Wondrous Realms

"You cancelled the audition...why?" Cascy spat pizza as he spoke. "I can't believe that guy, so far he's stolen all my best parts..." in disgust, Cascy was about to reach for another slice of pizza, when his eyes caught someone standing in the doorway. Cascy stopped in his tracks, it was an all too familiar face. The voice on the phone continued "Cascy? Cascy, you there?", though it was ignored.

"Tell your friend you are fine Cascy, tell her you must go...", said the woman in the doorway. Cascy quivered as he obeyed the woman's orders, he hesitantly talked into the phone "I...have to go...call me back..." The woman's eyes were emotionless, she held in her hand a knife.

"That won't be necessary..." She stood, posing confidently, she was wearing a white dress and had full, red lips.

Cascy stepped back, "W-what do you want from me?", the only reply he got from her was a soft twinkle in the dark pools of her eyes. Cascy's heart was racing, but he stopped backing away and confronted her, "What are you doin' with that knife, Claire?" Claire smirked, as she sided slowly nearer to Cascy, "I may be hurting a lot of people by what I am about to do." She raised her arm and thrust the blade into Cascy's side. The room froze for an instant and Cascy's shirt stained red in seconds. Cascy strained to remain upright as he clutched his side and his legs were beginning to weaken. Claire looked into Cascy's terrfied eyes and grinned, "There's no escape" She abandoned the redened knife on the floor, her eyes still transfixed on her victim, then she turned and strutted out of the door. Cascy continued to watch as she left the room. The door shut behind her. As he tried to take a step forward, he felt his body give in, and his legs could no longer support him and he fell to the floor, grimmicing in pain.

There was no movement in the appartment and everything was calm.

Mitch had a bad day at work. He took the usual root home by car and had made his way up the stairs to his apartment. Today at work they even forgot my name. Mitch thought to himself as he lit a cigarette. He was about to open the door to his apartment, when he remembered his wife's strict policy on smoking, so he turned acCarlson the hall to see Mitch. "Monica can wait."

Mitch hadn't seen Cascy since the day before and was looking forward to a glass of cold beer and maybe a slice of Cascy's pizza. Hrm well, if he's left any Mitch thought. Then he smirked at his own remark and opened the door. He called for his friend as he did so "Cascy?"

A swift breeze from the open window met Mitch's face as he entered the apartment, it put out his cigarette so he threw it away. He thought nothing of it. Looking around Mitch could not see his friend, so he called for him again. and again. Mitch's face was filled with confusion and he scratched his head as he stepped toward the pizza. "Only half eaten..." Something must be wrong. Then his eyes widened as he spotted Cascy's legs on the floor in a pool of blood. He threw his suitcase and jacket to the floor and he dashed over to his friend. "Cascy! Wha-- Nooo---!" He was lost for words, he clutched Casy's head in his hands, he was trying to say something to him. He saw the knife covered in blood next to him.

Cascy spoke "Mitch..." But Mitch wouldn't let him finish, "cascy!...don't worry, you're gonna be OK... just...I'm right here, just calling an ambulance..." Under his breath he cried "Oh god..." as he lunged for the phone, he dialed frantically and missed all the right numbers. Then he paused and dropped the phone, holding in his hand the telephone wire, which had been cut. "Phone lines are cut off" He rose to his feet, his mouth open and looking to Cascy, "I...Cascy, I won't be long, I'm going acCarlson the hall to..." before he could finish, Mitch heard a latching sound on the door, he caught the door knob and twisted it hard several times but they were locked in. Still Mitch jerked the door knob in frustration, his breathing becoming unbalanced. With his fists he slammed at the door, "Monica! Carlson, anybody, are you there? We need help...Help!" But there was no reply. "Every exit and escape route blocked..."

Mitch's face had reddened and his hands were shaking uncontrolably. Then he leaned against the door looking up, his breath was stuttered. He looked to Cascy and tried to harden up.

Mitch kneeled into the pool of blood beside Cascy. He was unconscious when Mitch took a look at his wound. Though he had to turn around and close his eyes, then he went into the storage cupboard and emerged with a first aid kit which he put on the floor next to Cascy. From it he took the biggest bandage he could see and clumsily started to empty the rest of the contents onto the floor, casting aside all the medicines which he didn't have use for. On rummaging in the boxes of drugs Mitch hesitated, and picked up a box of paracetamol. He quickly looked to Cascy, his eyes were closed. Mitch stood up and walked to the window behind Cascy, he studied the box carefully. Do not take more frequently than every 4 hours. Do not take more than 8 capsules in 24 hours. He then started to pick at the box hastily and then paused. Mitch held the box away from him and looked again at Cascy then back at the box. He scratched behind his ear and put the paracetamol back in the cupboard.

Then Mitch jarred as something crashed into the door, he immediately lunged to the floor at Cascy, to protect him. Then a voice, "Mitch you in there?" Mitch's eyes widened as he replied, "Carlson! You're here, Oh my god!"

"Mitch what's going on?, your door's locked, is Cascy with you?" Carlson' voice seemed tense.

"Yes he is, listen... Cascy is hurt... but he's OK..."

"Wha- What hapened?" There was a moment of silence. Then Carlson said, "I'm going to get an axe, stay away from the door..." Carlson' crashing footsteps faded into silence.

Mitch sat wide-eyed and determined next to his friend, who still was showing no signs of consciousness. Though Mitch talked to him anyway, "We're saved Cascy, we're saved, just hang on in there, buddy!"

Mitch was on the floor, they were both covered in blood. Mitch hated blood. He brought himself again to look at the wound, then he took the bandage from the first aid box, "Cascy, I'm going to bandage you up now, OK?" Cascy mumbled something under his breath, his eyes still closed.

"Cascy, please don't give up on me." Mitch applied some of the bandage to the wound, and Cascy winced. He then opened his eyes and said, "I'll have to get up." Mitch supported him as he tried to sit up.

"Just sit up, I'll bandage you like this." Mitch put the bandage around Cascy, it immediately turned red from the blood. Mitch wraped it loosely and his hands were still shaking. Cascy looked at the wound himself, "Oh man." He moaned, "This is how I'm gonna die."

Mitch looked him firmly in the eye, "No. No, I won't let that happen." There was a call from outside the door,

"Hey, guys?", it was Carlson again, he had returned.

Mitch answered, "Carlson! You got an axe yet?" Before there was a reply, the metal edge of an axe hacked through the middle of the door, and Mitch jumped. "We're gonna need a bigger axe!" Yelled Carlson.

Mitch shouted, "Carlson, use the small axe!"

"OK. Here I come..." The axe smashed into the door again, and again. Several hacks later, the door had been chopped at enough for Carlson to squeeze through. As he got into the room he dropped the axe, "Oh my god..." He looked down at the pathetic state of Mitch and Cascy on the floor. Mitch's hands were red and some of his shirt was too...Cascy was lying down, only his head and shoulders were being propped up by Mitch. He had blood all over him.

Carlson leant down and undid the front of Cascy's shirt, with it's buttons already open. He was wearing a T-shirt underneath which used to be white. "You bandaged this?" Carlson finally asked.

"Who else?" Said Mitch. "It was all I could do..."

Carlson went straight to the first aid box, "We need to re-bandage this. Properly." He glanged back at Mitch angrily as he said properly. Then he gasped, "You used up all of the bandage?" Mitch felt there was no need in arguing and simply sighed. Carlson knelt back down, "This needs stitches." Mitch became annoyed, "Stitch him up then...if you're such a doctor, Dr Geller..." He got up and turned to pepare himself. Carlson stared at Mitch,

"...I'm sorry." His voice had calmed, "I guess I was just..."

Mitch too had calmed, "...scared?" Carlson simply nodded in reply.

"Me too." Mitch loked down at his friends. Carlson was silent as he worked on the bandage. He had soon made do with tightening it up himself. Cascy strained as Carlson pulled it tight.

