Talon stood and stared at the spaces between the darktrees.

　　Cloud threatened to steal the last of his light. They`d searched all night and now the day was almost over. Sosa was scouring all the places they had ever played as children. He didn`t need her thinking about the forest at all. Kala had raised the alarm at first light, now the whole village was searching.

　　If Halo was hidden in the village then he was safe whether they found him or not. But Talon had a horrible feeling Sosa had been right and if Halo had gone into the trees, he`d done it almost a whole day ago.

　　Talon walked the exile`s path, across the strip of grassland separating the forest and the village, treading closer to the trees than most villagers dared. He hoped to find Halo hiding at the forest`s edge, sulking with his father for exiling his new friend, for not protecting him and his sister, for letting Gris attack Sosa and for not being the brave father Halo wanted him to be.

　　What were you thinking?` Talon muttered, but he already knew. Halo had absorbed Ego`s nonsense of battling the bodaki and running the trees. Talon knew Ego`s only skills were speed and storytelling. Halo had taken the spear head and gone to be a soldier like he thought his grampawe was. He`d gone to the trees to do battle with the monsters that Ego claimed to have fought with nothing more than twigs. The irony was that if Talon had really sent Ego to the trees and not messed around with a plan to save him, he would have been around to stop Halo leaving. He rubbed a hand across his forehead.

　　A single red flower grew out among the trunks. It was within the trees and along the path that Ego had walked in his exile. Talon had never seen a flower that colour before.

　　A voice from behind startled him as he took a step closer to the dark. You know better than to enter the forest.` It was Elder Jode, breathless from his walk along the exile`s path. He must have seen Talon from the village`s edge. I am sure Halo will be found in the village. Don`t waste your time here. You know as well as I, if the boy walked beyond the village, he walked beyond hope. All we can do is pray that he did not.`

　　No, that isn`t true.` Talon shook his head. Ego survived for days.`

　　Jode placed a not so comforting hand on Talon`s shoulder. We will continue to search the village. We will find him.` He thought Jode would insist on taking him back to the village, but the old man left him alone. Maybe not everything with the old man had a second motive.

　　Sosa jogged to him along the path, keeping her distance from the Elder. Still no sign.` She watched Elder Jode go a moment before adding, and no one has found Ego either,` she spoke this more quietly. Talon didn`t care if they did, he`d trade Ego`s life for Halo`s in an instant.

　　He tried to think of somewhere he could tell Sosa to check, somewhere to get her away from the trees, but Sosa was already looking.

　　Pawe!` she nodded her head in the direction along the vague pathway through the forest floor towards the shining red flower.

　　I see it.` Talon knew it was no flower.

　　It was a small piece of cloth, torn by a thorned bush and red with fresh blood.

　　It was on a barely visible path, recently parted by Ego`s walk of exile. Perhaps widened by a second pair of feet.

　　It can`t be Ego`s he isn`t injured.`

　　No,` Talon muttered, he wouldn`t be. Wait here.` He took a step towards the trees. One more and he would be stood in the forest.

　　I thought it was forbidden.` Sosa whispered glancing back, but Elder Jode was out of sight. Talon nodded. Come on, then.` Sosa pushed past him and entered the exiles` path.

　　Talon wanted to send her back, fearing for her, but there was something about the way she walked into the woods that fed his hope of seeing Halo again.

　　But you risk losing both of them.

　　The smell of vegetation was heavy, the clamour of life was loud. The air grew warmer and more humid with each step. Enough light penetrated to a few trees` depth and the darkness fled deep into the forest. If the clouds stole any more light, it might not stay so distant. When the rain came, there would be little light here.

　　Talon reached out and picked the flower of cloth and blood. Had it been Ego`s it would have been darker by now. This was drying, but still bright red. They followed the recently disturbed path through the undergrowth. Ego had come this way, but had anyone else? The bloody cloth was caught on the sharp end of a broken protruding stick. It must have gouged someone deeply enough to raise blood and tear their skirt.

　　Talon`s eyes scanned the spaces between the great trunks, looking for movement. If anything came for them, he would tell Sosa to run and face it, hopefully buying her enough time to get out of the trees.

　　Ego`s trail skirted around a clutch of thorn bushes, but something had recently crawled through the middle, leaving threads of linen on the spines. If this was Halo he might have been following Ego trail in the dark and not seen where it diverted. The sight of this second trail gave him hope, but the thought of Halo out here after dark made him shiver. He should have come out here sooner.

　　Nothing but a coward. Halo is right about you.

　　The tracks led to the funeral clearing.

　　You told Ego to come here,` Sosa said.

　　I hoped he`d have a better chance here than in the trees once the dark came.`

　　There was no knowing when Halo had come this way, but maybe if Talon had not rushed to rescue Ego, his son might have found the lad himself.

　　Where would Halo have gone next?` Talon wondered. There would be no more of Ego`s tracks to follow.

