The trees on the other side of the tunnel were dead, misshapen, and shriveled. They were almost painful to look at. The land around the trees also appeared to be dead, and there were animal carcasses strewn across the ground. The stench was so strong that Jacob’s stomach lurched, and a sharp feeling of nausea hit him.
All of this, however, was not what had caught Jacob off guard.
Everything—including the sky—was completely devoid of color.
Coming up beside Akeno, Jacob was disturbed to see that the Makalo, too, was colorless. Akeno’s mouth was set in a grim line. He’d obviously seen this before—most likely when they tried to get the Key themselves. The Minyas were oblivious to the situation and continued flitting around in the air.
“Why is everything black and white?” Jacob asked. Even his own body was in shades of gray.
“We don’t know,” Akeno said.
While he was taking in the surroundings, Jacob had the slight sensation of being on a boat, rocking side to side. He couldn’t put his finger on why he felt this way. He studied the forest around them, trying to figure it out. After a moment, he noticed something odd about the trees. “Akeno, are the trees moving?”
“I’m not sure.” Akeno walked up to the trunk of the tree nearest them.
“Oh, wow!” Jacob said. “Did you see that? The tree leaned away from you!”
“Yeah, I saw.” Akeno started wringing his hands. “But why’d it do it?”
“I don’t know.” Jacob joined Akeno and noticed that most of the trees shifted as they got closer. “It’s as though they’re trying to get away, like they’re repulsed by us or something.”
“I don’t like this.” Akeno reached out with his left ring finger to touch the tree. As soon as he made contact with the bark, a branch whipped through the air and smacked his hand, causing both of them to jump.
“Ouch!” Akeno looked down at the skin on his hand, where a large welt was already forming. “Why did it do that?” He glared at the branch that hit him. “Stupid tree!”
“Maybe it doesn’t want you to touch it. Or maybe it’s possessed or something.” Jacob backed away quickly, careful not to get too close to the trees on the other side of the path.
Akeno shook his head, motioning in jerky movements with his hands. “I’ve never heard of this happening before.”
“Should we send one of the Minyas to ask Kenji about it?”
“I don’t know, I don’t know!” Akeno said frantically. “What could he possibly do to help?”
“He might have an idea about what’s going on,” Jacob said, looking around at the trees.
“I doubt he would.” Akeno's voice took on a shrill note. “Why didn’t he come with us? Why didn’t Brojan come with us? This is such a waste of time!”
Jacob looked at the Makalo. What was wrong with him? “Akeno? Are you . . . feeling okay?”
Akeno turned on Jacob. “Of course I’m not! What makes you think I would be? I just got attacked by a tree!” An anguished expression crossed his face. “If it won’t let me touch it, how will I know what’s going on around us? These things don’t just happen for no reason! I’ve always been able to use my Rezend!”
Jacob was astonished to see that Akeno was almost in tears.
“Can I see your hand? The one the tree just whipped?” Jacob reached out, but Akeno jumped away from him.
“Don’t touch me! What are you doing? Keep away!”
Jacob put his hands in the air. “Okay! Sorry. I won’t do it again.”
Akeno pulled off his top hat and crumpled to the ground, sobbing.
“I’m sorry!” Jacob said, exasperated. “I really didn’t mean to upset you.”
“I don’t need your pity!” Akeno said, flinging his hat at Jacob.
Jacob caught the hat and turned away, muttering to himself. Someone had to act logically here.
Brojan and Kenji would know what to do—they must have some advice. He started running to the tunnel to go back to Taga, but thought better of it and turned around.
“September, go now—” He paused when he saw that September was pretending not to hear him. “Come on—it’s for Akeno, not me.”
September turned to him. “Fine.”
“Is it possible for the two of you to throw yourselves, or whatever you do, at the same time?”
“Yes, it is,” September said.
“Then you go to Kenji, and you, Early, go to Brojan. We need to figure out what’s going on.”
“On it!” Early said, and with a bright flash of light, they were gone. Jacob faced Akeno, who was no longer sobbing, but glaring up at him.
“Okay . . . uh . . . well, hopefully we’ll figure things out soon,” Jacob said, giving the hat back to Akeno.
Akeno jammed the hat on his head. “There’s absolutely nothing going on that wasn’t supposed to happen, Jacob.” The amount of venom in his voice was shocking. “Are you so stupid you can’t see that?”