"All of the doors are locked." Said Carlson, finally.

"What?" Mitch gasped.

"All the doors in the entire block, the exit. I tried to get to a phone before but no one's home...not even Monica..." Mitch looked surprised and shook his head disbelievingly as he spoke, "No...Monica's here."

"See for yourself." said Carlson, and Mitch left the room to investigate. Carlson listened to Mitch across the hall calling for his wife. And then his footsteps leading down the stairs. five minutes later Mitch returned. His voice still sounded surprised when he finally spoke, "No-one. No-one's there...but how...why?.. I don't gettit.'" Carlson was sitting in an armchair next to Mitch who was resting on the couch. He simply shrugged.

"I just came over to visit Monica...but obviously I had to come here instead. I began to worry when I heard you but you were locked in. Why were you locked in?" Mitch said, "I don't know. I heard someone lock the door from the outside."

"Mitch, your door doesn't lock from the outside..." As he said so he got up to demonstrate. There was clearly no lock on the outside.

"But I heard it..." Mitch assured.

"Mitch, there was no-one here..." They both thought for a moment and then looked at Cascy. Then Carlson finaly said, "Who stabbed Cascy?" Mitch didn't answer and felt reluctant to say anything. Then Carlson spotted the knife. "Oh my god...the weapon...?" He walked over and stared at it. The blood on it still looked fresh. "Why would someone leave it here just lying on the floor?"

Mitch became unnerved, "Carlson, please. Can we just concentrate on getting the hell out?" The viens were showing in his forehead. he felt like he could explode. He marched over to the windows, and they were all boarded up. "Something seriously weird is going on Carlson, and I don't like it."

Nightfall came quickly, and Mitch was rummaging in one of the bedrooms. He was searching for some pillows so they could all camp out in the living room. He had thought this through, and it seemed that this was the best thing to do, since he didn't want to have to move Cascy any further from the couch. He decided he would nap next to him with Carlson to keep Cascy company and to make sure he was OK. It turned out he didn't need to hand anyone a pillow as they were already asleep, but he put one under Cascy's head anyway.

Cascy was still on the couch, and Mitch now had posession of the armchair, as Carlson was resting at the end of the couch next to Cascy. He was leaning slightly to the right and Mitch thought Carlson would fall over onto Cascy. Mitch leaned back in the armchair and studied his friends for a moment. They both seemed peaceful and content, and it looked as though they had nothing on their minds. Mitch settled down and soon also fell asleep.

Cascy had a painful awakening, as he began to feel the pressure from his wound again. Carlson beside him, was dabbing his wound with a flannel. Cascy looked around, "How long have I been out?" His voice sounded bleak and strenuous. Carlson stopped dabbing for a moment,

"Quite a while, Cascy. How are you feeling?" He spoke with confidence, happy to hear his friend's voice again.

"Im I dead?" Said Cascy.

"No. No of course not, I...we, took good care of you!" grinned Carlson. Then Mitch entered the room holding the axe. He was out of breath and spoke quickly,

"I think we can get the door open. I've been using the axe on it but it's hard work." Carlson stood up ,

"I'll help you, stay here and I'll go down and do some more chopping." Mitch was too out of breath to answer, but he handed Carlson the axe, then he sat himself down in the armchair next to Cascy. Carlson left the room. When Mitch regained his breath, he picked up a packet of potato chips, "Want anything to eat?" he asked Cascy.

"Yeah!" Said Cascy excitedly. Then he tried to sit up, but had to lie back down, wincing. Then he let Mitch help him up slowly. He was given a packet of potato chips and a can of beer. Mitch too was drinking, "If I know you well, that is your favourite breakfast!" He mused. Cascy smiled,

"True!"

Then Mitch added, "But there's something missing..." He and Cascy both knew what was meant by that. Then Mitch got up and tried to look for some pizza. He saw on the table an open pizza box. He looked at it, the half-eaten pizza was still inside. A sudden rush of blood ran to his head as he remembered how he had first seen this pizza. All the bad memories from yesterday afternoon came flooding back. He saw a flash-back of the pool of blood, and Cascy, who was in it. Then the knife. He could hear Cascy's voice from yesterday trying to speak his name, Mitch...

For a moment Mitch had to steady himself as he was about to fall, but he quickly turned away from the pizza and breathed.

"Mitch, you OK?" Cascy tried to get up to help his friend. Mitch couldn't reply as he was still recovering. Cascy, now worried, managed to pull himself onto his feet, though he could feel the pain surging through him. He was still waiting for a reply from Mitch who was facing the other way. "Mitch?" Cascy had to use the furniture for support as he climbed across to Mitch. Then Mitch turned to Cascy, his face was in shock,

"Cascy, wha---.Sit back down, you're hurt!" He ordered. Cascy looked surprisingly at Mitch, before he let Mitch take him by the arm, then Carlson entered the room. Carlson was about to say something but was too shocked by what he saw, "Mitch! What the hell are you doing? Are you trying to kill him or something?" He rushed over to Cascy and helped Mitch sit him down. He again frowned at Mitch, "You know he's too sick to walk!"

"But he got up himself..." Mitch said defensively. Carlson interrupted,

"I couldn't leave you alone with him for one second..."

"But I..." Mitch tried to make Carlson understand the situation but he was stubborn. Then a voice from the couch...,

"Guys don't fight!" Cascy moaned. Then Mitch and Carlson looked at each other, "You're right casc. I'm sorry." said Carlson.

"I got up myself. Ok...I was worried about Mitch..." Carlson and Mitch stared...

"What...why?" asked Carlson. Mitch's head sunk, and Cascy added, "He was looking really...un-well." Carlson looked at Mitch who was embarassed, "Mitch, are you OK?" Mitch said, "I'm fine... Did you get any further with the door?" There was a pause. Then Carlson said, "I wanted to take a break." He looked Mitch sternly in the eye as he handed him the axe. Mitch nodded, "K. See you guys later." As he left the room Carlson followed him into the corridor. He stopped Mitch as he was about to go down the stairs, "Dude...if there's a problem...you can talk about it..." Mitch simply sighed,

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me." He started going down the stairs. Carlson watched him leave and turned back toward the appartment.

There was a call from across the hall, "Guys!" Mitch yelled, "I'm through!" Carlson got up, "OK. I'm coming." He'd already talked the plan through with Cascy. First he would go down with Mitch and once they'd got outside they'd get help. It was simple but it meant that they had to leave Cascy for a little while. "Cascy, I'm gonna go with Mitch. Now are you absoloutely sure you're gonna be OK?" Carlson asked.

"Sure, don't worry." replied Cascy. Carlson gave Cascy a hug for comfort and Cascy smiled as he watched him leave. Downstairs Mitch wished he'd given Cascy a hug too, but he didn't want to waste any more time, then Carlson appeared, "OK, you needed help?"

Mitch said, "Yeah, I've hacked as much away as I could, now we need to push away the broken parts of what's left." As the two of them worked on pushing the wood splinters away they both realised something odd. "Mitch, isn't there usually street noise?" Mitch let go of the door as he thought, and he too realised that it was bizzarly silent outside. Both looked at each other and Mitch shrugged, "Dunno, maybe we're just both deaf!" he mused. Carlson laughed at his joke but did not find it amusing. Then Mitch asked, "You brought the axe?" He thought they needed to do some extra hacking afterall. "Damn, I left it upstairs..." Carlson wined. "I'll go get it."

"No, I'll go with you." said Mitch. "I don't feel safe down here all alone..." The two headed up the stairs.

