Don't Go Into the Woods at Night

"Are you coming tonight?" Daniel asked, sitting on the foot of Samuel's bed.

"Of course not," Samuel said, flipping another page of his assigned reading. "You know the woods are off-limits. They are dangerous during the day. They could be deadly at night."

"Yeah, yadda yadda, woods are dangerous," Daniel said. "Save the rule-reminding for the teachers. We're going into the woods. At night. It'll be a blast!"

"And extremely dangerous," Samuel said.

Daniel and Samuel were twins. They both had reddish-brown hair, a sprinkling of freckles on their noses, and eyes the color of the sky. But other than that, they were nothing alike.

Daniel liked adventures and parties and taking risks. Especially taking risks, and he seemed to be more inclined to do it when Samuel thought it was a bad idea.

Samuel was more of a loner and liked reading and school and learning. He wore brownish, horn-rimmed glasses. Daniel thought he was a little bit of a nerd, but Samuel didn't care. It was the nerds who changed the world, after all.

Daniel and Samuel were first-years at the Academy of Magic. Their parents had been wizards, and so were their grandparents, and all of their ancestors, practically. So it was time for them to follow in their footsteps. Samuel wanted to be the best wizard possible, so he studied a lot and paid attention in class. Daniel wasn't as interested in magic.

Right now, they were both on their after-lunch break before their next class. Samuel used the time to curl up on his bed and catch up on assigned reading. Daniel seemed bored, bouncing on Samuel's bed, then his, looking out the window, fiddling with his textbooks. Samuel wondered why he wasn't hanging out with his friends.

Samuel looked at his watch. 12:45. In 15 minutes, their next class was going to start.

"Daniel," Samuel said. "We should probably get to our next class."

"Okay," Daniel said, being oddly cooperative. Usually, it took at least a little nagging to get him to come to class. But today, he scooped up his textbooks and followed Samuel right down the hall.

Maybe, Samuel thought, he's being extra good to make up for sneaking into the woods tonight.

************************************************************

That night, Daniel lay in bed, but he wasn't asleep. Far from it. He stared at his alarm clock, waiting for 11 PM. 11 PM was when he snuck out and joined his friends for the exploration in the woods.

Moonlight shined into the room from the huge window that took up almost a whole wall. Across the room, Samuel slept silently. He had nagged Daniel not to go into the woods ever since he had told him that he planned to. He could be such a stickler!

Daniel pushed his bangs out of his eyes and continued staring at the clock with anticipation. It was 10:36. The second hand seemed to creep so slowly around the clock's circle, reaching the 11, then slowly, silently gliding over to the 12...

Tick. 10:37. Daniel gripped the edges of his sheets and gritted his teeth. He was never the patient type, and he wasn't going to start being patient today. In 23 minutes, he was going into the woods! He had heard there were fantastical creatures out there, more fantastical than the fairies that flew around campus and the occasional unicorn venturing towards the border of the school.

The second hand drifted lazily towards the 6. Across the room, Samuel stirred. Daniel was starting to get tired himself. It was getting hard to keep his eyes open.

I'll just close my eyes for a few minutes, Daniel thought. When I open my eyes, it'll be 10:50 or something.

Daniel plopped his head on the pillow, turned away from his alarm clock, and closed his eyes...

And opened them again. What time was it? It had to be close to 11 by now. He hadn't closed his eyes for a mere five minutes.

Daniel sat up in bed and looked at the alarm clock. When he saw what time it was, he was shocked.

11:11! And almost 11:12! His friends were waiting for him at the waiting spot! Or maybe they had gotten impatient and ventured into the woods without him!

Daniel scrambled out of bed. The sheets got a little tangled on his right foot, and he almost tripped, but he untangled the sheets.

Daniel grabbed his flashlight and rushed over to the window. Outside, the moon was covered up by clouds a bit, but the full moon's light still shined clearly into the room, even through curtains.

Daniel tore open the curtains and started tugging on the window to open it. He wasn't the strongest kid on Earth, but he had opened this window a few times.

Daniel got the window open and dropped down a few feet to the soft ground. A cold breeze blew, making Daniel shiver. He was in red and white striped pajamas. He wasn't even wearing slippers.

Daniel looked up at the window. Winds blew into the window, disturbing the curtains. He considered closing the window, but there was no time for that. He was already late.

Daniel ran across the courtyard. The moonlight illuminated everything now that it had come out from behind the clouds, making everything seem a little eerie.

Daniel ran until he came to the borders of the campus. A small path was here, about ten feet from the official border. At the border, there was a fence, and at the fence, Daniel's friends were waiting for him.

