Alex could hear Jim's breathing. The atmosphere was quieter than they expected. Every now and then they stepped on dead leaves, and the sudden sound seized their minds in cold hollowness. Their torches shot long beams past the tall trunks of the trees. And in the darkness behind them, crickets cried.

They were on a beaten track to the river. Hundreds and hundreds of trees were standing tall all around them. The dark and gigantic presence of the wilderness was overwhelming. Walking in that cool breath, they realized the forest was asleep.

Jim's throat was dry. After every five steps he was looking over his shoulder. The thought that this was a bad idea kept recurring to Alex, but every time it came-Anthony's image crossed his mind, and his legs kept moving.

"hey? Are you sure Anthony will help us?" Jim said.

"He should," Alex said. "He should" He whispered to himself.

They reached the place where Anthony had brought them that day. There was a big, round clearing here. This was the place where Anthony had told them something about a well. Now they don't remember what?

Jim looked at Alex in a Now What? look. Alex looked around at the bare earth, broken branches, and pools of leaves. He wasn't sure exactly where they were standing that day. He wasn't even sure that this was going to work.

Why were they doing this? What was the necessity? Anthony is safe, right? But he isn't okay, Alex thought. Something is wrong with him. He shook his head as if to shake the thoughts away, and took out another torch. It was Anthony's torch.

That night, when Alex, Anthony, and Jim came to the woods, Anthony gave Alex his torch. Alex had asked why? But Anthony only shook his head and said, "Just in case...you'll know when you'll need it."

So, Alex thought maybe, just maybe, he gave him his torch for an occasion like this. He didn't know what to do with it. He held it in his hand, thinking Now What?

He closed his eyes and thought: Help me Anthony. Help me Anthony. Help me Anthony...

Then he felt he should put the torch on the ground. He lighted Anthony's torch and put it on the ground.

Jim looked at Alex with a curious astonishment.

"Help us Anthony," Alex said.

Jim looked at Alex in a Seriously? look.

"Help us Anthony," Alex said again.

Jim felt a little crazy at first, but then he joined him and they both started saying, "Help us Anthony. Help us Anthony. Help us Anthony."

After a while they started shouting the words. Their gaze was locked on the torch. They were waiting for something magical to happen. But nothing did.

Slowly, their hope started fading. Nothing was happening, and eventually their voices lowered and thoughts of mental institutions arose.

Help us Anthony. Jim said in a last sigh. Alex had already stopped. He thought how crazy they were to think this would work. Their eyes met and they broke into laughter. Their laughter sounded alien in this silent forest.

A gust of wind came from behind them. They looked behind. The woods became silent again. In the corner of his eye Alex saw Anthony's torch flickering. The light flickered, grew weak, and died. He banged it on his hand, but the torch was dead.

"Aah!" he cried suddenly. The torch fell from his hand and went rolling on the ground. "What happened?" Jim asked. Alex was shaking his hand rapidly. "It burned," he cried.

Then on the other corner of the clearing, Anthony's torch flickered and glowed. They both looked at each other dumbfounded. Alex forgot about the burn and went to the torch. He kept looking at it. A trickle of sweat lined on his brows. Suddenly the forest sounded quiet. Too quiet. Jim looked behind his shoulder and saw the black trees all around him. The faint moonlight died away, and the dark gray sky seemed far far away. For a moment they froze as if they just realized they are not alone. Alex started for Jim, but suddenly the trees rustled. There was no wind that touched their sweaty skin, but the trees rustled. Then looked again at the torch and slowly picked it up.

Nothing happened.

He expected that something would happen, but nothing did. He turned towards Jim, and suddenly the torch started flickering. He felt a gentle force pulling against his hand. He loosened his grip and allowed the force to direct his hand.

The torch flickered, flickered, and beamed again when it was again in the direction it initially pointed in. Alex turned it another direction and it flickered again, and he felt that gentle force again. And when he brought it back in the initial direction it beamed again.

