The walk back to the school felt surreal. Lukas sat at his desk, trying to focus on his homework, but his mind kept drifting back to the dogs in the forest. The memory of their synchronized barking and the strange way they circled the tree gnawed at him. He couldn’t shake the image from his mind, not after weeks of nothing but dull routine.
The next morning, the moment the bell rang for recess, Lukas slipped away from the bustling crowd and made his way to the forest. His heart beat faster with each step as he neared the clearing. He had to know if the dogs would be back. He couldn’t stop thinking about it, and the more he thought, the more he felt something wasn’t right.