Steven woke up early as usual. To his surprise, Arthur was already up and flipping through the pages of that book he had borrowed. Steven ignored him and went about his usual morning routine. When he returned to the kitchen, Arthur had made his way to the table. He was still eagerly turning pages. But now, a stack of paper sat beside him and the boy had begun tracing some drawings from the book on to those same sheets of paper. Steven sat opposite to him and watched with fascination.

“Aren’t you going to take a bath at least?” Steven asked his brother, his head slouched forward, braced against his hand.

Arthur didn’t reply. He didn’t even seem to hear Steven and just continued drawing.

“Hello. Arthur.” Steven waved a hand in front of his brother but to no avail. Arthur was caught in a trance.

Steven became slightly annoyed but did nothing. He wasn’t the type to act on his emotions. Maria, however, she was a different person all together. When Arthur ignored her, she ripped the pages from under his hands and then dashed the book to the side.

“Hey! Look at me moron!” she shouted. “We’re eating now, care to stop what you’re doing for a sec. You haven’t even touched your soup.”

Arthur’s face became filled with anxiety as he watched the pages scatter across the ground. Some had been slightly torn but it was still fixable. Frantically, he picked each page up and piled them back on to the table. The torn ones, he desperately tried to piece together.

“Why’d you do that?” he yelled at Maria who was far beyond disgusted at this point.

“Because I’m trying to eat here while you’re scattering paper all over the place. And please, take a bath already!” Maria retorted and then turned to Sarah, seated at the far end of the table. “Mama, talk to him please.”

Sarah looked up from her soup and spoke calmly “Arthur, either you clean up and start eating or move whatever you’re doing to your room.”

“Fine, fine.” Arthur gathered his papers, clutched the book under his arm and left the room.

As he walked away, Steven couldn’t help wondering what was written within that book. He’d never seen Author so caught up in something. Perhaps he would find out later but that could wait. Right now, Steven had breakfast to eat.

~

Steven walked into his room, Arthur was on his matrass still tracing drawings like a madman. Having had his curiosity peaked, Steven decided to inquire about his brother’s action.

“What are you even doing?” he asked, lying down in his own matrass.

Arthur didn’t look up but he did reply “I think they’re meant to fit together. Like a puzzle.” He then called to Steven with a hand gesture and fitted the sheets of paper together on the floor. Steven looked at it and angled around to see it from Arthur’s view. It was a map. A map of the town.

“Well, that’s about all of them.” Arthur cracked his fingers and examined his finished piece. “What’s that?” Arthur pointed at the houses drawn in the middle of the forest. “I didn’t know they were houses there.”

It was the village, the same village that Steven had seen last night. Eagerly, Steven crept down to his knees, beside his brother. Whoever drew this knew about that village. And probably about the people living there too. “Does that book say anything else about this?” Steven asked, referring to the houses.

Arthur flipped through the pages of the book and stopped at the page that matched the drawing. Beside it, on the other page were notes written in anagrams.

“What does it say?” Steven asked, etching his face closer to see into the book.

“Give me a minute.” Arthur traced his fingers against the page and read slowly as he deciphered the words at the top. “People. Of. The.”

“Forest.” Arthur and Steven spoke together.

“There’s people living in the forest!” Arthur exclaimed, exited for this new discovery. He turned to face Steven. “Do you know what this means?”

Steven pulled his face back, to avoid the spit that came out of Arthur’s mouth. “What?” he asked.

“An adventure! A mystery!” Arthur shot up on his feet. “We’ve got to go and find it.”

Steven’s face grew dark, remembering the warning that the girl gave him. If Arthur went into the forest, then he’d probably get himself killed. But before Steven could even mention anything, Arthur took the book and made his way to the kitchen door. Steven hurried to catch him. Maria and Sarah had gone grocery shopping so no one was there to stop Arthur besides Steven himself.

“Arthur! Wait, you’re not seriously going to go into the forest just because of some book?” Steven tried to reason with Arthur who yelled back. “Of course I am.”

“But what about Sarah’s golden rule?” By now, Arthur was already running down the hill. Steven trotted behind.

“Her rule specifically says to not go into the forest at night. It’s only a bit past noon now. Nowhere near nighttime.” Arthur countered.

It was no use. Arthur wouldn’t stop. And if Steven told him about what happened, it would only fuel his curiosity. His only hope now was to go with him, and hopefully try to keep him out of trouble. Perhaps, Steven could instead lead him elsewhere from the location of the village. Maybe Arthur didn’t know how to read a map properly?

