Chapter Two

The road was bumpy and uneven. The narrow, pebbly, dirty path beneath them wasn't even a road. Both sides were looming with dark, tall trees. Night was closing in and the rain hasn't stopped.

This was the worst time for the car to run out of gas.

The old car had slowly stopped to a halt, right in the middle of nowhere, it seemed. Asher could hear his father mutter something angrily, getting out of his seat and checking the conditions of the car. Asher told Rosie not to panic when he saw her eyes turn wide with fright, and that everything was going to be alright.

Truthfully, he wasn't so sure himself.

"Can we go now?" Rosie asked, fidgeting nervously in her seat, eyeing the tall trees and dark forest around her. "It's getting dark."

"No," Asher sighed. "I've told you already, we ran out of gas. We need to get more before we can leave." He rolled down his window and leaned out to see his father irritably circling the car. "When can we get more gas?"

"I don't even know where the nearest gas station is," his father grumbled, sighing and trying to think. "We should get to an actual highway with lit roads first."

Asher rolled his eyes and got out, trying to push on the car with his dad and sister, but it wouldn't budge. Rocks were also lodged under he wheels and the grey vehicle wouldn't move at all.

"It isn't working," Rosie remarked, her eyes widening even further and when an owl hooted in the distance, she almost jumped. "What was that?"

"It's just an owl, Rosie," their father said. He turned to squint through the woods. He could see nothing but trees, not even a dim light passing through them. Just dark, lightless forests.

"Where should we go?" Asher asked, his mind not really on the question but on the fact of escaping. He knew he should stay strong, but for some strange reason, he started to feel… afraid? No, no, that couldn't be possible. He was never afraid. Never, until the incident…

The boy suddenly saw something as he spun around. It looked like a tunnel. He could see the entrance, it was near. Vines and overgrown leaves blocked part of it, but a human could still easily go through. Maybe, he thought, it would lead to a highway or some decently lit road. But the darkness made him shiver. It was pitch-black and he couldn't see inside the tunnel. He didn't know what it would lead to.

Apparently his younger sister saw it soon after he did.

"Daddy, look!" Rosie pointed, earning her father's attention. The three of them were all looking at the dark tunnel entrance. "There's a tunnel!"

His father took a closer inspection and nodded. "It is. Alright, I'll go see where it leads. Asher, take your sister and stay right in the car—"

But before the man could finish his sentence, Rosie had already bounded into the tunnel curiously, wondering where it would lead. Her father called shrilly, "Rosie, come back!" But the young girl didn't listen.

"Rosie!" Asher stood beside the car, his shoes muddy and his shirt stained now. Rain continued to pelt down, wetting his dark auburn hair. After a moment's hesitation, he decided to run after her, calling her name.

As he stepped inside the tunnel entrance, he suddenly felt an unsettling, eerie chill pass through his body and crawl up his spine. He shivered, nervously glancing around, trying to act brave but found that he was slowly giving in to the fear.

He couldn't see anything anymore, and for a split second, he even feared he was blind. No, think logically.

"Rosie!" he shouted, his weakening voice echoing off the tunnel walls. "Rosie, where are you?"

Why doesn't this tunnel have lights? he wondered. Maybe it's abandoned.

The young boy realized he couldn't make out the outline of his little sister anymore. He wanted to stop, but for some reason, he couldn't. Maybe it was simply the urge to save his sister. But maybe it was something else…

His feet started feeling lighter and lighter. He felt like he was walking on air rather than trudging on a cold, muddy ground now. He also felt tired, but he kept running. He didn't know why he was still running, he didn't know where he was going. He didn't know… he just kept going.

And at last, the world in front of him seemed to fade, everything — his surroundings, the ground beneath his feet, the air he breathed — disappeared. The last thing he heard was a faint, weakening call of his name from far behind him. His father's voice.

By the way, thanks for the OCs, guys! A few will maybe appear next chapter, but most of them will appear later. Don't worry, soon though. :)