A strange sensation filled them both as they nearly reached the top...They could sense their bodies tremble as the walls began to shake. "What's going on?" shouted Mitch fearfully. Carlson too could not explain why the appartment was shaking. "Maybe it's an earthquake." he said bewilderingly. There was a sudden gut-wrenching thunder as cracks started to appear in the cieling and walls, tearing the concrete apart. "What the hell is happening?" Mitch repeated. He faught against the shaking turmoil, "We have to get to Cascy!" he screamed. Carlson had to shield his eyes from the rubble which was starting to free itself from the ceiling. In the heat of the moment, Mitch had lost grip of the banister and slipped off the step. Carlson did not see him fall, "Cascy!" he called. Then as he turned to look for Mitch, he was hit by a large piece of rubble which knocked him to the side violently, but still he gripped on to the bannister. He was torn. Should he go after Cascy or Mitch? Then he felt something tug at his arm. His vision was obscured by the falling dust and concrete, but he realised it was Mitch who had made it back up. His face was plastered in the white rubble, "C'mon Carlson!" He pulled Carlson up with him as he made his way to the top. Carlson saw another boulder come in their direction, but Mitch did not not notice it through his concentration. Carlson tried to move Mitch away but he continued to pull in the direction of the apartment. Then Carlson felt Mitch's arm slip out of his grasp, as he was forced to move out of the way of the boulder. Mitch looked suddenly at the boulder, he shielded his face with his arm instingtively but it came straight for him. He felt the boulder brush past him and some other force which pushed him away from the danger. His body was thrown onto the top of the banister, where Carlson caught him in his arms. Mitch looked back to see that it was Cascy who had saved him. Cascy had used up the last of his strength and was now in danger of being crushed in the rubble. Carlson watched Cascy stumble through the obscured hallway. Cascy shouted, "Go! Go save yourselves!" Carlson took Mitch by the shoulders and forced him away. Mitch was too reluctant to leave, "Let go Carlson, I have to help Cascy!" But Carlson would not let go of Mitch, "This is our last chance to save ourselves, come!" Finally Mitch gave in but had to be half dragged away by Carlson and he continued to stare back into the crumbling yonder. Carlson felt crushed inside but knew this was the best thing to do. By the time the two of them had reached the exit, they were both exausted from panic and grief. They had only escaped into the light, when a surging blast of warm air and light lifted them right off their feet and sent them hurling into the air. As exausted as they were, they were barely able to take in that they were in a massive explosion of some sort. Mitch straggled with his arms and legs in desperation as he felt the air rush past him. It felt cold on his skin, and the force that was pushing him forced him to continue forwards. Mitch could only think to call for his friends, "Carlson...Cascy?" Then in an instant, they were repelled back down to the ground, their bodies thrown to the earth like litter. Mitch felt his entire body smack down onto the hard surface of the ground. His head felt heavy and he could not lift it.

Then, everything went black...

"Mitch..." The bleak call echoed in Mitch's mind. "Mitch..." Then Mitch opened his eyes. A sharp light forced him to close them again. Fully conscious he realised that the calls were only memories. He tightened his wrists, wishing away the bad conscience inside of him. He tried to listen to his actual surroundings. He could make out the sound of some birds singing and the feint whistle of wind. It was brushing against him and felt cold, though he enjoyed the cooling sensation as he was feeling quite hot. He again opened his eyes, but this time fully. He took a glance at his fist infront of him and at the ground beneath it. He saw sandy brown dirt and as he moved his head slightly he saw grass. Mitch tried to get his head together, Am I still in New York?...

He rested his forehead on his thumb and forefinger and wiped the sweat off with the back of his hand. His skin felt like it was burning up. Again he took a look around, at the ground and the grass, the grass was tall and wild looking. He also noticed a few trees in the distance. No. This is not...not even Central Park. Mitch thought. He forced himself up on his feet, still a little dizzy he stumbled a couple of times before he gradually regained his balance. Mitch eyed a patch of shade over by a tree. He did not go to it, instead he cupped his hands together and called, "Carlson..." He imagined that Carlson must have ended up nearby. He walked in a circle several times in search, until he heard another yell, "Mitch!" The voice belonged to Carlson. Mitch immediately followed the voice to a nearby tree. Carlson was in the shade, he was sitting down before he spotted Mitch, then got up to greet him, "Mitch, you OK?"

"Yeah..." His voice was monotonous. Carlson tried to recieve eye contact with Mitch but his eyes were fixed firmly elsewhere. "You?..." Carlson nodded, still Mitch wouldn't look him in the eye. He walked a few paces and Carlson tried to comfort him, "You need to sit down..." He said soflty. Mitch turned quickly to him, "No time for that now, we have to find Cascy." He could feel his anger building. Carlson stared and his eyes were still on Mitch, "Mit-" but Mitch interrupted, "Are you coming with me...or not...?" As he spoke, his voice was shaky and he looked around desperately as he called, "Cascy?...Cascy?" His calls were full of anger and frustration. Carlson stood still but looked down to the ground, he turned himself away form Mitch. Mitch called a few more times and still walked out through the grass. He lashed at the grass as he walked, his elbows were bent and his fists were clenched tight. Then he went silent as he closed his eyes and relaxed his breathing. He looked at his right hand which was shaking and soaked in sweat. He felt that his forehead was too. Mitch slumped into the grass, he could feel himself begin to choke up. He tried to hold back a tear but failed. Carlson noticed Mitch had stopped his calling, and came over to find him curled up and quivering in the grass. He walked over to him and knelt beside his pathetic jiggling body. "Look...None of this was your fault...It just happened, and...we just have to do what we can to keep us...going." Mitch puffed at the ground as he breathed, then he turned and looked at Carlson. His face was laden with tears, and on his forehead he had a small scratch near his hearline. "It should have been me who was hit by that boulder...it should have been...me right from the beginning, me who...not C-Cascy..." He sobbed loudly. His hands shook voilently and he dug his face into them. Carlson too had tears in his eyes. He sat beside Mitch and they embraced in a united cry. Then Carlson felt he should get up and he dragged Mitch onto his feet. Mitch almost fell right back down again but Carlson supported him with his arm. Mitch stared at the grass again, he looked ahead of him at the trees. He felt Carlson try to move him to the shade but he became transfixed onto something in the grass. There was something which made Mitch force himself away form Carlson, and he moved quickly away again. Carlson felt Mitch was still upset and decided to let him free himself of his emotions. He watched as Mitch stumbled upon the ground in the distance, as if he was trying to go somewhere in particular. He looked hard at his disappearing figure, then followed him at a slow pace.

Mitch knew he had seen something. He knew what he wanted to find and whether it wasn't he still wanted to find something, just to be relieved of the curiosity. Mitch became close to what he had seen. It was something brightly coloured which stuck out from the natural surroundings. He saw clearly now the same colour up front. There were clothes, and then he saw a body. Mitch recognised it instantly as being his friend Cascy. As he saw him he threw himself unconrolably to the ground beside him, and yelled in fear of him not being alive. Tears were spreading down his cheeks again. Cascy lay motionless in the grass. His face had remnants of plaster on it, and above his right eye was a long, deep gash. There was a stream of blood obscuring half his face. His hair was wild with plaster and dirt. His T-shirt was still stained red and torn acCarlson the middle. Mitch choked over Cascy's body as Carlson jumped into sight. His mouth was wide open and he leant down to inspect Cascy. He put one hand out to his chest, then he felt his neck to find a pulse. He gave an astonished nod. His eyes were widened and he and Mitch continued to stare in disbelief.

Darkness had fallen upon the land that the three friends were in. "I need just a couple more pieces." Carlson exclaimed, "We need more firewood than this if it's going to last us all night." He was marching around a small cave entrance, not far from the spot where they had found Cascy.