There was tall and skinny Warren, with hair so blond it was almost white. There was plump Jared, with light brown skin and short, greasy black hair. And there was short Eli, the guy who came up with the idea of venturing into the woods at night, his reddish-orange hair messy as always. Everyone was in their pajamas, but they seemed more prepared than Daniel. And they all seemed like they had been getting awfully impatient.

"You're late," Warren said, with a hint of distaste in his voice.

"S-sorry," said Daniel. He had a habit of stuttering when nervous, which he hated because it made him sound like a geek. "I closed m-my eyes for a little, and when I woke up, it was already past!"

"I didn't close my eyes for one second," said Jared.

"Me neither," said Eli. "You really need to be more diligent, Danny."

"W-well, I was getting a l-little tired, and I didn't want to be exhausted for our big ex-exploration!" Daniel replied.

"Well, at least you're here," Eli said. "We were about to go without you."

"Let's go!" said Jared, all of a sudden seeming more excited than a second ago.

"Of course," said Eli. He started to climb the fence. He was a little guy, but geez, he got over the fence fast! He landed at the other side without a hitch and ushered the others over.

Jared tried to climb the fence but struggled. Warren gave him a boost and then started climbing the fence himself. Both of them landed and then looked at Daniel expectantly.

"Of course," Daniel mumbled. He started to climb the fence. He got to the top without too much trouble and jumped down. His ankles burned with pain when he hit the ground. How did his friends endure this?

The others started into the trees, and Daniel struggled to catch up with his burning ankles. But the sensation passed, and soon he was walking through the forest in the middle of the night with his friends.

************************************************************

Samuel opened his eyes. It was still nighttime. Not surprising, he usually woke up a couple times during the night anyway.

He put on his glasses and peered at his alarm clock. 11:15 PM. He liked it when he woke up at one of the quarters of an hour.

Samuel looked at Daniel's bed, hoping he had decided not to go into the woods. But it was empty. The sheets looked like he had gotten up in a hurry, too.

Samuel's first thought was, Daniel's in the woods! He's in danger! But then he calmed himself. Hopefully, he had just gotten up to go to the bathroom and had changed his mind after all.

Samuel got up and looked at the bathroom door. The adjoining bathroom was dark, and its door was open. Daniel was in the woods.

Samuel noticed the cold winds billowing into the room and looked at the window. It was open, the curtains blowing.

That's how he must have gotten out, Samuel thought. I can't just let Daniel be in danger! I have to help him!

Samuel put on his slippers and rushed over to the window. He considered jumping out. He wasn't allowed to go outside of his dorm during the night, and he definitely wasn't allowed to go out into the woods. But this was for his brother. He would break every single rule for his brother if he was in danger.

Samuel walked back to his bed and got some supplies. A flashlight, obviously. Some food and water in case he was stuck in the woods longer than he intended. A dagger, in case they got attacked by monsters. His wand, of course. It was a full moon tonight, and Samuel had heard there were werewolves in the woods, so he grabbed a silvered dagger he had. Just in case.

Samuel put the supplies into a small backpack. Now he was ready. Clearing away any second thoughts, Samuel jumped out the window. It wasn't as far down as Samuel thought, but his ankles erupted into pain when he hit the ground.

After the pain passed, Samuel closed the window, careful to keep the curtains in. Then he ran across the moonlit courtyard, feeling more like a rule-breaker than ever in his entire life.

A few minutes later, Samuel reached the border of the school. He had walked along the path that passed the fence a few times, and he had definitely looked into the woods beyond the fence before. But he never thought he would have to climb over the fence.

But the day had been filled with surprises. And Daniel could be in serious danger. Samuel took a deep breath and started climbing the fence. Once he got to the top, he looked down. The height was a little dizzying, and he had never liked high places, anyway.

But Samuel's twin brother was in danger. He had to do this.

"For Daniel," Samuel whispered as he jumped off the fence.

************************************************************

The woods at night were amazing. Exploring through the woods was much more fun than Daniel had ever imagined. Trees were everywhere, blocking out most of the moonlight, but slivers still escaped through the leaves. And Daniel hadn't come across any creatures except for owls, a few chipmunks, and the occasional fairy.

Well, not until Warren pointed through the trees at something. Everyone gathered around to look. It was a full-grown unicorn, with two baby unicorns sleeping with it. They were lying down in what looked like a crude nest.

"Unicorn," Jared whispered.

"I didn't know they slept in nests," Eli murmured.

"We just learned it a couple weeks ago in Magical Creatures class," Daniel whispered, not wanting to sound like a snob.

"I wasn't paying attention, nerd," Eli whispered, with a mean edge to his voice. The insult surprised Daniel, but he decided it wasn't the time for arguing.

