The day was very hot. The scorching sun was torturing the landscape and the sticky air was annoying everything and everyone within its reach. Behind a little town in the middle of nowhere, a group of film makers was shooting a movie full of special effects. The director was trying to get a lot done in very little time.

Angie had already gotten sick of him. He had been treating the movie crew like robots. Metal machines with no needs and feelings. That was what the director thought they all were - machines. Too many factors to drive her mad. The director, the horrible heat, and the director´s son hanging around, asking heaps of stupid questions like why she was blonde. The kid was really weird. Yesterday he had sprayed some stupid graffiti on their van. Not only had it stunk like hell but it had looked weird on the black van. The kid had been lucky since the color was easily removable. Rollie had spent a life time on removing it anyway. He had not wanted to let the kid do it. "One never knows what he can do next," he had said. Yeah, seemed like a lifetime now. The days in this scorching sun appeared so long. Endless.

"Angie, we need some more smoke," she heard Rollie´s voice calling her. Angie stopped thinking about the kid and looked at Rollie standing two steps from her, waving like a madman.

It was two p.m. but the sun apparently did not notice that and scorched like it was noon. Rollie grabbed his bottle of formerly cold water and had a drink of it. It did not taste good anymore. It felt like drinking mud.

The kid approached them, silently stood for a while watching them work, and then gushed out another stupid question. He was ten but appeared a bit older with the meticulously brushed hair. His eyes were very narrow and that was why other people did not like him much. Rollie and Angie exchanged  looks.

"Hey, kid, we have to work. Come back later," Rollie said trying to avoid meeting the kid´s eyes. They were driving him mad. Looked like rat´s.

"The name´s Barry," the boy said in a way nervous voice. "Is it that hard to remember?"

"No, Barry, it´s not. Just come back later," Rollie assured him meekly. He did not seem to be vexed at all. Angie thought she would have already exploded. Especially in this terrible heat. She reached for her bottle of water.

The boy disappeared somewhere on their left, probably annoying some poor little thing with his absurd questions.

Rollie pushed one of his brown strands back and shook his head.

"What?" Angie asked.

"I don´t know," he said giving her a tired look. "Do you think the boy´s..." He paused. "Uh...kinda weird?"

"Kinda?" Angie asked wonderingly. "He´s not kinda weird. He is the weirdest person I´ve ever seen, Rollie."

Rollie made a face and resumed to his work leaving Angie staring at his back.

It was almost four when they got to work side by side at their camera reading system.

"What do you think?" Rollie asked, looking off in the distance.

"About what?" Angie asked, puzzled.

The sun was a bit more bearable and there were moments when a slight breeze blew.

"About my plan," Rollie said, grinning like a maniac.

Angie stared at him in bewilderment. What was he talking about?

"Wha...what plan?" she asked, looking into his wildly shining eyes.

Rollie blinked rapidly, his grin even wider than before. This was his moment.

"I decided to turn the crew into ghosts. Then we can go home and relax a bit."

Angie frowned at him and said: "You´ve obviously spent far too much time in the sun."

"It´ll work," Rollie said enthusiastically. Sparks in his eyes were shining.

Angie shook her head but decided to play Rollie´s game. At least she would have fun. With Rollie you could not be bored.

"I wouldn´t be so sure," she said. This talking about nonsense relaxed her.

"I am pretty sure," Rollie said, bursting into laughter.

Angie turned her eyes over and shook her head. "You´re not pretty at all," she said to tease her boss a bit.

Rollie made no reply. She turned to him. Rollie was fixing something from their equipment undividedly but the sparks in his eyes betrayed him. He was listening. Oh, time to tease him some more.

"Rol, did you hear me?" she asked, carefully squinting at him. Rollie was still giving her a cold shoulder, fixing the stuff in his hands. This was the top. At first he wanted to talk and then he changed the rules, Angie thought. How could he ignore her in these dog days?

"Rollie, I´m talking to you!" she yelled, apparently pissed off.

Rollie raised his head giving her the most innocent look he could. The corners of his mouth jerked as if he was about to laugh.

"You say something, Ange?" It was getting harder for him to avoid laughter.

Angie glared at him intensely and then she said: "You´re a bad actor, Rollie Tyler. You wouldn´t win any prize."

Seeing her reaction, Rollie grinned and said: "You´re not bad either."

The day was nearing its end. The shooting had been closed for that day. It was time to get some rest. Rollie and Angie packed their equipment in the van. The boy had not appeared yet. He had obviously changed his mind. Rollie put the last box in the back of the van full of high-tech stuff. Then he slammed the door and went to sit in the passenger´s seat. Rollie thought he had carried teasing Angie too far. She hadn´t spoken a single word to him since. So he had not even dared ask her to let him drive. Angie would have told him he had already driven her--mad.

The van was rolling down the old road heading for town. The sun was still  high enough to make the live creatures sweat. The van jumped on a bump and then returned to its comfortable way. The engine was slowly humming in the unbearable silence inside the cab. The van entered the town. Its streets appeared empty and unfriendly. Or was it that Angie was so still? Rollie thought. He squinted at her. Angie was just looking at the road before the van, digging her fingers into the wheel. Uh oh, he had really carried it too far today.

"Are you going to be quiet forever?" Rollie asked, almost whispering. He glanced at her and then turned his eyes to his fingers. The eternal silence did not seem to be broken. Well, Rollie thought, I didn´t say anything that bad so why´s she so angry with me? Or was she sulky? Trying to tease him?

"Okay," he said and sighed. "I´m sorry, Ange."

Angie made no reply. Rollie blinked rapidly and took a look at her. "Angie, you´ve already beaten the record. You´ll certainly get all that scout stuff. But speak now."

No way. Angie decided to be silent for a much longer time than Rollie could stand. He crossed his arms, turned away and looked out of his window, unwilling to speak to a piece of rock.

