My brain was extremely foggy when I woke up. At first I thought I was still in that dull cave. Once I saw the sun up in the sky, I knew we were out. I took a minute to try to remember what happened.

I squeezed my eyes shut as the events rushed passed me. My eyes flew open when I remembered what happened at the "dead end." How did we get out of the cave though? The last thing that I remember is the blinding light everywhere. The wall didn't move did it?

I sighed in frustration, then decided to quit trying to figure it out. If it was already impossible to understand, then why even try to solve it? Slowly, I sat up and took in my surroundings.

We were once again in a forest. The ground beneath me was covered with fallen leaves, yet the trees were still covered in beautiful colors. Closing my eyes once again, I listened to the birds sing to each other and the trees as the branches swayed with the wind.

It was so... peaceful.

Gently, I rested my head back to the ground. Maybe I could lay here just a little longer. It wouldn't hurt anything to stay here and relax for five more minutes. The scenery here was practically begging me t-

My thoughts were cut off when I felt a big, wet, tongue lick all the way across my face. As I brought up my hand to wipe the slobber off of my face, I felt a wet nose nudge me in the side. When sat up, I saw Moon standing right beside me, with what looked like a huge smile on her face.

"Really?" I asked her, slightly annoyed that she interrupted my relaxation.

Moon turned around and walked a few feet over to where Eric was laying. When she stood directly next to him, she turned toward and seemed to give me a smirk. I grinned, knowing she was going to do something worth watching. And I was right.

She put both paws on Eric's chest, then climbed on top of him. I was extremely confused. What is she doing? Then Moon lowered her face so that she was staring straight at Eric's face, then let out a deafening bark.

He jumped as his eyes bolted open. When he was met with the huge wolf's gaze, he let out a high scream. This must have startled Moon, because she immediately jumped off of Eric and rushed over to me.

I wasn't much help though, because I was too busy rolling on the ground laughing. I laughed so hard that tears began to leak out of my eyes. I think she was trying to get revenge for me. It's as if she knew exactly what I had wanted her to do earlier.

I reached up and wrapped my arms around her thick, fluffy neck. "You're a genius," I whispered so Eric wouldn't hear. She opened her mouth and gave me a big lick on the cheek. Quickly, I wiped off the slobber then stood up. I noticed Eric laying on the ground with a hand around his wrist.

"Eric, what are you doing?" I asked, confused.

He opens his eyes and glares at me. "I'm trying to slow my pulse back to normal. It might take a while though.

I raise my hands in defense. "I had nothing to do with this one. I promise! I never told Moon to do it!" I can't hold back a chuckle.

"Then why are you laughing?" he asked with a smile on his face.

"Because it was hilarious!" I said while laughing between almost every word.

"Not for me! That's twice today I've been woken up that today!" He stood up slowly. "I think it's time for revenge," he said with an evil smirk on his face. Then he took one step closer to me. I took a step back. He takes another two steps forward and I take two steps back.

Next, I yell, "Moon, run!" then chase after her. I keep as close to her as possible, but she's still a few yards in front of me. As we move faster, turn around and laugh maniacally at Eric. This only seems to encourage him to run faster. Before I know it, we're both running through this unknown forest as fast as we can with no care in the world. This is the best I've felt in long while.

Eventually, after we're all too tired to run, we walk. When Moon begins to walk even slower, I curiously look ahead to see why she slowed down. My mouth drops open at what I see in the distance.

Slightly beyond the tree line, there lies a huge, aged castle. Though I can't see much, I see the beginning of ivy covering the walls. This building has been here a very long time.

Is that where Moon is taking us? Is that where my parents live? My heart raced with excitement.

Eric hadn't noticed that I had stopped walking and ran straight into me. I still didn't take my eyes off of the castle.

"Why'd you stop? Sky, what are you staring at?" he asked, sounding confused. Without answering, I simply pointed to the castle in the distance. Only then, did I look away from the structure to see his reaction.

His face looked similar to mine. With a mouth open wide and big round eyes, he was shocked at what was in distance. "Is that where we're going?" he asked in disbelief. I shrugged and looked towards Moon. As she looked at me, I had a feeling that's exactly where we are heading. A smile found its way to my face as I slowly followed behind her.

A few moments later, Moon had lead us to a big clearing. She stopped walking as soon as we arrived. Then she raised her head and sniffed in the air as if she smelled something. I looked around, but all I could see were the trees everywhere.

Turning to Eric, I give him a questioning look as to why we stopped. His only answer is a shrug. I tried to listen for what Moon smelled, but I didn't hear anything. After a few more seconds, I break the silence and ask Moon, "Moon, what do you smell?"

She looks to me for a second, but then snaps her head back when a nearby stick breaks. I look to the direction she is intently staring at. After waiting for a second, I hear voices. They are close enough to barely hear, but I can't make out what they're saying yet. Glancing over to Eric, I can tell he hears them too.

As we wait, I am gradually able to make out what they're saying. They call out again, "Toivo! Come here! Toivo, where are you!" This voice groans in frustration. "Where do you think he went Conner?" A different voice responds. "I'm not sure Rose, but I know we'll find him."

I look to Eric in amusement and shock. Those two have the same names of the people we pretended to be yesterday. We watch as they slowly emerge from the trees.

It's not just the two people we heard talking. There's about six of them traveling in their group and they all look to be about me and Eric's age. At first, they don't even seem to notice Eric, me, or even Moon. They seemed intent on finding something.

Neither me nor Eric had the guts to call out to them, but Moon had other ideas. She ran straight up to the group.

"Moon!" I yelled then chased after her. Eric followed close behind me. Though I was pretty sure she wouldn't hurt them, I've only know her for a day, and I didn't want to take any chances.

By the time we had caught up with her, she had already lost her interest in them. As if she completely forgot about these new people, she focused on something behind the trees. Her eyes and ears narrowed as she searched for it.

Then I saw it. Actually, I heard them before I saw them.

There were growling wolves slowly coming out of the forest with people by their sides. These people with them seemed about as happy to see us as the wolves were.

Right away, I knew they weren't here to be friendly. I frantically looked around for a way to escape, but I soon realized that they were circling us. There was no way out. They had us trapped.

A figure stepped up and commanded, "Stop! Stay where you are!"

__________________________________________________

So here it is!!! I wrote this chapter with my friend, Lily, and introduced some of her characters to you guys. Go check out her story, City of Lumina, to find out more about these characters. We will be writing these next few chapter together so I imagine I'll be updating again sometime soon. Anyways, I really hoped you enjoyed this chapter! Tell me what you think and I'll see you next time! :3

­­­­