It was a pretty, little cottage in the middle of a redwood forest. Made of redwood itself, it sat serenely beneath the towering trees, dim light glowing from the mullioned window, and wood smoke snaking lazily into the night sky from the stubby chimney.
It was an unmistakable refuge for the two boys who'd been lost in the dark forest for what seemed to them like forever.
Tears of relief sliding down dirty faces, the teens hugged each other, and then froze, startled into silence, when the door to the cottage was flung open and two tall figures stepped out.