The van turned on to a short street and then turned again. The streets really looked deserted.

"Rol?" Angie´s voice sounded a bit strange.

Now! Here we go, Rollie thought but did not turn his look from the view behind his window.

"Rol, did you hear that?" Angie asked, slowing down till the van finally stopped in a street with a row of green trees.

Rollie uncrossed his arms and looked at Angie, finding her staring at the back of the van. Angie glanced at him and then her eyes returned to the back.

"What?"

"Like there was something..." she paused, "...murmuring?" She looked at Rollie with her eyes open wide.

Suddenly Rollie´s spider-like robot Blue started to bark madly. Several color lights flashed in the darkness of the rear of the van. The lights of their equipment. What was going on back there? Blue was supposed to be turned off!

"What the hell..." Rollie muttered and stood up, deciding to figure that out. He straightened his long legs and slipped into the back of the van. Angie followed him, afraid of leaving Rollie alone.

Rollie suddenly stopped, not wanting to step into something that looked like blood, covering the floor and drenching his shirt lying under the seat in front of the computer.

"Rollie, what´s going on?" Angie asked, unable to see anything but Rollie´s back.

"I wish I knew," Rollie replied.

Angie pushed her boss aside and peered at the mess on the floor. Blue´s bark could be heard but he was nowhere to be seen. He was probably hidden under the cupboard full of the effects stuff.

Eventually Angie noticed a movement under the working desk on their right. And it certainly could not have been Bluey.

"There!" she pointed under the desk. Suddenly Angie did not want to know what it was all about. She just wanted to go to bed in the motel room she had paid for.

Rollie stooped down, reaching out to the shadow under the desk, and grabbed something soft. He straightened up and pull the something out of the shadow.

"Barry?" Rollie´s voice sounded relieved.

The boy pushed Rollie´s hand holding his arm away. A devilish smile appeared on his face. Angie shivered.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Rollie asked as if he did not notice the strange smile.

Barry shrugged. "I decided to go with you. You´re the only ones who didn´t ignore me."

Rollie opened his mouth as if about to say something. But he closed it instead and looked at the ceiling with hands akimbo.

"Look, Barry," Angie started, realizing her partner did not know what to say. "You can´t stay with us. We´ll take you back to your dad. Maybe he´s still on the set." She turned and meant to head for the cab but Barry´s mocking voice froze her. "You can´t take me back."

Rollie jerked and stopped staring at the van ceiling. His eyes looked down at the boy whose strange smile grew wider.

"We can´t?" Angie asked puzzled. This really was weird. There was something sick about the kid. His narrow eyes were glaring like hell fires and his hair was no longer neat. His dark strands did not seem to have any rules for covering the kid´s  head.

"Of course you can´t," Barry said arrogantly.

"Don´t count on it." Rollie had just regained his voice. He returned to the cab to start the van.

Angie took the passenger´s seat. "We´re heading back," she said more to herself than to the kid.

The engine coughed and fired. The van made a U-turn and headed into the growing darkness. Barry sat down on the floor and  smiled.
                                                                                                                                                                            "You can go that way," he said contemptuously. "But you won´t ever find the place where you were shooting." He seemed to be really delighted.

"Don´t try to pull my leg," Angie said, suddenly feeling a creeping fear somewhere deep inside. This was really weird. Why should she be scared of this little spoiled prank?

"Me pull your leg? Are you nuts?" The boy must have felt strong talking like that.

Angie stared speechless at Barry. She really felt like hitting him. Those narrow arrogant eyes and the devilish smile were driving her mad.

"What do you mean we won´t ever find the place?" Rollie asked stunned. The boy couldn´t be all there.

"Because the place doesn´t exist anymore," Barry said, greedily staring at their startled looks.

Rollie slammed on the brake. The van jerked and stopped. Rollie and Angie turned their heads to face Barry. The kid´s face was covered with the most devilish smile one had ever seen. He looked like a madman.

"What?" Angie dared ask.

"The place and the people there do not exist anymore," Barry said slowly like speaking to idiots. "I didn´t like them. They kept on ignoring me. Even my father."

Angie and Rollie stared dazed at him. Had the boy lost his mind?

"I let them disappear," Barry said in delighted way.

"You what?" Rollie could not believe his ears. Either he must have been deaf or the world had gone insane.

"You should visit your doc and ask him to check your ears," Barry said.

"You can´t let people disappear," Rollie almost yelled. He started the van again.

"No," Barry corrected him. "You can´t. I can."

"You...you mean...like...you said something like abracadabra and they all vanished?" Angie could not believe she had just said that.

"Sort of," Barry nodded his head.

"Angie," Rollie shouted. "Don´t listen to his stories. The place´s still there."  Yeah, so why was his voice trembling? The boy looked so terrible with the smile on his face that Rollie´s mind was ready to buy the story. He did not mean to convince Angie the boy was fantasizing. He wanted to convince himself. Rollie would bet here, right in this place, used to be the turn to the shooting area. But it clearly was not here anymore. There was a house he had not seen before. What the hell was going on?

Rollie drove past the house three more times. Then he carefully checked the next three blocks. Nothing. The turn simply disappeared. Like it had never existed. Rollie´s sense of reality was cracking up.

Rollie slammed on the brake desperately. The van stopped so suddenly that Angie almost kissed the windshield.

"What´re you? Crazy, Rollie?" she yelled at him. Rollie´s look was blank. Angie calmed down and shook his shoulder. Rollie´s sight came back from a distant place only his eyes could see.

"Angie," his voice was husky. "Angie, did we go out of our minds?"

Barry started to laugh. It sounded more like a croaking than anything else. Rollie could not stop the shiver going down his spine at the sound. This world must have changed its rules without telling him so. This was not fair. Angie swallowed hard and looked at Barry.

