The Path Ahead

The boys were sitting in Harvey's house that afternoon chatting and playing on Harvey's computer just as they normally did when they bunked off school, Daniel was still thinking about the dream he had had last night and decided to tell Harvey as he knew he wouldn't laugh at him.

"Harv, I need to tell you about this dream I've been having this past week, it's really strange" Daniel said as Harvey suddenly sat up with an interested look on his face.

So Daniel told Harvey of this strange dream he was having which was always the same every time and how it seemed so real to him when Harvey all of a sudden piped up.

"OH MY GOD MATE that's weird" exclaimed Harvey " I've been having the weirdest dream too, kind of like that but all I keep seeing is a castle sitting above a town and then a load of bells hanging in this big cave type place then this odd looking guy dressed in what looks like big pyjamas keeps reaching out to me telling me to 'protect the bells', I thought I was having a nightmare, woke up sweating buckets and everything".

Daniel thought for a minute about what it meant and why were they both having the same sort of dream

"So I'm not going mad then!!" Replied Daniel as Harvey started to look all excited about what it all meant.

"Does that mean we are going to have some sort of adventure involving swords and dragons and stuff??" Harvey excitedly replied as his imagination started to run away with him.

Daniel smirked at the excited nature of his best friend then replied " calm down mate it might just be a coincidence but it sure is weird isn't it" and with that they both started laughing loudly and then Harvey picked up his pillow and whacked Daniel round the head with it almost taking him clean off his feet

"Now your for it!" Daniel snapped as Harvey unleashed another round of blows to his friends head before Daniel could even grab the other pillow and retaliate, then Daniel picked up the loose pillow and hit Harvey back once and with such force that it took Harvey by surprise causing him to fall back onto his bed breaking the legs on it, the bed crashed against the floor with an almighty BANG and Daniel and Harvey just looked straight at each other and burst out laughing at what had just happened.

"I'm going to be in so much trouble now you idiot!!!" Said Harvey in a jokey way as Daniel was doubled over in hysterics at the state of the bed

"Not only have you ruined my new trousers when you dragged me across the floor but now my bed is broke thanks to you attacking me" 

   "Me attack you??" Daniel replied "you were the one who hit me first, and second, and third, in fact your the one whose a big lump and broke it.hahaha". Daniel then went off to get a drink from the fridge with Harvey following behind, Bucksy was sitting out by the front door snoring his head off as usual and it made Daniel wonder even more about what had happened with him that morning. 

  "Harvey looked at Bucksy lying there snoring and urged to Daniel and said "if that dog is some kind of magical beast as you think he might be, then do you really think THAT looks like something that might have magical powers, haha, just look at that magical drool patch he's left on the floor by the door,  I wonder if that's a magic door way to another world" laughed Harvey as Bucksy woke up looked round at the boys staring at him yawned then put his head back down on the floor before letting a huge ripper escape from his furry backside.

"PAAARRRPPPPP" the sound ripped through the air like the sound of a balloon being deflated followed by a smell so bad that caused the boys to gag.

"BUCKS!! Said Daniel through teary eyes as the smell filled the hallway "oh my God that's awful, quick open the windows I can't breathe" exclaimed Harvey as the boys reached for the window handles and threw open the windows to rid the house of the smell that had infected their noses. Harvey ran off to the kitchen and within seconds had returned with a can of air freshener which he then sprayed like it was going out of fashion hoping to be able to breathe real air instead of dog bum.

  "Come on mate let's get food and go sit in the garden for a bit till you need to go" said Harvey to Daniel as they made their way into the kitchen to raid the cupboards for food and drink.

  After leaving what can only be described as a bomb site in the kitchen with bread and sandwich spreads all over the counter along with numerous opened crisp packets the boys went and sat in the garden on the beautiful sunshiny day that had led them to bunk off school, they climbed into the small tree house which sat at the bottom of Harvey's garden and overlooked the most beautiful fields filled with dazzling coloured flowers and hedgerows which stretched as far as the eye could see which was in stark contrast to Daniels house which sat on the edge of the overbearing forest filled with the tallest trees and constant noisy chatter of the animals that dwelled within it, maybe that's why Daniel like it so much as it gave him the freedom to be with his thoughts or being either Harvey and Bucksy, acting out their childish imagination without anyone laughing at them.

