WORD ART by Vivien Anderson, Middle School
Edited By: Sofia Hincapie-Garcia and Ellie (Elizabeth) Vavrica, Middle School
For Book 1, follow the link: https://www.shineliteraryjournal.com/post/the-disappearance
Chapter 16
The Very Very Long Road
We hiked through the woods to a stream. I picked up Teddy and let him drink. I filled up my water bottles and drank them again. So then once again I refilled my water bottles. And picked Teddy back up, and placed him back into my backpack. We finally reached a dirt road, but there was no civilization, cars, people, houses, or a real road. I didn’t know what to do. While I was thinking about what to do, Teddy decided that he wanted to eat some lunch. So he nudged the zipper open with his nose. Then he jumped out and started to run. He chased a squirrel to a barn. I heard a distant chatter of a couple talking. Teddy ran into the barn, I followed him. I grabbed Teddy and placed him back inside the backpack. I hid behind the barn door. There were horses in the barn. “Maybe I could ride the horse to somewhere with civilization besides staying in a sketchy barn in a weird forest,” I think. I overhear the couple fighting again so I decide to ease drop.
“Garth don’t go out there!” the woman shouted.
“I have to! My best friend, dog, and her puppies are out there!” the man yelled back.
“Can’t ya just forget about them!” she yelled.
“No, I can't, I'm leaving!” he shouted.
“B-but ya know ‘bout the disappearances!” she responded and then started to cry.
“I’m not like them, no, I’m not ‘cause I’m not going to disappear,” he responded and walked off disappearing into the forest.
The wife sat there in despair, crying, no, sobbing on the ground. I shifted my weight. I didn’t see the stick under my foot. *Crack.
“W-who’s there?” she asked sniffing. I stood there silent. The woman gained up strength. “I said, 'Who's there?'" she yelled.
Teddy barked.
“Shhh, Teddy, Shhh,” I whisper.
The woman walked up to the door and opened it all the way. “Are ya eavesdropper' ay? Are ya?” she yelled at me.
“No. I-I mean yes,” I say.
“Well then you probably heard me and that man fight. Eh? Well might as well tell you the whole story. Follow me inside,” she said.
“Ok,” I whisper.
“Whatcha say? I’m bad at hearing speak up,” she yelled.
“OK,” I yell.
We walked into the house and she showed me to a chair. “Want some hot co-co?” she asked.
“No thanks,” I responded.
“So, before I tell you my story, tell me why ya out in this dangerous forest?”
“Umm I’m on a journey,” I answer. “What happened to this place, why are people disappearing?” I ask.
“Lemme tell you……”
Chapter 17
Another Very Long Story
“It was a night like any other, and clouds started rolling in. My husband Harry-”.
“Wait then whose Garth?” I interrupt.
“Garth is my brother. Please don’t interrupt anymore. Ok, my husband Harry was sitting with me next to the fire. And then *Boom! The thunder shook the ground. The wind was going out of control. The horses were spooked, and the door to the chicken coop opened. And the chickens got out. Harry told me to stay no matter what and never to go after him, and he went outside to go find the chickens and put them in their coop. He ventured into the forest and never came back. I think that someone, somewhere is capturing these people and doing something to them,” she explained. “One of our friends went to look for him but they too never returned. And person after person looked for the people they once loved but never returned. So the once beautiful town of Goldensperg grew smaller and smaller until I was the last one,” she continued. “At night I can sometimes hear voices in the forest going help, help!” she said, wrapping up the story.
She yawned. It was dark outside now.
“I need to go hit the hay,” she said with her bad grammar coming back. “Ya want to sleep on the sofa?” she asked.
“Sure but how about my dog?” I ask.
“Oh, ye hardly noticed him. Well you're in luck, I have a dog bed right here."
I picked up Teddy. He was sleeping. And I laid him on the bed. That night Teddy woke me up because he started to bark, he was awake. Then I heard it, “Help me! Help!” It sounded like whispers in the distance. I looked outside but I couldn’t see anything but then I saw it. It was a figure moving through the trees all dressed in black. He was watching me. The cries for help continued. I fell asleep again but I fell asleep ready to awake if I heard someone.
That next morning I woke up to the smell of bacon. “Ya want some?” she asked.
“Sure.” I say. Was last night a dream? Should I tell her about it? I think. But I decided not to mention it.
Chapter 18
An Encounter With A Beast
We said our goodbyes and started off again. This time we hiked up a mountain. Rock by rock. On the way up Teddy started to growl. Then I heard a heartstopping thing. A different, more aggressive growl. I picked up two sticks that were right next to where I was standing. I knew how to look bigger than any aggressive mountain animal. And that would make them back down. I read that in school two years ago. I raised the sticks above my head. And dug my feet into the ground. I tried to look as big as I possibly could. Then the beast came out of the shadows. It had claws as long as my sister’s arms. It had the fur of a lion. It had a huge scar on his face. It jumped boulder to boulder. Until the beast was one boulder away from the one I was standing on. A ginormous Bobcat maybe? It was growling. It was not going down without a fight. I found a thorn bush, I tore off two limbs of it. I wrapped it around my sticks. I approached the cougar. The beast jumped on me and slashed his large claws against my arm. I swung my weapon toward its face. I closed my eyes hoping nothing bad would happen. When I opened my eyes, the animal vanished. Was It All A Dream? I wonder. Then I look at my arm. It was soaked in blood. Teddy was still barking. Everything grew blurry, I fell. My heads ringing, I wake up. My arm was numb. I was too weak to get up. I helplessly give up trying to get back up. “Haily!” I hear someone yell. They repeat this. I try to raise my arm, but I couldn’t. Teddy runs over to me.
“Haily! Oh, you need help, and fast,” the girl exclaimed. She yelled for someone. I couldn’t hear who because I was dozing off again.
When I wake up, I’m in a hospital. Ruby and her mom where sitting in chairs right next to my bed. I sit up. “W-where T-teddy?” I stumble to say. “He’s at home, they didn’t let him inside the hospital,” Ruby’s mom says.
“Wheres my family?” I ask.
“We don’t know sweetie,” she responds.
Chapter 19
3 Months Later….
The Interview
“Explain to me what you saw,” The investigator commanded.
“Regular forest,” I responded. “But it was very dark.”
“Where were the voices you heard coming from?” he asks.
“The Forest,” I responded.
“How about you coming with us to explore the forest?” he responds.
“Ok,” I say.
Three days later, I was in a jeep surrounded by army officers in different jeeps. When we were searching for the missing people, I heard someone whisper from the bushes.
“Stop!!!” I yell.
“What?” said the annoyed officer driving the jeep.
“Someone’s hiding over there,” I say.
Then two people jumped up from their hiding places and ran. Half of the group went after them. When they returned they had one of the men.
“I got one but the other got away,” he said.
After talking with the investigator, the man showed us one of their bases. He explained the whole operation:
“We kidnap person after person acting like we would help them find the person they are looking for. And we technically do. We store them in our storage garage, and lock them in,” the man admitted. He showed us the locations of all of the storage units. The man wouldn’t get as long jail time as his coworkers because he worked with the detective. My family was found and all of the families. Everyone thanked me and the detective. A week later I got a medal for discovering all 5,541 missing people. Finally my life was regular again.
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