"How? How did you do it?" She was desperate. She had gone through a lot so far. But this was unbearable. This was impossible. She wanted the good old world back. It had been safe and she had at least a slight idea about it. This new reality was scaring her to death.

"I told you so," Barry seemed pleased they were so confused. "I told you you wouldn´t find the place! I just let it disappear." He was proud of himself.

Rollie squeezed Angie´s hand and looked at Barry. "How did you let it disappear?"

Barry grinned happily. Finally something that made the others pay attention to him.

"I just wanted it to vanish and it happened."

Rollie gave him an incredulous look. No, this wasn´t enough for him. He scowled at Barry.

"Seems like you don´t believe me though you´ve just seen the place isn´t there."

Angie closed her eyes, praying all of this would be gone when she reopened them. But when it came to opening her eyes again, she was frightened and left them closed, feeling the comforting touch of Rollie´s  hand on her forearm.

"You know," Barry explained proudly, "people use only ten percent of their brain capacity."

"I think some of them don´t use it at all," Rollie muttered and tried to stretch his legs. There was not much space in the cab.

Barry decided to ignore his comment. "And I know how to use some of the other percent." He spread his arms into the air and then crossed them.

"Finally I understand why people don´t know how to use the rest of their brains," Rollie grumbled. "They would be even more dangerous than now."

There was long silence in the van, eventually broken by the engine being started.

"What are you doing now?" Rollie asked Barry and rubbed his eyes.

"You mean what we are doing now," Barry corrected him. "We go for a ride in the forest. I love spending nights there. And you guys are going with me."

The black van was parked under the trees rather far from the town. In the middle of the clearing, a little fire was crackling. The flames´ reflections were dancing on the van´s hood. Angie and Rollie were sitting next to the fire while Barry was hanging around the trees, looking for some more branches for the fire. The air was cool and Rollie could feel it on his back.

"Angie," he whispered, "are you warm enough?"

Angie nodded, unable to speak. What was the cold to her? She wanted to get rid of this crazy kid and get back home.

Rollie tried to warm his hands by rubbing them together. It seemed like the fire was not hot enough to chase away the strange cold feeling inside his mind. The claws of slow fear were creeping from down deep inside trying to engulf him, his guts and mind. Boy, he couldn´t let it get him.

The trees were standing still. No breeze appeared to rustle the trees´ crowns. Rollie had never seen such a calm wood. He did not like that. It was just another thing to scare him. Rollie decided to fight it.

"Ange," he whispered. His voice was almost lost in the cracking of the fire. Angie gave him an exhausted look. Her sight was half here, half somewhere in the distance. She was still speechless.

"Ange, rest for a while and then we run." Rollie´s voice was almost inaudible.

Angie nodded but remained sitting in the grass. Rollie moved closer and let her rest on his shoulder. She appeared so apathetic! Had this day decided to scare him some more? Bloody hell, he´d start running right now. But he felt it was too early.

The world was drowning in the darkness interrupted by occasional flashes of flames. The silence seemed endless. Barry came closer and threw a few branches on the fire. The flame leaped out high and then settled down again. Angie did not even raise her head. Rollie wrapped his arm around her shoulders but she did not move. Rollie was sure she was not sleeping. He did not like that.

Barry sat down on the other side of the fire and gazed at them. Rollie felt Angie finally move. She raised her head and looked at Barry.

"You shouldn´t have done that, Barry."

Barry grinned. "What is that supposed to mean?" he asked, amused.

Rollie tried to stop Angie from speaking but he did not manage it.

"You should bring them back," Angie said, her voice nothing more than a whisper.

"Say what?" Barry screamed. He meant to sound affected but it sounded arrogant instead. "You must be nuts."

Rollie was about to tell him something sharp but Angie started to speak and he did not want to interrupt her.

"Not me. You´re nuts."

Barry stood up. Rollie watched him thoughtfully. If Barry was about to get closer and hurt Angie, he would definitely jump at this brat and smash his face in.

"I can´t get them back even if I wanted to," Barry said noticing Rollie´s sharp look. The man did look dangerous. Angie did not seem to buy that.

"What is this supposed to mean?" she asked but did not sound like she wished to know at all.

"It´s as if you asked me to bring back yesterday," Barry explained in amusement.

Angie and Rollie looked at him puzzled. Was there something else to the story? Something even worse then that?

"You can´t bring back yesterday, man. ´Cause yesterday´s yesterday and yesterday´s gone. Last year´s snow. History. Never again. The end."

It sounded logical. Still they seemed puzzled.

"You...you mean, like...you can´t get them back? Never ever?" Rollie asked, his eyes opened wide, trying to absorb this unbearable truth.

Barry nodded. The devilish smile grew wider again. His eyes were glowing in the dark. Two devils in the night. He did not seem like a ten-year old anymore. He looked as old as evil itself. The gloomy night grew larger. All the occasional voices of night creatures died down. Just the black dark and rising fear remained.

Rollie was afraid of hearing the answer but he had to ask. "Where...where are the people now?" Angie jerked.

"I don´t think you really want to know," Barry said laughing. "Maybe you´ll get to know soon. If I get sick of you..."

The only sound remaining now was the echo of Barry´s laughter drifting away over the trees.

Rollie was lying in the absolute darkness and silence. He felt Angie´s body clinging to his side. At first, she had slept restlessly. She had been tossing and turning but then the wild dreams had disappeared and let her sleep calmly. Rollie could not sleep at all. If this wasn´t true it could be a good movie, Rollie thought. But it was true. And it made him desperate. If only he could have just stood up and taken a look at Barry. If Barry was asleep now, they´d be able to run away. But it was too dark. Rollie could not even see his fingers when he put them before his face. Barry might have been insane, but he wasn´t an idiot. He had cut through all the van´s tires. Now they could not escape in their van. Even the thought of returning to the town scared Rollie to death.
Rollie thought his head was going to explode. He had been thinking so hard, and in vain. It tormented him. The future seemed to be hazy. Like it was not about to come at all. All those bad things he had ever gone through looked so small now that he was lying here trying to find out how to save Angie and himself.