Jacob tried not to look at him, but couldn’t help it. “Well, uh, I’m sure this wasn’t planned by anyone . . . except maybe the Lorkon.”
Akeno’s fist hit the ground. “You’re wrong. My father and Brojan knew this would happen. They sent us here to fail.”
Jacob shook his head slowly. He couldn’t figure out why Akeno was acting this way. “I really don’t think they did.”
Thankfully, September and Early returned, putting a stop to the conversation. Early flew to Akeno and stuck her tongue out at him. Akeno snarled, his face contorted, and he jumped up, lunging at her. His hands swiped the air, but she was already several feet away from him, grinning. He ran after her, yelling at her to come back.
Jacob turned to September, who, like Early, thought this was hilarious. “What did they say?”
September stopped laughing and turned to Jacob. “Kenji and Brojan were at Akeno’s house. They said you should always keep one messenger with you and to send only one of us at a time from now on, just in case something happens and you need the other Minya’s help.” He looked at Akeno, who was still trying to get Early. “You need to get Akeno out of the forest right now—the trees are poisonous to him.”
Jacob raised an eyebrow. “Poisonous trees? What else are we going to come across here? Animal-eating flowers?” The Minya ignored him. “At least the tree didn’t hit me, too. One of us had to stay sane.”
September shook his head, watching Early and Akeno. “Brojan said Akeno isn’t acting that way because he got hit. The trees—their influence—are poisonous to him, like they were to the adult Makalos. He must be getting older.”
Jacob rolled his eyes. Of course the Makalo was getting older. “Was there anything else?” he asked.
No response. Jacob waved his hand in front of September. “Hello? Was there anything else?”
“Oh, yes, there was.”
“Well?”
September finally turned back to Jacob. “Brojan said, ‘Absolutely do not go into the forest.’ And Kenji said, ‘Don’t tell Akeno you’re moving him. Just grab him and go.’”
“Okay. And that’s all?”
“Yes, that’s all.”
Jacob motioned toward Akeno. “Have Early bring him back.”
Akeno’s ranting became louder as he and the Minyas drew closer. Jacob waved his arms. “Hey, Akeno!”
“You stay out of this, you good-for-nothing human!” Akeno screamed, spittle flying from his mouth. “Who cares who you are? Who cares where you come from? I could’ve done this just as well as you, only I could’ve done it alone!”
Jacob frowned, trying to decide the best way to move the Makalo. Bribery? He dismissed that idea as soon as it came to him. Akeno wasn’t acting logically right now, and wouldn’t respond well to a verbal approach. That meant there was only one thing Jacob could do. Grab Akeno and run—just as Kenji had suggested. “I’m really sorry for doing this,” Jacob said, and then he rushed forward, picked up Akeno, and swung him over his shoulder.
“Put
me down! Put me down right now!”
With a sudden squirm, Akeno turned and clawed at Jacob’s face. Surprised, Jacob dropped him, and Akeno took off, running full speed into the forest.
“Oh, no!”
Jacob dropped his bag and sped after Akeno. He wasn’t surprised when the trees started thrashing around him.
Dodging branches, dead animals, and stumps, he stumbled through the forest, doing his best to ignore the angry, moving trees. He kept his eyes on Akeno, but the Makalo was much faster than Jacob had given him credit for, and it was difficult to keep up.
The forest was much thicker now, with almost no visibility. Panic hit Jacob when he noticed that the distance between himself and Akeno was growing. He couldn’t tell for sure, but it seemed that while the trees were still trying to stop him, they were now letting Akeno through. The air tasted stale and dirty, and each breath he took was agonizing. Jacob tried to limit the amount of air that entered his lungs, but the stench of death was unavoidable.
The forest grew thicker, making it nearly impossible to see, and what little light there was danced around as the branches thrashed. After only a few minutes, Jacob could no longer see Akeno, and very soon couldn’t hear him, either. The trees thinned and he stopped running, not sure where to go since Akeno hadn’t exactly been running in a straight line.
Something cold and smooth brushed against Jacob’s cheek. He frantically wiped it off his face, spinning to see what had touched him. Nothing was there but the moving branches.
He started forward again, cautiously peering ahead. He gasped as another cold, smooth thing ran through his hair. He bent over and shook his head as hard as he could, trying to rid himself of the animal—or whatever it was.
