enjoys going back to that spot and watching the day to day activities until trouble starts in the village and he tries to convince Vernon that the "visions" are real and the wee people need help. While trying to prove that the whole thing is just Gerald's wild imagination, the boys literally fall into the new world and get caught up in a war. The boys come up with ways to keep the invading force from entering the village but another solution has to be found in order to put an end to the conflict. Along with a few companions from the village, Gerald and Vernon embark on a quest to face down the deranged forest god who instigated the mayhem. The dangerous path is laid out by an ancient prophecy, but not everything goes as planned. Excerpt This time it was no illusion. The walls burned their hands; the hot air burned their throats. The floor was sticky with some kind of hot substance, burning their feet through their shoes. They began to hear a distant sound like the laughter they had heard earlier. Cian fell to his knees and cried out in pain as the scalding liquid burned his skin. “I can’t go on, just leave me here to die,” he screamed. Tomas reached out to his brother trying to help him up. It was no use; he was too weak and exhausted. In a very weak voice he said, “You all go on. I’ll stay with Cian. I can’t go another step anyway.” No one else said a word. The others were too tired to talk, too tired to walk, too tired to care. This was not supposed to be happening. Gerald did not remember this from his nightmares. Something was wrong. He yelled to whoever was listening, “Did we take a wrong turn or something? Stop it Miach, stop it. You want me, leave my friends alone.” That just made matters worse. The scampering, unseen creatures came out of nowhere. They did not just run past this time but stayed and started pinching and biting the legs and arms of Gerald’s companions. For some strange reason though, the creatures did not bother him. All four of his companions were down, rolling around on the ground trying to fight off the shadowy figures. The screams intensified from his friends as the burning liquid covered their bodies and the creatures’ biting turned to gnawing. Gerald could hear pieces of flesh being torn away as the other boys were being eaten alive. The laughter was all around them now bouncing off the walls and echoing through Gerald’s head. “Stop it, stop it now. Please, I’ll do anything you want, Miach. Stop the noise, stop torturing my friends.” Total silence fell; all the gnawing, screaming and laughter were gone. Gerald did not know if the total lack of sound was worse than all the noise. He noticed a light shining above him. He looked around and realized he was all alone. A voice spoke inside his mind and said, “Anything I want, huh,” followed by a soft, haunting chuckle.

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