EXERPT
Thirteen-year-old Jonathan Taylor sprung off the blacktop to launch a shot at the basketball hoop beside his garage door. The ball bounced off the rim. He soared to capture the missed shot and this time he scored.
“Way to go, Jonny!” shouted Buzz Cameron to his best friend, as he cornered his bicycle and rode up the driveway. “What a shot!” He leaned his bike against the white picket fence that enclosed the front yard, just in time to catch the ball Jonathan fired at him. “What’s up?”
“Nothing much.” Jonathan pushed back a strand of straight, black hair from his forehead. “Hey, did you hear about the hunter who disappeared in the forest yesterday?”
“No.” Buzz bounced the ball back. “Is he from town?”
“I don’t know. My mom told me about it” Jonathan aimed for the hoop and missed. “The police were looking for him all last night. I wonder what happened to him.”
“I bet he got lost,” Buzz said. “That place is huge.” He paused for a moment. “You know, he could be dead. My dad says there are black bears and timber wolves in the forest. One guy even saw a Canada lynx. Maybe one of them got him.”
Jonathan and Buzz lived in the small town of Jacobsville, Wisconsin. It stood at the edge of the Great National Forest, a large wilderness area that extended over the border into Minnesota. Although the rivers and streams made the forest appear to be a wonderful fishing and camping area, it was rumored to be very dangerous. Over the years, stories had circulated around town about the sound of eerie howling and ghostly visions that terrified hikers, sending them racing for home.
“My dad told me that if I even climb over the fence around the forest, I’ll be grounded,” Buzz said.
“My mom said the same thing. But, you know what, we’re not little kids anymore. Maybe we should go and, like, find out for ourselves.” Suddenly, Jonathan was feeling very brave. “That would be so cool.”
“Are you serious?” Buzz’s jaw dropped. “You must be crazy. There’s better ways of getting killed.”
“Let’s ride around a bit and we can talk about it on the way.” Jonathan set the basketball down and got his bicycle that was leaning against the front stoop.
They coasted down the driveway. As they entered the street, Jonathan waved to Mr. Grayson, his elderly neighbor, who was sitting in a rocker on the porch reading the local newspaper, The Woodland Chronicle.
“Hello, Mr. Grayson.” Jonathan started up the driveway with Buzz following. “Have you been reading anything about the hunter who’s lost in the forest?”
“I sure have,” Mr. Grayson put the paper down. “It’s all over the front page.”
“Is he from around here?” Jonathan asked.
“Apparently, he is. But I don’t know him.” Mr. Grayson continued rocking.
“Have you ever gone into the forest?” Jonathan asked.
“Yes, when I was young and foolish,” Mr. Grayson shook his head. “I was about your age and I was forbidden to go without my father. But, one day I decided to go anyway. I went alone because I couldn’t find anybody crazy enough to go with me. Tell you right now, I was never so frightened in my whole life. That place is haunted.”
“What did you see?” Jonathan was getting goosebumps.
“I’m not sure what it was.” Mr. Grayson paused. “I was walking beside the lake when, suddenly, I felt a chill in the air, even though it was the middle of summer. At the same time, I noticed a strange-looking mist rising straight up from the middle of the water. It started twisting about like a corkscrew, until it seemed to take on the shape of a human. Then, I thought I heard a whisper. It sounded like Save me!”
“No way!” Jonathan gasped.
Mr. Grayson continued. “While I stood there so scared I couldn’t move, the mist cascaded back down into the water and just disappeared. I hightailed it out of there as fast as I could, and I never went back again.”
Jonathan stood wide-eyed in disbelief. Buzz’s brown hair seemed to be standing on end.
Mr. Grayson made an attempt to get up out of his rocker, but he stopped for a moment. “A few years later, I read an article in the paper about a man who drowned in the lake before I was born. I thought what I saw might have been his ghost. Now, boys, I need to go inside and give this paper to my wife.”
As they rode away, Buzz looked over at Jonathan. “I’m getting freaked out! Do you think Mr. Grayson made that story up?”
“Maybe he didn’t,” Jonathan said. “Let’s go and check it out. Nobody needs to know where we’re going, so we won’t get into trouble.”
The boys rode down the street to where it ended at the edge of the forest. They got off their bikes and stood leaning against the fence. Today, the forest seemed to be especially still and deep. Jonathan felt as if a force, like a magnet, was trying to draw him in. He shuddered. “Sometimes, you get a kind of weird feeling if you stand here long enough. You know what I mean?”
“Yeah. I sure do,” Buzz nodded.
“I’d better get going,” Jonathan said. “My mom will be home from work soon. See you later, Buzz.” They both took off.
On Saturday evening, right after dinner, Jonathan answered an urgent doorbell. Buzz stood on the porch, breathless with excitement.
“Guess what! My Uncle Ed came by for a visit this morning and took Dad and me fishing. Guess where we went. Into the forest.”
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