"K. Carlson, I see some." Mitch was carrying a small pile of about six branches in his arms. He added them to a bigger pile near the cave entrance. Inside the cave, Cascy was resting. They had managed to carry him there that morning, and it had taken them nearly all day and nearly all their strength. They hadn't seen Cascy awake in all that time. The cave was only small, and could hardly be called a cave, as it was merely a hollow in the side of a cliff-edge. It was barely big enough for one man to lie in. When enough wood was gathered, Carlson took a few attempts at lighting a fire with some sticks but failed. He eventually got it right. "Well, not so stupid I took up being a boy scout now is it, Mitch?" He mused at the rise of his own achievement. Then Mitch laughed, "You said it boy scout!" in an attempt to steal his dignity.

Later that evening the three of them lay side by side in the grass, their eyes gazing as they merged deep into their thoughts. Mitch and Carlson just thought, and Mitch turned to his right to look at Cascy, "I wonder what Cascy's thinking." Carlson simply nodded. "He could be thinking really terrible things, he could be having nightmares..." Carlson looked now,

"Or, he could be dreaming of happy things, like.. eating... pizza..."

"Yeah or like how he likes to watch TV and drink beer..." Mitch laughed.

"Or...or how we would all sit and have long talks about...stuff..." Carlson added. Then the two of them fell silent again.

"I miss those times." Mitch said quietly.

"Good night, Mitch."

"Good night, Carlson...and Cascy..."

"Good night."

Cascy was conscious that morning, he looked to his two sleeping friends and then at the burned out fire. A thin stream af smoke was growing from the centre of it. Cascy watched it for a while and breathed in the sweet smokey air. It was mixed with the scent of rich grass in the morning dew. He listened to the birds singing in the sky above him. He spread out his arms on the ground, he was feeling hot and sticky. He put one hand out infront of his face, his hand was dirty and red. He touched his side with it and shifted slightly on the sand. he felt a surging rush of pain. He lay still and felt his forehead which was pounding. The blood had dried up into a thick crust which had matted some of his hair. He closed his eyes again and thought. Where the hell am I?

Then Cascy heard the others begin to stir. Mitch sat up, he could feel a splitting headache coming on. He saw Cascy stirring a little and smiled, "Casc, you awake?" Cascy opened his eyes to confirm, he smiled at Mitch, "Yeah." Then he started to look concerned, "You hurt?" He noticed the scratch on Mitch's head and his sun-burned, tired face. "Oh, no I'm not hurt bad...neither is Carlson..." Mitch said assuringly.

"So we survived, huh?" Said Cascy. Then Carlson too started to stir, "Guys? Cascy! You're awake!" He smiled with glee and came over to pat him on the shoulder. Cascy patted him back, "This ain't New York, guys." He laughed. Carlson thought, "No. This is...Africa I think."

"WHA--?" Mitch shouted in disbelief, "Africa? You're crazy, Carlson!"

"Yeah, Africa is like...miles away!" Cascy added. Carlson folded his arms in disappoinment, "Guys, see those trees over there?" He pointed, "And that mountain over there?" The friends looked. There was indeed a blue, grey coloured mountain on the horizon. It looked unreachably far. Mitch stared at it, "It's so big..." He thought out loud. Carlson nodded, "It's definatley African, I'm thinking mount kilimanjaro but I could be wrong." he smiled smugly. "But how did we end up here?" Cascy yelled loudly. Mitch felt a joke coming on, "I see, Dr Geller's theory could be wrong!" He toyed. Carlson frowned at Mitch, "I'm basing this on what I know are common facts." He added. Mitch laughed and Cascy smirked. "Laugh all you want, but could you have made this fire without me?" He pointed at the steaming pile of branches. Mitch looked deliberately at the pile, indicating that there clearly was no fire. Carlson stamped his foot in humiliation. Then he turned, "I guess you're probably hungry, huh?" He grinned. Mitch rolled his eyes, "OK Carlson. We geddit..." Carlson continued to grin, "And..." he added expectantly. Mitch sighed, "...And, Carlson knows best." Mitch said monotonously. Carlson felt pleased with himself and laughed at Mitch's embarassment. "I'm guessing around here the best way to get food is in the ground." He lectured. "We should dig near a tree to find yams. I saw them do that in a survival documentary." Mitch accepted the statement, "OK, but since you're the best, shouldn't you be the one doing all of the digging?" He said craftily. Carlson frowned again, "I'm clever Mitch, but I'm not stupid." Cascy began to feel uneasy, "Hey you guys don't fight." They turned to Cascy who had been listening to their argument. "I wanna help get the food..." He said as he began to pick himself up. Mitch and Carlson quickly gestured for him to sit back down again, and Carlson pushed gently down onto his shoulders, "You will stay right here, Cascy." Then Mitch said, "We could take it in turns...I'll stay here with Cascy...while you show me from a distance how to dig for jams."

"Yams." Carlson corrected. Mitch shrugged and rolled his eyes, "Yams."

"OK. I guess that's fair." He looked at Cascy, turned and left for the nearest tree. Mitch sat down next to Cascy and waited expectantly, he could barely see Carlson through the tall grass, but could just make him out several metres away, his back was bent forward near a tree where he was digging carefully with his hands. Lying down, Cascy was having difficulty in watching Carlson, he strained his vision so he could see his feet and everything that was just beyond them. Mitch tapped his fingers rhythmetically as he sat, "I am so hungry." He was still staring in the direction of Carlson as he exclaimed to Cascy. Cascy was thinking the same, "Tell me about it. I dunno what this yam food is, but I tell ya I could eat a bucket load of that right now!" He laughed out loud. Cascy nodded as the reminder of food poked into his stomach. He could feel a sickening surge of emptiness inside of him, not just in his stomach, but also in his mind.

Carlson returned with a small armful of what Mitch thought looked like some sort of reddish potato. Their faces lit up with the sight of food, Carlson was also smiling confidently, "OK..." Then his smile suddenly turned into a grimmace, "Mitch! Why didn't you light a fire? " He shouted angrily.

"Oh...I didn't realise you needed a fire to eat yams." Mitch shrugged in a sarcastic mannor. Carlson made his lips look like they were pinned together when he spoke, "Well if you want to eat raw vegetable potein matter, fine!" His voice was loud and antagonising. "But I'll just be lighting a fire so I can eat mine cooked!"

He lit the fire frustratedly but improved on his skill. He then rubbed the dirt off one of the yams.

"So what now, we put them on little sticks and hold them to the fire like marshmallows?" Mitch teased. Carlson was beginnig to tire of Mitch's jokes, "Not that you would know any better but marshmallows are cooked that way because they melt." He picked up a second yam and began to rub at that too. Mitch opened his mouth to say something but Cascy interupted, "How do we cook 'em?" he asked Carlson. Carlson cleared his throat as he put down the last yam next to the fire. He thought for a moment, "I don't know." He said quietly.

"why don't we wrap them in leaves and then put them in the middle of the fire?" Cascy said enthusiastically. "That's what they did on 'Days Of Our Lives' in the extreme wilderness episode!" Mitch listened, and responded with a confused glance.

"OK. We have a cook here people!" He yelled as if a live audience were watching them. Mitch rolled his eyes so Cascy could see, but Carlson saw it too.