"Now!" The voice was so clear that Rollie almost jumped. Then he realized it was his inner voice telling him to go. Now. Not listening to his own instincts would be pure madness.

Rollie rose and remained sitting on the ground. Then he slowly put his hand on Angie´s mouth and shook her shoulder. It was not easy since he could not see a single thing. Just a few glowing residues in the place where their fire used to be.

Angie jerked awake. Before she could get scared Rollie whispered: "It´s me. Rollie. We gotta get out of this place."

Angie did not say a single word. She just let Rollie help her stand up. She was used to him doing strange things. This was just one more. She held his hand so she would not lose him in the gloomy dark.

Rollie led her to the van. They would need some stuff. Like water and a flashlight.

"Wait here," Rollie said, leaving Angie by the back door. He then opened it as quietly as he could and slipped inside. Angie stood outside, trying to see through the dark. It could be hiding anything. She frantically squeezed the door handle. She felt evil eyes and paws everywhere. The owl´s cry that suddenly could be heard did not calm her down at all. She heard wild flapping of wings but could barely see the white X on the van´s door. Did blindness feel like this? Never ending uncertainty, fear and stumbling? Thousands of falls before you found out there was no light to come? She found herself trembling. She heard her nails squeal on the van paint. She flinched when she realized it. The dark was really getting on her nerves. She did not hear Rollie moving.

"Rol," she whispered but the word sounded like a shot to her. She tried to hold her rash breath. In vain. She felt desperation was rising in her.

"Rollie! Are you still in there?" Her voice was breaking like a cracked pane of glass. One more word and she was going to wake the crazy Barry up. Where the hell was Rollie?

"Shhh," she heard a voice a little bit over her head. So it couldn´t have been Barry...unless he was lying on the van roof, bent and hanging down. She started to panic. She felt the car shake, heard some metallic sound as if someone stepped out of the van, and then she heard the familiar rustle of grass together with Rollie´s muffled voice: "Hey Ange, we can go now."

He grabbed her hand and led her to the gloomy dark among the trees. Angie had never thought she could see even darker dark than the one at the clearing. It looked like there were trees everywhere. Right here, before her nose. But it was not a tree in the end. Just an even darker shade of black dark. In the darkness all the world obstacles seemed to lie within the reach of a hand. And Rollie was walking so fast!

"Listen, Rollie, why don´t we go back to town?" Angie whispered.

"Because I think it´ll be the first place Barry will look for us."

Angie thought about that for a while. "Yeah, you´re right."

She reached out with her left hand, the one Rollie was not holding, and assured herself there was nothing right before her face. Nothing she could knock her head on. Actually, she would stand a few bruises and bumps. Anything was better than another second with Barry who could just think and make them disappear.

Rollie suddenly stopped and released her hand. Angie heard some sounds she did not recognize. Then, out of the blue, a beam of light cut the night and made the dark more bearable.

"I don´t think he can see us. We´re quite far from him now," Rollie said pointing the light at the compass he had hung on his neck.

Angie saw a backpack on Rollie´s back. She wondered where he had gotten it from. She did not remember seeing it during last two years. It must have been sitting, forgotten, on a shelf in the van for ages.

"We don´t have a map but if we go north we have to find some civilization," Rollie said. "Well, if I remember it well," he added.

"Whatever," Angie whispered, still afraid of speaking in her full force. "Even hell must be better than Barry´s company."

Angie glanced at the backpack again. It looked full. She took a double-take. Those small bumps on the side did look weird!

Rollie was about to leave.

"Rollie?" Angie asked.

Rollie turned to her. "What?"

"What´d you take from the van?"

Rollie looked at her for a second. The beam of light was pointing away, at a thorny bush among trees.

"A pocket knife, two bottles of water and the bar of chocolate I thought I´d already eaten up," he said watching his shoe digging a hole in the wet ground. "Can we go now?"

Angie ignored his last sentence and gave him a surprised look. "Two bottles of water and a bar of chocolate? That´s it? The backpack looks so crammed as if you also packed Blue....Rollie!" she screamed as the fact fully reached her mind.

Rollie was staring down with the guiltiest look Angie had ever seen. For a second she was unable to say a word. She was just gasping for breath.

"Don´t tell me you´re dragging Blue along." It did not sound annoyed. Just surprised.

Rollie raised his head, making funny faces and restlessly moving his eyes between Angie and his feet.

"I couldn´t leave him there," he murmured finally.

"Sure you couldn´t," Angie said, accepting everything she would eventually find out. "Let´s go."

The forest was terribly silent. The light beam was jumping around, uncovering animal paths, broken branches, tufts of fern and thorny bushes. Pretty rich stuff for such a hot area. Night animals were nowhere to be seen though several tracks showed they must have been here. Like they had disappeared. Angie and Rollie were squeezing their way through the brushwood. Thorny branches were reaching out for their shirts and jeans, making the partners stiffen every time a thorn grabbed its target, darkening their minds with the thought they had been grabbed by Barry´s evil hands.

Angie and Rollie clambered up a hill and stopped for a moment, trying to relax and catch their breaths. Angie heard her heart beat inside her temples. It was deafening her and making her nervous as she thought she could not hear anything else.

Bang, bang, bang.

Just this and nothing more. Had she turned into a drum?

Bang, bang, bang.

The entire world had turned into a drum.

Bang, bang, bang.

Was this a dream or reality? She could not tell.

Bang, bang, bang.

