Status: This story started when my cousin and I had a game. We called it "Connect the Dots!". One of us will make a beginning of a story and the other will continue it. So far... this the product and I hope we can add more.

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The Boy in the Woods

What the?!

I’m totally alone in this house. And totally alone in this place! No neighbor could hear it. Our house is outside the housing area. My parents wanted to have a quiet place to stay and a beautiful surrounding since both of them love to paint landscape and stuff… they are artistic. They know how to make their beautiful imagination to a more beautiful artwork. I didn't get that part of them. Unlike me; I only know how to make my weirdest idea to someone’s nightmare.

Before they got married, they wanted to settle things up for their future. They went to a real estate company and of course, gave their demands… likes and dislikes. And they ended up living in this house up in a hill where the town is just a short time drive going down the hill.

My parents are out to a vacation in Hawaii. They said they wanted to have a new view for a change. They took my little brother, Cedric, with them. He is in the third grade. I refused to go with them, I said, “I might disturb you in your sweet vacation, I’d rather stay here. Don’t worry; I can take care of myself.” She raised her eyebrow and with her hands on a waist. She seemed like my strict history teacher in my mother’s clothes. But with persevering act and assured tone that I can take good care of myself, she gave me what I really want. My mom nodded for a yes. It wasn’t a full yes, but a nod with some sort of doubt in her face. But still, it’s a yes. A yes is a yes.

Since I’m home alone, it is my responsibility to take good care of our house or I’ll be dead. I looked at my window to check out what happened. Though it was raining, I can still see the smoke from where the explosion is. It’s in the woods. Out of curiosity, I want to check it out.

I quickly get to my feet, wore my shoes, grabbed my jacket and wear it, run downstairs without even thinking it might be a danger. But still, I run to it… with curiosity and with fear of what might it be. As what my best friend always says, “You always act before you think!” She says it with a tone of authority, like a commander in a platoon. It lingers in my memory with pain. But it fades away as I remember the explosion.

As I go closer to the door without even thinking twice, there are wild things that came in my mind like: that it might be a psycho with explosives on rampage, a serial killer who blew a car he hijacked, or an alien spaceship happened to crash near our house. An alien?! What am I thinking about?! I’m already in high school and the alien invasion is still in my head. “Enough of the weird things, Dwight Hugh! It might be a meteor that fell from the sky” I said it convincing myself to calm down.

My heart beats faster and my hand shakes as I reach for the doorknob. Then I pull my hand back. “Oh!” I forgot to bring something… a weapon, just for defense, I think.
“Just in case…”I look around and saw my baseball bat just beside the small cabinet in the entrance and I also took a flashlight inside the cabinet. “Now I’m ready!” Though my body started to shake in fear, I took a deep breath and reach for the doorknob. I opened the door quietly.
“Well, my adventure can’t wait until morning”. Hoping this would help to boost my confidence.

The woods is nice to look at during daytime but is more likely to be a horror trail during night. The place became worse with the rain, and it started to roar with thunder and lightning flashes in different directions. Chills run to my spine up to the back of my neck, “Seems like I’m in a horror movie.” The place is a great one for horror film, the sound of the thunder is for real, and flashes of lightning are astounding. If this is a real movie I’m watching, I might be sitting on the couch with a pillow to cover my face.

I gripped the baseball bat in my right hand tightly and the flashlight in the other, shaking. A lot of weird things came to my mind as I walk my way to where the explosion happened. The rain is still pouring hard, I’m wet of course. I shiver in the cold touch of water in my skin and I shiver because of the uncertainty of what might it be. Mud started to stick on my sneakers and stained on my denim jeans.

“Ew!” I just stepped on something weird. But I didn’t concentrate on it. I just continued my way on the muddy ground. And I don’t even care if I get dirty. I just want to see what caused the explosion, though I play to be the tough guy! If it’s a meteor, then I can be the first one to see it. I can be famous! The thought just makes me feel excited but a lot more nervous. A mixed of both.

The smoke became more visible. I’m near to where the explosion happened. The smoke rises from a file of tall trees. As I walk closer, my heart pounds faster and I breathe rapidly. More and more weird stuff comes to my mind. “Caffeine! I should have listened to lessen the intake of coffee. I know now, it makes me very nervous.” I’m just making an excuse from being scared.

I passed the trees and came to a small grass field. It should have been flat, before. But now, the explosion left a hole on the ground. It’s big. A meteor might have been fallen from the sky. It must be the logical reason for it. The smoke is still rising.

But the weird thing is, there is light. I can see that lights come out of the hole, I thought it was fire. But I was wrong. Whatever is inside the hole, it isn't burning but glowing… or should I say, shining! The light emanating from it changes from yellow to white. It is like dancing lights in exhibitions, but it is more beautiful than dancing lights I should say. Figuratively, I can say that the lights are heavenly, like what is depicted in some art works inside a church or in some religious paintings. It is an ironic scene, a magnificent light in the middle of a rainy forest.

