Magnus sat in a car, absent-mindedly gazing at the blurry landscape. The fields glittered in the light of the evening Sun, continuing far beyond the horizon. A handful of harvesters were diligently cutting down the golden wheat despite the dimming light. In the middle of the fields stood a small town, its cozy houses billowing out gray smoke. At its edge, herds of what must have been cows peacefully chewed on some hay, uncaring of anything going on in the world.

He was brought out of his daydream by the melodious voice of his mother,” Is your head feeling better? Want something to drink?” she turned twisted herself in the seat, and offered Magnus a water bottle.

“It’s a lot better and I’m not thirsty,” he shook his head and slowly pushed away the bottle.

“Alright then,” Magnus’ mom gently smiled, turned back, and stuffed the bottle away into her bag.

Magnus turned his head to look out the window just as they entered a thick forest. A road sign with a deer in the middle stood on the side of the road. The monotonous vista quickly made him sleepy and it wasn’t long before the calming embrace of sleep enveloped him.

His dozing off was over when his mom shook him awake, “Magnus, honey, can you get me some of that cake from the buffet table?” she pointed at one of the corners of the room. A white-clothed table stood there, bursting with mountains of all kinds of delicacies.

Still rubbing his eyes, he answered,” Sure Mom.” He started sleepily shuffling over into the corner of the room. Huge parties were not for him. Crowds sucked the energy right out of him. That’s why he was sleeping. It wasn’t like he didn’t enjoy having people around him but this was just too much.

“Be careful,” His father said and ruffled his hair. Magnus frowned inside. Did Dad really have so little faith in him? He could fetch some cake. Besides, it was a long time since he last got overwhelmed. Yes, he could do this. Nodding his head, he started shuffling over to the buffet table, making sure to dodge the more crowded areas of the party. He was resolute but why should he risk it?

Once he arrived near the table, Magnus waited for all the people getting food for themselves to leave, and only then did he move to take the cake. With the plate in hand, he internally cheered. First part of the quest complete, now he just had to deliver the cake. Looking over the hall they were in, he calculated the path of least resistance to his goal and when he had it he started walking. There was a curiously empty area in the middle of it, opening up a nice direct way to their table. Once he was there, he could go to sleep again.

Just as he stood in the middle of the suspiciously empty area, did everything go wrong. The ever-present ambient hum suddenly rose in volume and changed its tempo. And that was when it hit him. He was on the dance floor. Smack in the middle of it as it turned out. The crowds started pouring in. Magnus’ jolly mood suddenly turned rotten. This wasn’t good at all. He didn’t count on this. There was no plan. His breathing started turning more and more rapid as the people closed in on his position. It was as if a shroud of darkness was slowly blanketing him. Red eyes stared at him from the darkness surrounding him, waiting to pounce at him while he was vulnerable. His heart was threatening to jump out of his chest with how hard it was beating. He tried to move his legs and sneak his way out but it was too late. Tears were starting to pool in his eyes.

A hand came out of the darkness and touched his shoulder. The dark blanket covering him disappeared at once, the hand shining like a lighthouse in the night. He turned around. A smile beamed at him. The face that it belonged to was none other than his cousin Jacob’s. The man of the hour: the spouse. Everyone said that they looked more like twins than cousins. They would be indistinguishable if not for their eight-year gap.

A voice just a pitch lower than Magnus’ asked,” Are you lost, Magnus?”

Magnus scratched his head with his free hand, the other one still holding the plate,” A little, yes,” he nervously chuckled.

Jacob removed his hand from his shoulder and playfully slapped him on his back, ”Let’s get you out of here then.”

With his legs no longer stuck, it didn’t take even a minute for Jacob to lead him out of the crowd and next to his table, where his parents waited.

His parents and Jacob a few words and Jacob slapped him on the back again, “Well, time for me to rejoin the dance floor. See you, Magnus,” he gave one last wave and got lost in the rambunctious crowd.

“Good job, Magnus,” his Dad said while his mother gently petted his hair. Magnus took a deep breath and asked,” I’m not feeling good, can we leave?”

When Magnus next awoke, he was sitting in the car, the cover of the night already fully descended over the dense forest.

“Finally awake darling?” his mom’s honey-like voice questioned,” you’ve been out cold for three hours now.”

His dad chuckled,” Someone, might have mistaken you for a bear with how loud you were snor… SHIT!” he cried out.

A deer stood in the headlights. His dad snapped the steering wheel to the right. Sadly, the forest wasn’t merciful. Darkness. A vision. Giant hands enveloping him, shielding him. Then he was out for real.

Magnus woke up for the third time that day. Not to his mom’s gentle voice nor his father’s joke but to the warmth leaking down his left cheek. The warmth heralded a burning pain. It didn’t last very long as Magnus quickly shifted his focus and realized where he was. Still in his seat inside his car, but he was stuck. His breath grew quicker and more ragged. What was happening?

