Flizer's stomach.

On the next day, not really feeling rested after the events of the night, the boys continued their journey. And as if their prayers had been heard, they began spotting red mushrooms dotted with black spots. They grow about them in patches.

"Don't!" commanded Klatz. It made Patz's hand freeze in the air, the mushroom already half way into his mouth. "Something that survived and flourished in a place like this that has not been touched by sun light in a very long time, cannot be trusted."

Patz dropped the mushroom on the ground as if it had burned him.

"You are right. This looks too good to be true," Patz mumbled. "Besides, a Flizer was never friend of mushrooms." Flizers ate what grew under the ground and not above.

The boys began feeling less concerned about the shadows lurking in the trees. Then they made no attempt to get close and the travellers began to think that those creatures were mostly harmless after all. All they harm they could do they had already done. This calmed Patz significantly. And Zatz stopped being bothered by the creatures all together. Dragging himself behind the others, he was now more interested in looking out for what was on the ground. Every now and then Patz would look over his shoulder, just to make sure he was still there. They were all hungry now. Patz wished he could do something and even tried to see if dry tree branches were eadible. The answer was no!

As they day winded down, it was harder and harder for the boys to ignore the mushrooms, their constant companions. More and more often Patz could hear his own growling stomach. Klatz's already sour face was reaching new levels of sourness. His lips pressed tightly together, eyes fixed on the path in front of them. Zatz looked so wretched that even Patz felt like crying every time he looked at him. Nobody slept well that night and when the trees began to move about them again, nobody cought a fright.

When the morning came, Patz was surprised not to find Zatz sleeping next to him. Zatz was always the last to get up. Worrying thoughts sprang up in Patz's mind.

"Zaaaatz?" cried Patz already on his feet. Klatz was also wide awake and standing next to him.

Both boys looked frantically in all directions.

"Zaaatz? Where are you?" Patz's voice echoed loudly in the early morning quietness of the forest. No response.

Klatz fell to his knees searching for any signs that could indicate in which direction Zatz might have gone or been taken. Patz didn't want to think that the dark creatures might have stolen his friend. He looked up as if expecting to see Zatz hanging from the trees. Everything looked just as before.

After a few moments examining the ground, Klatz announced, "He went that way."

"Went?" repeated Patz hopefully. Without hesitation, both sprinted in the direction that Klatz indicated. They didn't have to walk far to find Zatz's curled body lying next to a patch of red mushrooms. At first Patz thought that he was dead. After hovering over Zatz for some time, he was relieved to know that he was only asleep. Zatz must have been having nice dreams, because a smile never left his lips.

Patz's joy to find Zatz was short-lived. No matter how hard he tried to shake Zatz awake, he remained as peacefully asleep as ever. .

"What now?" said Patz as if asking himself. He did not like it a bit. They were hungry and tired. And now Zatz had eaten the mushrooms. Patz should have known. He saw the hungry glances Zatz was giving in their direction and it did not promise anything good.

Then, to his surprise, he saw Klatz collecting the mushrooms and stuffing them into his improvised bag made out of a spare shirt.

"What are you doing?"

"Well, finally we know what the mushrooms can do. At least it is good to know that your friend did not die in vain."

"Don't say that! Don't you ever dare to say that!" shouted Patz jumping to his feet with clenched fists. Patz was himself surprised at his own daring. "You who never cares about anyone!'

"You are wrong! There is one person that I care about and she is gone because of you. If your friend never wakes up, it will also be on you!" Klatz shot back.

There was no way to argue that. All Patz could do was fall back on his knees and cry bitterly into his sleeping friend's shoulder.

"I am ss-ssory!" Patz said between the sobs. Klatz stood looking lost, unsure what to do. There was no regret that he felt over the words he said, he was just never sure what to do when others cried.

But then Patz sobs stopped just as suggenly as they began. He got up to his feet, fists balled and faced Klatz again.

"We will find Ziya," Patz said with firmness in his voice. "And for that, we need each other. All of us. And that includes Zatz."

For the first time Patz thought he could see something shimmer in Klatz's eyes other than disgust. They stood in silence, until Klatz finally stirred. He approached the motionless Zatz and grabbed him by the legs. Without losing any more words, Patz grabbed Zatz under his armpits and together they marched ahead.

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