I move towards the source of light, still scared, but curiosity over powers my fear. It truly makes sense that curiosity kills the cat. If this is dangerous, I’ll be dead.

I move even closer… closer… and closer. I raised my baseball bat, ready for an anticipating attack. And as I stand near the hole, I am amazed by the lights that dance from the middle of it. It springs from something, not an explosion made by a psycho, not a car explosion, not likely to be a meteor from outer space, nor a spaceship of an alien that crashed. But it is something. Dramatic and beautiful. I can’t explain it. “If mom and dad will see this, they would be with their easel and palette.”
I’m joking around just to ease myself.

The hole on the ground is somewhat four to five feet deep. I slide down to have a closer look. I don’t care if it is dangerous, it seems like I’m hypnotized by its radiance, calling me. As my feet touched the ground inside the big hole, my head is questioning if what might it be. Still, the rain is pouring and the thunder roars in the sky. I didn't notice the sound of the thunder for my heart pounds louder. The bright flash of the lightning is defeated by the light in the center of the hole. As I went closer to it, I turned off my flashlight since the light from the hole is enough and hid it inside my jacket. I held the baseball bat, ready to swing in case of danger.

I came closer, and closer, and closer. All my weird ideas were gone when I stand beside the thing in the middle of the hole. “Woah!” I said it in a low amazed voice. It shines brightly than from above from where it is. I examined it and closely. It is not wet like I am. The light seems to serve as a shield from the rain. Keeping what’s inside dry from the rain and clean from mud.

As I examined closely, I couldn’t imagine that it is not something, and it is so disrespectful to refer something to a person. It really is a person! The thing I thought that might have caused the explosion is not a thing… but human! I guess? He is a boy lying on the ground, naked, unconscious. I thought he was killed by a murderer. But he doesn’t have any wounds that made him dead or bruises from struggle. No blood stains on his body, or blood on the ground. He seems like sleeping. His skin is fair in complexion. Pure. His hair is golden and curly. He has a nice physique for a guy who seems to be on his teens.

“What are you?!” I whispered in astonishment. I observe him as he lie down in a curled position. Then the lights from him were slowly fading. I panicked! I looked around with caution. “Okay! What’s happening?!” I’m scared now. Totally! I don’t know what’s happening.

“No more mister tough guy!” I spoke in a nervous voice.

As the lights were out, the rain also stopped, slowly. I looked at the guy on the ground quickly. I took my flashlight out and turned it on. I pointed it towards the guy. My heart pounds more strongly. My breath is faster now, a sign that I’m scared. But I can’t help my curiosity!

I dropped my baseball bat and tried to touch him. But as I am about to put my fingers on his head, his eyes suddenly opened. They are blue as the skies, azul as what my parents would describe it. I fell on the ground with my hands supporting me and gulped. The flashlight I’m holding fell, the light is still on, pointing to his direction. I move backwards out of fear.

It’s alive… I mean, He’s alive! Then he sits slowly. I think he is just pulling his energy to support himself to sit down. I can see his face now, completely. His angelic face looked at me. His blue eyes staring at me like a sapphire that has been pasted on his face. He seems to be nice because of the angelic face he has. I think?

It is weird to be in the middle of the woods looking for the source of an explosion thinking that it might be something. But in the end, it is not something… it is someone! Not a thing but a human! Maybe not a human… well I don’t know! The situation seems to be weirder than I thought.

Then he opened his lips. He spoke for the first time. His voice is calm and very kind. “Help me.” His voice is like pleading though his face is angelic as it is. His eyes fixed on me like they are also asking for help. I never thought that I would be in so much trouble before this happened. Someone I really don’t know came from nowhere… I mean a guy on a hole- shining, asking me for help! What in the world is happening! Am I crazy? Is this for real? Am I dreaming! If this is a dream, I really want to wake up!

I slapped my face very hard to test if I’m just dreaming. “Ouch!” I put my dirty hands on my cheeks and rubbed it gently. It hurts. The pain stings on my cheeks. I realized it wasn't a dream.

I looked again to it, I mean to him. I can’t convince myself that he is a human, that he is real! Ooh! Still his blue and kind eyes are fixed at me. He, then again, speak, “Help me.” It gave chills in my spine… it makes me shiver.

This can’t be true! This can’t be! I keep convincing myself. I’m hoping that this is not happening to me. But by the looks of what’s happening around me, the explosion, the smoke, the hole, the lights, this guy… this is reality!

What?! I might have watched a lot of horror movies.

I really thought that this vacation would be different because I had a fight with my best friend. But now, it would be more different. It is weird, weirder than I thought. It is the first time I met a boy, glowing, in the woods asking me for help.