That evening the friends continued to talk and sit whilst eating their roast yams, and Mitch thought it had been the longest day he had ever experienced. He had the unfamiliar after-taste of yam in his mouth. He hadn't eaten as many as the others, and still had some left by the side. He was rolling them around in the leaf Carlson had prepered them in. Carlson was leaning relaxed onto his elbow and picking his teeth with his fingernails. Mitch was sitting up and poking at the embers in the fire with a stick. He stared intensely; his mind was elsewhere, lost in the red curling heat of the fire. As he stared he saw the flames begin to curl harder and faster, and the sound of the crackling wood became louder. He tried to look away but couldn't, and he felt the heat of the fire on his skin becoming hotter as he gazed into it. Still the crackling became louder, and other sounds began to merge in with it, 'Mitch...' A familiar voice inside his head, mixed with the grim image of a knife. The same horrific image from before, he recognised the thick red liquid still dripping off the blade. Mitch tried to control his own breathing as he felt himself step into the apartment with hard, echoing footsteps. He looked at his hands which were shaking violently. He forced himself to take a quick glance around the room. Cascy's room. He dared not to look at the floor in the fear of coming face to face with that horrible scene. He yelled as he felt his eyes being opened by some inexplicable force, focusing them directly onto the red flooor. He saw Cascy, his eyes wide and searching. His hands gripping the air and his knuckles turning white. Mitch choked in fear, his mouth gaping at Cascy for a moment as their horrified eyes met. Again the voice appeared, 'Mitch...' Mitch screamed out loud, "NO! This isn't real...It's not..." he screamed through the trapped voice in his head, not knowing if anyone was there to help him. He was unsure whether he was in reality, though he wished hard for it not to be, as his time to save Cascy was long gone. For a moment all that was in Mitch's mind was that Cascy had died. He quivered in a huddled mass beside his friend's body, wriving and shouting at the world. "Please don't..." He shook heavily as he took a breath, "...Don't be happening to me...If this is real.... Oh god don't be." He grabbed Cascy and held him tightly to his chest, burrying his head into his clothes. Mitch errupted in tears, as he felt all his own strength merge into one big mass of confusion. He continued to clench onto his friend's body like it was the last thing he had left. "I wont...let go. I won't." His face hardened out and his clench became harder in thought. The mass of confusion was mixing inside of his head again, and tearing at his skull as if it wanted something from him. Mitch gritted his teeth as he let the big ball of confusion explode infront of him, and he saw once more against the reddened background, the face of Cascy looking through him into his thoughts. Mitch distraught, listened to his voice, "Mitch!"

Then Mitch awoke. He lay gasping for air, his back toward the ground. As he looked up he saw the grey sky patched all over with watery blue clouds. He took a deep breath of relief as he felt his friend's shoulder up against him. He turned to see which friend it was. It wasn't Cascy, it was Carlson. Mitch sat up, he could feel a mild headache rumbling in the back of his brain. He saw Carlson was lying fast asleep, which made him feel a little reasured. He thought to himself about how he could have fallen asleep and laughed at the thought, but when he looked to where Cascy had been lying last night, his face suddenly dropped. Cascy wasn't there.

Mitch lunged at Carlson to wake him, "Where's Cascy? Carlson, get up!" He could feel his anger building. Carlson jumped with surpise as Mitch shook him violently on the ground, "Mitch...What the...?" Confused and battered he leaped to his feet. Mitch was breathing scornfully and dashed around him in desperation. Then Carlson too realised the indentation in the ground where Cascy had been resting, "Oh my god!" He thought quickly about what to do, "We should split up...and..." He stopped in mid-sentence, he had heard something in the distance. Mitch looked up immediately, he had heard it too, "Mitch!" It was Cascy. The calls were far away and desperate, they were accompanied with a long and unintansional scream. Mitch just ran for where he thought it was coming from, and Carlson followed, though he was much slower and struggled to keep up, "Mitch, wait!" Mitch did not wish to stop and continued running. He did not care what Carlson thought and wanted only to follow his own heart. He continued to run until he was swallowed waist deep by the hungry grasses. Then he became a out of breath; he had a stitch in his side and under his left shoulder which forced him to stop. As he stood to regain his breath, he listened out for a guiding call from Cascy, but all he heard was a very faint calling from behind him. Carlson' voice seemed very faint as though it had been lost in the tangle of grass. Mitch listened hard to the voice but he couldn't make it out anymore. Looking around he couldn't see anyone, and ahead of him the towering blue mountain was summoning him. He panicked for a moment as he realised that he had not only lost Cascy, but now also Carlson. In desperation he called for Carlson, his hands cupped together for effect. But there was no reply. Mitch thought that he did need Carlson at all times with him, though he knew if Carlson had to live on his own out there he would be able to survive for a while until they could reunite. Cascy on the other hand, probably wouldn't stand a chance. Not as a healthy person, never mind in the state that he was in. Mitch had almost fully regained his breath, when he he saw in the grass, a small trace of blood. He stepped closer, his mouth agape, and noticed it led to a patchy, uneven trail. Almost hidden in the green and straw coloured grass, was a slightly distorted path heading through it. Mitch had made his decision, and immediately started to pick up his pace after the trail. Mitch felt unstoppable, he could not remember ever running this fast, but guessed he never really had a reason for it. He hadn't run much in his life, and not ever through such thick grass. He could feel the grass lashing at his waist as he ran, looking down to his feet, where the trail grew infront of him. He was encouraged to go on as he spotted a place ahead where the grass ended, and a large area of dirt spread acCarlson the land as far as he could see. As he reached the border of the new grounds, he stopped for another breather, finding the lack of obscuarble grass highly advantagous.There were still small growths of grass in odd places around where he could see. Mitch eyed the border carefully, there was nothing much else there except some large, brown rocks which cast sinister shaddows onto the ground; and as he looked alertly up at them he could see some odd rock formations on the top. Mitch felt intimidated by the their sheer size, he eyed them carefully as he paced through the dry and desplate environment. His eyes were still parcially on the ground as he followed the walls of rock. He scanned for more red liquid clues, but near the edge of one large boulder, the trail had stopped. Just one trace of blood, spilling over a small rock. It looked fresh, still dripping onto the ground below. Mitch became uneasy, realising that he can't be far from Cascy. He suddenly feared the most, if anything could have dragged Cascy away this far it must have been big. Atleast big enough to drag a man along the ground for several miles. Through all the grassy terrain, and Mitch thought about Cascy being conscious and dragged alive through the grass by some horrible...creature...He couldn't bare to think of it. He wanted to call to Cascy but something in his mind was telling him that this creature was still out there, and would hear him and then attack him too. Quickly he picked up a stick as a weapon, he felt safer with it. Then, with weapon in hand he yelled, "Cascy?" His voice boomed acCarlson the area, and echoed itself through the gigantic rock features. He was about to let out another yell, when he heard another call, "Mitch..." Mitch recognised it was Cascy. He sounded in a worse state than the day before. The same as the day he had found him in the apartment but louder. "Cascy, where are you?" Mitch shouted, but there was no reply. Mitch was however already scaling the rocks, as he figured the voice had come from a secluded area on the top of the biggest rock formation. There were several large rocks for Mitch to scale, but he had to abandon his weapon on the way up. Mitch climbed quickly and clumsily, dislodging some smaller rocks with his hands and feet as he tried to find a grip. He had only climbed a few feet and was already anxious about looking down. There was another scream from the top, and Mitch climbed faster, "I'm coming, Cascy!" he yelled, almost falling as his foot slipped in the moment of the scream. Then he heard a scattering of rocks below him. For a moment he thought it was just his own clumsiness, but there was a voice, "...Looking for something...or should I say...someone?" The voice which came from below sounded monotonous and without emotion. Mitch thought Carlson was playing a prank on him but when he turned, he saw something that caused him to jump out of place of his footing. He almost landed on his face but managed to catch himself with an arm onto a rock. Still above the wolf, Mitch grabbed tightly to the rocks, bending his elbows out behind him. He stared wide eyed; before him was the figure of a wolf. Mitch noticed that there was only one wolf, and no one else around, "Who...who said that?" Mitch said worriedly. The wolf gave him an almost human-like grin, "You must be Mitch..." Mitch did not like the tone of the wolf, it sounded unfriendly, "What do you want?", Mitch's hands were beginning to shake. The wolf continued to grin, "I know what you want." He replied craftily, "And let me give you a little advice; if you want your friend alive, you follow me." And with that the wolf turned expectantly and leaped onto one of the higher rocks near Mitch. Mitch was only beginning to take in the effect of the talking wolf, and was amazed also, at the agility of this creature. The wolf took a few effortless strides up the side of the rocks, then turned to Mitch, "Come quickly, don't waste time." He said sternly. Mitch had indeed no time to waste; he also knew he was taking a chance but he felt he had no other option than to follow the wolf. Mitch hurried up the rocks, he gulped as he looked up. There were still only a few large rocks ahead of him. As he climbed he gritted his teeth and dug his fingernails, almost leaving scratches in the rock. He was not sure how far he had gotten when suddenly his hand felt the top. Pulling himself up Mitch took a nervous glance around. He was greeted by a breeze of wind which he let ruffle his hair and relieve his burning skin. At the top Mitch was out of breath again; as he noticed the wolf, waiting paitently near the other end of the cliff top. Mitch approached the wolf steadily, and peered down the side of the cliff. There was a long drop; several metres below there was a string of river. Mitch stepped back, he had broken into a sweat. He turned to see the wolf padding slowly out of sight. Mitch followed it, "Wait!" He had lost track for a moment for spotted a thick grey tail slide behind a rock. The rock was to one side of the cliff top, where there was a wall of them pointing to the sky. Mitch went straight around the corner after the wolf, where there were two continuous walls of rock. He could not see the wolf, but followed the path. Mitch noticed the shadows of the walls, filling the entire ravine with their darkness. He took deep breaths as he walked, his paces slowed in the fear. As he continued, the walls merged together at the top to form an arch. The arch continued to form a dark cieling above Mitch's head, and he could feel the darkness growing around him. Mitch shivered as he noticed several hundred stalegtites waiting to sieze him in the dark. The silence in the cavern was broken every few seconds by deep, echoing drops which seemed to be falling out of nowhere. Mitch thought his own footsteps caused the drops, as he heard them boom through the silent atmosphere. He wanted to leave; to simply turn and run, heading straight back to safety, but another part of him was edging him on, telling him that there will be light on the other end of the tunnel. A call from the distance ahead reached Mitch and repeated itself across the many chambers in the cavern, "Mitch!" It was accompanied by an ear-piercing scream. Encouraged by Cascy's voice, Mitch wanted to go faster still, he was relieved to hear that his friend was still alive. Mitch tried not to imagine what was happening to him, causing him to scream. He wondered if the wolf was involved, or if he really was there to help him. Maybe both. Though he had no current aim other than to reach Cascy. The end of the tunnel was approaching as Mitch ran the last mile. He got to a large opening at the heart of the cave, with a few flimsy beams of light reaching to the ground. There were many more tunnels around the circular opening, Mitch was beginning to feel lost, and very alone. Then one of the rays of light gave a feint flicker. Mitch looked to see that the wolf was standing beneath it, eyeing him precautiously. "This way." It signaled with it's head as it began to walk. The wolf directed Mitch into the tunnel on the far left. He entered after the wolf, as it slid into the darkness, then disappeared. Mitch kept walking, his heart racing. He noticed that this was a much shorter tunnel than before, as he could already see some more light shining through from above. He entered the new secluded space, where a much bigger ray of light was showing up a thick cloud of dust spiraling toward the ground. Mitch looked around, he heard another shout, much louder this time. Mitch could feel the presence of Cascy near him, but couldn't make out anything other than the slight variations in tone, of the dark, engulfing walls. He decided to call, "Cascy...?" He alomst jumped at his own voice, which still boomed angrily back at him. Then there was a reply, "Mitch... is that you...?" Cascy sounded very lifeless. Mitch ran to the corner of the cave, his feet stumbling over rocks in the dark. He followed the sound, wide-eyed and impatient. "I'm coming, Cascy." Mitch reassured his friend, though he had no idea where he was. He then looked imediately startled, as he saw up high in the meagre light, the wolf. The wolf was sitting this time on a rock, looking down at Mitch like a king upon his throne. Mitch became impatient, "Where is Cascy?" His anger builing. The wolf remained silent, and stood up. It looked even more powerful. Then it lifted a sturdy paw, and hooked it's claws into the cieling, causing the roof to spit small rocks. the rocks crackled on the ground, and they were accompanied by several larger rocks, when finally a huge cluster of rocks cascaded from above. A large beem of light now entered the cave, joining the other beam and reinforcing it. The wolf put down its mighty paw, and continued to focus its burning amber eyes on Mitch. Mitch, not understanding, looked quickly to the gigantic light source; it had revealed something to him which he could not see before.

