We pat the dog on the head, trying to calm her down a little.
"Oh I'm sorry to hear that, what's the boy's name?" I ask.
"Erick," Dick replies, "his parents are really worried for him and the others. Those four boys are like brothers, hardly ever apart. His parents are on their way along with the other families. It'll take them some time to get here. I told them I will stay until they arrive, that’s the least I can do for them."
"That’s kind of you to do," I say.
He nods his head and rubs his dog's nose to get her down.
"How you been, Roy?" Julie looks at the officer.
"I’ve seen better days," he indicates regarding the situation, "right now we know where two of the three boys are, and they have a phone. Three officers are in the woods looking for them."
He has a strange look on his face as he pauses a second, and then continues.
"But we have a problem. Only one officer is replying to the radio calls." He shakes his head slowly. "That’s the Black Woods, no good comes from them."
"We hear you loud and clear," I answer, feeling scared and hoping they don’t notice. "We’ve been in there once and vowed never to go again, but here we are."
Julie and I talked about a plan in the car on our way to the forest. We're going to walk the perimeter of the Black Woods and stay on the outside looking in, yelling for the boys. If that doesn't work, then we’ll go in. We know the imaginary lines because we have hunted these woods for over forty years. We hope whatever keeps the animal inside won’t fail us tonight.
"You girls are crazy doing this stuff at your ages." Dick makes the statement out of concern for his friends.
"Oh, you only live once, besides we might find a mushroom or two out there tonight." I say with no feeling, too worried to really joke around, and everyone else feels it too.
We hand the officer the supply of food and drinks, then head to the woods with our backpacks filled. A couple of mushroom hunters out on a hike, and we enter in our woods as we try to stay clear of the line. We begin the search by yelling the three young boys' names. We walk on the edge of the Black Woods.
"Do you think Erick and the other two officers are still alive?" I ask.
"We must believe it or why else would we be here?" Julie answers.
"You’re right and I do have hopes of finding them." I can feel the Black Woods animal's eyes on us and I know it is there waiting for us to cross the imaginary line.
"Erick, are you there?" I loudly ask to the night air.
"It’s chilly tonight," Julie says, shivering.
"Did you wear your long underwear?"
"No, but I wish I had."
"Julie, you're silly, I grabbed mine immediately."
We keep the small talk going, always listening for sounds in the darkened woods.
Chapter 13
Rescue
Back at the lake, Dick and Officer Roy are still talking.
"I better check on the kid over there, he might like some of these treats." Roy says, and points to the bags of supplies.
Roy knocks on the SUV’s window and waits a bit for the boy to roll it down, but nothing happens. Then he reaches for the handle and opens the door, he looks inside to find no one is there.
"Damn!" the officer says loudly.
"What?" Dick asks.
"Dumb kid has run into the woods to find his friends."
Officer Roy shakes his head as he reaches for his radio on his shoulder. He tells the dispatcher what Skinner has done, and to keep the families informed of the events.
"What's that kid thinking?" the dispatcher asks.
"He just wants to help his friends, and he isn’t thinking about the danger," Roy replies.
The officer walks back to the white truck and radios the others in the woods, still only getting a response from Officer Brad. He updates him on Skinner and the two volunteers.
"How you holding up out there?" he asks, after he's done with the updates.
"I’m actually better and I think the bobcat only scratched up my back. It’s definitely not as bad as it felt and I’m back out searching now," Brad replies.
"It’s really good to hear that. Call in with updates," Officer Roy tells the man.
He returns to guarding the lake and watching the woods.
* * *
After the bobcat attacked Brad, he didn’t think he would be walking again so soon. But calming down and catching his breath he realized it wasn’t that bad. The cat had just landed on him and only began to scratch when he shot and killed it. The pain combined with the blood was enough to scare a brave man.
Now he is ready to get back to the search. He knows he's getting closer to the location of Greg and Bob, but it is slow going in the dark.
Boy I’m grateful my wife made me wear all these clothes, they probably saved my back, he thinks. The one thing truly keeping him focused is his training and he’s grateful to be out doing his job. He's weak and tired, but keeps moving on for the boys.
"Bob, Greg are you there?"
The only reply is he hears is a "hoot" from an owl.
* * *
Bob is holding Greg upright and he is able to stand on his own feet.
"Try to take a step," Bob tells him.
Greg is trying, but his legs are weak and heavy. He takes a few steps and stops.
"I can’t. I have to rest," he says, frustration plain on his face. "Give me a minute and I will try some more."
He lays his head on Bob’s shoulder to rest.
"I’m sorry for what I did. You’re my friend and it’s killing me to watch you struggle like this," Bob says softly.
"Bob, I don’t blame you and I know you would never have hurt me on purpose, so stop blaming yourself," Greg reassures his friend.
They both slightly tremble with emotion as they stand there holding each other. A tender moment between two best friends with tears building in their eyes.
The cell phone rings in Bob’s pocket.
"Hold on, Greg, the best you can while I get the phone."
When he lets go of his friend with one of his arms to reach the phone, Greg lets out a small moan from the pain.
