• The man was lost. That much was certain. He spun around and around, looking for something even faintly recognizable. Nothing. It was getting dark. He knew that darkness meant predators. These woods weren’t safe in the dark, he knew that. One wrong move and he would be at his own last meal. He nervously giggled at his own pun. A gust of wind. The trees above him swayed and rustled. He could see an orange sky through the movement of the trees. It was over. Hopeless. The dead leaves crunched beneath as darted through the maze of trees. They are mocking me, he thought. His eyes shot back and forth frantically, his sight was blurry from the motion. He didn’t care. All he wanted to see was a sliver of light through the dark green that engulfed him. A wolf howled somewhere. He started to sob, a choked sound that he knew wouldn’t help anything. Then, footsteps. Many of them. They sounded light and quick, as if the sound was coming from padded feet. Closer now. Another wolf howled, only this time it wasn’t in the distance, it was right behind the man. A block away, the man’s family quietly waits for him to come home.