Mitch gasped and raised his voice in shock, "Cascy!" He yelled in fear. Cascy was lying on a flat rock surafce, his arms were stretched out and his hands met behind his head where they were tied. Mitch saw that Cascy was in a worse state than before, his shirt and jeans were completely torn to shreds, and he was bleeding freshly from his forehead and side. He was soaked in his own blood on one side, and onto his legs. His eyes were dreary but desperate, "Mitch..." he could hardly speak anymore. Mitch sat next to him, his hands were shaking and he grabbed Mitch's shirt to still them. "Why are his hands tied up...?" He yelled at the wolf, still looking down at the ground. The wolf blinked a few times to seem as if it was impressed, "Well you see, Mitch..." The wolf looked down its nose as it spoke, "I still have to show you the other part of the deal." Then, before Mitch had time to think, the wolf leaped onto the ground before him, and stood near the end of Cascy's feet, where he let out a long and powerful howl. The howl bellowed through the tunnel chambers and into Mitch's ears like a very expressive migraine. Mitch had to clasp his ears for a moment with his hands. In a split second alomost, the ground fell open like a giant trapdoor, exposing a dark and horrifying emptiness below. Mitch managed to leap out of the way of the destruction, leaving Cascy to fall into the depts of the underworld. His hands were tied still and his fists were caught tightly by the straining rope. Mitch stood at the foot of what seemed like an endless death pit, staring at Cascy, hanging from the rope, still extended to the other side. He did not know what was keeping it from hurling off the edge. Cascy looked quickly down, and then closed in eyes in terror. His face was nestled stiffly into his right shoulder as he dared not look atall. His legs were waving apart from eachother to the certain death scene. He looked suddenly to Mitch, to realise he was still crouching by the edge. Mitch stretched out a shivering arm, "Hang on Casc. I almost gotcha. Do not look down!" Mitch forced himself not to give in to his emotions, he looked around for a secure foothold so he could get to Cascy. Cascy felt he was unable to move, or cooperate in helping his friend. He was wimpering pathetically into his shirt now, "Mitch, go quick! This is a trap, get outta here!" Mitch shook his head, "No, I will not leave you now...do not do this to me." He began to wimper a little under his breath. Then the wolf appeared out of the shadows, "Need any help?" It said, in apathy of seeing the two friends become bate for his trap. Mitch tightened up, "You! What the hell do you want from us?" He could feel his throat begin to burn. The wolf remained calm, "I want for you to contribute..." As it said so, it motioned for Mitch to look at the rope. The cliff edge was cutting into the rope, causing it slowly to fray. Mitch watched in horror from the oposite ledge. The wolf was still as unconcerned as before, "You will find for me, the stone." It sniffed the air with its eyes on Mitch, waiting from a reply. "Stone? I'll get a stone, any stone...Just stop this!" Mitch yelled in confusion. The rope continued fray until one section of it was freed, and the rope dropped a centimetre. Cascy yelled, his abused heart was racing. Mitch tried quickly to reason with the wolf, "It's a deal, help him!" The wolf did not move, "Well what are you doing?, pull him out!" Mitch urged. Then the rope but through, completely. Cascy felt the gravity cling to stomach, and his hands, still tied dropped after him. Mitch immediately lunged at the rope, and managed to grip it with both hands, his body thrown to the ground. He struggled to keep hold of the rope but could feel the weight of Cascy pulling him down into the darkness below. Cascy was stunned to notice he had been caught from falling any farther, he wimpered under his breath, "Mitch, let go...I'm gonna pull you down with me." He grimmaced as his mind tortured him to speak these words. Mitch pulled as hard as he could, it was obvioous in his mind, that if Cascy were to go down, he would go with him. "No! I've gotcha." He forced his legs back up and fixed his feet firmly on the ground. He took one mighty heave at the rope. Cascy felt the strain on his arms as they were being levered up, and the rope digging tightly into his wrists. He tried with will power as hard as he could to get back onto the ground. He dug with his feet onto the wall behind him, to lessen the strain of the rope and to get himself out of there quicker. Cascy was pulled far enough out that his legs were still hanging over the edge. Mitch then pulled his legs up manually, he leant forward to regain his breath for a moment, while he untied Cascy's wrists. The cave seemed unsettlingly quiet, as the wolf watched in apathy at the two. It then perked it's ears unearthingly and sniffed the air. Mitch saw its odd behavior, "What's up with you?" He was still angry at the creature. The wolf did not answer but began to move away, glancing in their direction nervously. Mitch, who thought the wolf was a wacko anyway, thought there was nothing happening for a moment, until he too began to feel a strange sentaion in the ground. He was suddenly reminded of the appartment, and the way it shook before the explosion. The whole place was soon a disaster area, it was not long until there came the thundering of falling rocks. The ground broke up into brittle sections, spreading quickly out from the gap near Mitch and Cascy. "Cascy, get up!" Mitch grabbed Cascy and seized him under his arm. Cascy pulled himself to his feet and forced his legs to move with Mitch's. They both ran under the falling rocks, some as big as their heads. Mitch was looking up as he ran, dodging them as best he could. Several rocks about the size of his fist rained down onto his shoulders and onto Cascy, but he kept moving constantly, until they reached the familiar heart of the cave. Mitch thought quicly about which route to take bakc, but had got disorientated in the hurry. With no time to waste, he dragged Cascy quickly through the tunnel entrance nearest to him. He could see light on the other side. Mitch could feel the weight of Cascy becoming heavier on his shoulder, forcing him to slow his pace. Cascy struggled to keep up with Mitch, the pain from his injuries was seething and becoming harder to cope with. The rocks and boulders crashed ferociously behind them, building a blockage through the tunnel, and chasing them to the light ahead. When Mitch was withing reach of the light, he stretched out an arm infront as he ran, touching its celestial shimmer. The setting sun was shedding its last beem of light for the day. Mitch took one last acceleration, the full weight of Cascy with him, and took a leap for freedom. The rocks behind crashed to the ground and rolled into oneanother. The entrance to the tunnel cave broke into clusters and collapsed, leaving a cloud of angry smoke behind. Mitch was still moving, there was a steep downhill slope at his feet. He secured his hold of Mitch and took a step down the rock-exposed hill. Then his hands slipped as the weight of Cascy gained on him. He almost dropped him, but managed to get a hold under his shoulders and began to pull him down the hill. Mitch's arms were burning at the effort. His sweat-covered head was pulsating and his legs were begging him for a rest. A nearby acaica tree provided a little shelter, and Mitch had stopped for a rest once they were there. They were lucky enough to have gotten here before nightfall, and could still vagely see the what was infront of them. Mitch looked around restlessly beside the tree, there was a small water hole a few feet away form the shaded area. He suddenly jumped up in excitement and leaped for the water. He threw his face into the cool liquid and splashed with his hands in pleasure. He drank several gallons of it, then took a scoop on his hands and brought it to Cascy who was lying still. His mouth was open, gulping air like a freshly caught fish. Mitch showered Cascy's hot face with the water, and laughed at the oportunity. Cascy laughed in surprise at the reliefe of the cooling water, "Water! Where is it?" He sat up to lean on the tree. Mitch broke into laughter as he went for more water, and this time Cascy edged himself to the waterhole for a drink. He submerged his face into the water fully, and took it out, shaking his dripping wet hair onto Chandelr who was cracking up in amusement. Mitch took off his shoes to relieve his aching feet, and cooled them in the water. Cascy let himself fall back into the grass, inhaling the sweet pleasurable air. Mitch put on his shoes to join him. In the distance the rumbling of the rocks had died down and they were left with the stillness of the surrounding trees. Occasioanally a bird would skit across the sky accompanied by a peaceful song. Mitch let the cooling breeze stroke his face and hair, as he closed his eyes in thought. Cascy tried to ignore the seething pain in his side and forehead, "Thanks for saving me Casc." He said quietly. Cascy smiled and took a deep breath, he opened his mouth to say something, but broke into laughter. Mitch stared at Cascy for a moment, then grinned, "This is a crazy world, huh?" He said in the hight of the moment. Mitch calmed down and stared again at the endless sky, "That's true..." He thought outloud. Then they both took a deep breath and thought for a long time as the sun disappeared off the horizon.