But Steven was very wrong. Despite failing almost all his exams, Arthur seemed to be quite skilled at map reading. Honestly, Steven was a bit impressed at how accurately he determined their location using the hazily drawn landmarks. At this rate, they really would find the village. Luckily, the slightly dense vegetation made it difficult for Arthur to navigate, even with the help of the sun to light the way.

But despite the challenges, Arthur had successfully navigated the two boys to the village in less than fifteen minutes. Or at least where the village was supposed to be. Steven was certain that it was here, where he saw those people. The clearing was identical to what he remembered. But yet, there was no village. And there were no people. The disappointment that Arthur felt painted his face in a frantic frown. Some part of Steven wanted to tell him the truth but he decided otherwise.

“No, no, no.” Arthur walked into the clearing. “It’s supposed to be right here.” Arthur circled around and surveyed the open field. There was nothing here, no one here. Steven thought it very strange for a village to disappear but then he remembered how it had appeared out of thin air last night. Maybe it was invisible? If that were the case, then they’d be in very serious trouble.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“Arthur, let’s go back!” Steven called, still hidden within the trees.

Arthur looked towards at Steven and then back at the field, he sighed and made his way to Steven.

“Help!” A voice called out from the giant tree in the center. “Is someone there?” The voice asked, horsed and broken.

“Someone’s here!” Arthur yelled excitedly and ran straight towards the giant tree. Steven sighed a palm on his forehead and followed behind. At this point, there was no going back. He prayed that they would make it out safely. Or maybe Steven should tell Arthur? Steven considered it again. If Arthur knew that these people of the forest would kill him, what would he do? Steven let out a breath of frustration. Knowing Arthur, he would run even faster towards the danger.

“Arthur!” Steven shouted. “We should leave!” Steven tried to stop him. He had to at least try even if Arthur’s response was predictable.

“No way!” Arthur replied and continued running.

On the positive side, Steven supposed that if the people wanted to kill them, then they would have already been dead. There was no need to trick Arthur and Steven. Steven saw how fast they could move, escape wouldn’t even be an option. Not to mention, that the village being invisible was only one option. Perhaps, the village somehow ceased to exist in the day. And the people with it.

They had made it to the tree, Arthur pressed his hand against the trunk of the tree. Or at least he tried, something blocked him from reaching the tree.

“Steven, something’s here!” Arthur shouted, tracing his hands over the object. He moved his hand upwards, feeling the shape of the object. “It’s a set of stairs!” he told Steven. Arthur elevated his feet and brought it down, he winced as he did so. And then he took another step, and another and then another. He circled around the trunk of the tree.

“Arthur, get down from there.” Steven pleaded, recognizing the stairs. As a matter of fact, Steven noticed that he could still see the stairway. Well, not entirely, but just enough to notice that it was there. To him, it seemed like very clear glass. But from Arthur’s reaction and the way he walked, clinging to the side of the trunk, Steven figured that Arthur couldn’t see it at all.

Steven recalled the girl mentioning magical powers, that he probably had magic. Is that why he could see the stairs and Arthur couldn’t? It seemed to be the most logical explanation. But even with ‘magical powers’, Steven doubted that they would fare well against those tall men he saw last night. “Arthur, please. This scares me, let’s go home.” Steven lied, he was concerned about his brother. But fear wasn’t quite what he felt, it was more of dreadful anticipation. He only said what he said in the hope that Arthur would leave for his sake.

It didn’t work. “If you’re scared, then go on home. I’m staying.” Arthur replied, still ascending the stairs. They neared the top. Steven began to make out the shape of the building mounted on the tree. It was somewhat of a large, round hut. And Steven supposed that it was also made from some sort of luminescent material that constructed the glowing stair case that he had seen last night.

And then they had arrived, Arthur got up first and looked around. Steven came after, his expression blank but his mind was at work, calculating different scenarios if danger presented itself. He didn’t see a way they could win, his only option depended on if Teya was willing to help them. Somehow, he figured that she would.

Arthur walked around in a trance and unsurprisingly, he bumped into the giant hut. Again he felt around until he found a way in while Steven examined the insides. He could make out a large table, a board, chairs and people sitting on them. People? No, that wasn’t quite right. They looked human for the most part but their ears were long and curled backwards at the tip, which most certainly distinguished them. And though Steven could not see it now, he still remembered their unearthly presence and appearance. But strangely, they didn’t move. And as Steven and Arthur entered the building, Steven notice that they also didn’t blink or even breathe. Not only were they invisible but they were also frozen. Steven poked at one man’s eye, he found that he couldn’t even move the lid despite pressing with much force. He wondered why.