Seconds later, an extra weight slid across his shoulders and over them, circling his neck. Reaching up to grab it, he recognized the feel of the creature. It was a snake about two feet long, and in the dim light, he could see that it was pale in color. He yanked, flinging it off. As it flew through the air, Jacob stumbled from shock as he watched it flatten and float swiftly to a nearby tree.
The trees stopped moving. With the stillness, the light no longer danced, and Jacob could see better. Nearly every surface was covered with snakes—the ground seemed to have come alive. Several of them floated through the air.
Worried that the trees had stopped moving because something even larger and scarier than flying serpents had entered the forest, Jacob peered through the darkness, gingerly treading forward. He tried not to step on any of the snakes and grimaced when he did, but they weren’t reacting to him now that the trees were still.
As he walked cautiously, watching the trees in case they started to fling their branches around again, something large brushed against his leg. He looked down and made out the shape of a snake, two feet in diameter, as it slithered slowly past him, then stopped.
Jacob’s body stiffened with fear as his mind raced. He flipped through all his Scouting memories—what kind of snake was this? Was it poisonous? He couldn’t remember ever having seen one as big as it, with its coloring, before, even on TV. He gasped when the snake coiled around his feet. He tried to step away, but couldn’t. Not only was the fear overwhelming, but his feet were being held too tightly.
The snake hissed, and suddenly it was eye-to-eye with Jacob, its intelligent green eyes piercing into him. Pressure around his knees told him the snake was increasing its grip there. He tried to move again, but couldn’t—the massive serpent had coiled around his chest and tightened its hold.
The snake’s tongue flicked out, barely touching Jacob’s skin and hair, testing the air around him. Then its body tightened so much that it squeezed the breath out of him. Lifting him completely off the ground, the snake leaned in about a foot from Jacob’s face and gave a loud, menacing hiss, revealing six-inch fangs that glistened in the dim light. It whipped its head away and started dragging him through the forest. Jacob gasped desperately for air and was finally able to pull in a short breath.
After a few moments, they were joined by a second snake just as big as the first. This snake slithered alongside them for a moment, then headed off to the right.
The forest ended as the snake reached the edge of a clearing. Toward the center was a hill with a very large manor sitting atop its crest. There was no sign of Akeno.
The manor must have been impressive in its day. The large columns looked to be made of granite, and the windows, most of which had either been boarded over or smashed open, were massive and elegant. The wide, concrete porch that circled the house was now cracked and disheveled, with vines growing unchecked through the cracks and up many of the columns. The front right corner of the foundation had begun to sink, and rotted wood lay strewn about.
In front of the house, to the right, was a large pit. Jacob thought he could hear Akeno’s voice coming from it, and he struggled to break free of the snake’s tight grip. But the snake ignored his attempts and continued slithering across the ground, up the stairs, and through the open front door of the house.
It was musty and dirty inside. Dim light shone through several of the smashed windows. The front entryway was spacious—at least two stories high, maybe three. The floor was marble, and there were grand marble pillars lining the edges of the room. Stained-glass windows, most of them boarded over, were placed between the pillars.
Just before they went up a large, curved stairway, Jacob caught a glimpse of a side room with sheet-covered furniture. There was a hallway at the top of the stairs, the first half overlooking the front entry and the second half lined with doors on both sides. All the doors were shut, and many of them had a slight greenish glow coming through the cracks. The snake stopped abruptly at the end of the hall. In place of the door was a silvery, translucent sheen that filled the entire doorway.
The snake paused before entering. The moment its head passed the frame, there was a loud clap, and the sheen disappeared. The snake wriggled forward a few feet, then released its hold on Jacob. He stumbled to his feet and whirled, ready to defend himself, but the snake had already slithered back into the hallway and was biting the top, bottom, and sides of the door frame. The translucent veil materialized again, sealing the doorway, and the snake slithered down the hall and stairs.
Jacob rushed to the nearest window, barely noticing the junk and oddly placed rolls of thick cloth on the floor, and watched as the snake disappeared into the forest. He waited a few moments longer, but the snake didn’t return.
The pit was beneath the window. It wasn’t very deep—maybe two or three feet—and Akeno was there, thrashing around with the remains of charred furniture and other debris. Jacob pounded on the window, trying to get Akeno’s attention, but the Makalo didn’t seem to notice.