The next time Mitch awoke, the warm and foul smelling breath of a wolf had hit him in the face. "Yeah, it's them alright." The wolf signalled. Mitch tried to crawl away form the revolting stench of the wolf, as he noticed behind the wolf was also standing a brown lioness. The lioness looked surprisedly at Mitch, but spoke to the wolf, "Don't be so harsh, wolf. If you only had the decency to tell them why they were here-" But the wolf interrupted,

"Don't spoil the plan now, Sukari." It sniffed Mitch's face, revealing rows of dagger-like teeth. Mitch noticed too that Cascy was staring at the animals in horror. The wolf was calm, but seemed a little frustrated, "So you thought you could escape our little deal..." Mitch gasped, he had forgotten about the deal he had been rushed into the night before, "...What, run away? Did you see the walls caving in over our heads?" Mitch mocked the wolf. The lioness was beginning to giggle a little but the wolf gave her a cold, hard glare and she looked ashamedly to the ground again. "You will give the stone to me, or I'll make a kill...A human kill" The wolf growled under its breath. Then the lioness stepped in, "Have you even told them about the stone?" She asked, a little anoyed at the wolf's impatience. "Fine." The wolf sighed. Mitch and Cascy listened. "The stone. It's real name is the Suri Maha." As he said so, a low rumble could be heard in the distant sky. "We don't use that name much." The wolf looked behind him to the mountains, then looked back and continued, "The stone had been passed down through generations, the same family of stone holders, but the stone has gotten into the wrong hands...I work for someone who...is supposed to have inherited it. I need to bring the stone to its rightful holder..." The wolf stared at Cascy who was beginning to feel more unsettled. Then Mitch interrupted "So you got us to do it for you?" Mitch yelled. The wolf continued to stare at Cascy, "...youhave the stone." the wolf's eyes were gazing into Cascy's, who sat open-mouthed in disbelief. "Me? How me?" Mitch shook his head, "That's a load of crap. We don't have any stone. If you wanna damn stone just get one..." He shouted angrily, "Here is a stone!" He pointed to a stone as he stood up. He picked it up and shook it in front of the wolf's nose as he yelled, "A stone, See?" He then threw it next to the wolf's paw, his teeth gritted in anger. The wolf remained standing still, its eyes were fixed firmly onto Mitch's, "The stone isn't in its physical form, it's been absorbed, by you." He motioned with his head and eyes toward Cascy. Cascy sat open-mouthed in silence. Mitch felt his fists curl into tight balls, he wanted to beat up the wolf that instant, but had to refrain from doing so.

"Prove it, wolf!", said Cascy finally. The wolf sighed, "There is no way of proving it...unless you decide to use your powers, but chances are you won't know how to use them." Cascy stood up, and suddenly looked shocked to find what had happened. "I don't feel any pain. I'm healed." He panted astonished and wide-eyed at Mitch, who also looked surprised. The wolf shook his head and glanced quicky at Sukari, then looked back at Cascy, "If it weren't for the stone's powers you'd be dead right now." He sounded a little angered, "Seems you absorbed it just in time to spare your life...but the stone can't save you from any more injuries." Then Mitch broke into anger, "I see your plan. You're gonna kill Cascy so you can have the stone, how could you be so cold-hearted?" he shouted, gritting his teeth.

