No Way Back

When the light disappeared, Alex found himself on top of the stone platform out in the middle of the forest.

"No! NO!" he shouted. He had realized what had happened. The puma, in his attempt to keep Alex away from Pearl, had decided to send Alex out of the secret realm, with no way back. 

"NO!! Let me in," he shouted. He looked around, trying to look for a way to go back into the secret realm. But no matter where he looked, all he could see was just a bunch of withered trees.

"What do I do?" Alex put his hands on his head as he started suffering from an anxiety attack. He crouched on the floor, trying to control his fear.

However, no matter how he looked at it, he had no way of going back. And if he didn't go back, they would kill Pearl. 

A few minutes passed, but Alex couldn't calm down at all. The worry he felt for Pearl was making it too hard for him to think of anything other than his upcoming death.