Fantasy Forest 3: Ressurection

10. Darkness

Seally seemed to be quite comfortable in this castle of his as he walked me around showing off. I had to admit it made my house look like a cardboard box but something about the place set me off and made me uncomfortable. This feeling only became stronger as the hours ticked by and the afternoon began to slip away.

"Shouldn't we head back soon?" I asked, catching Seally off gaurd as he was in the middle of showing off his small yet extravagant garden.

"...now?" He asked.

"Its getting late." I told him at which point he momentarily stopped to look up at the sky as if just now realizing how late in the day it was.

"I was kind of hoping we could stay a bit longer." He muttered.

"Its getting late."

"But..."

"Its almost dark." I said and then all of a sudden it was like a lightbulb went off in his head and he looked at me.

"You're right." He said. "Lets go back inside for now and then we will leave shortly."

I followed him inside as he led me back to the room with all the books.

"Wait here while I go get something. I'll be back in a minute." And then he quickly ran out. I stood there for a second staring at the place where he had just been. There were no windows in this room. Instead it was well lit by lights hanging from the ceiling. I sat down in a chair and ran my finger along the wooden armrest waiting. In the far off distance I thought I could hear noises but I couldn't discern whether they were coming from outside or inside the house. The castle was huge and I had only seen a few rooms so I was suddenly struck by the thought that perhaps there might be other people here.

"Seally?" I called back out into the hall. My voice seemed to echo through the house in a way that made it feel empty and lifeless and all the while the sounds persisted and I began to wonder if they were just now occurring or if they had been happening the whole time I had been there and I am just now getting a second of silence alone to hear them.

I sat in that room for what felt like a very long time until finally I got up to go get Seally only to find him standing in the hall right outside the door.

"How long have you been just standing there?" I asked him.

"Awhile."
"Why didn't you come in. We have to leave soon."

"I was waiting." He answered simply.

"For what?" I asked and suddenly he turned to me with a huge smirk.

"Go look outside."

It took me a second to process his sneaky smile until all of a sudden a wave of understanding washed over me. I pulled my cellphone out of my pocket and checked the time before running for the front door. Outside the sun had set and darkness had fallen over the forest. However this wasn't normal darkness, it was pitch black nothingness darkness devoid of moonlight that made it seem like the world just disappeared four feet from the front door.

"How?" I muttered.

"The woods are misleading." Seally said as he came up from behind me somewhat skittishly. "Sun sets quickly here and once it's gone it leaves nothing behind."

"How are we going to get back?" I asked him, frowning. He saw my face and backed up some but was not in the least bit surprised my my reaction or our current outcome.

"I guess we will have to stay here tonight."

"You did this on purpose." I stated as I stepped out of the bathroom wearing the change of clothes Seally had given me, a pair of blue, long sleeve mens pajamas with silver stripes. I was surprised how well it fit me but then again Seally wasn't very big. He was wearing a very similar pair of pajamas but the different in appearance with our different body types was largely noticeable.

"I dont know what you are talking about." He stated as he couldn't look directly at me.

"You took your time on purpose knowing it would be dark soon." I growled at him and he seemed to kind of droop as he bit his lip thinking of something to say.

"If you admit it then I wont be mad." I stated as I put an arm on his shoulder and forced him to look at me.

"Its been so long since I've had people over." He muttered. "I just wanted a little more time."

I sighed as I released him as he motioned for me to follow him back down the hall.

"You sleep in here." He said as he pointed into a nicely lit room which was simply decorated with a dresser and a bed.

"Where are you going to be?" I asked and he kind of looked at me oddly and then blushed.

"D-did you want to come to my room?" He asked confused and I groaned, entered the guest room, and slammed the door on his face.

"I'll be just down the hall he called from the other side of the door. I listened to him stand there for a few minutes before his footsteps drifted away. I laid out on the bed and stuffed my face into the pillow as I felt the weight of the day release from my shoulders. I took out my phone and checked my messages. I had texted my dad that I would be staying at a friends house and he hadn't asked for any more information past that. Besides from that no one knew or was wondering where I was and that thought that I could so easily disappear into this forest pressed down on me like a heavy depressing weight that eventually rocked me into a timid slumber that was only awakened by what I would describe as the loudest most violent scream I had ever heard that jolted me out of bed. In my half groggy state it sounded less like the scream and more like the cry from some sort of cat, a very large cat.

"Are there lions in these woods?" I asked myself as I peered out the bedroom window but all I could see was darkness. Then, very quietly, I got out of bed and wandered downstairs.