A cold wind blew on the back of Jacob’s neck, making his hair rise. He turned and nearly yelled—about a foot or so away was a partially decomposed body sitting in a chair, on the verge of tumbling over.
Afraid it would fall at any moment, Jacob kept his hands up as he stepped to the side, barely missing another body that lay across the floor with arms stretched toward the door. He jumped away from it, realizing that what he’d assumed to be rolls of cloth were really bodies sprawled on the ground, reaching for the exit.
He made his way to a clear spot and looked around.
The room was very large. There was a massive bed against one wall, a fireplace on another, and several chairs placed in random positions around bookcases, tables, and the fireplace. Nearly every chair held human remains, ranging from full skeletons to decomposing corpses that had been dead for only a few weeks at most. In one corner of the room was a table. On top were two stone jugs and bits of both fresh and moldy food.
The smell of death and decay became so overpowering, Jacob felt as though his lungs would burst. Desperate for fresh air, he steeled himself, then rushed past the dead bodies back to the window.
He grunted, pushing on the lever, trying to open the window. But it wouldn’t budge. r />
Jacob’s gaze landed on the jugs, and he grabbed one—it was heavy with water. He smashed it against the window as hard as he could. The result was water splashing all over him and the nearest body, the jug shattering, and the window remaining undamaged. He grimaced.
Then he looked down and noticed several other broken objects on the floor below the windows—byproducts of others’ attempts to break the glass.
Jacob groaned. “Oh, man, I’ve really got to get out of here.”
The sound of his own voice startled him, and he looked over his shoulder at the bodies. He felt stupid when he realized he was checking to see if they’d moved. He forced himself to take a deep breath to calm himself, and studied them. What if, like them, his only way out was through the doorway? But why hadn’t the others gone through? They weren’t tied up or anything. They weren’t even near the door. None of them was closer than five or six feet.
Resolving to get out, Jacob crossed the room toward the shimmering doorway. He stopped about three feet away, peering at it. There was a slight movement, a few swirls in the silver. Light pink and blue mists emanated from it, and Jacob was distracted by the color for a moment—it was the first he’d seen since he got here. Reaching toward the portal, something passed over his skin as his hand went through the mist. It was cold—very cold—and a sharp pinpricking sensation started at his fingertips, moving up his wrist to where the mist stopped. Alarmed, Jacob pulled back his arm and examined his hand. No blood, no mark, nothing.
He looked up, took a step closer, and put his hand out again, this time determined to touch the shimmering barrier. The same cold, prickly feeling started at his fingertips and reached his elbow. He held his breath and plunged his arm forward. Nothing happened. But then he saw the sheen separate where he touched it.
Jacob stepped forward, pushing himself into the veil. The cold mist encompassed him, and the pinpricks covered him from head to foot. An enormous pressure enveloped his entire body, making movement difficult, and the air started to swirl around him. As the wind gained speed, his shirt got pulled up and his hair ruffled.
An intense pain suddenly hit him, starting in his chest and moving to his extremities. He felt electrocuted—he couldn’t move, and his body shook. He couldn’t even breathe. His fingers felt pulled from their joints, and there was no sensation in his feet. He tried to back out of the doorway, but it was as if some invisible force was holding him in one spot.
After what seemed like an eternity, but was probably only a few seconds, the feeling left him and he doubled over, gasping for breath. The pain in his muscles was replaced with numbness and he lost his balance, falling back into the room.
Jacob lay awkwardly on his side, no feeling in his body whatsoever. Had he been hit by lighting? Zapped with a Taser? Even his brain seemed paralyzed.
Sensation slowly returned to his limbs and he rolled onto his back, staring up at the ceiling. What on earth had happened? Or, more precisely, what on Eklaron had happened? Had he been electrocuted? And why hadn’t it killed him? Did the people in the room try the same thing with similar results? He flipped onto his stomach and gradually got to his knees, ignoring the dead body only a foot or so in front of him.
He stood and turned around to face the barrier. It was the only way out of the room—he was sure of it. Did he dare try to walk through again? He grimaced, imagining going through the pain once more. Or three or four times. Who, after experiencing something like that, would volunteer for a repeat? He looked around the room at the dead bodies. There was no way he was going to stay here and die like they did. He had to get that Key. He had to get Akeno out of the forest. He had to see Ebony and Kenji and Matt and his family again. And he definitely had to try out for the basketball team before he died. A fierce determination hit him. He would get the Key. Nothing was going to stop him.
