"Come on."

Charlie jerked around. Ross waited impatiently with his hands stuffed in his windbreaker's pockets, shifting from one foot to the other. Behind him, the park was full of people clustered together by booths featuring games and contests. Even more grouped around the snack booth, proudly advertising steaming cider and warm pastries. It seemed like the whole town had braved the November cold to come out to the Fall Festival.

"Are you okay, man?" With his head, Ross gestured behind him. "Everyone else already went in."

Charlie shook his head to dismiss the crazy thoughts running through his brain at the sight of his brother sneaking off into the darkness beyond the great floodlights. The kid probably just had to be alone for a little while. Charlie understood that. He turned back to Ross. "What? Yeah, I'm good."

He rubbed his cold hands together. "I think I need to get my hands around a cup of hot cider before they fall off."

Ross laughed, his breath crystallizing before his face. "No argument here."

Half an hour later, Charlie was on his fourth cup of cider and his younger brother hadn't reappeared.

He stopped Ross, who was passing by the snack booth, having gone to play some carnival games after his first cup of cider.

"Have you seen Ben?"

Ross shook his head. "Not since we first got here. Do you know where Hannah is? Mark Shores is running one of the games, and I want to see his face when she figures out his trick."

"Nope." The two boys looked at each other uneasily. "Maybe we should find my dad."

Ross nodded quietly. Charlie tossed his half-full cup into a nearby trashcan. All the cider he'd drunk swirled unpleasantly in his stomach. "C'mon."

They walked up the wide central aisle of the carnival, eyes peeled for Charlie's father. Though neither would admit it, their strides gradually became faster and faster as they dodged group after group without sighting either Billy or any of the adults.

Charlie almost laughed aloud when they passed between two booths and found the girls huddled together, talking. Except...

"Where's Hannah?"

The girls looked around, surprised. Karen spoke up. "I don't know. I kind of thought she'd be with one of you. She left ten minutes ago, said she didn't feel well."

"Hmm," Ross mused, "I saw her about twenty minutes ago, and she looked fine. I wonder what happened."

Abby tensed, and her voice shook when she spoke. "S-she might have g-gone home." She scanned her friends' faces, "R-right?"

Charlie's gut twisted. First Ben, now Hannah. Something wasn't right. "We need to find her. Now."

Hardly had the words left his mouth than he turned and started toward the parking lot. The others followed him solemnly, as if they were part of a funeral procession. Halfway to the lot, Ryan, who was playing a ring toss game, noticed the group. Trotting to keep up with them, his smile faded as he caught sight of their grim faces.

"What's wrong?" He demanded.

Karen flashed a look at her twin. With his jaw clenched tightly, he didn't look likely to answer Ryan's question. She took a deep breath. "We can't find Hannah."

"Or Ben." Charlie's voice was strained.

Karen swung around to stare at her brother. "Wait, what? Ben's missing too? And you didn't tell me this until now?" Charlie stayed silent, and Karen turned away with a huff. "Well, come on then!"

The entire group, now energized by fear and worry, charged after her. Upon reaching the parking lot, those able to drive suddenly realized that they had come to the festival with their parents, and thus had no transportation.

For a moment the group debated, wondering whether they should go back to the festival and find the parents. Charlie chafed at the delay. He had to do something now. Without another word he turned and sprinted a few yards off. With a powerful thrust of his wings, Charlie shot upwards.

Ben's quiet breathing echoed in the dark kitchen. He stood by the table where he had eaten breakfast nearly every day of his life, a scrap of paper clenched in his damp fist. He was almost glad he wouldn't be there to see the looks on his parents' faces when they saw the note; the mere thought of it sent guilt churning through his stomach to mix with the roiling fire.

Instinctively glancing at the blurry shape of the clock on the wall, Ben sucked in a deep breath and gritted his teeth. If he didn't move now, he never would.

He released the slightly crumpled note, watching it fall to the table before shouldering his pack and turning to the door. Blood pounded through his veins. He was really doing this. He'd packed everything the night before, but it hadn't felt real then. He hadn't really known what to bring to another dimension, so he just stuffed the backpack with anything that could be useful. Everything except...a weapon.

The locked sword case in the living room drew his eye like a lodestone. In six quick steps he was there, reaching for the bookshelf beside the case, pulling the key from between the stiff pages of a medieval history book, releasing the lock with a sharp twist of the key, and pushing open the heavy oak lid.

Three swords rested in a nest of velvet. Only the one in the center had a scabbard. Ben stretched out his hand to grab the sword on the right, the one he usually used in practice, but he stopped just short of touching it. The blade was dull and dinged in several places, and the leather grip was coming loose. It was just a practice sword, not meant for actual battle. It wasn't the kind of sword a hero would carry. But Excalibur was.

Reverently, Ben lifted the ancient sword, sliding it slowly from its scabbard. Though centuries old, the blade was as sharp as ever, and the hilt was untarnished. With this blade, he could be a hero, just like his dad. Putting the sword back in the scabbard, he buckled the whole thing over his shoulder. He straightened, and felt the blade rest against his back. With a smile, he picked up his bag and left the house, shutting the door quietly behind him. The street was deserted, but he knew his family would get back from the festival soon.

He had to hurry. If anyone, especially a cop, saw him running around town with a sword on his back, he would be in so much trouble.

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed! Please keep reviewing so I know if anyone's actually enjoying this story!