The night appeared closer and darker than just a moment ago. Like it was wrapping her. Or absorbing her. She could not stop the shiver going down her spine at the thought.

"You okay, Ange?" she heard Rollie´s voice but was not sure if it had been her imagination or Rollie personally.

"Angie, we have to go."

No, this stubborn tone must have been Rollie´s. Her imagination had never been good enough to imitate that.

"I´m okay, Rol. Just need some water," she said, blinking rapidly to get rid of the horrible thought of being a drum. Sometimes she got such stupid ideas. She would have to do something about it.
Once she got the bottle of water, Angie drank almost a half of it. She hadn´t realized she had been that thirsty.

Later on, Angie and Rollie left the hill, continuing through the forest. They started to pass groups of rocks. The more rocks, the fewer trees. Rollie got over an uprooted tree and stopped at a clearing. He pointed the light beam at the distance. Lots more trees and some more rocks. A narrow path meandering through the trees was slowly going up. Rollie was getting tired, his legs were aching, Angie looked exhausted, and the backpack was getting heavier and heavier.

However, Rollie did not want to stop. The danger was still far too close.

Rollie sighed and turned to Angie. "Want some chocolate?"

Angie nodded. She needed a lot of energy. Now that she was feeling so tired and sleepy, she´d appreciate anything like that.

They were sitting on the ground facing the part of forest they had just left. Chewing a piece of chocolate, Rollie straightened up suddenly. Angie stopped chewing.

"What´s wrong?"

"You hear that?" he asked, looking into the darkness with the backpack sitting by his left leg.

Angie pricked her ears but the only sound she could hear was Rollie´s breath together with almost unperceivable rustle of leaves in the breeze. She shook her head. No, she didn´t hear anything important.

"Now again," Rollie whispered and pointed his index finger at the black shadows in the place they had left just a few minutes ago.

Angie forgot to breathe. Sure, she heard it now. A weird sound coming from under the trees over there. Sounded like footsteps. Slow and quiet footsteps. Like animal´s. Oh, she didn´t have to worry...unless it was Barry. No, it couldn´t be Barry. How could he find them without a flashlight? Or was he able to see at night? Or could he hear their fast beating hearts? How could she tell since she didn´t know. She shivered at the thought that the nightmare was not over. Would it ever be over? Angie noticed Rollie grabbed her hand and pulled her closer to the trees on the other side of the clearing. Rollie placed the backpack under a large half uprooted tree and coaxed Angie to get under the roots covered with mud. There was not much space left for him but he managed to pile his tall body down there as well. He ran the lightbeam around, trying to find an escape road.

"Turn it off," Angie hissed nervously.

Rollie pointed the beam at her and made a face.

"Rollie!" she waved her hand towards him as if about to hit him.

The light suddenly disappeared. The world stopped existing. There was just black dark veiling everywhere. Everything appeared the same. The good and the bad as well. Undistinguishable what was what in the darkness. There was something scary at that thought.

Angie reached out for Rollie´s hand to make sure he was still here by her side.

Rollie did not feel comfortable while sitting under the roots like a crouched burial. He listened to the rustling sound and tried to guess what or who was causing it. Angie was squeezing his right forearm like hell. There were moments when Rollie thought her fingers had already gone through his skin.

The sound disappeared suddenly. The eternal silence spread and overruled surroundings. Angie felt she would sneeze. Right here and right now. Damn! She took a deep breath and then felt Rollie put his hand over her mouth. She heard something like "don´t" before she thought her head would explode. The feeling she would sneeze disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared.

"Lucky you," she heard Rollie whisper right into her ear. "If you spluttered my hand..." Rollie was interrupted by a near rustle. Angie pushed his hand away from her mouth. This night was going to be a long one.

Quiet footsteps went along their hiding place and ceased a few feet further. Rollie could not tell whether he did not hear them because the creature had stopped or left. He had been holding his breath back so hard that it caused this buzz in his ears. Rollie frowned. He really didn´t like that.
The footsteps sounded again. They were receding. They could be heard just for a moment, then died down in the distance.

Angie leant towards Rollie. He could feel her hair on his face. "Was it Barry?" Angie whispered choking the words.

Rollie shrugged but then he realized she could not see him. "I hope not," he whispered.

Angie sighed. One half of her mind was sure it had been Barry. The other half tried hard to deny it. Rollie turned the flashlight on and carefully peered out of their hiding place. The yellow beam crossed their surroundings. Rollie realized the light was getting dimmer. He got out of the hole and helped Angie. He was getting really sick of all of this. How much longer was he supposed to stand it? Rollie stood irresolutely, suddenly unsure of what to do next. Millions of thoughts crossed his mind but none of them remained for long enough to be caught.

Angie felt absolutely exhausted. She could not stand the pins and needles in her legs. She was thirsty again and everything was getting on her nerves. Why on earth was Rollie standing here like he was crazy? What was he waiting for? For Barry to come back? They had to get going!

"Now what?" she asked impatiently.

Rollie made no reply. He shifted from one foot to another and turned to Angie. He glanced at the compass and with a nod of his head Rollie indicated the direction up the hill behind their hiding place.

The eastern part of the sky turned a lighter shade. The sun was about to rise. It made Angie happy. She realized she could see Rollie pretty well. Even the path was easier to see but still Angie had to watch out. A lot of roots were crossing the path. She stumbled several times and she could swear so did Rollie.

Suddenly Rollie stopped in the middle of a step. Angie almost ran into him.

"Bloody hell," he said loudly.

Angie tried to regain balance that she had lost while trying to avoid bumping into Rollie. "What is it?" she asked, finally standing steadily.

Rollie turned back. "I forgot the bloody backpack down there!" he answered, apparently mad with himself.

Angie sighed and closed her eyes. Great. Now he would want to go back to pick up Blue and the backpack. Rollie looked at Angie and remained still. No, they couldn´t go back down. It was out of the question. Angie didn´t have to speak to let him know what she thought about such a stupid idea as going back there.

