They stood in front of the wall, staring at the opening. The dark hole in the wall seemed to beckon to them, drawing their attention and piquing their curiosity as to what could be inside.
“Go on. I dare you to reach inside.”
Jake looked at Thomas, shifting his gaze from the void for a moment then shook his head.
“No way, man. There could be spiders or snakes in there.”
“Oh so you’re chicken then?”
“I don’t see you reaching in there. So who exactly is chicken?”
They fell silent for a couple of minutes, staring fixedly at the hole.
Finally, with a sigh, Thomas stepped forward. He tentatively moved his had closer and paused just shy of putting it inside.
“It’s cold.”, he said, glancing back at Jake.
“Well, it is dark. The sun hasn’t been shining on it, so it should be cold, shouldn’t it?”
“I guess. But it just feels …”
“Yep, chicken.”, said Jake, giving Thomas a nudge in his back.
Thomas reached into the opening, the cold air raising goosebumps up his arm.
“So what’s in there?”, asked Jake.
“Nothing. Just cold air. It’s kinda weird. It’s like the hole opens up. I can’t feel any sides to it. Just …”
Thomas screamed and tried to step back, but was unable to remove his arm from the darkness.
“Something’s grabbed me!”, he yelled, pushing against the wall with his free hand.
Jake grabbed Thomas and pulled, but Thomas’ arm did not move. As if in response to their struggle, they were both pulled forward, the hole in the wall seeming to grow larger as they fell into it. The cold darkness enveloped them, muffling their cries. Countless hands grabbed at them, propelling them deeper with their frigid touch.
After a moment, they found themselves upon a hillside, overlooking a river. Snow covered the ground and a wintry wind bit at their faces, all signs of the spring afternoon and the ruined wall in the Franklin Wood gone.