"Hello," Bob answers, and puts his arm back around Greg, holding the phone to his ear with his shoulder.
"Hey Bob, I got away from that stupid officer and I’m on my way to help," Skinner says excitedly.
"Man you're crazy! We didn’t have flashlights with us, so how you walking around in this dark?" he asks Skinner.
"I’m using my cell phone light; it’s got one of those built in penlights. It’s not much, but enough."
Bob explains to Skinner which deer trail to follow in the woods to locate them and he also asks if he's heard from Erick yet. Skinner tells him "no" and starts his journey toward his friends.
Greg and Bob are still standing and holding each other as their friendship builds even stronger.
"It’s going to take Skinner an hour or more in this dark to find us and I don’t have much hope in the officers now," Greg struggles to speak. The pain in his shoulder is immensely horrible now, but he knows he must try to walk.
"Let’s try moving again and hopefully meet him halfway," Greg says.
Bob opens his mouth to speak when they both hear the noise.
Crack!
The sound is in the distance but still too close.
"That sounded like it's just over the next hill. What do you think it is?" Bob asks, he stands in fear again remembering the thing stalking him earlier in the day.
"It’s heavy enough to break a limb as it walks so it must be something fairly large," Greg replies to his frightened friend, not really helping Bob with his answer.
They stand there listening for the next sound.
* * *
Officer Brad looks around the forest trying to decide which way to go. He was given the direction to stay to the western side and travel north, and within an hour, he would be at the location of the two young men. He has been out way ov
er that, but with the bobcat attack slowing him down, he still worries he may have gone too far. He yells their names again and anticipates he'll find them before long. He's climbing a steep hill and needs to rest but knows he must move on. One foot in front of the other. Hands holding on to this tree or that shrub to help him climb.
"Oh, damn it," he says out loud when he trips on a small log and breaks it in two. He starts to slide down the hill. He catches a branch and holds on. What else can happen to me tonight? he thinks as he gets back up and begins his climb again.
Now at the top of the hill, he shines his light around and yells the boys' names. He stops moving as he genuinely thinks he hears someone answering his yell. The officer opens his eardrums to take in all the sounds of the night. He hears something faintly in the woods.
He waits, listening for the sound again. Thank God! he thinks, and then he yells louder.
"This is Officer Brad, is someone there?"
"YES! Down here. We're down here!" Bob and Greg scream as loud as they can.
"I’m on my way," he yells back to the boys. Slowly and carefully, he comes down the hill to rescue the young men.
Bob and Greg are watching the officer climb down the hill. They can see his flashlight bobbing along the darkness. Their excitement shows as they hug each other, tears of joy shining in their eyes.
"I can’t believe it!" Bob yells.
"Me either, now we can get out of here faster with his help," Greg replies, almost in a laugh. He briefly forgets the pain in his shoulder.
"Hey, I’m going to call Skinner, let him know to go back. His light isn’t good enough to go look for Erick, and we don’t even know where he is," Bob says. He makes the call, and by the time he tells Skinner the news, the officer is close enough to talk to them.
"Boy it's sure good to see you guys. I’ve been walking forever looking for you two," Brad says, about fifty feet away.
"You’re glad, how do you think we feel!" Greg says.
As the officer gets closer, they can see all the dirt and blood clinging to him.
"Man, what happened to you?" Bob asks Officer Brad.
"Damn bobcat attacked me and then I've fallen down I don’t know how many times," he replies.
Brad reaches on his side and releases a bottle hanging from a hook.
"Here drink this, it'll help you. It’s an energy drink."
"Thanks," Bob tells the officer and hands it to Greg. "You need to drink all of that," he says to his friend.
"I have to call in and let them know I've located you." The officer reaches for his radio on his shoulder, and tells the other officer the good news.
They sit for a spell to let Greg get his drink down. They chat about each other, and the search while they wait. They worry about Erick, and hope he is safe and found soon.
* * *
We're still walking on the edge of the woods as we look for the boys, when my cell phone rings. I answer, and Officer Roy lets us know Bob and Greg have been found and they're safe. I hang up. Julie and I feel better about the search.
"I guess we're now looking for one missing boy and the two officers not responding," Julie says.
"Man, this is a relief, and I hope we find the others soon, because I really hate being here." I say this even though it doesn’t need to be spoken.
Crack!
The sound is loud and we know exactly what is making it. Our heads automatically turn toward the Black Woods and we see a pair of bright blue eyes staring at us, from maybe fifty feet away. It emits a low growl, its teeth shining in the moonlight. It knows we'll not come closer. The animal saw us before, and it wants us to know it's there. The creature stands on its hind legs and in one leap, it’s gone, back to the shelter of the trees.
We hold each other, and fear the day the imaginary line will no longer imprison the evil it contains. The violent beast has been a prisoner to the woods at least seventy years.
"Come on, let’s get moving, it will help relieve the shakes." Julie tells me and we begin the search again.
"We're here to help!" We yell into the night air, about every ten minutes with desperate hope of a reply.
After a little time passes, I ask.
"Where do you think that animal came from?"
