Dusk had begun to cast its fading light onto the path that led the girls away from Al's hut towards the Dark Forest. They had decided to ignore the missing light and just wanted to try to get their stones, so they could walk away from this place as quickly as ever they could afterwards. They had one match left, they could make a torch and let it light their way once the night had fallen.

They wandered in silence. It wasn't as peaceful and calm as it used to be as each of them dwellt on her thoughts. The change of scenery was subtle at first, but became more and more undeniable. The path turned narrow and overgrown, the trees and bushes thicker beside them. No other sound could be heard but the rustling of leaves and the soft padding of their feet on the frozen mud. The treetops were so thick that there wasn't even snow on the ground.

For the first time since leaving home almost two weeks ago, since joining this whole competition, Beatrice felt fear creeping up on her. It wasn't panic or terror, more like a chill reaching for her bones. She shivered as a part of her finally realized there was no way out of this situation other than to go through. But she couldn't afford to let fear overtake her, she needed to pull herself together for the sake of this task. They'd hurry and go out of this area, back to the part of the province that she knew and appreciated. This didn't feel like a part of Abnegation at all. No wonder it was usually forbidden to come here.

She counted seven hundred and twelve steps until they reached the end of the path. It emerged onto a tiny circular clearing, hardly big enough for the both of them to stand on with their bags. It was surrounded by gray stones on the ground, with a gap between two bigger ones that Al had told them about, leading the way towards the wall. It was impossible to say if anyone had been here before them, since the frozen mud didn't allow any footprints. They wouldn't leave any traces either. Nobody would be able to tell that they'd been here. Another shiver ran down Beatrice's spine at the thought of getting lost between the trees that surrounded them almost as if they themselves were the wall they were looking for.

Breathe, she thought. Retain control. You made it this far, now is not the time to give up.

She didn't dare to speak, so she searched for Christina's gaze and pointed between the two of them questioningly.

Who was going to go first?

She didn't know what was better or worse. It was like choosing between the devil and the deep blue sea.

Christina looked as lost as she did as she shrugged and glanced between the opening between the stones and the trees.

Beatrice decided to act then. There was no point in wasting time. She'd go first.

She took off her bag and set it down by her feet. She felt Christina watch her as she untied it and took out the pickaxe. Had it already been this heavy when Al had first given it to her?

With a last look at Christina, she made sure her friend was okay. She nodded at her encouragingly, or as encouragingly as she could under the circumstances, and so Beatrice turned, took a steadying breath and stepped forwards between the stones.

One. Two. Three.

She counted the steps, and for a moment, her mind went back to the castle and her dance with Tobias.

Four. Five. Six.

But the situation didn't allow any distractions. She had to count up to one hundred steps and focus on walking straight ahead.

When she reached twenty, she found herself suddenly surrounded by trees. If there had been at least some kind of recognizable path, it was gone now. Nothing but trees and more trees, rows and rows of them. How was she supposed to walk straight ahead and not get lost when she had to wriggle her way between them like this?

The fear returned, icy cold on her neck. It threatened to overcome her, but she fought it down. She had known all along that it wouldn't be easy. Breathe.

Once she was able to think straight again, she notched the ground with the pickaxe. If she repeated that every few steps, she'd have less trouble finding her way back. Also, Christina would have better orientation. It was worth the few extra seconds it took to leave marks, and it worked fine until she reached step forty-nine.

That's when she noticed the fog ahead of her. It evaporated out of the ground and billowed between the trunks.

Beatrice had to fight against the rising panic once more. She had only made half the way to the wall yet. What else would she have to encounter? She looked up to the sky. Its dim light seemed like a canvas with mighty branches drawn all over it, just a background now for the darkness that was the forest.

The next ten or so steps led Beatrice deeper into the fog, and she left notches on the ground every two steps now. With the fog, it was harder to see what was in front of or behind her.

Then the fog started to change its color. It turned from white to a light gray first, and then became darker with every step.

Beatrice's breath was shaky, her legs carrying her only due to her determination. The increasing darkness enclosed her from all sides now, the glance upwards revealing only blurred silhouettes against a darkening sky. The trees seemed to be closing in on her, their branches moving in an imperceptible breeze, as if trying to reach for her. It didn't matter that they were plants. For Beatrice, they were alive, and she was afraid of them grasping her and pulling her away from her path, to a place she'd never be able to escape from. It was an act of pure volition that made her continue, dodging the swaying branches as good as she could.

She was about eighty steps in, give or take a few, when she had to take a moment to collect herself for the last part. She closed her eyes to block out reality and escape to a safer place. Thoughts were swirling in her head like the fog surrounding her until a memory shaped itself in her mind:

Tobias' earnest gaze, searching for permission in her eyes as he asked her, "May I?"

The caress of his fingertips against her forearm as he carefully pulled off her glove.

His hand holding hers up for him to kiss as if it weighed nothing.

The touch of his lips to her skin.

She wanted to feel that again. Wanted him to kiss not only the back of her hand, wanted to warm his lips with hers.

