CHAPTER 4 Sam shielded her eyes against the glaring light When it disappeared they stood in another cave The same blue lightning bugs scuttled around them illuminating the walls Sam shivered It felt more like November in Brooklyn than August in South Carolina Sam glanced at Tuck and Barloc and exhaled in relief We made it she said 1
Barloc whinnied softly and pressed his nose against Sam’s shoulder Now we just need to find a way out of here Tuck said his eyes darting around the stone walls There He pointed to a sliver of hazy light in the distance and motioned for them to follow When they stepped out of the cave they found themselves deep in an unfamiliar forest There were no live oaks with mossy beards longleaf pines or seagulls here Instead tall evergreens loomed beside gray beech trees Crows cawed overhead and a lone hawk shrieked across the sky Jagged covered snow mountain peaks loomed in the distance just as Barloc had described A bright moon shone overhead casting the world in light and shadow All around them things moved It seemed as if the forest were alive its spindly wooden fingers 2