With new resolve, Jacob held up his hand and took a step, frowning as the tingly sensation moved from his fingers and up his arm. This time, however, he steeled himself against the pressure of the swirling air and pushed as hard as he could. The same intense pain began, stopping his breathing once again, but he was already moving forward and continued pushing.
A loud pop made him jump, and the pressure, the mist, the pain, and the wind were suddenly gone. There was only the simple door frame.
Relief coursed through his body and he paused, breathing deeply. Why did it work this time and not the first? Deciding to think on it later, he took one last look into the room, then sprinted down the hallway and the stairs. He crossed the front entryway and exited the house, expecting something to jump out at him any moment, and feeling relieved when nothing did.
Once outside, Jacob looked around for any sign of the snakes, but something odd caught his attention. The trees appeared to be pulsing toward the same point in the forest some distance away. And that spot appeared to be moving.
A sick feeling came over him as he realized that whatever was moving through the forest was coming his way, and that the trees wanted to be close to it—trees that had been trying to kill him earlier. His imagination spun wildly out of control, and he tried to push thoughts of thousands of snakes or huge spiders like the one in Lord of the Rings coming at him.
Jacob ran to the edge of the pit and saw Akeno randomly digging around in the pile of junk. The furniture had been burned a while ago—how long, he couldn’t tell.
He quickly headed down the three-foot slope into the pit toward Akeno. Not even waiting to see what mood he was in, Jacob took Akeno’s hands, pinned them tightly together, and swung the small Makalo over his shoulder.
Then he practically flew out of the pit. Ignoring Akeno’s yelling, Jacob sprinted through the forest, praying he wouldn’t run into either of the snakes. It was difficult to keep Akeno on his shoulder—he was kicking and flailing his arms with all his might and almost got away several times.
The trees weren’t thrashing at them. Jacob figured they were distracted by whatever lay just ahead of them, and felt uncomfortable with the idea that he was running almost straight toward their focus point. But there wasn’t anything else he could do. He only knew one way to get back to the path, and that was to go the way he had come.
Jacob kept Akeno’s wrists pinned together with one hand. He used the other to push branches out of the way. Jumping across a flattened tree, he almost lost his grip on Akeno.
Veering right, Jacob tried to widen the space between the oncoming danger and themselves. He started to feel hopeful that they could get away after all.
As he tore through the forest, a snake flew out of the air in front of him, and he almost lost Akeno again. A memory of flying snakes he’d once seen on a science show flashed across his mind, and he had an “ahah!” moment. The snakes around him were a lot like the ones he’d seen on TV. They must’ve been related somehow!
Something caught Jacob’s attention and he stole a sidelong glance. Completely unprepared for what he saw, Jacob lost his balance and tumbled headlong into the brush. The dark, piercing eyes of a beautiful woman had locked with his. She was at least a hundred feet away, but the trees were leaning over, almost touching the ground as they bowed to her, and he could see her clearly.
She was clad in flowing white robes that billowed in the breeze. Her long, dark hair mingled with the robes, drifting around her. She smiled mockingly at him, and it appeared as if she found his situation humorous. Her walk was graceful, and though she moved toward the house, when their eyes met, she stopped to face him.
“Danilo,” she said in a whisper. Her voice was haunting, carrying across the distance with ease.
Akeno whimpered, and Jacob, distracted by the woman’s beauty, realized he was probably squishing his little prisoner. Tearing his eyes away from her gaze, Jacob saw fear written all over the poor Makalo’s face. He looked at the woman again and saw that she was still watching him, though now she reached toward him, beckoning him to come.
Feeling an odd yearning to do so, Jacob got to his feet, h
efting Akeno and brushing himself off with the hand that wasn’t holding the Makalo. What was a beautiful woman like that doing alone in the forest? There were dangerous things here, and . . . and she obviously needed him. He could take care of her. He’d even clean and fix up the manor. Akeno didn’t need his help. The Makalos were probably just being pessimistic about the Lorkon and their old war. He took a step in her direction, but Akeno struggled on his shoulder, seemingly aware of what Jacob was doing.
Jacob scowled. Akeno was always getting in the way, trying to make Jacob do things he didn’t want to do. Jacob glanced at the lady, and she again beckoned.
