Gone

Chapter 13

There was no slow collapse.
No fading light. One instant Rook was there.
The next, the forest stood empty between two ordinary trees. The purple light vanished.
The other sky vanished. Rook vanished.
Nifty's hand remained stretched into empty air. Neither of them spoke.
Corey stared at the place where the opening had been. His mouth opened once, but no words came.
He had met Nifty. He had seen impossible things.
He had held a leaf and a stone that Nifty swore belonged to another world. None of that had prepared him for this.
He had just looked through empty air and seen another sky. Another forest.
Another living being. Corey took one slow step forward and waved a hand through the place where the crack had hung.
Nothing. Cold night air.
"It's gone," he finally said.
Nifty did not answer.
"Nifty?" Corey shouted
His knees gave way. He dropped to the ground.
Exhausted from the event.
Nifty stared at the dirt. For months he had been afraid that home had existed only in his memories.
Then, for less than a minute, it had been right there. Rook had been right there.
Close enough to see. Close enough to hear.
Close enough to run toward him. And now there was nothing.
A single tear slipped from Nifty's eye. It rolled down his cheek, fell from his chin, and struck the earth between his hands.
Nifty stared at the tiny dark spot it left in the dirt. He didn't know what he was feeling.
Sadness. Relief.
Anger. Hope.
Maybe all of it. Maybe none of those words were enough.
His hand curled into a fist. He punched the ground.
"Why!" The shouted and then let out a roar it tore through the trees. Birds scattered somewhere in the
darkness. Nifty struck the ground again.
"I was right here!" He yelled
Corey crouched beside him. "Nifty..."
"Don't." Nifty snapped
Corey stopped and said "I just-"
"I said don't." Nifty said as he stood so quickly Corey nearly lost his balance.
Nifty paced several steps away, then turned back toward the empty space.

"He saw me."
"He knew me, He was coming here."
Corey hesitated. "It looked like it."
"Then where is he?" Nifty sobbed
Corey had no answer.
"Where did it go?" Nifty demanded. "Why did it close?" "Can we open it again?"
"Nifty, I don't know." Corey replied, that was the wrong answer.
"You don't know anything!" Nifty shouted
Corey flinched, but he didn't argue.
Nifty immediately hated himself for saying it.
That only made him angrier. At the crack.
At the woods. At the world that had taken him.
At whatever had just shown him Rook only to rip him away again. At himself for standing there helpless while it happened.
Corey reached toward him. "Come inside.
We can figure this out."
Nifty pulled away. "No." "I can't think in there."
"Then I'll come with you." Corey said
"No!" The word came out harder than Nifty intended.
Corey lowered his hand. Nifty's breathing was fast now.
"I need air." Corey looked around at the forest. "We're outside ”
Nifty just glared at him.
Under almost any other circumstances, Corey might have laughed but this time He didn't.
"You know what I mean," Nifty said. Nifty turned and disappeared into the woods.
"Nifty come back” corry yelled