 "So" said Harvey as they both watched Bucksy out in the back field chasing something small and furry round the field "do you reckon there's something in those dreams we've been having??"

Daniel looked up at the sky and replied "who knows Harv, could just be something or nothing but it sure is strange that we both had the same kind of dreams......, anyway enough to about that now shall we start our game we were going to play??"

 Harvey replied excitedly " too right mate, been looking forward to exacting my revenge on you, because I am 'Harvey the strong'" and with that Harvey jumped onto his friend and the wrestled like they were in a real battle.

  "Haha, got you now!!" Screamed Harvey as he managed to get Daniel in a headlock but somehow Daniel managed to get out of it and he jumped out of the tree house (which wasn't that high up any way) and ran for the nearest big stick in the garden and challenged Harvey with it."

come on Harv come at me" challenged Daniel as Harvey let out a battle cry after finding his 'weapon' and raced full pelt at Daniel who was already in defence mode, "yarrrggghhh" shouted Harvey as he took aim at Daniel with his weapon and the next thing he knew he was tumbling across the lawn with no recollection of how he got down there, Daniel then stood over him shouting "I hereby end you pitiful life Harvey the strong, you were a great opponent but I Daniel the brave have defeated you once again" and with that Daniel pretended to cut off Harvey's head with his 'sword' and Harvey twitched around on the grass pretending that his life had ended, he did overact it though causing Daniel to pipe up.

"Come on Harv it doesn't take that long to die does it?, stop milking it.haha" then it fell silent apart from the occasional twitch from harvey then Daniel threw his stick away and arms aloft  shouting "I AM VICTORIOUS........."

  He started on his usual victory dance around the garden only to be greeted by the sight of Harvey's mum standing there with a look in her eyes that meant trouble for them both.

"aaah.....Harv, think we are about to be in real trouble now"  Daniel said as Harvey was still twitching away like he had been bitten by a gang of ants, he looked up from where he was lying and saw a dark shadow looming towards him rather fast

 "Am I dreaming?? Is that you God??" Harvey called out but then he recognised the angry tone as that of his mum. 

"What do you two think you are doing here, why aren't you at school, please don't tell me you have skipped school again Harvey!!!" Blurted out Harvey's mum who was looking angrier by the second.

"m...m.m.m.mum?? What are you doing home so early??" Harvey replied with the most scared look on his face that daniel had ever seen

"I thought you were our all day!!!, I errrr....wasn't feeling too well so I came home, Daniel came with me as he was feeling rough too so we errrr....thought we would come home together".

 "So you were feeling that bad that you left the kitchen like a bomb site???" The angry response came right back at Harvey as he looked towards Daniel for help but Daniel was standing there smirking to himself as he watched his friend squirm.

 "We felt a bit better so we made a bit of food to see if we still felt sick....but we came outside to eat it and for fresh air and we started to feel so much better". 

"Harvey's mum then turned to Daniel and said,

"I think you had better run along Daniel" Mrs Jones said sternly to Daniel "and don't forget that dog of yours please, I've already cleaned up a big pile of drool from by the front door!"

"Yes Mrs J" replied Daniel as he started to walk off towards the back gate of Harvey's garden with Bucksy now in tow, he turned round to say bye to Harvey but all he saw was a blur of him running off into the house with Mrs Jones still ranting at him as she followed him into the house.

"Come on boy let's take slow walk home, can't be too early as mum will know we've been bunking off again"

Bucksy wagged his tail and barked at Daniel as they walked off through the woods that led to Daniels house.

The woods surrounding the area where the boys lived in Rockingham Mulch was what the boys described as a magical mystical place, probably due to them always playing at wizards and Knights, but there did seem something eerily odd with it, from really thick fog seeping through the forest on the clearest of days to the whispering sound of voices drifting across on the wind and into Daniels bedroom window but it was the boys most favourite place to go when they wanted to just get away and have a laugh together, you would normally catch Lillie hanging around with them on the odd occasion that they weren't fighting (which was most of the time), it was if they were drawn towards it somehow and loved the complete surroundings that helped them lose themselves in their imaginations which would cause them to drift deeper into the woods but always knowing where home was, so Daniel and Bucksy knew these woods like the back of their hands (and paws) which is why they took slow walks through them whenever Daniel decided to skip school.

