Watcher in the Woods Read Free

seemed even more harmless than the ones here. And David had stepped smack into the middle of three hungry tigers and a tribe of fierce hunters.
    He lifted the leather jacket off its hook. It was heavy, old, and wrinkled. He slipped it on.
    Xander smiled and said, “ ‘No man left behind.’ That’s from Black Hawk Down .”
    â€œNo woman left behind,” David amended. He snatched the beret off the hook in front of him. It was big on his head, but he left it propped there, tilted down over one eyebrow. He said, “Xander, you know Dad feels the same way. He won’t leave without Mom.”
    Xander didn’t respond.
    David said, “He loves Mom.”
    â€œHe should have thought of that before bringing us here.”
    â€œHe didn’t think it would happen so fast. He thought he could protect us.”
    â€œHe was wrong.”
    â€œHe said when he lived here as a kid, the weird stuff didn’t start happening for months. He thought he had time to make it safe, to figure it out.”
    The muscles in his brother’s face seemed to tighten. David didn’t like to see him looking so stern, so angry.
    â€œHe loves Mom,” David repeated, whispering.
    Xander sat on the bench. “Look,” he said. “I know he does, and I know he didn’t mean for any of this to happen. But it did—because of him. He loves us, too, and that’s why he might try to get us out of here, thinking it’s best. But it won’t be, not without Mom.”
    David picked up the pack of cigarettes. He said, “This is open . And there are cigarettes missing. Weird.”
    â€œWhy is that weird?”
    David turned the pack over in his hands. The cigarettes inside felt like bones underneath a thin layer of skin. “It makes me wonder whose they were. What does he think happened to his pack of smokes?”
    Xander shrugged, clearly not interested.
    â€œAnd look,” David said, holding the package up. “What language is that?”
    â€œ Flor belmonte . . . extra-vergé, ” Xander read. He shrugged again. “Italian?”
    David examined the pack, then slipped it into the jacket pocket. He looked at the door leading to the world where the jacket, beret, and cigarettes belonged. Had he picked up enough of them to unlock the door? Hadn’t they determined that it took only three items from the antechamber to open the portal door? He looked sideways at Xander, who was reaching for the roll of paper.
    Giving in to curiosity, knowing he shouldn’t, David gripped the door handle and turned it. The door flew open as though pushed from the other side. A whoosh of warm air swept in.
    â€œHey!” Xander said. David sensed him stepping up behind him. He felt a tug as Xander’s hand grabbed the collar of the leather jacket. “ David! ”
    â€œI’m just looking,” David said. But really there was nothing to see. Sometimes what lay beyond the doorway was fairly clear, as when they were able to see the jungle floor before David stepped through. But before Xander found himself in the Colosseum, they had seen the world on the other side as indistinct shapes. It was like that now, like peering through a steamed-up shower door.
    A blurry object flashed past, causing David to jump. “Whoa!”
    Another figure passed by on the other side of the threshold. This one was more distinct—dark hair framing a white face, dark clothes.
    â€œPeople,” Xander said.
    â€œDoing what?”
    More and more figures went past, moving right to left. A child went by, everything about him clear as tap water. David saw fear in the boy’s eyes as he turned to look back over his shoulder. And yet, the person whose hand he was holding was blurry and indistinct.
    â€œIt’s like we’re seeing it through a camera lens,” Xander said. “And somebody is playing with the focus.”
    The sound coming through was no better. Most of