Blogtober 2025, Day 26: Courage

 

Lucy's Path: Chapter Twenty-six


Dusk bled quickly into darkness as they returned to the clearing. The Second Oak loomed ahead, pale as bone and twice as unforgiving. Mark stood before it, the map clutched in one hand, the dull amulet in the other.

Sarah’s voice trembled. “We don’t have anything to give.”

“Then we fake it,” Mark said. “We go through the motions, maybe that’s enough.”

Tyler frowned. “You really think you can trick it?”

“Maybe not,” Sarah whispered, “but we can try.”

They arranged what they had—empty pockets, worn ribbons, a broken flashlight. Mark placed the amulet at the roots and spoke the words scrawled on the map. The ground shuddered, faint but definite.

For a breathless moment, nothing happened. Then the air warped. The trees leaned closer, their shapes bending and stretching like reflections in rippling water.

Tyler blinked. “Something’s wrong.”

He took a step forward—and vanished.

Sarah gasped. “Tyler!”

Mark lunged toward the spot, but the space where Tyler had been was now filled with trees that hadn’t existed seconds ago. The path twisted, folding back on itself, endless in every direction.

Sarah’s panic broke into tears. “He was right here!”

Mark’s voice cracked. “Keep talking—he can hear us!”

The forest answered only with a soft hum, as if amused by their curiosity.

And somewhere, just beyond reach, Tyler screamed once—and was gone.


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