Sol was lying face down, breathless. The smell of wet, cold grass filled his senses, cooling his throbbing head. Those rascals… he thought grumpily, they were so fast. As he lay there, he could hear them giggling as they ran into the forest. He was going to get them for this he would make sure of that. Laughing to himself, he thought this was so much fun; he loved them so much. A tingling sense of guilt began to fill his chest; he would miss this. Staggering to his feet and taking a moment to collect his bearings, shaking off the sense of guilt, he straightened his back and gazed towards the forest. He could see the evidence of where they had ran. He took a quick glance towards the house and noticed the sun was slowly beginning to set. Sol took a deep breath he'd have to find them and fast. If the sun before their return the quiet, peacful faorest would become a den of unimaginable monsters that called the forest home. They would come out to play and he and his brothers would become the unwilling participants in their hunting games. Turning his back on the house and focusing his sight on the forest trail path he strode towards it, increasing his pace as he went. Time to find my brothers… he thought. Carefully exploring every nook and cranny, pushing branches aside, climbing over fallen trees, poking his head into the bushes being careful to avoid dangerous plants and treading carefully so as not to disturb the animals burrows, he searched. They were masters of hiding but he was also a master of seeking. Honestly... he thought, they really had no sense of danger. Deeper and deeper into the darkening woods he looked, but there was no sign of them. A slight panic began to overcome him and he quickened his search. Broken branches and leaves were strewn at his feet, uprooted trees and foreign objects blocked his path, they were from the storms of the previous winter. The wind whistled through the trees and the shadows began to grow longer across the forest floor, that's when he saw it, a hint, nothing more than a faint trace of a footstep and with that he knew where the boys hiding place was,  he knew they would be hiding together. They always did. He stealthily creeped closer and closer trying to be careful not to make a single sound even holding his breath, but his own clumsiness got the better of him. He stumbled and then stood on his own foot, falling flat on his face, with a loud thump. He felt the sensation of bugs and creepy crawlies walking on his skin and he shrieked trying to shake them off. He hated bugs.

“Are you alright?” they asked with smirks on their faces, oh how he wanted to give them a good smack; that would wipe those cheeky grins off their faces.

“I’m fine, a little sore but I’m ok.” He replied, flicking the last of the bugs of his hand.

 The boys giggled and started circling her chanting “we won…we won…we won…”

“Alright” he sighed “you won, I suppose…” as he playfully pinched their cheeks.

“Come on now, we must hurry the sun is setting time to return home”

The boys cheered

He began to grow anxious there wasnt much time, he needed to get them home quick.

“Let us all go home together on the count of three I’ll have to chase you two since I lost. Ready…one…two…hey!!” before he even got to three the boys were off, they were ducking, diving and weaving through the forest at top speed until he could no longer see them. Sol shook his head, at least they would get home quickly this way. He began to briskly follow them. As he made his way through the forest a sudden gush of wind billowed through the trees, bending them as if to push them out of the way. The air felt differently somehow. A sudden chill ran up Sol's spine. Goosebumps began to rise on his skin making him feel colder than he ever had before. No, not her skin, it was as if his very blood had turned cold. What was this feeling? Why was he so afraid? He quickly turned on the spot his eyes attempting to pierce the encroaching darkness but failing. It was if some sort of predator was just outside his line of vision and it wanted to consume him. Every fibre of his being told him to run, run as fast as he could and not look back. His heart thumped painfully in his chest the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Was this the flight or fight response? If so, it desperately beckoned him to take flight. What was it he was so desperate to run away from? Alarm bells were ringing in his head, his chest tightened and his heart thumped loud enough to drown out all noise. This was the feeling of impending death. A prey at the mercy of a powerful predetor. He felt like he was about to die. He had to run. RUN! He couldn’t bear this feeling of fear any longer, he tore his eyes away from the spot he had been so intensely looking at, feeling the fear consume him it left nothing but the instinct to flee, so he ran. Ba-thump, ba-thump, ba-thump… the sounds of his heart beating fiercely in his chest as if begging to live. He ran and ran and ran, the sweat poured from him, his legs ached, his chest was tight his face was red, and he panted and gasped for air. He felt like he was drowning, suffocating. He could collapse any moment but still he ran, as though the hounds of hell where at his very heels. Leaping over fallen branches and ducking low hanging vines he ran and ran and ran but the forest didn't end. 'How come?' he thought. 'We hadnt ventured that deep,' 'I should be out by now' but home was nowhere to be seen. He ran as fast as his legs would carry him, and the fear inside him grew stronger and as he kept running. The last rays of sunshine faded from the sky. Everything became shrouded in a suffocating darkness, not even the stars dared to shine. Sol came to a halt; it would be pointless to keep running when he couldn’t see. Tears filled his eyes and rolled down his reddened cheeks. He slowly tried to regain her breath. 'Was this it? Is this how i die,' he thought, despair gripping him tightly. 'No, as long as my heart is still beating i'm alive,' he thought, shaking his head. Desperately trying to allow his eyes to adjust to the darkness so he could push forward. A strange realisation crossed his mind; the moment the sun fell the monsters should have emerged, the moment he stopped, whatever was chasing him should have caught him but there was nothing. Panic and doubt began to replace fear. Had it all been in his head? He spun on the spot. Nothing. Not even shadows. Just an unnatural darkness. A familiar feeling. Had this happened before? Why couldn’t he remember? There was more…he had spent so long running towards home…why had he not arrived? There should have been at least a glimpse of his house before the last light had faded. Why? Why wasn't it there...he thought frantically.

“Are you frightened, my dear” a shallow voice dripping with honey whispered softly in his ear.

He slapped his ear, panicked he turned…nothing.

“Are you lost?” a different voice came mockingly but still there was nothing.

“Who's there!!?...Who are you? Don't play tricks on me! Show yourself!!” Sol demanded

“I am here… I have always been here… I will remain here…” a third voice whispered menacingly.

 “Where!? Show yourself!” Sol screamed frantically. The fear was beginning to grip him again he couldn't breathe. It felt like his chest was caught in a vice, his head became fuzzy, his already limited vision blurred, he was soaked in sweat and he was cold. The cold seeped into his very bones.

“What’s wrong Sol? Are you scared?” the bodyless voice giggled.

Sol was frustrated and scared now, who was there? Where were they? How did they know his name? Why couldn't he see anything? Had he gone blind? All these thoughts raced through his mind.

 “Such a sweet, frightened little boy, my master looks forward to meeting you” the honeyed voice teased.

Sol felt a sense of urgency he didn't know what to do. His mind went blank, his hands trembled, and a high-pitched noise filled his head. he viciously grabbed his ears trying to drain out the sound. Closing his eyes, he fell to his knees feeling tortured. Sol began to wordlessly beg, beg for it to stop. The laughing, mocking voices continued. He cried and pleaded and began to scream hoping that someone anyone would come for him to release him from this nightmare.

The voice laughed an eerie laugh.