Quietly, Quiggly stepped into the darkness as he stealthily approached and steeled himself for the fight to come. He had to get his hands on her, and soon. He needed to get that ring and use it as a bargaining tool. In the darkness, he picked his way through fallen trees, over jagged rocks and into thick tangles of branches, bushes and vines. He knew she was around here somewhere. But then his foot caught a root, and he fell. Down he tumbled into the darkness, his ears ringing and his pulse in his ears. He was about ten feet down, at least, maybe more. He was still gripping that metal box when he hit the ground. His breath was knocked from his lungs. "Shiiiit." He could smell moldy earth and rotting leaves. He couldn't see anything, and he couldn't hear anything, either. Something brushed against his cheek. A mouse? Something touched the back of his neck, and his heart nearly stopped. He whipped around, his ears straining, his palms sweaty. "Is someone there?" he asked. "I'm an elf. I'm from the North Pole." He heard a fluttering, something flying through the trees. He tried to move and found that he couldn't. He couldn't feel his legs at all. The more he tried to move, the more he couldn't. "Help me," he cried out into the blackness. "Help! I'm stuck. I'm...going to die. Aaaaaaaaaaaaa!" It was no good. He was stuck. Trapped. He was going to die here in the darkness, buried beneath the tangle of ancient branches and the remains of centuries of leaves. His chest felt like it was being squeezed in a vise. His ribs hurt, and his heart raced. He tried to call out for help again but was too winded, and couldn't speak. He felt like his insides were on fire. He couldn't breathe. He didn't have much time left. He closed his eyes, waiting to die, his mind spinning, then falling away, fading from existence, gone, gone, gone. Chapter Ten She couldn't believe how quiet it was. After she closed the door, she leaned against the wall outside, listening, holding her breath and waiting. She'd figured she'd have to wait a while, but to her surprise, she heard someone right away. She listened hard. A twig cracked. Someone was walking around somewhere. She smiled to herself. She figured it would be Quiggly. She turned to the door, listening hard. It was too dark to see the face of her watch, but she figured it was early morning. The light would be coming any minute. She waited. The air was still, the trees dark and brooding. She could hear the crackling of a fire and smelled the tangy aroma of burning wood. She knew she wasn't far from her hiding place. Quiggly had been there, and he had been here. That much was certain. He'd been lurking in the dark, thinking about her, thinking about her. He'd just taken the ring without actually touching her. He couldn't have missed her. He'd seen her come out of the house, hadn't he? She should have figured something was wrong. Something was wrong. She hadn't felt comfortable about that whole situation with him being there, but he'd convinced her with that kiss, so she had gone along. Then he'd slipped the ring back on, and everything had seemed to be going along like normal. Then he'd just taken it off, and just like that, the deal was off. They had a deal, and that deal was about to bite her in the ass. She was trapped. She could only move in one direction. At that moment, she heard something behind her. Someone was right behind her. She wanted to scream, but she didn't want to waste the precious air she had. She turned back to the house and waited. "She's here," someone whispered. Rachel spun around. Who had said that? She froze, and then caught sight of a shadow, one of many, slipping into the shadows, fading into the woods. She shivered. Who was it? The silence was like a smothering blanket. It weighed her down. She felt weak, so very weak. Then the light was there, a soft yellow glow. As if a light had been switched on, the woods lit up. Quiggly. Now, she could see him. He stood in the field, staring, and he was just standing there, like he was looking for something. She couldn't understand why. There were only four of them left. Then she caught sight of another figure coming into view, coming from the opposite direction, and then another. There were three more of them. Their eyes were big and shining, and the color of blood in the moonlight. They were all wearing masks. "Who are you?" one of them asked in a raspy voice. "What is it you want?" she asked, not moving. "Who are you?" "What is it you want?" a second one asked. "Come and get it," the third one said, and pointed toward the house. She froze, and her heart seemed to melt into the bottom of her stomach. They were talking in such a way that she knew they would take her. The masks were so ugly. It was as if they were all wearing the same masks, and that awful, awful mask was all she could see. Their breath made a haunting sound in the air. They were monsters, that was what they were. They were here for her, and she was in their hands. She didn't know what to do. She just knew she needed to make a decision quickly. If she stayed, she was trapped. If she went, the deal was off. It was as simple as that. So she went, running for her life. She sprinted across the field. The grass made sucking noises as she ran, but she didn't care. She needed to get away. "Hey!" one of them yelled. She could hear the thuds of footsteps in the grass behind her, running across the grass toward her. She tried to pick up her pace, but her heart was pounding and her breath was coming out of her in short, ragged gasps. "Hey!" they yelled again, one right behind the other. "You don't have much time!" She ignored them, even as the grass became soft beneath her feet and the footsteps behind her kept growing louder. She stumbled, and a sick feeling went through her stomach. What was she doing? She was stupid for getting involved. She was all alone, and she had to get out of here. She ran a little faster, her breath coming hard, her heart fluttering in her chest. She looked back over her shoulder to see that they were nearly upon her. One of them ran right behind her, arms outstretched, a sick grin on his ugly face. She could see the dark color of his skin, the dark brown of his eyes. His mouth was open, screaming, and it made a terrifying sound as the blood flew from his lips. It was covered with teeth, and her blood ran cold when she saw it. "Get back!" he yelled in a deep, raspy voice. Then he moved in front of her, and he reached out, his arm extending through the night, grabbing her in his hand. She screamed as she fell to the ground, his fingers sinking into her shirt, his claws digging into her flesh. As she lay there on the ground, screaming, she felt something on her hand, something warm. Her heart nearly stopped. It was the ring, still attached. She was wearing the ring! She knew she'd put it on before she'd left. She couldn't help wondering what it was doing there. The scream subsided, and she slowly pulled the ring from the palm of her hand. The skin where it had been was bleeding slightly, and she wiped the blood away with her hand. She had to put it back on. She'd worn the ring as a talisman before, and now she had to keep it on. She felt sure of that. She didn't want Quiggly to have it. "I'm taking her!" he said. "What do you want?" another asked, his face covered with grime and dirt and splotches of black. "The ring." "Get it, then." "We have to take the ring off her first," a third voice said. She screamed, and the man holding her, still digging into her shirt with his claws, yanked her to her feet. He stared at her, and she could tell that he was seeing her in a way he wasn't supposed to be seeing her, and that frightened her. "We have to get that ring off first," he said. "Give it to me." They backed away, and she quickly pushed the ring to the bottom of her shirt. He looked down at her. His eyes glinted darkly. His hand gripped her. She was terrified, and she saw something different in his eyes. Something dark. He put his face