"In return..." The wolf began, but Sukari interupted, "-Stop it wolf, you know you don't have to kill him." The wolf glared at the lioness, but she contiued, "You can extract the stone from him in the same way it was extracted form its previous holder. Do it without killing him!" She yelled. The wolf broke in, "Silence, Sukari" he snapped at her with his powerful jaws, but she ducked, "I am choosing to follow the orders of Civet, which is to kill the holder of the stone." With that the wolf leaped in front of Cascy, and exposed his vile teeth. The strong jaws clamped into Cascy's arm as the wolf tried to bring him down, Mitch threw himself at the wolf and ripped at his silver fur in anguish. The wolf turned his head and snapped at Mitch who avoided the jaws by rolling himself off the wolf's back. Cascy managed to run a metre away from the wolf where he bumped into Mitch. They turned around to see the wolf was headed for them in a slow trot, his muzzle frothing with spit. The lioness screamed at the wolf, "Wolf, no. Leave them alone!" She ran at the wolf's side, but he paid no attention to her, as his eyes were firmly fixed on his targets. "Stop!" She raised an agressive paw and dug her claws into the wolf's front leg. The wolf howled in pain and turned a pair of reddened eyes at Sukari. "You traitor!" He snapped at her with his jaws but missed her neck by an inch, she jumped to the side and yelled, "There's no need for this!" The wolf fumed at Sukari, now a little calmer, "So...you don't want me to kill them..." He breathed, "Well, it's not like they stand much of a chance out here anyway. I'll just wait till something else kills them for me. Job done for me, why didn't I think of that before?" He laughed at the irony of the situation. Sukari looked to Cascy and Mitch, who were making an escape through the grass. They were running, though exausted, for their lives. The wolf didn't feel the need to look at them, it was obvious to him that they were running. He could hear their crashing footsteps through the brush, now a mile or two away. Sukari then looked wide-eyed as she noticed them struggling, as Cascy had fallen and they were both out of breath. Sukari sighed and bowed her head, the wolf watched them in silence. Mitch stood up, he couldn't see the animals through the tall grass, "Why haven't they caught up with us yet?" He sounded impatient and enfused in anger. Cascy stood with his mouth agape, facing the direction they had been running from. "What now, are they just waiting for us to give up?" Mitch continued. Cascy narrowed his eyes to focus, he could barely see the wolf and the lioness, but something else had caught his attention. The wolf looked to his left, the corner of his eye had caught a flash of light which almost caused him to flinch. Sukari turned slowly to the light, there was a circular shape which seemed to be configuring itself out of patches of sky blue and white light. The wolf stared through narrowed eyes, "The porthole. If we mess this up we could lose the stone, don't do anything stupid this time." He glared at Sukari. She ignored him and started to pace toward Cascy and Mitch, "It's a porthole, you guys, a chance to get away, hurry!" They heard the call, and where still transfixed onto the gateway of light. Mitch was positive that something was wrong, "What's on the other side of it?" He called back to Sukari, who was by now standing amidst the two. The wolf caught up with Sukari and now stood between the three of them and the porthole. He sniffed the air in eloquence, "That porthole will only lead you to a certain death. Forget about your home, you can't get back." Mitch shook his head, he looked to Cascy who was gazing confusedly at the situation. Mitch kicked the ground, the wolf had to blink away the cloud of dust which irritated his eyes. "You're lying." Mitch shouted angrily. The wolf kept himself calm, "I was going to let you live, Mitch but you just blew your chance." The wolf grit his teeth, "Now you're both gonna die." Sukari positioned herself between the wolf and the two men. She opened her mouth to say something but looked up and yelled, "The porthole is closing, hurry you two. GO!" Mitch took Cascy by the arm and urged him into the direction of the pothole.

Cascy was surpised to have been grabbed in this way and felt as though his arm had been wrenched off, but he decided to follow Mitch. Mitch let go of Cascy to put on a full sprint toward the porthole. He was so close he could almost touch the light with an outstretched arm, he turned to make sure Cascy was still following. Cascy had managed to catch up with him, he looked behind him, the lioness was smiling open-mouthed at their success. The wolf was seething, he could not let his chance surpass him this easily. He soared past Sukari in a flash of fury and fur. Mitch watched the wolf approach at this fast pace, he was curious as to what the wolf would do, and still unsure about what his outcome would be if he entered the porthole. The wolf slowed down his pace, still enraged he leaped straight for Cascy and forced him to the ground, pinning him down with his weight and lethal claws. Cascy spluttered for breath, he was overwelmed by the strength of this creature. Mitch was unable to stop the powerful wolf, and going through the porthole now would mean leaving Cascy to his death. The wolf held Cascy tightly to the ground, it seemed an effortless task for him, "Go Mitch, the porthole is all yours." He grinned. Sukari stood and glared with disappointment, Mitch, go, save yourself while you still can!" Mitch panted with distraught, unable to decide he could only watch the wolf. He did not know how long the wolf would hold before he would kill Cascy. Sukari was still determined to help, though she felt there was nothing she could say to convince Mitch to enter the porthole. She thought for a moment about trying to fight the wolf, but she knew he would easily overpower her. Cascy looked into Mitch's worried eyes, he was not in the frame of mind for giving up. Cascy fought against the wolf's strengthening hold, he kicked and punched at his chest. The wolf seemed a little shaken by Cascy's reaction and felt the blows to his chest, they were pretty strong. Then Cascy surged all his strength into his arms, and forced both his fists onto the wolf's chest. The blows hit the wolf like cannon balls in his ribs, and he felt himself be thrown aside onto the ground. Cascy, realizing he was free of the wolf's body, quickly rolled to the right and bounced back onto his feet, he could feel a sudden burst of energy thriving within him. Mitch stared in awe at his friend, and then at the wolf, who was lying, panting on the ground. Cascy met up with Mitch and they both stood thinking over the moment which had just surpassed them. Sukari jumped into their view, she was uncontrollably excited, "It's the stone, Cascy. It gave you strength and you used it well!" Cascy felt as though he could laugh, rubbed his forehead in disbelief. Sukari continued, "This world is not safe for you though, you have to go through the porthole now before it closes." Mitch narrowed his eyes, "How do we know no-one's just waiting to kill us on the other side?" He asked craftily. Sukari looked more determined that ever, "I don't know, no-one knows, but I do know, that wolf will never find you there." She looked at the wolf in reference to her words. Mitch and Cascy looked at eachother. The wolf had opened his eyes, he knew he could not find the strength to kill Cascy now, "Sukari is right...but you should know that you can never get back home..." his words were accompanied by a low growl in the back of his throat. "I'm a defeated wolf. Now Civet is going to finish the job." Mitch and Cascy saw the porthole begin to rewind itself, Mitch stared intently at the elusive light, and took a brave step into it. He disappeared in a second through the gate, and Cascy followed him, closing his eyes as he took the step. The two of them gone, the wolf looked to Sukari, "There's still the matter of you of course. I think you should go with them." Sukari stared at the wolf, then focused her eyes on the porthole, the light was still alive with movement. The wolf lay calmly and expectantly by her. Sukari thought about the wolf for a moment, she had known him for a while as a co-worker and felt as though she was losing an old friend. She had not seen the accepting side of him in a long time. In the back of her mind she pondered about the two humans. What is going to happen to them so far from home? The wolf knew her well enough to read her like a book, "You can join them Suk, protect them from whatever's out there." The wolf encouraged. Sukari looked to the porthole and slowly padded across to it, she turned her head once to appreciate a nod form the wolf, then disappeared through the porthole. In seconds the porthole closed.

Mitch and cascy had been walking for a mile already, when Cascy pointed out, "I think we forgot carlson!"

"I ain't nobody's lunch"

-Timon Berkowitz