They finally stopped running. Hunching over with palms resting on their aching knees, they panted laboriously.

Myles looked behind him. Sure, there was no one after them. And they were a tad closer to the entrance of the forest. 

They were downright exhausted, so they reclined at the foot of a tree, downing the water stored in their enchanted rings, letting out deep, long sighs of relief.

"I'm not entering the woods again. For the time being, Dad," his daughter remarked.

He nodded in ...