Rollie glanced down the hill, sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"Okay Ange. We´re going on up there."

Angie opened her eyes swiftly, apparently in shock. Did Rollie really say up? Her ears must have been deceiving her. They were not. Rollie was already going on, obviously dissatisfied, but going.

"Rollie," Angie said, convinced she had to comfort him, "you can get back there later. With the police and all."

"I don´t want to talk about it," Rollie said more sharply than he had intended to.

Angie said nothing. All the stuff was driving her mad and obviously Rollie had gotten sick of it too. Angie really did not want to vex him even more.

Rollie took two steps up and then stopped abruptly. Angie could see him jerk. Before she managed to ask what was wrong, Rollie turned back. She could see horror in his face. His eyes were opened wide. Rollie seemed to be saying something but Angie did not hear a single word. She just saw someone standing above Rollie. A second later Rollie jumped and dragged Angie down, trying to grab a branch of a bush to stop them from rolling down. The ground was very wet and soggy as the sun had never reached there properly. It was going off their feet and hands so it could not stop them from sliding down. A bush could, Rollie thought. When he managed to grasp at a branch it was too thin to hold two bodies moving so fast. Rollie released Angie. He was afraid he would hurt her. Then Rollie heard a crack as his flashlight hit a rock about two feet on the left. The glass shattered and the plastic case cracked. A loosened battery hit Rollie on the shoulder but he did not care. Rollie just tried to protect his head with his hands. Thorny branches scratched his forearms, back and chin. His ribs met several roots and stones. His knees felt like they were being set on fire. When a broken branch hit him on the stomach, he jerked and moved his hands towards the hurting place. Meanwhile another branch hit him on the head and the world faded to black just a second before Rollie ended up at the clearing. Rollie´s last thought was about Angie.

Once Rollie released Angie, she grasped at a root sticking in her way. Her body jerked as she tried to stop rolling down holding the root. It worked! She wasn´t falling anymore. Angie looked down just in time to see her boss sliding down the hill. She shivered. Time to get down and help Rollie. Angie glanced up but she did not see anybody. The slope was empty. But there´d had to be someone. Rollie would never do what he had done just to get Blue back. No. How could this stupid idea come to her head at all? Now what, smartie, she asked herself in thoughts.

She tried to stand up. Yeah, that was easy. Angie dusted her clothes and headed down the hill, watching her steps. She gazed down, trying to spot Rollie, but there were too many trees. Angie wanted to call his name but did not do it. She was too frightened he would not call back. Or that Barry would hear her instead.

Once down, Angie peered up again. Nobody there. Good. She searched the foot of the hill trying to find Rollie. Where was he? Angie hoped Barry had not found him first. No, there Rollie was. Behind that stump over there.

Angie moved closer and bent over Rollie´s body. He was breathing but his eyes were closed and his hair over his left brow was drenched in blood. Angie pushed the red strands back and looked at the wound. It was not serious. Just a cut skin. Just like the scratches on his arms and face. The right side of Rollie´s  face was dirty, and his favorite clothes too. Angie touched Rollie´s shoulder and shook him.

"Rollie, wake up," she whispered, skimming the surroundings.

The sun had already found its way up and the sunbeams were illuminating the clearing, driving out the last reminders of the darkness.

Rollie´s eyelids fluttered but he did not open his eyes.

"C´mon, Rol, wake up," Angie shook him again. She did not want to be here when Barry appeared.

Rollie mumbled something but Angie did not understand him. Then he finally opened his eyes, blinking rapidly, and squinted up at Angie.

"Thought I ´as already dead," Rollie said, trying to raise his head. No, he couldn´t raise it now. It hurt too much.

"Be happy you´re not," Angie said, trying to hide the relief she felt finding out Rollie looked okay. In a way. "If you were, I´d kill you again."

Rollie gave her a wry grin. This wasn´t the right time for kidding. They had to get out of here real fast.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Sure," Angie answered. "I didn´t have the stupid idea to roll down the hill headlong."

Rollie frowned. "It wasn´t..." Rollie closed his eyes tight and touched his hurt forehead. Angie could almost hear a silent groan.

"Don´t talk to me like that," Rollie said. "I hurt."

Angie stroked his hair. "Wait here, I´ll be right back. Don´t go anywhere."

"You bet I won´t," Rollie muttered, trying to wipe the blood off of his fingers.

Angie approached their former hiding place and drew out the backpack. She dragged it near Rollie and gave him his bottle of water. Next she searched all the pockets inside and outside the backpack, finding a lot of unnecessary stuff. And a scarf.

"You´ll look better," Angie said, tying the scarf around Rollie´s head.

"I don´t care about how I look," Rollie said, trying to rise again. When he managed to stand up, he said, "Look at my knees." There were holes in his jeans right on his knees.

"Your knees are still where they should be," Angie grinned and put the backpack on her back. She did not want to run a risk of quarreling with Rollie about taking Blue. Angie would not wonder if he refused to go without Blue.

Now that the sun was shining Angie did not feel such fear anymore. As if the evil could disappear with the darkness. However, she knew Barry was hanging around this place, waiting for them to come closer.

"Rollie?" Angie said. "Did you see Barry up there?"

They went lowered under the trees, peering around. They no longer headed up the hill. Rollie had decided to go west.

"Yeah, I did," Rollie replied. He did not want to speak about Barry. It was bad enough he had to move in crouch so he was hidden by the bushes. His knees were hurting and his ears were buzzing. Rollie really did not need to talk about Barry. Or about the knife he had seen in Barry´s hand. Or had it been something else?