　　They searched the clearing to make sure Halo was not hiding in it. And that none of the remains were his, but there was nothing more recent than Talon`s father and he did not want to see what had become of the body.

　　There must be hundreds of bodies out here, Talon thought with a shiver.

　　What about this?` Sosa asked. She had found the path they had seen Gris emerge from during her Grampawe`s funeral. Maybe Halo saw it and thought he was still following Ego`s trail?`

　　It was the only good lead. Okay. Sosa, please go back and tell your mother where we are. She will be worried.` The first drops of rain struck the canopy above and plough into the undergrowth about them.

　　I don`t think me telling her where you are will help, do you?`

　　They followed the path, this one clearer as if it had been more heavily used. Talon stared into the diminishing light, eyes darting to every movement and sound.

　　Look!` Sosa cried.

　　Talon leapt back. Soso, you terrifed me, what&?Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

　　There!` She pushed into thicket and lifted something. It was one of Halo`s protective zori, stuck in a spiky bush.

　　He definitely came this way.` Sosa grinned at him, hefting the sandal See he took precautions, he`ll be fine. He can look after himself.`

　　Clouds covered the sun and the raindrops grew in size and frequency. Shadows deepened and crept from the forest toward them. It felt like they had been out here for hours. What would happen if darkness came while they were still here?

　　Sosa, please go back, find your mother and tell her we`re okay.`

　　Pawe,` Sosa gave him a stubborn look she could only have learned from Kala, Mmawe won`t be happy until she can see we`re both safe. She`ll be even happier if we come back with Halo which is more likely to happen if we both look.`

　　Provided she doesn`t come out here looking for us I suppose, you`re right. We have to hurry before it gets dark again. If I tell you to run, Sosa, I want you to run and not hesitate, not argue, do you understand me?`

　　She nodded. Talon hoped he could believe her. Kala was going to kill him regardless. They pushed on following the trail and looking for any other signs from Halo.

　　Talon stopped.

　　What is it, Pawe?` Sosa asked.

　　We`re in the forest,` he said.

　　No, we`re just at the edge of the&` but Sosa realised what he meant. They could no longer see the village or the sun. Grey light cast shadows through the great trees, and Talon could feel them calling to the darkness. It might not answer while daylight persisted, but their pull was much greater the deeper they were. The forest sounds echoed from all sides, muffled only by the relentless hiss of rainfall. Lets just keep moving.` The path was hard to see and it would be easy to get lost. They only had to hope Halo had come this way and they would still find him.

　　No, that wasn`t it at all. He hoped Halo was safe and hiding somewhere clever in the village. That`s what he hoped.

　　Masked by the rain, the sounds around them changed. Hidden things growled as they watched the pair pass. Something large padded towards them, Talon heard it sniff the air, but when he looked he could see nothing. Go, go, faster, faster,` he urged.

　　Is it bodaki?` Sosa sounded afraid.

　　No. Just animals,` he said, but the truth was they had no idea what lived outside of the village. He had never seen anything.

　　They broke into a trot and the footsteps sped up and followed them. Talon fought the panic. They would survive this only by keeping calm.

　　Something behind thumped in a slow, deep pattern. He felt the vibrations as much as he heard it. It sounded like the pursuing footsteps but slower. Surely a sound so heavy could not belong to a creature?

　　They ran. If they kept single file, the path was clear enough to follow without obstruction. Something growled close to Talon`s ear and he screamed back at it in reflex. The moment of hesitation this bought was enough that the fleeing pair were already gone. The ground grew sodden and the air grew darker. It was hard to tell through the clouds and thick forest canopy how close they were to dusk. If they didn`t take care, it would be upon them.

　　Look!` Sosa exclaimed. Talon swung around expecting some beast leaping for his throat, but she sounded more surprised than afraid. Dark objects loomed through the murk. These were no beasts but large regular shapes. More than that, Talon realised, there was space for large shapes. The darktrees thinned as they did at the edge of the forest and the undergrowth began to thicken. Clearly more light made it to the forest floor here.

　　Talon stopped running as he realised what he was seeing.

　　Had they circled around somehow and got back to the village? No, it couldn`t be. The huts were overgrown and dark. The thatched bundles on the roofs were gone, timbers were exposed or collapsed leaving only the circular stone walls.

　　What is it?` Sosa was staring.

　　Its a ruin, looks like an abandoned village.`

　　But so close to ours? How didn`t we know this was here?`

　　Never been for a walk this way before. Maybe we should&` Talon stopped. Something slithered through the undergrowth with a dull clicking sound. His skin went cold. Never mind, come on!` He grabbed Sosa`s hand and pulled until she started to run. His feet slipped on the soaking ground. It was becoming hard to stay upright as well as mobile.

　　The clicking sped up and drew closer. He imagined claws he`d never really seen catching him, slicing through his back, turning it into long ribbons of bloodied flesh. Sosa pulled ahead of him, but glanced back, screamed, and then fell.

