Chapter 11: Darkness Falls Silently
Jack could hear Sue and Bobby talking, but he had decided that it wasn't his place to listen in. He could either focus on that, or focus on what he needed to do. He could still feel the wolves circling around him. Whatever they were and wherever they came from, they seemed unable to attack just yet. Jack walked on and on, the darkness surrounding him like an inky curtain. He had seriously begun to doubt that there was a way out of this place. He wished that he could leave footprints that lasted more than a few seconds before they were obliterated by the wind. Maybe then he would have been sure that he was still going in a straight line and not in circles. It didn't really help that he had no clue as to what to look for as a way out. The darkness seemed to have gotten thicker, pressing in on him, making it feel as if he were suffocating. He had heard that poem on the wind several times. He realized that the wind didn't go anywhere, only looped continuously around. He hadn't added his voice to it. To him, it seemed that if he did that, he would be giving up and sealing himself in here. He couldn't do that yet. Maybe later, but not yet. He still had a shred of hope to hold on to, and that was Sue. She believed in him which made it that much easier to believe in himself. If she said that he could do it, he believed with all his heart that he could. If he couldn't and she left, he too would be gone. But he continued, holding on to her and going forward. He was walking as usual, when he sensed something had changed. Looking up, he saw a light forming up ahead. As he watched, it spread out into a pool, much like the one he had seen at the bottom of the pit. He was captivated by this. Slowly, he started forward. As he drew closer to the glittering pool, the sky seemed to grow darker until there was only the pool of light. When he was about 3 feet away, a small slender beam of light shot straight up 7 feet into the air. Then it stopped. Jack took another step forward and watched as the beam suddenly broadened until it formed a door made up entirely of the gleaming iridescent light. Jack felt somehow drawn to this new door. He knew that this was the way out, be it either to death or life, it was the way out. As he approached the door, the light seemed to intensify until it was blindingly bright. Putting a hand up to shield his eyes, Jack saw that he was standing on the pool at the foot of the door. Taking a deep breath, he stepped through, letting the light take him.
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