Nowhere boys: The Forgotten Element

Chapter 7

The next morning Felix and Sam met Natalia and Jake at the hut. Looking around, Jake frowned.

"Where's Ellen? She was meant to meet us here, right? We can't do anything without her."

Felix shrugged.

"I don't know, she said she'd,"

He broke off mid-sentence as Ellen raced up to us. Her cheeks were flushed red, her chest heaving with the effort of running.

"It's about time." Felix said, frustratingly throwing his hands in the air.

"No time..." She replied breathlessly. "You've got to come quick.... It's Oscar... He's... He's in trouble." She managed to blurt out in between gasps.

Immediately, Felix's face flashed with grief. Grabbing Ellen by the shoulders, he looked deep into her face.

"Where is he?"

The urgency in his voice was clear; he was on edge, the threat of danger hanging over his head.

"He's in the woods. In a clearing. With Alice." Her words came out in short bursts despite her slight recovery.

No sooner had the words left Ellen's mouth than Felix had set off, desperate to find his brother. Sharing a quick glance with one another, the remaining four nodded before running after Felix. Although the conversation had been unspoken, they all knew they couldn't leave Felix on his own.

By the time the rest of the group had caught up to Felix, he had slowed in his run. Hearing their approach, he turned around. Giving them a small smile, he waited for them to catch up.

"Thanks. For following me, I mean. Alice is dangerous, but you still came to help me."

Sam walked over to him, clapping a hand on his shoulder.

"Dude don't worry. We've got you're back."

He opened his mouth to say more but was cut off by a sharp cry of help.

"That's Oscar!" Felix exclaimed, his voice dangerously low.

Spinning around, he tried to trace the source of the cry.

"OSCAR!" He shouted.

There were a few seconds of silence before the short reply was heard.

"FELIX HELP!"

Felix's head snapped in the direction of the voice before taking off once again, closely followed by the rest of the group. As the dense trees opened up into a wide clearing, Felix ground to a halt. The sight before him froze his blood; the thought of it all happening again threatening to overtake his mind. Alice stood in front of them, looking up into a tall tree. It was clear that she was performing some kind of spell, a concentrated look glued on her face.

"What is she doing?" Sam asked, the confusion present.

"OSCAR!"

Felix lunged forward, closing the distance between Alice and himself. Casting her eyes upwards, Natalia saw what Felix had seen.

"He's in the tree." She muttered before following behind Felix.

Despite the quietness of her voice, the other's heard what she'd said, glancing into the tree to confirm her story.

"Bring him down." Felix ordered, keeping an eye on Oscar.

Natalia knew the terrified look on his face must only be a fraction of what he was feeling inside.