There was something about the woods outside his house which always used to fascinate Adam Carpenter.
He had lived in the tiny village in the middle of the Welsh countryside for all seventeen years of his life, living in the chapel house his grandparents had bought. The place came with 5 acres of land (many of which would be filled by livestock), as well as the chapel itself. Many happy days had he spent helping his grandmother in the chapel.
But there was only one rule that his grandmother had enforced, and she made his swear down not to break that rule under any costs.
"Don't go into the woods,"
He could still hear her voice as he weaved home from the local pub. An advantage of living in a village: everything was close at hand.
And that was when he saw the glowing ball of light.
At first he thought it was a trick of the darkness around him. He shouldn't have been out drinking, and he half wondered whether God was out to punish him. But Adam Carpenter had spent enough nights praying to nothingness and he was far too drunk to care.
"This is the weirdest thing ever," he realised, stumbling alongside the road. The orange globe of light seemed to float towards him, and he extended a hand to touch it.
To his amazement, the globe came closer and he touched it directly. He felt a series of tingles spreading through his arm, and for a second he could smell smoke wafting around his nostrils.
The globe darted away from him, and in the state of curiosity that he was in, Adam Carpenter jogged down the road nearby. His head was already clearing from all the alcohol that he had consumed. He paused for breath, watching as the globe pulsed nearby.
Before vanishing into the narrow brick wall which separated the road from the forest.
"Can't have that can we?" he mumbled to himself, and took his first steps into the forest.
The globe was by now weaving its way in and out of the trees, which were clustered together ominously. Sometimes, Adam thought he noticed faces watching him in the trees, but he realised that it was just a trick of the light.
His grandmother's face filled his mind, but he put it quickly to rest. He needed to find out about this light. It could change everything in his life. Or at least he thought it would.
Turns out, he was right.
He began to get drowsy, and rubbed his eyes as he followed it onwards. In his enticed state, he failed to even notice the lack of wildlife as he pressed through the forest. All that mattered was the orange globe which was by now slowing down.
"Are we nearly there yet?" Adam asked the globe, which pulsed twice. It pressed ahead and dissolved into a nearby bush. Orange sparks fizzled through the leaves, and Adam cursed his luck.
"What the hell am I going to do now?" he shouted, still not noticing the lack of wildlife. Nothing roamed the woods that night. Nothing had for a while.
The moonlight emerged and filled the clearing ahead. Realising he had come this far, he entered the clearing and paused in magical thought.
Small globes, similar to the one he had followed but smaller, danced around the clearing. They illuminated the sight in the middle, and Adam moved towards it.
It appeared to be a statue of some sort. On closer look, it appeared to be an angel of some sort, it's hands clasped as if in prayer. Its head was bowed, and in the area around its face Adam could notice two blue spheres dancing near the eyes.
"What do we have here?" he asked to himself, watching in amazement as the moonlight lit up the contortions of the angel's face. He tapped it slightly, feeling the smooth stone. Had the Celts built this. Was this the reason his grandmother had warned him to keep away from the forest? Because of an angel?
And ever so slowly, his eyelids grew heavier. He could lie down and sleep; sleep amongst the dancing lights and the guardian angel…
He snapped his eyes open, and reacted in shock. The angel's hands were reaching out towards him, and its head was lifted. It stared at him with vicious intent, it's lips curling into a smile.
Panic raced through his body, and he backed away slowly. Leaves crunched under his feet as he kept his eyes on the angel. It didn't move, it remained still. He was wide awake by now.
He blinked momentarily again, and the angel had somehow transported itself to within five metres of Carpenter. A sound filled the forest nearby- it seemed to echo everywhere. He heard the sound of footsteps nearby, and he instantly turned to see who had arrived to help him.
He briefly saw his grandmother staring sadly at him before everything else seemed to whiten around him. He heard the echoes of words before the 21st century dissolved around him.