"Even if we find the trail again, we won’t be able to get past those men in the clearing. They’ll still be there”

He couldn’t go back to sleep now. Not after the fear and the adrenaline rush; the shock of the noises outside and the desperate urge to call out to the search party; the awful, sinking feeling as the search party moved away from the area.

They were nearly rescued. They were nearly home. But then they weren’t. They were just stuck in a tiny tent in a forest full of dangers, as small as shiny creepy crawlies and as large as a dozen armed, dangerous men.

Avi’s eyes burned with fatigue, but there was no way he could sleep now.

“It’s gone,” Elchanan said, suddenly.

Avi turned his head in Elchanan’s direction. “What, the search party? They left ages ago.”

Elchanan shook his head. “No. The noise outside. I haven’t heard it in ages. I think whatever it was must be gone.”

Wait. He could see Elchanan shake his head... he could see Elchanan’s face, pale in the dimness... that meant —

Dawn had arrived.

Avi had a sudden, desperate urge to leave. Leave the tent, leave the area where they’d spent the night, and most of all, leave this horrible forest and never come back.

“It’s getting light enough to see. Let’s pack up and go,” he told Elchanan.

“Go?” Elchanan raised a quizzical eyebrow. “Where? It’s what, four in the morning? Even if we find the trail again, we won’t be able to get past those men in the clearing. They’ll still be there.”