UNTITLED Story (for a friend)

One not so dark and not so stormy evening, there were two friends sitting in the livingroom trying to decide what they should do the next day. They sat there looking into their minds for something that would not only pass the time, but also enthrall them. These two friends, Josie and Shad, decided that they would go for a walk though the woods to the east of town. An early morning meeting time was what they planned on. So Shad left to go home and was getting excited for the hike with Josie.

That night Shad tossed and turned trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in. He just kept wondering what would happen on his hike tomorrow. He planned on surprising Josie with a picnic in the woods. So he wanted everything to go perfect. Finally, after he had gone over his checklist about a hundred times, he fell asleep.

The light broke through the slit in the curtains and was shining across Shad's face. He sat up and stretched. Looking around the room he noticed how quiet and peaceful things were. He got up and got ready to meet Josie by the edge of the forest. He walked out his front door and as he reached the end of his sidewalk he turned around and looked at his house with great pride, but had a strange feeling that this was the last time he would see it. He just shook those feelings off and blamed it on his nerves about messing things up with Josie.

As he approached the forest he saw Josie's scooter sitting there laying on the ground. Shad wondered to himself, "Why didn't she put the kickstand down," when he noticed what looked like some scuffle marks in the dirt. He noticed some larger prints next to the scooter. They didn't quite look animal nor did they look human. He started yelling for Josie. He was screaming so loud his throat started getting hoarse after only a few minutes. Then he noticed that the prints headed towards the forest. So he ran as quickly as he could after them.

He ran and ran...not caring how much the branches hurt as they scratched and ripped into his skin. All Shad cared about was finding Josie and making sure she was safe. His heart felt like it was going to leap from his chest, but he had to keep running.

He long ago lost track of where he was. He just followed the prints and turned when they turned and followed them under every fallen tree and even tracked them when they crossed any size stream of water. He finally came into a clearing. He noticed a very large tree stump right in the middle of this place. He thought, "I'll just rest a minute. Not long." He sat down on the stump and laid back staring up into the sky. Wondering if he would ever be able to find Josie and whatever it was that took her. He noticed his eyelids drooping but didn't think much of it as he slowly drifted off to sleep.

As he awoke the first thing he noticed was how dark the forest had gotten. The second thing he noticed was that he was no longer laying on top of an old tree stump, but rather he was laying on the ground next to a majestic oak tree. He tried to think back to when he laid down but he can't seem to understand where this tree would have come from. He looked around but couldn't really tell anything because of the surrounding darkness. He suddenly realizes the bitter sting of cold in the air. He reaches into his backpack and checks to see if he remembered to pack his lighter. He did.

After gathering up some dried leaves and twigs from under this great tree he started himself a little fire, just enough to stay warm. He tried to only eat what his body needed, after all, he didn't know how long he would be out here in the forest. He ate a little more than he wanted to just because of all the energy he had wasted running through the forest. He hoped he would be able to find some edible plants or some berries to eat as he searched for Josie tomorrow. Realizing that it was too dark to be wandering through the forest tonight he waited by the oak tree until dawn.

~~ TO BE CONTINUED ~~