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Darkness and silence. That was all Alexander was able to pick up from his current state. The only light shining through was the quarter moon in the sky and a handful of stars.
Alexander started picking up another sense. Sharpness. As he glanced down, he noticed he was lying on sharply cut blades of grass. The ground was damp, and puddles of mud filled empty divots. His white t-shirt was filled with grass stains and muddy fingerprints.
Alexander propped himself up on his elbows to get a better look at where he had ended up, shivering at the cold wind passing by. He saw trees, lots of them. They seemed to tower over him, blocking most of the stars in the blackened sky.
To his right, he found a small pond that reflected the moon’s light. It was such an unfamiliar place, yet so familiar at the same time. As fear filled his nerves, Alexander tried to remember how he got to this strange place.
He was lying in bed, pulling the warm sheets closer toward his shoulders. The calming view of leaves flying across the sky and the silent howl of the wind put his mind at ease. The strands of his curly brown hair were frizzed, and his eyelids started to fall shut as a peaceful wave of sleepiness washed over him.
Yet his calm state was interrupted, as images of Savannah, his late little sister, flooded his mind; her bright blue eyes and silky blonde hair gleaming in the faint lighting of his dreams.
Savannah had passed away four years ago, taken by a man whom not a soul could track down. Yet, even though it wasn’t Alexander’s fault, he felt as guilty as if it was. The scene replayed in his mind like a broken record, rewinding and rewinding every chance it got.
He remembers the picnic table they sat at, eating and talking with each other. He remembers the wind blowing away the napkins underneath his hand, and how Savannah got up to catch them. She began to run with the wind, hands outstretched, in hopes of capturing the napkins that would cost her and her family so much.
He remembers that hand, that wrinkled, rotted-looking hand of the man who swiftly grabbed Savannah. And as the man scurried away, that look that Savannah had on her face was forever scarred in Alexander’s mind. That scared, hopeless look. One that nobody would ever want to see.
A quick movement awakened Alex from his thoughts, and he glanced over to the weeds from where he heard a rustle. He sharply clutched onto the blue heart pendant that lay in his pocket. It was a part of Savannah’s favorite necklace. He took it with him wherever he went, as he says it reminds him of his sister’s eyes. It was his lucky charm.
Slowly rising to his feet, he stumbled back in fear as he saw an unfamiliar reflection in the water. It wasn’t an animal, but a human sitting down in front of the pond.
The human had long, bright red hair, and its figure was relatively thin. A red hoodie was draped over its shoulders and a pair of socks was on its feet. He noticed gleaming blue eyes, sparking from the moon's reflection in the water. And for a second, Alexander believed his sister was right before him.
He crouched down slowly, getting eye level with the person.
“Hello?” Alexander’s voice wavered. The unknown human’s head rose slowly, and Alexander could identify the human as a girl—a girl who looked about his age.
“Who are you?” The sudden feminine voice caused Alexander to jump. “What do you want from me?”
“I’m not here to hurt you,” Alexander quickly reassured. The girl sighed and began to stand up, Alexander following in her steps.
“Hart,” the girl replied. “Victoria Hart.” She stuck out her hand, her blue eyes gleaming with expectancy.
“Alexander Madden,” Alex remarked. He grabbed the waiting hand and shook it, a slow grin spreading across his face. He felt a little relieved that somebody else was out in the woods with him, maybe in the same situation as himself. He let his hand fall to his side.
“So, do you know how you got here or..?” Victoria trailed off.
“I wish,” Alexander laughed. “Do you know what this place is?”
“From what I can see, it’s a forest,” Victoria remarked ironically. Alexander just sighed and looked around in the hope of finding shelter. He noticed Victoria doing the same.
“Hey!” Victoria shouted. Alex jumped at the sudden sound.
“What?” He cried out. “You don’t need to—”
“Over there!” Victoria interrupted as she pointed toward a dim light in the distance between two large trees. Alexander glared toward her hand, and let out a breath he wasn’t aware he was holding.
The sight of a shelter lay straight ahead. It was a rather small cabin; with dust-covered windows, a singular lightbulb illuminating the majority of the hut, and a warped black doorway. But Alexander couldn’t care less about its size or look, he only cared about finding warmth.
“C’mon,” Alexander beckoned. Victoria stayed still as ice.
“Are you sure we should go up there?” Victoria questioned. “What if somebody lives there? Isn’t that illegal to barge in?”
“Victoria,” Alex started. “We’re in the middle of nowhere with no clue how we got here. I think they’d understand if we wanted to stay for a little while.” Victoria just shrugged in surrender and rolled her eyes.
Nonetheless, she began to follow Alexander toward the hut.
The woods were not a great place to be; the branches creaked loudly, the leaves crunched harshly, and the winds howled ferociously.
