Dream Wolf

5: The Highway

"What are we going to do next?" asked Cocoa.
Maria and Tom both shrugged.
"Walk along the road?" Ali suggested. Everybody else agreed, not sure what else to do.
So the six started off walking along the road.
There were giant pine trees scattered around the path, and every once in a while you could hear the chirping of a bird in the distance. There were bushes everywhere, alive and not. The air was chillier than home, Ali noticed. So did Ed.
"Wish I had a sweater," he said. His bare arms shivered.
Soon Ali and the others could barely see, and the last glow of the sun on the horizon disappeared.
Then there was no light, and everything was still.
After a long period of silence, Cocoa spoke.
"Isn't this a bit creepy?"
Ali nodded.
"Anybody there?"
She, and it seemed everybody else, had forgotten that the moon was not enough light to see a nod.
"Yeah," Ali replied.
"Shouldn't we get some sleep?" Ed's voice came in between his chattering teeth.
A chorus of yeses and the sound of people clambering to the side of the road shot through the empty air, and almost instantly Ali's eyes closed and in came soft dreams.
•*•*•
She woke up and her arm automatically reached for her alarm clock, not realizing its unfamiliar surroundings. A fit of giggles interrupted her frantic whacking of the ground.
Ali opened her eyes and saw the bright blue sky above her. Her head turned to the left. Trees. The right. Cocoa, doubled over.
The day before came back in a flash.
She stood up, got dizzy, and sat back down a second later. Ali shook her head and got up again. Must have stood up too fast, she thought.
Ed and Sandy were sprawled across the forest floor.
"Where are Tom and Maria?"
"Tom's behind you."
"What about Maria?"
Cocoa looked down, biting her lip.

A/N: Ooh, anyone have ideas as to where Maria is? And what sorcery got them to the forest in the first place? (Thanks for reading, too!)