The night air was cool. Midnight had become his hour, and the cave his destination. Since the day Dodo's parents were gone, this cave had been the only place that felt like home.
Inside, the stone walls greeted him. He carried a small lantern, its dim light pushing shadows back just enough to see. He reached the fork in the path, where he had always gone right. Tonight, though, something inside him whispered differently. He turned left.
The tunnel was narrower, twisting like a coiled snake, until it opened into a chamber unlike any he had seen before. Torches burned in their sconces, their flames alive though no hand had lit them. At the center of the room, on a stone pedestal, rested an object.
A card.
Dodo stepped closer, his breath shallow. The card's surface bore the image of a monstrous figure-its teeth bared, eyes burning with hatred. He swallowed, then slowly picked it up.
Nothing. Just silence. Relief and disappointment tangled in him. He set it back onto the pedestal.
A sigh of relief, but then dissapointment.
The chamber was a dead end. Nothing more to see.
Turning away, he began the walk back. That was when the air changed.
A weight pressed at his back, heavy and unseen. His steps faltered. He turned. The pedestal was empty. Floating in the air just a few paces behind him was the card. It hovered there, silent, waiting, following. Dodo's throught tightened. He took a step backward. The card drifted forward.
Just moments later, Dodo ran as fast as he could. Tracing his steps and sprinting out the cave. 12 minutes had passed. He had made it home, but looking back, the card still just a few paces behind. Forsaking prior thoughts, Dodo walked closer, but the card remained in place. Once again he picked it up.