Logan
The sun was higher now in the hazy, blue sky. The clouds, which had produced the overnight snow, had disappeared almost entirely. It was still chilly, but the weather was gradually warming.
Michael and Tristan walked diligently along the perimeter of the backyard, searching for some kind of breech in the barrier. Some way to escape. But they were having no luck. The barrier seemed to be impenetrable from the inside.
Logan sat up against a thick trunk of a pine tree. The rough bark scratched his back whenever he adjusted his position. Jenny sat next to him, cradling him with her arms, trying to keep him warm. Michael and Tristan had given him their coats. He wore Michael’s because it was closer to his size. Tristan’s coat lay over his legs, giving him some protection for his burns.
Logan had not looked at his legs yet. He did not know how serious the damage from the fire had been. Since coming inside the barrier, he had not tried to walk on his own. Would he have scars on his legs? Would he ever walk again? His pants were wet and cold, but it was refreshing on his burning skin. It helped subside the itching and searing of his thighs.
“How’re you doing?” Jenny had not asked the question for a few minutes.
“A little better. Warming up a bit.” Logan’s shivering had calmed and his skin was beginning to return to its natural color.
“How’re your legs?”
“They hurt, but not quite as badly as they did an hour ago.”
“We’ve got to get you out of here and to a doctor,” Jenny said.
Logan nodded. “Yeah, but the question is how?”
“Have you guys found anything yet?” she called to Michael and Tristan who were in the corner of the yard, close to the house.
“No,” Michael called back. “If we could somehow get into the house, maybe we could find a way out from inside, but this stupid force field is right in front of the door. It won’t let us through.”
Tristan stood next to Michael, nodding in agreement.
Jenny turned back toward Logan. He could feel her warm breath on his cheek. It calmed him. “So, why do you think you could come into the yard, but we can’t get out of it? You walked right through the barrier and it didn’t even affect you.”
Logan stared straight ahead, trying to summon all his strength. “I’m not sure. I just did it. I wasn’t thinking straight at the time. All I know is that I didn’t feel anything when I walked through it.”
“But you knew we wouldn’t be able to get out. You told us that right away.”
“It’s pretty clear someone or something is trying to keep us prisoner. It makes sense that there would be a trap. I escaped the front yard, so whoever is keeping us here probably knew I would come back to help you guys out. I’m guessing this thing let me in.” Logan grimaced and put his hand on his right leg.
“Your burns?” Jenny asked.
“Yeah.”
“Do you think you can get up to walk?”
“I’m not sure. Right now we don’t have much reason to walk, do we?”
“We’ll find a way out. You found a way out of the front yard.”
Logan had told Jenny, Michael, and Tristan about the fire and the creek. About how he jumped through the flames and then found relief in the icy water.
“Yeah, and look at me now,” Logan complained.
“You’re gonna be fine. I think it’s amazing what you did. I would have sat in that yard forever before I jumped through fire. How did you get the guts to do that?”
“There was really no choice. It was the only way out. I think you underestimate yourself. People do crazy things when their lives are at stake. You would’ve done the same.”
“I don’t know about that.”
The two of them sat in silence for a moment, watching Michael and Tristan scour the perimeter of the yard, looking for any kind of clue that would help them escape.
“There may still be some hope,” Logan said.
“What do you mean?”
“The reason we’re out here in the first place.”
“Zach?”
Logan nodded. “He knows something. He was right all along about this ghost-thing. Maybe he knows how to beat it.”
“But how do you know he hasn’t been captured too. How do you know he isn’t in that house somewhere or out in the woods behind some kind of barrier like we are?”
“I don’t know that. The part of the house I was in was empty, but I didn’t even know about the addition until I was outside. I have no idea how to get into that part of the house. So, I guess Zach could be anywhere. But I do know that if anyone could survive a situation like this, it would be Zach. He can do pretty much anything when he really wants to.”
Jenny nodded.
Logan continued. “But if he’s still out there looking, I hope he finds us soon because something tells me we aren’t going to be left alone too much longer. Whatever this thing is, it must have a plan and I don’t think we want to know what it is.”
Jenny’s skin was pale and her eyes were wide. “Logan, what is this thing? That ghost in the woods that brought us here … what was that? These things aren’t supposed to exist. I’ve never been so scared.”
Logan took Jenny’s hand and rested it on his leg, his hand on top of hers.
Michael and Tristan came running back to the tree.
“Did you find something?” Logan asked.
“Well, we have an idea,” said Michael.
“Maybe we can go under it,” said Tristan.
“Under it?” Logan was confused.
“Yeah,” Michael began. “Over there on the side of the yard there’s a tiny divot in the ground, so I reached my finger underneath and was able to pass it through to the other side with no shock or burn.”
“We could dig a hole,” Jenny said.
“Yeah, we could dig a hole under the barrier,” Michael said.
“The only problem is how we do it,” Tristan said. “We don’t have a shovel and the ground is still too solid to do it with our hands.”
“There is some kind of shed over there that might have some tools in it.” Michael pointed toward a small, isolated structure with a rounded roof. “But it’s on the outside of the barrier, so it won’t do us much good.”
Michael, Tristan, and Jenny looked at Logan. They seemed to be waiting for an answer, as if he knew how to solve every problem.
Logan thought for a moment. Then he spoke. “Look around on the ground. Try to find some rocks.”
Jenny, Michael, and Tristan scoured the area. They each came back with a handful of medium sized stones.
“What are we gonna use these for?” asked Tristan.
“Do any of those have sharp edges?” Logan asked.
Michael understood. “This one might work,” he said, holding up the pointed edge of one of his rocks.
“Okay, but we’ll need more of those,” Logan said.
“I’ll go look for more,” Tristan said. Tristan came back shortly with two other sharply pointed rocks.
Slowly, Logan grabbed the trunk of the pine tree he had been leaning against and pulled himself up.
Jenny held his arm for support.
As he bent his knees to stand, a sharp stinging pain flashed through his thighs. Logan grimaced, but he didn’t let out a cry. He braced himself by putting his hand on the tree.
When Logan had reached a standing position, Jenny let go of his arm. Hoping not to topple over, Logan cautiously released his hand from the tree trunk. He was weak. He was wobbly. But he was standing on his own.
With a smile, Logan said, “Well, what are we waiting for? It’s gonna take us a while to dig a whole with just a bunch of rocks.” Logan then took his first delicate step toward the barrier.
Michael, Tristan, and Jenny followed closely behind, the rocks firmly in their hands.