“Hey what are looking at?” Arthur asked Steven, who was bending forward to examine the translucent face of the ‘man ‘who seated in stasis.

“Um, nothing.” Steven replied, straightening himself. “How about we find that voice?” Steven quickly added.

“Help!” the voice called again. “Is anyone there?” his hoarse throat cracked and the voice of the man coughed.

“Where are you?” Arthur called out.

“I’m here!” the man replied. It was coming from the back of the room. Steven led the way, making sure to go around rather than let Arthur bump into the table along with the men.

They got to the back of the hut and looked below. The voice was coming from below, not inside the hut but the tree itself. Arthur knelt down and touched the floor. He traced his hand until he felt a hole and another stair case. It lead downward, to the tree trunk. Slowly the boys descended until they reached the top of the tree’s trunk which was just below the hut. There was a trap door under there and Arthur opened it.

It was dark. Too dark to see anything beyond the light of the sun that came in from the trap door. A ladder lead inwards. “I’m here!” the voice called again. “Please help me.” He coughed.

“Who are you?” Arthur asked.

The man coughed several times before he answered. “My name is Robert Bullock.” His voice screeched and he asked again, “Please, help me.”

“Robert Bullock…” Arthur said to himself and immediately climbed the ladder into the darkness, leaving his book beside the trap door. Though he didn’t want to, Steven followed. The insides were too dark to make out anything except the vague outline of the walls and from where the light of the sun stopped, you could tell that it went deep. But eventually they reached the bottom, somewhere mid-way in the tree. And no longer did they hear the echo of a voice. Because the voice of Robert Bullock was clear and right in front of them.

Steven stayed near Arthur. Though they could tell the direction of Robert, the tree’s trunk was still wide enough to fit a house so he didn’t want to get separated from his brother.

“Are you there?” Robert asked, his voice filled with desperation and hope.

“Yes.” Arthur replied.

Steven continued walking until he felt Arthur stop. He peered forward and then saw the shape of a man in the darkness. From the outline, Steven saw that the man was chained up against the wall. The chains were probably invisible, even Steven couldn’t make them out from in the darkness. Luckily, from the position of Robert’s arms, the two boys quickly found the chains.

“What do we do?” Steven asked, looking towards where he thought Arthur to be.

“There’s no way we can break the chains. Best we can hope to do is dislodge it from the wood.” Arthur replied.

“Thank you.” Robert said in the darkness. Steven heard stairs and a cracking voice mumble a prayer in the dark. “Thank you.” Robert said again.

“It’s okay Robert. We’re definitely going to get you out of here.” Arthur said and then Steven heard grazing sounds. Then he heard a slam on the floor.

“Arthur!” Steven exclaimed.

“I’m fine. I just missed a step while climbing the chain. It’s harder than I thought to climb in the dark.” Steven sighed relief and then faced upwards. How far did the chains extend? Could they even reach the ends? And would they be able to remove it from the tree’s trunk? Even if they did that, would a tired and hungry man be able to fetch those heavy chains? Steven knew that he wouldn’t be able to, and he was decently fed.

“Arthur,” Steven called through the darkness, he could hear Arthur ascending the chain. “This isn’t going to work.”

“We’ll find a way.” Arthur retorted from the darkness.

“But how?” Steven asked, “We could be here until night and wouldn’t make any progress.” The thought of night scared Steven. Would the men move again then?

Bump! Arthur fell again. He wasn’t a very good climber despite his athletic prowess. “Fine. You go.” Arthur said, “But I’m staying here with Robert. Find someone who can help and come back.”

Was that a good idea? If the people didn’t move during the day, then Arthur would be safe. Steven could easily go back to the town, perhaps find Maria and Sarah or anyone willing to help. But what would people make of this? Invisible buildings and people. A man chained in a tree’s trunk. Would anyone even believe him?

“Find the Guardians.” Robert whispered. “Those people will know what to do.”

“Who now?” Steven asked but Robert didn’t reply, at least not in an understandable fashion. He had finally run out of words, the thirst stopped him from speaking words. He coughed and then became silent, probably resting until he was able to speak again.

But Steven didn’t have time to wait. He began his ascent of the ladders. As he reached the top, he shouted down from the trap door “I’ll be back soon!” and was on his way.