It wasn’t exactly a great time to be outside during the cold chill of fall, but both teenagers had no choice. They hiked up slippery hills, nearly tripping over broken branches and almost slipping on mud. But with their best efforts, Alexander and Victoria managed to arrive at the darkened entrance of the cabin.
“Should we knock?” Alexander asked timidly, fidgeting with his hands.
“No, we should just knock down the door,” Victoria sarcastically spoke. “Yes, we should knock!”
“Sorry,” Alexander replied, looking down shamefully at his feet. Victoria approached the black doorway, hesitating before knocking three times. But, on the third knock, the door had creaked open. Both teenagers took a quick look inside, searching for a sign of life.
“Hello?” Victoria asked. “Anyone home?” The singular lightbulb flickered. Alexander slowly pressed on the door, the creaking noise growing louder with each second. Dust and cobwebs coated the walls, and the wooden floor looked worn and sagged.
“I don’t think anyone lives here,” Alexander said. “If there is, I’m pretty sure they aren’t alive.” They both took a step inside, and the wooden floorboards growled. This sent a shiver down both teenager’s spines.
“You think?” Victoria rolled her eyes. There were only two pieces of furniture that lay in the cabin: A chair, and a nightstand. Cobwebs were stuck to the handles of the nightstand, and dust coated the entirety of the chair.
“Are we really going to stay here?” Alexander questioned. “I’ll bet we could find another shelter not too far from here.”
“Oh yeah?” Victoria tried. “Why would there be shelter in a deserted forest, Alex?” Alexander stayed silent. Victoria started walking around the hut, leaving Alexander at the entrance.
“What if there are artifacts in here?” Victoria wondered. “I bet we could get a lot of money from it, considering this place is ancient.” Alex only laughed and shook his head.
He decided to follow Victoria into the hut, putting caution in each step. As he looked down at his feet, he noticed a handle. A square carving was lined around it.
“Hey, look at this,” Alexander pointed. Victoria whipped her head around to find what seemed to be a door—a trap door. Without question, she crouched down and placed her hand on the handle, thrashing open the door.
“Victoria!” Alexander berated.
“What?” Victoria replied. “It’s not gonna do any harm!”
“You don’t know that!” Alexander exclaimed, crossing his arms. Even through Alex’s protests, Victoria began to climb down the weakened ladder that she found lying propped up against the door.
As she got off the last step, she looked around curiously. She saw a mirror, two crates, a chair, and a bed. But the bed wasn’t empty.
“AHHHHHH!” Victoria yelled. She rapidly began to climb up the ladder, but as she got halfway up, it snapped in two. She fell back onto the ground, the bottom piece of the ladder falling next to her.
“VICTORIA!” Alexander cried out. He was crouching down, reaching his hand through the trap door, trying to grab Victoria. But he was unsuccessful, as a familiar wrinkled hand stretched out and grabbed the hood of her hoodie.
Memories flashed before his eyes, remembering that exact moment when Savannah was captured. Remembering that hand that took her. It was the same hand.
Alexander jumped down the trap door, blood burning with fury. As his feet hit the ground, the blue pendant from his pocket fell to the ground sharply. Yet the only thought racing through his mind was the memory of his sister. She didn’t deserve to go so soon. And for the first time, he realized that it wasn't his own fault—but the man in front of him’s fault.
Alex lunged toward the weakened man, both of them crashing down to the floor. He landed punch after punch, trying to claim his revenge. The man fell unconscious, and Alexander pushed himself up as he helped Victoria up to her feet. But as he turned his head, he noticed what Victoria had saw.
It was a body. But not just any regular body, it was small. Childlike.
It was the body of Alexander’s sister.
“No, no, no,” Alexander muttered. Tears began to fill his eyes as he quickly approached the bedside. Victoria followed Alex, standing by his side.
“Oh my god,” she whispered. Her hands covered her agape mouth, shaking wildly. “How could somebody do this? How could he live like this?”
“Sav,” Alexander cried. His tears fell onto the lifeless body in front of him. He gently pushed Savannah’s remaining hair back, looking directly into the lifeless, white eyes. How he missed the sparkly blue that once adorned them.
“Y-you knew her?” Victoria stuttered quietly.
“My sister,” Alexander whimpered. “I lost her.” Victoria stayed silent in mourning. The only sounds that could be heard were the flickering of the light above them and the silent sobs from both teenagers. But suddenly a different sound began to flood Alex’s senses.
Beep. Beep. Beep. A hand was shaking him hard, pushing down on his shoulder. His eyes shot open and he jolted up. And suddenly, he was back home. In his bed. With his little sister, Savannah, next to it.
“Wake up, Alex!” She yelled. “Mom made breakfast!”
It had all been a dream.