I look around, trying to find another way out. As I look down, I see the necklace laying there, just a few feet in front of me. Even with all of this adrenaline and panic, an idea begins to form. I begin to move towards the edge of the forest and once again, a tree falls and blocks my path. I begin to move to the other side. Rocks and dirt begin to shoot up in the air and create a wall. I make a sharp turn and begin to run for the necklace. As I begin to near it, the whispers begin to get louder, to the point where they’re almost deafening. I reach the necklace and stop. I pick it up and slowly raise it above my head. I take a moment to catch my breath before speaking.

“No, I never agreed to this. This needs to stop. You need to let me and my friend go...” The figure chuckles and the whispers quiet down.

“Oh? And how are you going to stop me? I have your soul, no one can help you.” It’s smile widens as it begins to draw closer.

“You belong to me now...” Without any hesitation, I throw the necklace onto the ground as hard as I can. The pendant shatters and everything begins to grow whiter and whiter. The whispers begin to grow and multiply until they sound like shouts and screams.

“No, NO! What have you done!?” The shadowy being begins to writhe and scream as it’s body begins to disintegrate. After a few moments, and a flash of white, I am back in the forest. I look over to see Ben laying on his side. I quickly get up and walk over to him. I kneel down and try to roll him over. I am successful, and in doing so, he begins to stir. I get up and go sit in front of a tree. With my back again the cold bark, I wait for Ben to wake up.

After about an hour, I see movement out of the corner of my eye. I look over to see Ben on his knees, looking around. He seems confused and disoriented. I get up and he looks over. I help him stand and he looks at me with bleary, but nonetheless happy eyes. He faintly smiles as he lets out a breath.

“So, what happened?” He asks. I let out a small chuckle as I return the smile.

“It’s a long story...” He looks up at the sky. The sun is beginning to set.

“Oh, that’s alright. You need to catch me up on the last few months that I’ve missed, anyway...” As we begin to near the woods edge, I let out a sigh.

“Alright...now, where should I begin?”