Angie walked on quiet. She was trying to save some energy. She had made Rollie eat up the rest of the chocolate bar. He really needed it more. The forest should have been full of the day sounds. It was not though. The only sounds Angie could hear were Rollie´s and her breaths, and rustling of the trees above them. Why was this stupid calm reminding her of death? Angie longed to hear her own voice at least. But she knew Rollie was trying to hear Barry´s footsteps. Barry. The boy really was strange. Why did he want to find them? Just to try the part of the brain nobody else could use?

"Got it!" Rollie stopped and shouted so loud that Angie jumped.

"Wha...what do you mean?" Angie seemed to be lost.

"Angie!" Rollie exclaimed and turned to her. "Angie, we gotta get back to the van."

Angie gave him a puzzled look. "Van? Why?"

Rollie seemed to be too excited to be able to explain anything. His eyes were distant and a smile covered his face.

"Yes!" Rollie said with such joy that even Angie had to smile.

Rollie rushed back. It was hard for Angie to catch up with him. As if he forgot about all the hurting places he had named just fifteen minutes ago. Angie gave up asking Rollie to slow down. Not that he ignored her but he just sped up a moment later. Telling him to slow down happened to be senseless.

Once they reached their van and Barry did not seem to be present, Angie asked, "Will you tell me what´s going on or am I supposed to remain in the dark?" She was wondering what Rollie´s idea was. Setting down the backpack, Angie sighed.

"It´s easy, Ange," Rollie said opening the back door of their van.

Angie did not find anything easy about this. "Stop chattering, Rol, and tell me what it is."

Rollie disappeared inside the van. "It´s not just about his brain," Angie heard Rollie´s muffled voice. "But about the eyes as well."

Angie closed her eyes for a while, and sighed again. "Rollie! Just tell me..."

"Okay, okay," he interrupted her. Angie could hear some strange noise inside the van. "We have to make him disappear."

Angie opened her mouth in shock. "Rollie!" she shouted. "You really hurt your head!"

Rollie´s bandaged head appeared at the doorway. "No way," he said, grinning like an idiot, and winked at Angie. She rolled her eyes.

"No way? So how are you going to do that?" she asked, shaking her head. Had her boss gone out of his mind?

Rollie got back into the van and rummaged all over the place. A minute later he stepped out of the van carrying a big pane of two-way mirror they had used in a movie some time ago.

"A mirror?" Angie asked, puzzled. "Wanna take a look at your new face?"

Rollie rolled his eyes. "It´s not for me." Rollie winked again. "It´s for Barry."

Angie gaped at him for a moment. "I´m afraid I´m lost. The way your mind goes is a bit incomprehensible for me."

Rollie tried to attach the mirror to the van windshield but it was too complicated for one person. It rather looked like he was fighting the mirror. The sleepless night and the pain in his wounded forehead did not add any strength to his body. And the thought of the constant danger made Rollie even weaker.

"Need a helping hand?" Angie asked, shaking her head over Rollie´s behavior.

Rollie nodded. Once the mirror was covering the windshield, Rollie started to place two of their hologram projectors. Angie was sitting in the driver´s seat with her legs hanging out of the cab. She watched Rollie work on attaching the projectors to the sideview mirrors, and then she said, "I guess I got it."

Rollie looked up from his work and grinned. "I knew you would."

"You think it´ll work?"

Rollie returned to installing the projectors. "I don´t think so." He grimaced at Angie. "I am sure it´ll work."

Angie fidgeted and scratched her right forearm. "So you assume Barry gets here, sees our hologram and wants to get rid of us?" She lined information, rather than asking a question.

"Yeah," Rollie assured her. "He´ll gaze at us, well, at what he will think we are, and then we´ll switch the projectors off."

"And he´ll gaze at his own reflection in the mirror," Angie finished for Rollie. "He´ll gaze at his own eyes."

Rollie nodded. "You´re not bad, Ange. Think I´ll keep you for a little bit longer. You could come in handy."

"You speak like that any longer and you won´t see me anymore," Angie said and shivered as she realized it could happen if Rollie´s plan failed.

"I´m ready," Rollie said, ignoring Angie´s warning. He stood up, admired the enlarged sideview mirrors and then sat in the passenger´s seat. Angie drew her legs in the cab and slammed the door.

"Now what, boss?" she asked, searching for the best position in the seat. Rollie closed the door on his side and looked at Angie, blinking rapidly. "And now it´s time to reform the world," he said grandly like a magician on stage.

Angie rolled her eyes. "You better get some sleep. I´ll stand guard."

Rollie waved his left hand. No, he didn´t need to sleep. He would just close his eyes for a second.

Angie knew Rollie would fall asleep any moment. He looked like he wouldn´t be able to keep his eyes open for long. She just hoped she would.

The heat was rising as the sun was getting higher. The air in the van would soon become unbearable. Angie was aware of that. She opened her window just a bit so that some fresh air could get in. Angie glanced at the remote control sitting on the dashboard. If she noticed footsteps or something like that she would have to switch on the projectors. Angie looked at Rollie. He was asleep, slid down the seat as much as his long legs let him. The bloody strands of his hair hung over his left eye though the scarf was holding the rest of his hair back. Angie did not like what she saw. Rollie´s face was terribly pale and worn out. It also needed a shave. At least the wound on his forehead was no longer bleeding. Rollie jerked, turned his face away from Angie and crossed his arms on his stomach.

Angie glanced outside the windshield. Would the two-way mirror work at all? What if the sun happened to shine in a bad angle and the mirror wouldn´t be a mirror anymore? Angie shook her head to get rid of the thought. She did not want to disappear before one could realize where they were. Once in a while you are here, then tables turn and you´re history, Angie thought. Angie jerked. She really wasn´t ready to leave this world. But if the mirror wasn´t a mirror anymore then... Angie could not stop the shiver going down her spine. She had to make sure the mirror was still a mirror. She glanced at Rollie. He was still deeply in the land of nod. Angie held the door handle and opened the door real slowly trying to avoid making any noise. The door just clicked and opened. The gap was too narrow so Angie pushed the door slightly. Great. No noise.

