The Witch's Box

Three boys go on a journey to find a box a witch tells them holds the answers to their questions about their life. ...... Story is better than description I promise XD

The old wooden door slowly creaked open revealing a dark inside.
"Are you sure this is the right place?" Todd asked uncertainly.
"I-I think so." I stuttered.
"Looks like a good place for a witch to live," said Ace, peering inside. "C'mon you guys, stop being babies." he slipped into the room, disappearing into the darkness.
"You first." said Todd, pushing me forward. The room was completely pitch black, except for the bit of light coming from the open door.
"Come on Todd!" Ace's voice said. "Everything's fine." Todd stepped into the room, and the door slammed shut behind him. I bit down on my lip to keep from squealing out; I hated the dark.
"Hold on, I got this." Todd muttered, clicking open his lighter. Suddenly, the fire flew from it and lit up millions of candles displayed around the room.
"Wow." breathed Ace. The room was covered in shelves full of jars containing eyes, weird elixirs, powders, fairies, and something that looked strangely like a human heart.
"Need something?" croaked a voice. I jumped and saw an old woman standing behind a large wooden desk covered in gold coins and large cauldrons.
"N-no." I stuttered. The old woman was really creepy; she was hunched over and had stringy white hair that toppled down her shoulders. She had snake like eyes and a long, hooked nose.
"You obviously need something if you come all the way out here," the old woman said. "My hut isn't exactly easy to get to." Ace and I glanced over at Todd and he nodded.
"We've heard rumors that you're a witch. Is it true?"
"Depends," the woman grinned a row of mossy teeth. "How much do you boys have?" I pulled a small pouch from my pocket and dumped it on the table.
"Hmm," she said, examining it. "It's not much, but it's enough. Now, what can I do for you?"
"All three of us were left on a doorstep," Todd said. "We want to know the truth about where we came from, and what we're supposed to be. Can you help us?" the witch didn't answer him. She turned to her shelf and started tossing things into her cauldron. We watched in silence as different sounds and colors erupted from it.
About ten minutes later, a paper exploded from it and fell into my hands. Ace and Todd huddled around me and examined it.
"It's a map." Todd said confused.
"The map will lead you to the Silver Woods," the witch said slowly. "In it is a box that holds the truth."
"A box?" Ace asked. "The truth lies in... a box?"
"Yes," the witch said. "And watch out for the guardians of the box. They'll do anything to keep it safe."

"You're going to know who you are." I muttered to myself. That memory was the only thing that kept me going nowadays. I was sick of traveling and fighting to survive day after day. I wanted to turn back, go home and rest in my comfortable bed.
No, I thought. The questions of your existence will finally be answered.
"You okay?" Ace asked. I nodded. It was just him and I now; Todd ditched us.
"We're almost there, right?" I asked. Ace wiped an arm across his sweaty forehead and looked down at the map.
"Actually, we are!" he cried. "It's supposed to be right over there!" I felt my heart leap in my chest; we were finally going to know the truth.
We ducked beneath the branches of a large tree and came to a small clearing.
"It's supposed to be here," Ace said glancing down at the map. "I think it's buried." I looked around, examining the clearing. Where were these guardians of the box? Was the witch just trying to freak us out?
As I started to think they didn't exist, the trees behind us started to make weird, rustling noises. I spun around and saw what looked like men made out of wood slowly walking towards us.
"Who goes there?" one snarled. Ace and I started to back up slowly, scared out of our minds.
"Ace and Sami," Ace said. "We're here to find a box."
"No," the other tree man snarled. "Your lives end here."
The men lunged at us, long claws slashing through the air. Ace and I just barely ducked out of the way, but one of the tree men had slashed into my arm. I gritted my teeth and held a hand up to my warm, bloody wound.
"Here," said Ace, handing me a small knife. "We're going to have to take them down." I nodded and took the knife in my hand.
A tree man ran towards me and took a slash at my face, but I ducked beneath him and stabbed into his stomach. The tree man let out a cry and stared angrily at me. He lunged at me, knocking me onto my back. He clambered on top of me and started to slash at my body, pain erupting from each new cut. I screamed and kicked into his stomach, sending him flying off of me. I grabbed my knife and stabbed hard into his chest. He tried to reach for me, but his body was losing life quickly. He let out a whimpering sound, then his body went lifeless.
I panted, and checked to see how my brother was doing. He grinned at me as he pulled his knife out of the back of a dead tree man.
"Fun, wasn't it?" he asked. I didn't respond; fighting for my life wasn't exactly my favorite hobby.
"Can we just open the box now?" I managed to ask. Ace grinned.
As we dug into the ground for the box, a million thoughts were rushing through my head. I was going to know the truth in just a few minutes. Would I be happy with the answer? Would I regret knowing? What if Ace wasn't even my brother? What if we ended up being nothing but thieves?
Ace pulled away dirt to reveal a small, black box.
"This is it!" he grinned, pulling it out of the earth. "Here Sami, you do the honors!" I nodded nervously as I took the box into my hands. My heart thudded in my chest, and butterflies swarmed in my stomach; this was it. With shaky hands, I popped open the top of the box.
"What the-?"
"It's empty!"