Chapter1: Why is this happening to me?

  Eigen, Eigen, open your eyes. They brought us lunch. Let’s eat, or I won’t leave you anything,” Kraft said, nudging his brother.

  Eigen groaned, his eyes fluttering open. “Oh, am I not allowed to take a nap? It’s pretty tiring watching over the flock of sheep since early morning.”

  Kraft rolled his eyes. “Quit whining. All you did was watch me from under that oak tree, and then you fell asleep. Enough talking; here’s half the food.” He gestured to the food container.

  Eigen sat up, rubbing his eyes. “I’m starving. This tastes good…or maybe it’s just because I’m starving. If Mom were here, I’d say, ‘Thanks, Mom, for the food.’ Say, Big Brother, when are we going back? How many hours until we go home? I want to go back and play with Munter.”

  Kraft sighed. “We’re halfway done already, so bear with me. Weren’t you excited to come with me yesterday? And that—that Munter of yours skipped school yesterday to watch frogs in the lake. Weirdo. Speaking of weird things, you were talking nonsense in your sleep. You were like a crazy person, take my word for it.”

  Suddenly, Kraft's expression changed. "What's wrong? What is happening? The flock! Oh my God! Eigen, stay here! Don't move! The sheep are running in every direction. Don't move, okay? I’ll get back to you as soon as I bring them together. Understood?"

  Eigen, his eyes wide with fear, nodded. "Ah, okay. I’ll stay here." He watched his brother sprint away. He is going so fast. I didn’t know Big Brother did this every day since he dropped out of school. Eigen felt a pang of guilt.

  As Kraft disappeared into the chaos of panicked sheep, Eigen's boredom returned. There might be some acorns under those trees over there. I’ll go check. I hope they aren’t bitter and that their color is black.

  I might forget where I went, he thought, so I'll mark my way to the trees with these chunks of leftover bread.

  "Wow, there are really a lot of acorns here," he muttered to himself. "Now that I think of it, yesterday was stormy, so the wind made them fall. And Munter mainly didn’t go to school because there were a bunch of frogs getting out of the small lake, but he lied to his family and pretended to have a cold. Then he sneaked out of the house to watch them. He is cool. Not like me."

  He picked up an acorn, examining it. "I’ll taste one of them. Please don’t be bitter. Please do not be bitter." His eyes widened and sparkled. They taste like a mix of butter and yogurt!

  "I will not leave a single acorn on the ground," he muttered happily, picking up every one he could find. A feeling of achievement washed over him. Big Brother will be happy. I’ll head back to the tree that I was originally under. Luckily, I marked my way back. I wonder if Big Brother already gathered the sheep and is waiting for me. Better hurry back.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  But as Eigen turned to leave, a wave of dizziness washed over him. "What is wrong with me? Why am I fainting? Am I dying? It is getting darker and darker," Eigen said, disbelief turning to terror. He tried to scream for his brother. "AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"

  But the scream never came.

  Kraft, still struggling with the panicked flock, was panting heavily. Hah, hah… What the hell is wrong with these sheep? Are they afraid of some wolf? But there are no wolves here. What could it be? I need to gather them together, but where to start? They are literally everywhere! I need help, but there is no one here.

  His thoughts turned to his brother. And Eigen! I need to hurry. I shouldn’t leave him waiting alone for so long, and I have been running nonstop with no result, as if they would do anything except get near that pit over there. I don’t have time to check.

  "What a dire situation! Why is this happening to me?" Kraft said aloud, his voice tight with panic. What will I say to Father? He was close to tears.

  Get a hold of yourself, Kraft told himself. Whenever they scatter, I bring them back together.

  Meanwhile, under the oak tree, Eigen was losing consciousness. Why is it so dark in here? I can’t see anything. And why do my hands look black? Why is my whole body black? And why do I feel like I have seen this before? What is this place? What happened to my body? Wait…am I dreaming? But I’m aware, so that can’t be it. Am I really dead? Was I stung by a scorpion, or was the acorn poisonous, or was it a snake? It makes no sense. I didn’t feel any pain, and the acorn was so tasty.

  A strange, radio-like sound filled the darkness, and Eigen's skin prickled with goosebumps.

  "#: HI,…kghjjt…."

  Eigen's eyes widened with a flicker of hope. "Hii, anyone here? Kraft, is that you? Please take me out of here! I don’t know what happened. I was collecting acorns, and…and I fell. Please take me out of here."

  "#1: Who knew he was such a crybaby?"

  "#2: Is that him? Haha, I wouldn’t have believed it! HAHAHAHAHA"

  Eigen, recognizing that it wasn't Kraft, began to cry again. "Please help me out of here!"

  "#3: Hey, Eigen, right? Calm down. I know it must be scary. I’ll explain everything in the right time. First, I want you to wipe those tears off. We don’t have much time together, so listen carefully." The voice was mature and calming, a stark contrast to the mocking tones of the others.

  "Who are you, sir?" Eigen asked, his voice trembling.

  "#3: My name doesn’t matter now. Listen, you’ll wake up in fifty-three seconds. When you do, I want you to run as fast as possible toward… ummm… the direction of the sun."

  Eigen was confused. "Why should I run? Is there something wrong?"

  The third voice spoke again, firm and urgent. "#3: Eigen, this is serious. You should run as fast as possible, and don’t look back. We can’t…and I’m really sorry, Eigen."

  [10 sec]

  "But my brother," Eigen protested, "he told me to wait for him here, so I can’t."

  [5 sec]

  "#3: There is no time… ……….khgggggggggt……."

  Then, silence.

  Eigen woke up with a gasp. The first thing he did was check for his brother.

  "Where is he? I can’t see him anywhere," Eigen said, his voice filled with mixed emotions. He called out loudly, "Kraaaaaaaft! Kraaaaaaaft! Kraaaaaaaft! Kraaaaaaaft!"

  But he heard nothing in return. Fear pulsed through him, and he didn't know what to do. He started running toward their house, hoping his brother had already returned. As he ran, he glanced at the position of the sun, remembering the voice's instructions: "Run towards the sun."