On this particular day though the woods somehow felt different, like a sense of expectation and anticipation filling the forest air and more woodland noises than normal being heard but Daniel was oblivious to it all as Bucksy was chasing sticks and crashing through the undergrowth after rabbits and bringing the stick back to Daniel for him to throw again. 

 Daniel launched the stick far into the distance and Bucksy took off from where he was standing with an excited "woof" as he barked his way into the distance looking for the only stick that smelt of his drool,

"Come on boy, fetch it" shouted Daniel as he could hear rustling from ahead followed by the occasional sniffing noise of an over excited labrador, but still Bucksy didn't return, Daniels attention to where his dog was had been moved to a strange whistling noise coming from all around him, the woods seemed alive for a moment and then Daniel, now seemingly distracted by the sheer oddness in the woods, heard a sound that he seemed to have heard before which made its way through the trees like a silently slithering snake creeping up on its prey,

"You must return......come back.....come baacckkkk......." the voice floated off into the safety of the woods and next thing he knew Bucksy was clamped to his side seemingly knowing something was up with his master. His body was totally rigid with a fear that he had never felt before and he couldn't seem to move any part of him he seemed to be just staring into the distance  with the words still spinning round in his head.

What did this mean?, he thought, searching his head for an answer that he would never find at this time.

Daniel's attention to the latest events was broken by Bucksy who seemed to know that something odd was going on and pawed at his masters hand which was hanging down by his side, he reached out to stroke his faithful dogs head

"What the heck was that Bucks?" Daniel looked startled as he carried on "that's the same voice I heard from my dream, that's so freaky!!, come on boy I don't like it here let's get home before something else happens" He shivered as he thought about what had just happened.

 And with that Daniel and his dog hastily made their way through the woods and came out at the end of their road still not completely with it as the events in the woods played on his mind all the way up to his house, his mind was doing somersaults as they made their way down the path of his house and Daniel stumbled through the door and threw his school stuff off and walked up the stairs and into his room, shutting the door behind him to shut out the world while he tried to make sense of the events that had just taken place earlier, he felt he had to tell Harvey as they were the kind of friends who would share every feeling or every kind of thing that had been on each others mind that day.

  He felt sleepy and seemingly off in himself so he decided to climb into his bed and take some time to process the events but no sooner as his head hit the pillow he fell asleep and Bucksy had decided to sleep right outside his door which looked like he was keeping anyone out of his room so Daniel could rest.

He was awoken a few hours later by the sound of someone talking on the phone, it was his mum from what he could make out, Daniel crept out of bed and gently opened his door, he could hear Lillie warbling to another song and the sound of his dog yapping in his sleep so he crept to the top of the stairs to get a sneakier listen to who it was on the phone.

 " Yes Mr Widworthy, I'm sure there a reasonable explanation for this, I'll be sure to speak to Daniel and remind him of his responsibilities towards his school work......". 

Daniel craned his neck further forward to hear the rest of the conversation " yes, I understand how important this time of the school year is and I'm sure that he will catch up on what ever he has missed, I do know that he is not himself at the minute so I assure you I will have a word with him when I see him,....... yes thank you once again for letting me know...goodbye Mr Widworthy". And with that Daniels mum slammed the phone down and sighed so loud that even Daniel could hear from his seat at the top of the stairs, Daniels mum went on " this is all I need now!!, it's bad enough that I can't see you, I really need help at the minute, if only I could get him to you, he needs your guidance. How I miss you....."

 Daniels mind went into over drive now as he started wondering who his mum was talking about and who could she get him to. Surely there was something more to all the incidents that were going on lately but what was it, 

"I wonder if she's talking to my dad?...." Daniel thought, "but why is she not telling me anything, I think I need to ask again".

And with that Daniel marched downstairs like a boy on a mission.

 "Mum...I just over heard you talking and....." but before he could finish his mum turned round and with a scowling look that could frighten even the bravest of people replied in a strong way,

 "Daniel...I am so disappointed in you at the minute, I've just got off the phone with your teacher and he's told me about you skipping school, and it's not for the first time is it!!!" 

