About him, he imagined the forest holding its breath, in anticipation. Since they had moved away from the derelict buildings, the birds had stopped their sporadic chatter. There was no breeze. Beyond the scuffling of their feet, the almost inaudible patter of rain, and the whipping of leaves against waterproof fabric, the forest had fallen completely silent around them. It was a stillness that provoked a reaction, a response.