"Angie!" Rollie´s voice right behind her back sounded like a whispered shout. Loud enough to scare Angie to death. She nearly choked with fear. One more shock like that and she would certainly hit the roof with her head.

Angie turned to Rollie. She could swear he had been sleeping. Now he was apparently not. His eyes were drilling her through.

"Where d´you think you´re going?" he said. "Don´t tell me you have to."

Angie stared frozen at him. "I just..." she said, waving aimlessly. Maybe she meant her door, maybe the windshield.

Rollie stretched out over Angie and closed the door. "Angie," he said quietly now, straightened again. "Barry can be just over there. We have to stay in the van."

"I´m sorry," Angie said, staring out of the van, suddenly feeling weak and close to tears. Angie was not sure she could take any more.

Having noticed the cracked tone in Angie´s voice, Rollie grabbed her hand. "That´s okay, Angie. We´ll make it."

They were sitting hand in hand in the sticky air inside the van, taking turns at looking out of the van and dozing. The heat inside was about to cross the line of being bearable. Angie opened her eyes and squinted at Rollie. He seemed to be sleeping again. His face appeared even paler than before. Angie looked outside. It seemed like it was her turn to guard since her boss had decided to doze off.

A silhouette flashed through the group of trees ahead of the van. Angie straightened up and squinted her eyes, trying to recognize what she was seeing. No doubt, it must have been Barry. Still staring at the silhouette, she reached out and grabbed the remote control sitting on the dashboard. With her right hand Angie squeezed Rollie´s left one, whispering his name while the hologram appeared. Rollie jerked awake. His sleepy eyes roamed from Angie to the hologram in front of the van. He rubbed his eyes and straightened up.

"There he comes," Angie said, pointing at a place before the van. Rollie nodded and pushed his hair back, out of his eyes. They watched Barry leave the shade of trees. He hesitated for a while and then stepped toward the moving images, entering another shady spot near the van. Barry stopped, out of reach of any hands he could see.

"Hey," Barry said way too arrogant, standing about fifteen feet from the van.

Angie worked hard on her PDA, making the images turn to Barry. How could he believe they were real? They were so...so...

"I came to get you," Barry said, smiling, interrupting Angie´s thoughts. He was about to step forward but then he changed his mind and did not move.

"Welcome to hell," he said, fixing his eyes on Rollie and Angie.

"Now," Rollie whispered, trying to look aside to avoid meeting Barry´s gaze. The next second seemed endless. "Angie, switch the projectors off!"

"Done," she said while their images disappeared in the trembling air.

Because of Barry´s concentration, he did not notice anything at first. When he finally realized something had changed, the hell had already begun. A hissing sound deafened everything and covered other sounds. The air seemed to boil. Long claps of thunderous sound broke the hissing, cutting through the gap between Barry and the mirror. Giant sparks flew out of the tortured glass, gushing up to the sky, shattering one another to small pieces. The van started to shake. The entire world seemed to be shaking. A loud groan burst out, running long cracks through the mirror. The broken glass did not stop shaking and in a second millions of little fragments separated and shattered into the air, cutting everything within their reach.

Rollie reached out and clasped Angie in his arms. Protecting each others head they both closed their eyes and prayed for the end of this hell. After a while the air filled with a devilish laughter breaking into a croaking which died down slowly. The van stopped shaking. The world buried itself in silence.

Rollie opened his eyes just a little, squinting outside, blinking very fast. The fragments of the two-way mirror were scattered all over the cleaning. The grass was trampled down. Some blades were brown as if burned. Pieces of ash were slowly drifting in the air. The place where Barry had stood a little time ago, was now empty. Just dead ground, sadly gazing up at the sky. The vegetation had been wiped out forever.

Rollie released Angie and looked at her. Angie´s eyes were closed tight.

"Angie, you can open your eyes," Rollie said. "It´s over now." He really felt comfort inside his heart. He could hardly believe the nightmare was over.

"You sure?" Angie asked with her eyes closed. Her fingers in her lap were crushing each other. Angie did not think it was the right time for her eyes to be opened.

Rollie started to laugh. Then he reached over and tried to pry her eyes with his fingers. "Why don´t you open your eyes and make sure yourself?"

Angie swung at his hands, but Rollie managed to jump back. Angie opened her eyes, frowned at Rollie and said, "What are you? Crazy? Want to poke my eye out?"

Rollie grinned. "Sure. I thought it could be meaningful if I got your eyes to the top of your head."

"Do I look like a frog?" Angie asked, still frowning.

Rollie looked thoughtful. "Not yet," he said. "That´s why I wanted to remove your eyes." For a second, he managed to keep a straight face, but than he burst into laughter again..

Angie rolled her eyes and sighed. "Rollie..." She meant to tell him something sharp but then changed her mind. "We better get going. We gotta find someone to get our van back to town. And by the way, I want to sleep in bed tonight and to have a doc check you."

Rollie stopped laughing. "Forget it."

Angie grinned. "What exactly do you want me to forget?" she asked, pretending she did not have a slightest idea what Rollie had meant.

Rollie got out of the van, prepared to make his way back to town. It was not that far. They could make it in an hour. Angie followed him.

"Well?" she asked, looking up at Rollie´s frowning face from the side.

Rollie chewed on his lower lip. Then a twinkle appeared in the eye Angie could see.

"You know," Rollie said, "you better forget about the bed. I´ve decided to go home as soon as the tires are changed."

Angie grinned. Now it was time for her to tease Rollie. "You really need the doc, Rol. There must be something wrong with your head. You´re talking nonsense."

Rollie just shook his head and grinned. This was going to be a long hour.