After some time, they stopped staring at the sleeping unicorns and moved on. There were much more interesting creatures in this forest than unicorns. Daniel had even heard there were dragons deep in the forest.

Why did Samuel think this was going to be dangerous? Daniel thought. The only pain I've felt so far was jumping off the fence back at the border.

Just then, Daniel heard rustling in the bushes next to him. He stopped. What could it be? A rabbit? A chipmunk? Or something much cooler?

The others apparently had noticed the rustling as well, seeing they had also stopped walking. Everyone had their common sense and backed away a few steps from the rustling in case it was something truly dangerous.

And it was. What bounded out of the bushes wasn't a rabbit or squirrel but a large wolf. Its dark brown fur was so dark it was almost black. Its eyes were an eerie yellow, its fur matted and tangled, its claws and teeth razor-sharp.

Daniel paid attention in class enough to know that this wasn't just a normal wolf. It was a werewolf. If he and his friends backed up slowly and quietly, they could get away.

But if the werewolf saw them, they would probably be goners. If it didn't smell them first.

Holding his breath, Daniel started to back up. Getting the memo, his friends started to as well.

Just as Daniel thought they would escape the werewolf, somebody stepped on a twig. Daniel didn't know who it was, but he didn't need to. Because the werewolf turned its head around and saw them.

************************************************************

Samuel tore through the woods, stumbling on roots and rocks a few times, but he didn't care. Daniel was in danger.

"Daniel! Daniel! DANIEL!" Samuel called, shining his flashlight all around. He hoped he wouldn't have to use his wand or his dagger, especially his silvered dagger. He hoped he wouldn't have to use anything in his bag but his flashlight.

A few fairies fluttered by, but they hardly acknowledged Samuel, and Samuel didn't acknowledge them.

After what seemed like ten years of tearing through the woods, Samuel spotted Daniel and their friends. They weren't in a good situation. Far from it. They were being cornered by a werewolf.

************************************************************

Just when things couldn't get any worse, a millisecond before the werewolf charged at them, Samuel came in out of nowhere. Although Daniel's life was about to end, he couldn't help but think, Being saved by my nerd brother. This is so embarrassing.

As soon as Samuel entered the picture, the werewolf turned all of its attention to him. Samuel had a small backpack, which Daniel was surprised that he hadn't thought of that. Samuel took out something that surprised Daniel. A silver dagger.

************************************************************

Samuel never thought he would ever have to use his silver dagger during his first year at the Academy of Magic. But life is full of surprises. And when your twin brother and his friends were being cornered by a werewolf, you were going to have to surprise yourself.

The werewolf noticed Samuel as soon as he came. As the werewolf charged at him, Samuel hastily took out his silver dagger.

The sight of the silver dagger hardly fazed the werewolf. It lunged at Samuel. Samuel dodged and sliced his dagger. It didn't even come close to hitting the werewolf.

Then Samuel had an idea. He took out his wand. He was going to stun the werewolf with magic, then take it out with the dagger. It was crazy enough that it might work.

Holding his wand in one hand and the dagger in the other, Samuel murmured a spell to make a small but bright spark of light. Samuel threw it at the werewolf, but it dodged with surprising agility. Then it charged at Samuel full force.

Samuel managed to dodge the werewolf's sharp teeth, and then he sent out another spark of light. This one hit the werewolf and seemed to hurt it, but only a little. It charged back at Samuel, angrier than ever.

A spell that he had learned a few weeks ago came into Samuel's mind. He murmured some magic words, and a fireball burst out of Samuel's wand and hit the werewolf.

The werewolf seemed weakened when the fireball hit it, charring its fur. It was time for the final blow.

But the werewolf had a few tricks up its sleeves. And there were four other boys right there, not trying to kill it. They were fleeing for their lives. The werewolf started to chase after them.

Samuel chased the werewolf, sending various spells at it. Some hit it, some didn't. But the werewolf didn't stop chasing Daniel and his friends.

Then Samuel delivered a huge fireball to the werewolf, bigger than he had ever thought he could conjure. It hit the werewolf with full force.

Samuel ran over to the werewolf, pumping with adrenaline. And he delivered the final blow with his silver dagger.

************************************************************

Daniel looked at the werewolf, panting. Or rather, the werewolf's corpse. Samuel had killed it.

Daniel looked at Samuel, then the werewolf, then his friends, then the werewolf, then Samuel. Finally, he exclaimed, "S-Samuel, you saved my life!"

Samuel smiled modestly. "Yeah," he mumbled, putting his dagger and wand back into his backpack. "Let's get back to the dorm."

Daniel and Samuel started to walk back to the school, and Daniel's friends followed.

But all wasn't well.

The werewolf had bitten Daniel.

Full moons were never the same again.