The hairs rose on Jeff’s neck. Something icy swept his throat, making him hunch and whip around. Long misty fingers trailed inches from his face, curling and beckoning, crawling through the air.
Behind the fingers billowed a ball of mist, like a grey cloud creeping up behind them.
“Run!” he yelled to Rhed and Matt.
The three of them took off down the narrow path as the mist continued to swirl and eddy around them. Jeff grabbed Matt by his arm, not giving his younger brother a chance to argue or run in the wrong direction.
Matt tripped and sent them both sprawling to the forest floor. Jeff scrambled to his knees and whirled around just in time to see the mist covering Matt.
The boy yelled in terror as Jeff staggered to his feet and tried to get to him. Just then Rhed came storming past and body-checked Matt with such impact that they flew through the mist and landed on the path a few paces away.
Rhed hauled Matt up, half carried, and half dragged the shaking kid down the path towards Jeff’s home.
Jeff, now on his feet, stared at the mist that blocked his way out of the forest. Beyond the mist he saw Rhed hesitate and yelled, “Go, go, go!”
Not looking to see if Rhed was on the move, he darted back down the path, deeper into the forest. Looking over his shoulder, he saw the mist still coming after him. It had almost caught up.
Jeff ran, stumbled over roots and slid under fallen trunks. Twenty paces later, it felt like the forest had come alive with fury. The wind and the trees were so noisy that Jeff stopped dead in his tracks. He looked up, turned in a circle and faced the mist swirling towards him. It seemed like a twister was tearing the mist apart. He covered his eyes with his hands as the leaves and twigs slapped his face.
With the deafening roar of the forest in his ears, Jeff leapt down a side path and ran as fast as he could, trying to put distance between himself and the mist. The trees swayed and protested, and it seemed that Mother Nature had unleashed a hurricane. Jeff reached the edge of the forest and pushed through the bushes that bordered the garden of his family’s home.
From where they were standing in the garden and staring at the forest, neither Rhed nor Matt had noticed Jeff’s arrival. Rhed was moving from one foot to the other, as if he wanted to rush off into the forest to look for Jeff. But he was not prepared to leave Matt, who was on his knees, panting.
Jeff dragged himself to where they were waiting. He noticed that the wind had stopped as suddenly as it had started.
“Tell me you saw that too?” panted Jeff.
Rhed got a fright and promptly punched Jeff on the arm. “Don't sneak up on us, troll!”
Jeff did not answer, nor did he feel the punch as he looked up at the sky and asked, “What happened to the storm?”
“What storm?” Rhed swept his dreadlocks out of his face as he searched the skies for bad weather.
Jeff took Matt's hand and pulled him to his feet.
“We'll talk later,” he muttered.
They ran over the back porch and through the kitchen door. Once inside Jeff sank to his knees so that he was eye level with Matt. “Matt, you okay? Did you get hurt?” he asked.
Matt shook his head and whispered with a lisp, “It was just scary. I thought I heard voices in the mist.”
Jeff studied Matt, who was chewing on his bottom lip. He was a small for a six-year-old, his sandy blond hair spiked up in a messy style. He absently rubbed his button nose with a finger. Although Jeff was only twelve, he stood tall against his younger brother.
Jeff had always looked out for Matt. Yes, there were yells and fights, especially when Jeff found Matt in his room messing about with his things, but they had fun too.
Jeff Madison and the Shimmers of Drakmere on Amazon US
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