Titus had never seen the appeal of becoming one with nature—the birds chirping, insects buzzing, Shade whining and Jenna complaining.

How did people do it? he wondered. At least Tess was taking this seriously, kind of.

She had packed them a backpack of food before they set off to Milk Water Pond.

The pond qualified more as a marsh, especially with the recent rain. Titus stepped over a fallen log and into the slog on the other side.

“Are we sure we're heading in the right direction?” Jenna called from behind them.

“Of course we are,” Tess answered, before leaning forward to Titus and whispering, “Right?”

He pointed up into the trees. The two girls' eyes followed his motion. All three came to a stop.

Ranks of dark...

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