Lightning

The trees are swinging from side to side, thunder is cracking, and lightning illuminates the sky. The two kids quickly duck into an old shed and gasp for breath.

"Whew. That was close." One says and looks at his friend.

"Yeah! Did you see how close the lightning hit the ground?" The other boy answers.

The two boys look around.

"Why do you think there is a shed out here in the middle of nowhere?" The first one asks.

"Maybe this area was a farm? I don't know."

"Maybe it is infested with poisonous snakes and should not be entered by two boys?"

The two boys almost jump into each others arms.

"What was that, Hans?" The second boy speaks up.

"I...I don't know, Carl."

"Can't you close the door behind you, dear Carl?" The voice again fills the shed.

Carl turns to do it, but Hans stops him.

"Are you crazy? We should keep it open so that we can escape when necessary."

An evil laughter erupts from a dark corner and the door slams shut. The boys scream in terror and run over to the door. The pulling, kicking and yelling for help continues for what seems like hours. Hans suddenly stops and looks behind him.

"Carl? Who or what do you think is also in here?" Hans looks around with wide eyes.

"I don't..."

His words are cut off by a creaking sound and a shuffling. Carl jumps onto Hans' back.

"KILL IT! KILL IT!" He screams.

"KILL WHAT? I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING!" Hans screams back.

The two wait for a while and then Hans decides to throw Carl off of him. Carl hits the ground with a loud thump, but he jumps up quickly.

"SOMETHING TOUCHED ME!"

"You have to be kidding me. There is nothing there!" Hans snorts.

"I felt it. Oh, I felt it. It was so cold."

Hans raises his eyebrow and looks at the spot where Carl was laying just seconds before. It was illuminated by a quick flash of lightning, but there was nothing.

"You know what? You are being frightened by your own immagination." Hans smiles sarcastically.

"Now, now. Don't be rude to your friend."

Carl tries to jump onto Hans' back again, but the latter effectively keeps him off this time.

"Will you calm down? It is just the wind that makes it sound like someone else is here." Hans shakes his head at Carl.

"Are...you...sure?" Carl gulps.

"Yeah, it..."

Hans freezes and his eyes grows wide. The previous lightning flash had just revealed a dark cloaked figure that is standing in a corner and watching them. Another flash of lightning confirms what he just saw. It is his turn to yell, but instead of jumpig on his friend's back, he hammers at the door.

"Hans? It is coming closer."

"DON'T TELL ME! JUST WATCH IT!"

Carl watches as it seems to glide closer and closer. A flash of lightning, and the figure is...gone?

"Hans, I...it is gone."

Hans turns around and looks for the cloaked figure.

"Okay. Let's see if we can find anything to pry open the door." Hans smiles triumphantly at his idea.

The two boys start to make their way deeper into the shed. They walk and walk, but the shed seems to become larger and larger with each step that they take.

"Carl! We are not getting anywhere!" Hans screams frantically. "Carl?"

Hans stops and looks around. Where did he go? Lightning flashes again and Hans observes two cloaked figures sitting at a table and playing cards.

"What is going on here?" He whispers to himself.

He begins to creep closer, but one of the figure gets up and glides over to him. It reaches out and grabs him. Hans' eyes grow wide. Suddenly, it begins to shake him while yelling: "Wake up! Wake up!"