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Magnus looked around and saw it. Branches filled the whole left side of the car, dripping with a crimson liquid. The smell hit him like a truck. Iron. Magnus started yanking the seatbelt while staring at the branches as if they would suddenly pounce at him. Only after uselessly yanking for a few seconds did he realize that wasn’t how a seatbelt worked. His hand moved shakily to unbuckle the seatbelt. That didn’t work either. He started yanking again. The branches were getting close, he could see it. His breath grew even more ragged, his heartbeat faster. It was getting harder and harder to grip the seatbelt with how sweaty he was getting. The worst of all was the pain. It wasn’t stopping. The warmth was still leaving his body.

Then it hit him. He reached into his pocket and brought out a knife. The knife his father gave him only a few weeks ago. And he didn’t leave it anywhere since. Unsheathing it, he threw the sheath next to him, held the knife against the seatbelt and when it grew taut he slashed. The knife, as sharp as when his dad bought it cut the belt easily. Magnus snaked his way through the remains of the seatbelt and tried the door handle. Thankfully, it worked. Opening it was rough, most likely due to the creaking branches behind it.

When the door finally budged open enough for him to slip out he does just that. Falling right on his face made the burning pain even worse. After making his way up to his knees, his ears managed to catch the formerly lively voice, “Magnus honey come here,” his mother whispered. As if given a second wind, he quickly rose onto his feet and carefully but rapidly made his way through the thick foliage. Magnus peered at his mother through an open window.

When his eyes met his mother’s, he smiled. That quickly changed when he saw behind her and into the driver’s seat where his father sat, or what was left of him. Branches and blood, that was all he could see. He was just ready to puke, when a gentle voice urgently said,” Look at my face Magnus!”

Tears streaking down his face, he listened.

“Shhhhh, honey it will all be ok. You will be okay.”

“And you will too right?” he asked as his gaze wandered downwards. She was pinned. The tree they crashed into deformed the car and pushed the dashboard backward, crushing her chest. She wouldn’t be okay. Nevertheless, he struggled to get the door open and pull her out as tears flowed like a waterfall. Magnus tried and tried, tugging on the handle, scratching, trying everything until his fingers were so raw they bled. All the while, the only sounds expect for his futile struggles was his mother trying to hush him. She must have been in excruciating pain but all she thought about was him.

His eyes red, he stared up just a when a hand carefully stroked his cheek, making sure not to aggravate his wounds even more,” Magnus, listen to me, things will not be the same from now and that’s okay. Someone will take care of you. I am sorry it can’t be us but don’t give up Magnus. Remember we always loved you and we always will, even if you can’t see us,” she coughed, staining the dashboard with blood. The pain she was in only broke Magnus’ heart even more. Nevertheless, she continued, putting her hand on his shoulder,” survive Magnus. You have to. For me and Dad. You have to survive Magnus,” her face shone with a gentle smile Magnus would never forget. Magnus’ mother took her last breath.

He kneeled and stared. Not at the lifeless shell of his mother, no. But at the tree they crashed into. Why was it so tough? It was just a stupid tree, yet it stood where it must have stood for decades. Why couldn’t it break? Why? Magnus mind wandered this way until even his thoughts grew sluggish and he just stared at the ground. The trees surrounded him and loomed over him like uncaring sentinels.

He stared for what seemed like eons but in reality, couldn’t have been more than an hour. When the flashlight shone into his eyes, he didn’t even blink not until his cousin came and hugged him. Then he closed his eyes and cried.

The next few months were all a blur. All the paperwork, all the talks with therapists. They didn’t help. Talking wouldn’t help with this. His mother’s sister and her husband took him in. Well, more like he was delegated to them. They didn’t want any more children. At first, they showed some interest, trying to get him out of his room but after some time they got tired. Of course, he still had to visit school. The first few days in school after the accident were the most loathsome. No one would leave him alone, asking questions, giving condolences. Thankfully the interest all fizzled out not long after. After all was said, he grew to appreciate the days in grade school and the few friends he made. It gave him a sense of normalcy.

The high school, however was a nightmare. Magnus wasn’t a social person to begin with and the accident only made it worse. All in all, he made one true friend during his all of his high school years. And even then, they weren’t even in contact after finishing high school. It wasn’t that he wasn’t interested in keeping in touch but living on the streets wasn’t very good for socializing.

He didn’t really blame his aunt or uncle for that. His uncle wasn’t a very stable person to begin with so when the debt collectors came and took all their things it was only expected. Jacob would have taken him in but they were expecting and had their own problems. Magnus wouldn’t like to make their life harder.

And so, he wandered the streets, hopping from city to city. It was freeing in way. Well, until he fell through the floor of an abandoned house and impaled himself on his own knife.