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Chapter 1
The mocking laughter grew fainter, but the trees still creeped me out. Their bare limbs swayed and bent toward me like long searching fingers.
Dead and decaying leaves covered what might have once been a path. I stepped over a rotting log, and strangled a scream. A long thin snake slithered into the undergrowth.
Gurgling noises escaped from my throat. I tried to run. Brambles clawed and scraped at my pant legs, but I plowed ahead through the vines and creepers.
I stopped to catch my breath, but my heart continued to pound. The schoolyard was long out of sight, but Doug and Josh were still taunting me. Their pale voices drifted through the trees.
“It's getting dark, Cody. Watch out for ghosts and vampires.”
“We wouldn't want to have to tell Nate that his little brother got lost in the woods.”
Like I was going to get lost. I knew they wouldn't follow me into these haunted woods even in the daylight, but their nasty voices served as a compass. Follow the voices and it would lead me back to the school fence. But not yet.
“Maybe you’ll find your stuffed wookie while you’re in there.”
“Yeah, maybe that’s where it disappeared.”
I cringed at the old insult, but refused to respond. Was it my fault they were too dull to have imaginary friends when they were four years old? Besides, that was eight years ago. How long did it take to live down an imaginary friend?
I wasn't leaving these woods until they'd given up and gone home. They could wonder all night what had happened to me. Not that either would lose any sleep worrying about it.
When Doug threw my backpack into the woods, he had laughed like a madman. It didn't take much to amuse him. He thought it was gone forever.
But there it was, dangling over a patch of oozy mud. One strap had caught on a spiky branch. Thick ivy and slimy weeds surged up and around the tree.
Scaling the fence that separated the schoolyard from the shadowy trees had been easy. I thought it would be simple to dash in, grab the bag, and rush back out. But the way was blocked by a twisted mass of thick thorny vines.
My foot had crashed through the mess. Thorns scraped my ankle and snagged my shoelaces. A perfect place for snakes or rats to lie in wait. Amid their laughter I had disentangled myself and started the long way around on this lame excuse for a path.
At least I was out of their sight now. With their short attention span I'd soon be out of their thoughts too. A crisp breeze ruffled my hair making it feel like something was crawling over my scalp. I ruffled my hair to get rid of the sensation, and ducked as something flapped past my face. I stood there, my heart racing and the breeze cooling the sweat on my neck. Something began tapping in the distance. Time to get moving.
I began to search for a way to get to the backpack. My feet twisted awkwardly over the uneven ground. Each step took me farther away from the school's fence and deeper into the forbidden woods.
I jumped from rock to tree root. The tapping noise began again. Could it be some kind of signal? Did Doug and Josh have someone else in the woods waiting for me? Or maybe it was something worse.
There were tales of an ancient burial ground in the woods. None of the kids knew where it was, but on nights when clouds hid the stars, strange shapes were reported to be seen floating through the trees. They had to be ghosts. No flesh and blood could pass through this tangled mass of undergrowth without better footwear. The image of a ghost tramping about in heavy boots made me smile.
I stepped over a tree root, and my foot slipped in the mud. Waving my arms for balance, my hand struck a branch and pain shot through my fingers.
I spun around scanning the shadows. No one there. No one to see my clumsy gyrations. I was alone.
Dry leaves rustled over the ground. A high piercing chirp come from the tree tops and the intermittent tapping began again. No human voices, just my heavy breathing. Dusk was settling over the woods, and all the trees looked the same. I had managed to lose my direction after all.
Somewhere ahead water chattered over rocks. My head cleared. That would put the fence behind me. I headed toward the water, picking my way over the muddy spot. Scrambling onto a rock, I looked down to where a shallow brook rippled over and around a rocky gully.
On the other side a homemade sign hung at a slight angle on a maple tree. NO TRESSPASSING. Whoever had written the sign wasn’t a great speller.
On my side of the water a smooth beaten path followed the stream. Finally something was going right in these miserable woods. I decided to take the path, hoping I was heading back toward the school and my bag.
I jumped off the rock and started down the path. Twigs snapped. My steps slowed and I looked around. The path behind me was clear. I forced my gaze across the water.
The smell of rotting vegetation filled my nose. There was no wind, but the top branches in the trees waved as if something heavy were pulling on them. The snapping and popping got louder.
I wanted to run, but it was like being in a nightmare where I couldn't get my feet to move.
A high piercing wail started softly and grew in intensity. My eyes fastened on the swaying branches. They parted. In the treetop a dark furry manlike figure appeared.
Long fur hung down from its arms. It reached over its head gripping a white skull with long horns. Probably some other malformed creature that this thing had been eating.
It jumped. Like a wookie from the dark side, it shot through the air toward me with feet outstretched. It let go of the skull and landed in a crouch at the water's edge. The skull hung suspended in the branches.
The beast stood up and looked right at me. It beat its chest and the mouth on the hairy face opened. My scream mixed with its wail in a sickening discord.
I turned and fled up the path. The wail followed me and faded into a sinister cackle like some exotic bird. There wasn't any splashing, and I hoped that meant it hadn't crossed the stream.
I pounded down the path. Branches whipped my arms and scratched my face. My only thought was to get back to the school and put the fence between that thing and me.
I ducked to avoid a large branch. My foot caught on a tree root and the ground rushed toward me. I landed hard against a rock, and sharp pain stabbed through my leg.
I lay stiff, afraid to move. My ears hurt from straining to hear the approach of the beast. The only sound of life was the crickets. Then in the distance the tapping began again.
My heartbeat slowed to normal. A nasty suspicion crept in and settled in my head. What had I really seen? Could Josh and Doug have set up an elaborate joke? Surely they wouldn't carry the wookie tormenting this far.
I shook off the
thought. They didn't have the imagination or the commitment to pull off something like this. They couldn't even remember the coach's signals.
As quietly as possible I got to my feet. My leg hurt, but I could still walk. I flexed my arms. The only damage was a large tear in my jacket sleeve.
Listening for sounds of pursuit, human or beast, I trotted down the path until I came to a split. Which way to go? Through the trees a flash of red waved like a signal flag. A nervous laugh bubbled out of me. It was my backpack.
From this side it was easy to walk up to the tree. As I pulled the pack off the hanging branch, I heard the tapping. High above me a bird clung to the trunk. Undisturbed by my presence it tapped its beak into the bark looking for insects. I laughed. Not a vampire or a ghost, just a woodpecker.
The brambles still prevented me from getting over the fence, so I backtracked to where the path split. Shadows filled the woods and fed my imagination. There was no telling where the new path led. But the idea of going back to the river in the dark made up my mind. Better the unknown than the certainty of creepy. I took the new path.
Brambles lined both sides and hemmed me in. There was no danger of losing my way, but tree roots and stones slowed me down. I stumbled onto a footbridge that crossed a dry gully and almost cried out with relief. The last rays of sunlight reflected off the silver fence.
But the path on the other side of the bridge turned and led back into the woods. In the distance a faint howl sent shivers through me.
Without further hesitation, I swung over the bridge and dropped to the ground below. Focusing on the fence, I jogged along the dusty ravine.
A minute later I came to where a cement culvert ran under the fence. Light from outside the woods showed moss clinging to the curved walls. I crouched down. Avoiding muddy spots I ran through and scrambled up the bank.
The trees were thinner and I could see the school in the distance. It was deserted. Doug and Josh were long gone. I was right about their attention span. I sprinted for home.