 Daniel seemed to shrink on the spot as his mum went on...and on....and on, he was worried that his mum might explode at any minute as her face seemed to be going the kind of red that looked like the bad sunburn of a sun worshipper,

Then she finished ranting " so what have you got to say for yourself then Daniel?, why have you been skipping school and oh also I hear Harvey has been with you too, i'll be having words with his mum too". 

Daniel looked up at his mum and tried to think of a good excuse to come up with but his mind was blank and he knew his mum wouldn't believe his fibs.

 "I...errrr...well you see....the thing is.....it was all Harvey's fault!! He made me do it, I told him I didn't want to go but he practically dragged me out of the school...."

"Let's me stop you right there" Daniels mum interrupted him before he could spin another lie, " I know exactly what happened as you were spotted by most of the English unit dragging poor Harvey round the corner by his shirt, so please don't lie to me!!".

"Aahh" Daniel replied, his face draining of any colour he had left as he realised he had been caught out, " well the truth is....I'm not really cut out for this school stuff, I hate that place so much and I feel that what I'm learning is pointless, I don't really get on with any one either, Harvey is my only true friend really, i just feel like there's something else I should be doing, plus I've been having these strange dreams lately....."

 Daniels mum looked inquisitively at him and replied " Strange dreams??, about what Daniel?"

 So Daniel opened up to his mum about the dreams he had been having and how they were all about the same thing and how he couldn't concentrate in the day because of them. He also shared with her what had happened in the woods earlier which seemed to shock her a lot.

Daniels mum had to sit down to take in what he had been saying to her as there was now this look of a mixture of shock and surprise on her face which took Daniel aback as he saw that his mum's expression had changed somewhat.

 Daniel's mum stared blankly into the distance as she tried to comprehend what Daniel was saying to her as it seemed to somehow uncover a part of her that she thought had been buried for a very long time, " I...I..don't know what to say Daniel, are you sure that was exactly what the dream was about?". Daniel now looked puzzled as he replied,

"Yes mum it's exactly as I told you,why are you looking at me like that? What's the matter, your scaring me now...."

 Daniel's mum couldn't bring herself to try and explain as she was trying to protect him from something, but what was it?,

 "I need some air Daniel,  i'll be back soon, please stay inside for a while please, just until I'm back" , and with that she got up and rushed towards the door without even a glance in Daniels direction.

"Errrr right......What the heck is going on?" Daniel said as he tried to make sense of his mum's strange reaction.

The next thing was that Lillie appeared at the bottom of the stairs after overhearing part of what had gone on

  "What have you done this time squirt?" Lillie said sarcastically, 

Daniel replied in the only way he knew how to his sister " I haven't done anything, mum's the one who went all weird and stormed off so it's more likely you have annoyed her when you got home"

"So what's this I hear about you skipping school then?? It's the talk of the English block as you were seen making a run for it followed by that half witted friend of yours struggling to keep up". Lillie said as she knew he had been up to no good as usual.

 "Ahh you heard then" Daniel replied as his anger at his sister faded, "well, I couldn't be bothered to stay at school, I was on the way to the Headmasters office and saw Harv sitting outside the classroom and started chatting to him then he got screeched at by Miss Jacobs and he got sent there too but I was so fed up that I kinda talked Harvey into bunking off with me".

 "So that's why mum was upset then and now she's stormed off, this isn't the first time you've skipped school but this is the first time that mum has got angry with you, she knows all the times you ran away from school, you really don't think about others do you!". Replied Lillie angrily at her brother who was now looking like he wanted to run out of the door too,

"It's not my fault she stormed out, I just told her about some dreams I'd been having and she freaked out and left, so how can that be my fault".Daniel answered back in a vain attempt to deflect the blame from himself

"It's normally something you've done so I think you best apologise to her when she comes back" said Lillie forcefully.

 "Yes yes yes, I'll do it later......" 

And with that they both went their separate ways, Lillie stormed back into her room, slamming the door behind her and Daniel went and sat in front of the television still trying to figure out what was going on with his mum as she seemed to be getting more and more stressed about something.

"Oh well, I guess it will all come out soon enough" said Daniel as he was joined on the sofa by Bucksy clutching his favourite most annoying squeaky toy which he constantly bit it so it kept on squeaking in Daniels ear.