Alex's mouth opened in a big "O". Jim cried of surprise. Then, Jim ran to Alex and they both started laughing and jumping. The torch was showing them the way.

As they looked at the torch's beam again their laughter suddenly died. Until now they were feeling the wonder of moving forward to something...but now they felt the fear of what it might be. They started following the path the torch lighted for them.

after following the way for a while, Alex halted. A sound came from behind him, and with the sound came the realization that he's not keeping track of Jim. That he could turn around and find Jim gone—eaten—by the dark depths of the woods.

He turned in panic, but Jim was there. It gave a cool relief to his heart. But, in the flickering of Anthony's torch, Alex saw Jim's eyes were bulging out, color has run out of his face, and he was breathing fast.

"What—WHAT??" Alex asked, himself pale.

Jim drew in a deep breath and waved his hand saying, "I thought—I thought...but it's nothing."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Hey, listen, don't take this the wrong way—It's just to make sure we are together—would you hold my hand or keep your hand on my shoulder?"

"I thought you'd never ask," Jim said, and they laughed.

Their laughter seemed to be disturbing the aura of the woods. They held their hands and continued.

The forest was quiet again. Piles of dead leaves and twigs remain unstirred on the earth. Paths untraveled remained longing.

Alex and Jim walked where the torch took them. It didn't feel like they were going near the river. Instead, they were going deeper and deeper into the woods.

The forest of Mellow Ville stretches for miles and miles, in all four directions, tall and wild, cresting and troughing. Alex and Jim were sloping downhill when the torch snapped shut. It has been directing them as if it were alive but now it felt lifeless in Alex's hand. As if it has died... or he has—Alex shoved the thought away and rotated the torch in all directions.

He hoped this was just another trick, but the torch didn't light again. Then, Alex took out his own torch and pushed the switch. But even his torch didn't lit. how could this be? He thought. He switched it again and again, but it didn't lit.

Helpless, he turned to Jim. Jim's hand has been cupped on Alex's shoulder. When Alex turned to Jim, the world froze. A black, cold feeling fell on him like a blanket and seized him. From the open roof, faint moonlight was falling on them, and he could see Jim's glassy eyes locked unblinking with his eyes. Jim's finger was on Jim's lips, and his other hand was open in the air between them, gesturing Alex to halt where he is.

In this moment Alex wanted to scream his brains out. The pinning silence made him want to rip himself up from behind the ears. And even though he knew this moment wasn't to last, he felt tired as if many hours have already passed.

As the tiniest units of time progressed, something creeped up his knees. Something cold. Alex realized his head was turning, and suddenly Jim grabbed the air between them and opened his hand, pointing his two fingers to his eyes. Alex's eyes locked again with Jim's, and now the feeling creeping up his spine was colder.

Moonlight shined in Jim's teary eyes. Jim stretched his hand and took Alex's hand and slowly turned uphill to the moonlight, and pulled Alex to walk. They put their feet softly on the ground, and moved with glassy eyes. Alex understood completely to just follow Jim's lead. They walked carefully up the slope.

The crescent moon and the twinkly stars seemed far far away. Their breathing had become so thin that it seemed they weren't breathing at all. Everything was as silent as the moon. Alex stumbled as a stone slipped under his feet. Without a thought, Alex's head turned behind with the motion and then shot back straight with a wheezing gasp. His body started shaking violently. He looked at Jim and Jim was looking at him, at his trembling lips, and the tacks of tears on his cheeks. Jim squeezed his hand and nodded. They looked straight ahead and stepped on the peak.

As their feet stepped on the peak, all air escaped out of Jim's mouth and didn't returned. Alex's face was wet and shuddering. Saliva was dripping from the corners of his mouth. The next thing he Knew, his arms were swinging, and his feet were running. He couldn't feel his body. It was as if he was watching a man run in a movie screen. Somehow, he knew Jim was running beside him.

The land crested and troughed. The boys jumped and ran. The branches broke, the leaves flied, and the dust whirled. Stones dug in their feet, but all they felt was cold. Dark branches and bushes sliced their arms and cheeks. Blood seeped out. But all they felt was cold.

