He inhaled the scent of the flower, letting it travel deep into his lungs.
Hey! he shouted. You guys should really come smell this flower.
There was no response.
Not even mocking laughter.
Billy looked up. He was alone in the clearing. The trees surrounding him loomed large, looking as though they were crowding closer.
Hey! Guys! Billy yelled. That's not funny!
You're trailing behind again, Billy, his grandmother used to say when they went down to the shops. That's gonna lead you nowhere but trouble one day!
Billy stood up and began moving in the direction (he thought) the others had gone.
Perhaps I can see some signs, he thought. Footprints, broken twigs.
Something like that?
Something that would show him which way his friends had gone. But there was nothing.
He took a deep breath and let his legs lead him on.
I'll find them, he thought. They can't have got too far ahead.
Can they?
The gloom began to trickle down the treetrunks.
Night was coming.
...