"I don’t know, but I do think it has something to do with the collapse of the Best Fuel mine and the big hole it made all those years ago. I just can’t figure out how," Julie answers.
"Me too, and how come it stays in there like some force has it trapped. An animal in the wild, caged by its own habitat."
We've had this discussion many times over the years and yet we still haven’t come up with a reasonable answer.
We yell again and this time we hear a voice deeper in the woods. As loud as I can, I yell again.
"We are here to help, can you hear me?"
We are quiet as we listen for a reply.
"YES! I’m down here, this is Skinner." The voice carries clearly to us.
"Can you see our lights?" I ask.
We are on a hilltop and we shine the lights down into the dark woods.
"Yes, I’m on my way to you," Skinner replies with a big sigh of relief, grateful for someone to walk with in these woods.
"Be careful, we are waiting. Don’t rush and fall down," Julie tells the young man.
Both of us are still worried about the animal in there, but it's been awhile since we've last seen it.
"Did you bring a gun?" I ask Julie. She usually has a small hand gun in her backpack.
"Yes," she says. Then it dawns on her why I asked. She digs into her pack and retrieves the gun.
I nod to her with agreement. We wait and listen for the young man to make it safely up the hill. We know we could go in the woods and walk with the young man, but knowing the animal is watching us, we figure it’s safer for everyone, including ourselves if we stay outside the line. Ever since we ran into the animal years ago, we feel it's stalking us and wants us more than any other person out here. Maybe it's simply because we got away. If only we knew more about it, we could get rid of the animal, and the Black Woods.
* * *
Greg, Bob, and Officer Brad are ready to make the trip out of there.
"Let’s see if we can get you up," Brad tells Greg. "Bob, you take one side and I’ll take the other, let’s get this boy up and moving."
"I’m as ready as I can be," Greg replies, and with their help, he stands. He's ready to begin the walk. He takes a step and then another.
"Hey, I think that drink must have helped, I feel a little stronger," Greg says.
"That, and knowing your friend here has some help holding you up can make a difference," Brad says to the young man.
Greg knows it's true; he was really worried that Bob wouldn’t be able to help him the whole trip. He was holding back on moving because of it. He didn’t want to burden his friend, give him any other reason to blame himself again for failing him. Bob stayed with him this whole time, instead of going for help and leaving him alone. This idea never crossed either boy's mind, as they are friends sticking together, side by side, no matter what happens.
* * *
I call Officer Roy to let him know we have located Skinner and that he is making his way to us as we speak. I ask if he has any other recent news. Roy says "no," and we hang up.
Julie stands beside me, and watches for signs of the animal. She holds her small gun, probably useless against the evil. We quietly listen to every noise the woods can make, when we hear the sound.
Crack!
The limbs and twigs break as the heavy creature walks along the edge watching us.
"Oh no!" Julie says, frightened beyond words.
I can't speak as I try to take it all in. We're instantly staring at a pair of bright blue eyes, with shiny teeth glowing in the moonlit woods. Then the kid climbing up the hill towards us begins to scream.
Chapter 14
Enter
"Stop screaming!" I finally find my voice and yell to Skinner. T
he poor boy sounds like he’s losing it right then and there.
"Don't move, and stay calm," I say. A statement so much easier to say than do.
Bam…Bam…Bam….
The gun fires so loud my ears are now ringing nonstop and finally the boy quits screaming.
The animal lets out a horrible growl, and rises on its hind legs. It leaps into the forest.
We don’t know if the bullets can even harm the thing, but we see our chance and we take it. We run to save the young man from the creature and with a slight hesitation, we cross the imaginary line. No turning back as we know we don’t have much time, we now enter the Black Woods.
* * *
"Who's shooting and why?" Greg asks, while hanging on to his friend and the officer.
They have been walking for about twenty minutes and he's still holding up fairly well.
"Beats me. Maybe there's another bobcat out here, and whoever it was just killed the damn thing," Officer Brad answers.
"Well, I just hope it wasn’t Skinner, the damn fool probably shot himself," Bob says, his sense of humor back, now as they're walking to safety.
He and Greg laugh, but the officer doesn’t get the joke. He's figuring it’s something between friends.
Officer Brad radios to ask about the gun fire and he's told no one has called in to report firing any weapons.
They go back to the slow progress of walking with two injured men. They talk and joke with high expectations of a safe journey to the lake, unaware of the wounded animal that's headed their way.
* * *
We race down a steep stripper hill to retrieve the young man, and we stop suddenly when we see the reason he's screaming. Our eyes bulge in disbelief at the horrible scene in front of us.
Skinner raises his head to look up, unable even to move as he stands in the middle of a murder site. The blood is everywhere and the valley looks as if the woods have changed to red for the incoming spring. We see a mangled body in the mess and we know by his clothing that we're looking at the other missing boy named Erick.
Julie stands still, ruggedly gasping for air as she stares at the grizzly sight.
"Come on, snap out of it! We got to get that kid and get out of here fast." I tell her as I climb on down to where Skinner is standing. "You know that animal can come back any minute, now come on!"