He smiled at her. The picture she created was one of serenity and elegance. He wanted to look into her eyes and say something intelligent to make her like him. He took a determined step forward, but jumped when Akeno bit him and tried to escape.
“Stupid Makalo!” Jacob said, scrambling to cover Akeno’s mouth and hold him in place.
The pain made him hesitate, however, and he frowned, struggling with himself internally. Something made him long to be near the woman. But then again . . . a gross feeling started in the pit of his stomach and spread to his heart. He blinked, his mind clearing, somewhat confused by the feeling. Something so beautiful and perfect couldn’t be bad, could it? But there was that feeling again. Take a step back, it warned him. He grunted, frustrated with the persistence of the ridiculous thought that was ruining his peaceful moment.
Finally recognizing that he couldn’t ignore the warning, he closed his eyes, willing his intuition to tell him why he shouldn’t go to her.
Logic entered his mind. The trees wanted to be near her, and they had been trying to kill him eariler. They’d been incredibly vicious and angry toward the intruders. He scowled and opened his eyes. She was still there, patiently waiting. He glanced down at his arms, the skin still scratched and scraped from being attacked by limbs.
Jacob sighed and looked at the woman, feeling wistful. Then he saw the hundreds of snakes swirling around her ankles. That wasn’t good. Snakes had taken him to a room full of dead people.
No, he couldn’t go to her.
With that thought, a feeling of warmth spread through his chest, as if to confirm his reasoning, and the disturbing feeling started to leave.
He took a step back, stumbled, and almost fell. A look of anger crossed the woman’s face. Again she beckoned, imploring him to come.
Shaking his head, unable to speak, he took another step back.
This time, an unmistakable expression of anger marred her exotic features. With a quick movement, she spread her arms, raised her face to the sky, and emitted a shrill, piercing scream.
Out of her mouth poured a thick, black cloud of air, made up of thousands of flying bugs and beetles which congregated around her. Dropping her head, she directed her scream toward Jacob, and the cloud came shooting across the distance between them.
No longer hesitant, Jacob took off in the opposite direction, running as fast as his legs would go.
“Faster!” Akeno yelled, still slung over Jacob’s shoulder. After what felt like an eternity of fighting branches, a bright patch of light came upon them, and Jacob fell to his knees onto the trail.
Jumping to his feet, he readjusted his hold on Akeno and grabbed both their bags from where they had dropped them earlier. He saw the Minyas and pointed at them. “You, come now!”
They immediately flitted into the air, following him as ran down the trail.
The trees were now bending toward something almost directly behind them. Jacob didn’t want to know if the lady was there.
After running for only a few hundred feet, he came to a crossroads. All three paths led into the forest, but one led to the south and looked less worn. Without stopping, Jacob made a split-second decision and chose that one.
Akeno yelled in fright at something behind them, and Jacob, who thought he was already running as fast as he could, put on even more speed, nearly losing his balance in the process.
The Minyas flitted alongside him. Both looked terrified and urged him to go faster. The smell of dead animals was overwhelming, and Jacob’s head spun from the stench.
Jacob looked up from the trail, and before long, he could see the end of the forest fast approaching. Relief coursed through him. Only that much farther to go. He could make it—he had to make it.
With one final push, he sailed through the last bit of forest at what felt like breakneck speed. A few strides from the forest edge, the buzzing sound dissipated, and he chanced a look backward. The cloud of black had stopped exactly where the forest ended. There was no sign of the woman.
Jacob ran a good minute or so before he couldn’t go any more. He released his hold on Akeno, who tumbled out of sight, and Jacob collapsed on his back in the tall grass alongside the trail.
After catching his breath, Jacob realized the scent of decay was fading. And he could see color again! He breathed deeply the warm fragrance of sun-baked grass and wildflowers. Rolling to his side, he reached over and grabbed a handful of the nearest flowers, pulling them out at the roots. He shoved them up against his nose, hoping the sweet aroma would remove the smell of rot that seemed to be forever imprinted on his brain.
A few minutes later, when his breathing had returned to normal, when his heart had slowed, and when he could no longer taste or smell death, he set the flowers aside and sprawled out on his back again, stretching out his sore muscles. Locking his hands behind his head, he gazed at the deep blue sky, unable to remember a time when he was more grateful to see it.