　　In his mind those claws sliced through Sosa`s flesh instead of his own. He scooped an arm around her waist catching her mid fall, and dragged her back to her feet. It almost cost his own footing, but if got Sosa to safety it would be worth it.

　　Were these ruins safety?

　　Perhaps not, but they were out of the forest. He could only hope what chased them would not follow.

　　Sosa tried to see behind.

　　Don`t keep looking, just run.`

　　Were they still on Halo`s trail or had they lost it? Had his son even made it this far? He felt his already thudding heart skip as he realised that if Halo had indeed come this way, he may have met a similar reception.

　　The noise of something`s clawed feet clicking and hitting the forest floor changed. It sounded like the tapper-bird, the repeated hollow clatter of something sharp striking tree bark.

　　It isn`t using the floor any more, he realised.

　　Trees behind were creaking under the weight of something that thundered not over the floor, but through the high up branches. If it drew level and dropped down onto them&

　　Talon found the stamina for more speed.

　　The forest grew darker. Storm clouds, perhaps?

　　To his side the forest floor came alive, rising up in one great mass. It was a tree falling, ripping its roots from deep beneath the soil. The sound of tearing roots and earth and branches was awful. Sosa cried out and leapt away. Earth erupted all around them, filling their eyes nostrils and mouths. Talon fought to stay upright. He could not make out where Sosa had gone. He could not make out where the floor had gone either.

　　Was it the thing that could run through branches that had knocked down some dead tree? Or was there something else out here, that could rip them out of the ground? If something like that caught them, it would be over.

　　Something gave a screech as the tree`s trunk finally thudded into the ground. Another wave of soil was flung at them at them as the tree bounced and settled. Through the grit in his eyes, he saw Sosa ahead, struggling to her knees.

　　Run! Just&` but something pressed the air from his chest, pinning him to the floor. Something grabbed his arm, but it wasn`t clawed. It had rough, fielder`s hands. Sosa pulled him and he slid from beneath the branches that were pinning him. They gouged at his back and shook as something thrashed to free itself. Talon was not the only thing trapped by the fallen tree.

　　Everything was dark. Far too dark to simply be night. Ahead was the grey, rain drenched clearing, the only glimmer of light in the forest. Not daring to look at the angry thrashing, Talon fought free of the branches and they ran towards the grey.

　　Sosa collapsed and Talon beside her. The clearing was like the village, not devoid of trees, but certainly free of the looming darktrees. There was sky here rather than the black canopy. They stared back into the forest where the giant trees shook as if something large jostled against them. They could see nothing, and nothing came for them. The things, the monsters, the bodaki if that`s what they were, stayed in the trees and made their awful sounds.

　　There`s something out there, something bad.` Sosa stared into that deeper than night darkness that had invaded the forest.

　　Yeah, I noticed. It tried to eat us until a tree fell on it.`

　　No. Not that. Something else. Can`t you feel it?`

　　He could. He was afraid of the things that snarled and chased, of the things with claws. As unnatural as they might be, the fear was understandable. But beneath all that lay an instinctive dread that seeped into his head like tree sap and threatened to set his thoughts in amber.

　　Sosa, we have to go. We have to look for Ego.` Moments passed and they both sat and stared into the darkness. They didn`t even notice that the awful sounds had quieted as if the whole forest held its breath, even the beasts. The thing trapped beneath the fallen tree had either quieted or freed itself and slunk away.

　　For an age, all Talon did was breath and watch. Then with a screech the things in the forest came back to life and something let go its hold on Talon`s senses.

　　It`s gone.` Sosa said. She was right. Now he just felt the acceptable amount of fear given their predicament. It was almost easy to deal with. They helped each other up and dusted the soil and twigs from their skirts and hair.

　　What is this place?` Sosa looked around. Its like the village but if no one had lived in it for years.` More than a few stray darktrees grew within the boundary. Talon wondered how long it would take for the forest to reclaim it. They wandered among the circular stone ruins until another sound led them to a river.

　　It`s the stream. Our stream.` Sosa said.

　　It could be.` Talon tried to think what direction the village lay in. It seemed likely. He waded up to his knees and scooped water over his head while it tugged gently at the bottom of his muddied skirt.

　　This has to be our stream,` Sosa said, then giggled. If we`re upwards of Highstream, we could just float home.`

　　The water tasted right - then again Talon wouldn`t know if other rivers tasted differently. He`d never considered other rivers were a possibility until now. A few days ago there hadn`t been other villages.

　　Halo must be here.` It was more wish than certainty. It will get dark soon, we need to search.` The water looked dark and impenetrable in the dim light. And we should get out of this.` He shivered.

　　Sosa didn`t move. She was staring back into the village past the ruins.

　　Sosa, what&?`

　　Gris.`

　　Through the ruins, standing on the edge of the forest, there was a man, but for a moment, Talon could not make sense of the shape.

　　Oh Ale-ki,` said Sosa. I think he`s got Halo.`