Trees were falling beside and behind them. Clouds of dust were rising in the corner of their eyes. The ground was trembling like an earthquake. The violent tremble was in the air as if the whole place was shuddering. If Alex or Jim had looked behind, they'd see gray dust rising up from the ground like big clouds and enveloping the trees from above. They'd see the violent winds turning and twisting tornadoes of leaves. They'd see trees attacking each other violently. And, of course, they'd see the ones causing this catastrophe.

They were following a trail, but they were far from noticing it. They were in the thick growth now, running between the trees, on the path carved between thick grass. Branches were hitting their arms and head. The moonlight here was blocked by the thick roof of the trees.

Alex ran in a big spiderweb, and it wrapped on his arm and neck. He tore it hastily. And, mechanically, he looked over his shoulder. looking in his face were Its white eyes. It was a tall, dark human shape. Its eyes were white and were shining like fireflies. Its body was a dark shape, like a materialized shadow.

The way It was running was unnatural. Its body was leaning forward as if it's paused in mid-fall. Its legs were working at the slope. Its arms were flung up backwards. And in Its hand was a huge, dark axe.

At one sight, Alex fainted. And in the midst of swimming darkness, he heard a splash-like that from a distant dream.

His body went down with gravity, his legs rose against it. His head dug in the bicep of his stretched open arm, as he crashed on the ground. Stones pinned on his shoulder blades, and the momentum of his body bounced him off, and he went down the cliff, flying, headlong on the water.

A curtain of water splashed up by his outline and flied in drops, driving out circular ripples.

Jim saw something falling as he got to the surface, and almost at once he recognized it was Alex. He swam to Alex who was sinking down.

The water in Alex's nose awakened him like an electric shock. He beat his hands and feet in panic. Bitter red pain pumped in his side. He coughed violently, still gulping. Then Jim came along and grabbed him, enduring his slaps.

Alex coughed violently. His nose burned with pain. He saw Jim looking up at the cliff. So, he followed his gaze, and his racing heart stopped beating.

On the clearing at the cliff, violent winds were twisting and turning tornadoes of leaves. The trees were beating each other aggressively. And a titanic gray cloud of dust swelled out, swallowing the trees. The moonlight reflecting in the river was diminished as the cloud raged off the cliff. And on the edge of the cliff were eight pairs of white eyes beaming down at them.

Both of them tried to make a sound but their mouths had failed them. Alex felt as if he's in a cold, dark room, looking out of the windows that were his eyes.

The dark shapes seemed to be...they seemed to be...rising their chins (if they had a chin) to their left and right. All together, like some kind of ...ritual.

Alex thought his body was vibrating, then he thought it was the water, but then Jim gasped with his throat and Alex realized that it was a hum. The hum was coming from the whole world. He felt like a lamb, who is making its way to the needle-gun.

That dark taste of helplessness was unfathomable.

Jim suddenly realized, out of nowhere, that his mind was at home, watching T.V., eating hot meals, looking out the window at the starry sky, and now his mind is back here, in this moment. That sense of being present chilled him deep to the bone, making his bowels feel all hot and loose.

In the sky, dark fat clouds swallowed the moon. They both felt the dim vibration in their chest, in their throats. Jim's feet felt like jelly. He looked down, then around, and his eyes bulged out. They weren't in water anymore. The river has turned into a black substance that was slippery, sand-like. The shock made his consciousness swim to dream-like darkness.

Alex felt his feet slip and sink. He jumped, but couldn't, and his eyes saw what his mind rejected. He's fainting, that's it. A clear river can't turn black. It was water that he gulped. Yes, he was sure of that. He knew that. But what's happening? Why is he sinking?

His feet sank deeper and deeper in the darkness, as if they were made of iron and there's a giant magnet somewhere below. His consciousness swam as he disappeared in the black river, and in that split second where it was to escape, a thought arose: the torch was lit. The torch was lit all the way.