Right. She had to go on now, or she would never share that with him, would not even have the chance to.

As she opened her eyes, a gasp escaped her throat. Tiny lights whirred around her, little spots emitting a dreamlike glow that illuminated the forest around her. It was beautiful, misplaced at a site as oppressive as this.

Blinking at the rapidly shifting lights, she tried to make sense of them. And she did, although she had no idea where they came from. They had to be far from where they usually lived, belonging here as little as she did: Fireflies, hundreds of them, buzzing through the air without making any sounds. The forest must have to absorb it, just like it swallowed her shallow breaths and her careful footsteps.

"What are you doing here?" Beatrice whispered in awe.

The fireflies all flew together in a sphere, as if on command, then formed an arrow of light pointing ahead.

"You're here to show me the way? Wow. But why are you helping me?"

The little animals concentrated in a sphere again, only to then shape into a hut first, then a man and at last they imitated a fire burning on the ground.

"Because... I helped the poor man light a fire?" Beatrice asked as she put the pieces together.

Instead of giving her an answer, the fireflies swarmed around her in a tight circle that almost felt like an embrace before they swarmed out further around her to illuminate the way for her. Their light cut through the fog and penetrated even the darkest shadows. It guided her safely onwards until suddenly, she emerged from the fog. It swirled behind her as if held back by an invisible wall. But in front of her was a wall that was very much visible, made of stones. They came in all sizes, shapes and colors, as if some unknown giant had piled them up with equal amounts of chaos and order in mind.

Beatrice couldn't believe she had made it this far. There was no more time to waste now. She dashed the last few yards toward the wall and carefully ran her palm over the cold stone. She found a small stone that appeared to be perfect to pull out, only loosely attached to its neighbors. Grasping it with her fingers, she pulled, but it didn't move the slightest bit. Right. This would be the occasion to use the pickaxe. Why had she even thought she'd be able to take a stone without using it?

She took a big swing with it and brought it down in a stroke. The whole wall shook as the stone she had aimed at wobbled. It took another two blows to the stone until it toppled to the ground. Beatrice hurried to pick it up and stowed it into the bag of her coat. She turned and was about to step back into the fog to make her way back to Christina when she hesitated. How was her friend going to make it here? She was rather sure it would count as cheating if she brought a second stone for her, but she could do something to make it easier for her. The faster Christina would be done, the faster they could both make it back into safer territory.

Beatrice knelt down and used the axe to cut into the fabric of her coat. Then she pulled at it, tore off enough of it to rip it further into a long, thin piece of rough fabric. She tied it to the tree closest to her and then made her way back. She was much faster now than on her way in, with the fireflies keeping her company and lighting the path for her until the fog had subsided. They swarmed off before she had the opportunity to thank them for their help.

From here, she could easily follow the marks she had left with the pickaxe. It was easier to breathe the further away from the Dark Forest she got. Never had she been more relieved than at the moment that she spotted Christina kneeling on the ground, caressing the injured dove in her hands. She looked up in alarm when a twig crackled beneath Beatrice's foot, but her features relaxed as soon as she recognized her friend.

Beatrice didn't dare to speak. Instead, she tried to explain with gestures and grimaces what she had experienced. She showed Christina the stone and handed her the pickaxe and the end of the fabric. Her coat was now significantly shorter than before. Hopefully, she would have the opportunity to repair it in the future. Perhaps Shauna would be able to organize some spare fabric once they were back in the castle.

Christina thankfully took the fabric and put it down on the ground. That was smart, Beatrice thought, because this way, it would not only lead her to the wall, but also back to her.

Once Christina had disappeared between the dense trees, there was nothing to do for Beatrice but wait. The dove soon fell asleep again after her return, and she tried to distract herself with thoughts of the prince. The worst part of this task was over, now all that remained to do was hike back. She'd dance with Tobias again on Saturday. She imagined them swirling around on the dance floor like they didn't care about all the onlookers, as if they were all alone in the ballroom. In her mind, there was no need to count the beats as she managed to move gracefully to the rhythm of the music.

Darkness had long fallen by the time Christina made it back to her. She looked ashen, her face tear stained and her hands empty. Beatrice jumped up and pulled her into a tight embrace. She was glad the other girl had returned safely. It was what mattered most. After Christina had stopped shaking, Beatrice took a step back to look at her again. But she just shook her head slightly as she held her empty palms out towards her. No pickaxe. No stone.

Beatrice swallowed the myriad of questions for now. She'd have time to ask them all later, when they had put enough distance between themselves and the Dark Forest. She took Christina's hand, and together they made their way back to Al's hut.

Only, the hut wasn't there anymore. It was gone, no trace of it left beside its rectangular outline on the muddy ground. How was that possible?

Ignoring the dread that there might be a chance that they'd taken the wrong way back, the girls hurried onwards. It didn't matter that it was nighttime already, that they had walked all day and their bones ached with every movement. Neither of them dared to suggest it was time to rest for the night. They could sleep once they'd made it out of here.