A Book of Tales

The Woods

 It was a calm August day when my brother and I rode our bikes through the neighborhood. We turned right to head down a dirt road. James stopped near the end of the road and looked down a path.

"Hey Nora, can we go down there?" James asked me.

"Why?" I responded, pulling up next to him.

"Because it looks cool."

"Fine, go ahead," We turned down the path. "You're annoying."

"You're annoying-er," He threw at me.

"That's not even a word."

"You're not even a word."

I rolled my eyes at James. He was always making stupid comments like that. We rode down the path for a little while longer before James stopped in front of me.

"Why'd ya stop?" I questioned, stopping my bike behind his. He didn't respond. "Hello?" I asked, getting off my bike and walking up next to him. "James?" I waved my hand in front of his face. He stared into the woods expressionless. I clapped my hands in front of his face a couple times before he blinked back into reality. He turned to face me.

"What?" He asked, looking confused.

"You stopped. You just randomly stopped," I explained, walking back to my bike.

"No I didn't."

"Yes, you did."

"No, you stopped first."

"How could I have stopped first when you're in front of me?"

"I don't know," He responded before taking off.

"I don't know," I mocked, rolling my eyes before following James. After a couple minutes had passed, I looked up to see the usual blue sky covered with gray clouds.

"Hey James, I think we should-" I swerved my bike to the side, dodging James. I quickly got off my bike. "What the hell James! Why'd you stop again?" I asked, walking up next to him, only he was staring into the woods again. "Oh come on," I mumbled. "DUDE!" I shook him by his shoulders. He blinked a couple of times before slapping my hands away.

"Why are you shaking me?"

"BECAUSE I ALMOST RAN INTO YOU!" I yelled.

"Why are you yelling? It's not my fault you almost ran into me."

"Yes it is! You're doing it again."

"Doing what?"

"Staring into the woods," I followed his gaze. "Dude, there's nothing there. Come on, let's go home before it rains," I explained to James before walking back to my bike. He looked up to examine the clouds.

"Fine." He looked back into the woods. I followed his gaze again.

"James, listen. I know the woods can be a very scary place. Seeing things move out of the corner of your eyes can be terrifying. As your older sister, I can tell you that it's just your imagination, not the Jersey Devil out to get you," I told him jokingly. I smiled as James turned to face me.

"Shut up."

I chuckled before James rode past me. I looked up into the woods again and my smile dropped. A pair of wings flapped from behind the trees, along with a deep laugh. I took off behind James, not wanting to get caught in the rain, but it started raining as we pulled into the driveway.

James never told me what he was staring at, and I never told him what I had seen and heard. Maybe the Jersey Devil was real.