Hope on the Rocks

A Mystery Solved

Jason's pov

I was working on figuring out tour dates when Ethan ran to the front door and opened it. "What're you doing?" I call. "Going outside to play with my friends!" He says, confusing me. We don't live next to any neighbors. "Who?" I ask, standing up. "Just a few kids I met a few days ago. I'm not sure where they came from. "Alright, bud, but stay in the yard, okay?" "OK dad." He says, waving and running out. I sit down and mark a few more dates then I call it a day, tired. I grab a twelve pack of sodas and sit on the porch. Maybe see if the kids want a drink. I saw Ethan playing with six kids I'd never seen before. Weird. I wonder where they came from. They were playing some kind of game. "Who wants a soda?" Ethan and a few kids ran over. "So where do you guys live?" I ask, sitting in my rocking chair and grabbing my own. "Around." A little blonde girl says, not really answering my question. Again, weird. They all seemed hesitant to answer especially when I asked if their parents know where they are. They ran back out into the yard and my cop radar was going crazy. Something weird is going on and I aim to find out. 

*a few hours later*

Ethan comes inside for supper. "Who are those kids, son? Where did they come from?" He shrugs. "They just come to have fun sometimes." This is the first I'm hearing about them. "How long have you known them? Do you know where they live?" He shrugs again, not looking at me. "What's wrong, Jay? They're just some neighborhood kids." Miranda says, shrugging and serving spaghetti and garlic bread. "Uh hun there's just one problem with that. We don't live in a neighborhood. The closest house is miles away. How are these kids getting home? Where the heck do they live?" She shrugs. "Don't read so much into it. They're just kids. Let's be glad he has someone to hang out with being this far out of town." Ethan kept avoiding eye contact and I sensed that he was hiding something. I of course don't know why or what. We finish supper without more talking on that topic but it sits in my head. Man the cop in me wants to investigate. Ethan went to bed and Sierra said, "They'd been coming around a few times a week, usually around the time school lets out." She heads to the kitchen to help Miranda with the dishes. "Why are you worried about it Jay?" I don't know. "Something doesn't fit right with me, babe. It's a gut feeling. Where would he have met them? How did they know where we live? How the heck did they get home?" Both girls laugh, confusing the hell outta me. "You worry too much, dad." I force a nervous smile. "It's the cop in me, hun." I say, sitting down, ignoring the bad feeling knotting my stomach up. 

*a few days later*

Since school's out for the summer, the same kids have been coming around to play with Ethan. I'm not a single step closer to figuring anything out since they refuse to answer any of my questions. They don't have bikes so they had to have walked. It's crazy. "I gotta get in the studio." I mutter, pulling my stare from the window to my wife and daughter. "Relax, Jay. Everything is fine." Miranda says, laughing. She hugs me and I head to the studio. I get a few songs recorded then hang out with Luke for a few hours. We were talking about our upcoming tours when my phone started ringing. I wave to him and answer it. "Hello?" "Jason, you need to come home. I can't find Ethan. I went to call him for supper and he wasn't in the yard. I went riding down the road and I can't find him anywhere!" Miranda says, making me freeze in my tracks. I knew there was something fishy about those kids! "I'm on my way, baby. I'll bring Luke to help us look!" Luke obviously looks confused. I hang up and tell him what's up. "Shit, man, do you think they took him somewhere or something?" I shrug and run to my truck with him right behind me. "I don't know but we have to find him." 

Meanwhile:

Ethan's pov

"I'm really not supposed to be this far from the farm." I nervously say, following my friends through the woods. "We're almost there. Please Ethan, you're the only one who can help us!" Mallory gasped, holding my hand, looking desperate and scared, her blonde hair tied in a pony tail. "Help you with what?" It's starting to get dark. "Supper's gotta be ready. My parents are going to be worried." I say, looking back the way we came, wanting to go back. "Our parents have been worried about us for years!" Davin says, leading us through the dense foliage. I'm so confused. They've been talking cryptically since we started this trek. I was about to run back home when Davin stopped, making the rest of us stop. It was dark. I couldn't see much. "Where are we?" I ask, pulling out my flashlight. I turn it on and I'm shocked to see a really old bus. It was rusty and have submerged in the muddy water. "Oh my goodness!" I cry, running to the back door and looking inside. I scream in horrified shock, seeing the skeletal remains of six children. All wearing the same clothes as my friends. Mallory looked sad. "Please set us free, Ethan. We're so tired." She says, once again, grabbing my hand. I fight back crying and hug the girl. "Of course I will." I shakily say, running back the way we came, the children staying behind at the bus. 

Jason's pov

I had taken my four wheeler up and down the roads, screaming for Ethan. I was so beyond scared. What did they want with him anyway?! I was about to turn down another road when I saw someone running down the street and to my relief, it was Ethan. I slammed on the brakes and jumped off. "Ethan! Oh thank God you're alright!!" I gasp,  hugging him. "Dad, you have to follow me. I have to show you something!!" He cries, looking desperate and pulling me towards the woods. "Son your mama is worried sick!" He looked angry and upset. "My friends need me!! Please dad! Their parents have been worried too!" "Son you aren't making any sense!" I gape confused. He was crying but looked angry and determined. He pulled me again. "What is going on?"" He was shaking. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you! You have to see it for yourself! Then I promise we can go home and you can ground me for however long you want." I'm shocked. "Alright Ethan show me." We walk a few miles through the woods. I'm sweating and it's pitch black but thankfully Ethan had a flashlight with him. I see something metallic bounce off the light of his flashlight. "What is that?" I mumble as we get closer and it hits me like a ton of bricks. I shakily pull out my phone and call chief. "We've got a situation on our hands, chief." 

*a few hours later*

The road was littered with cop cars. The bus had been missing for ten years. Now everything made sense. I hugged my son, who was crying. "Th-They were ghosts dad." He shakily whispers. "That's why they dodged my questions." I nervously say. "I hate it when you're right sometimes, Jay." Miranda says, shaking beside us, having been crying. I hugged my small family, grateful to still have my boy. At least the parents of these kids can rest easy, knowing what became of their children. "It must've run off the road. They probably died of either exposure of impact." I heard an officer say and Ethan burst out crying. I rested a hand on his shoulder. "You did a great thing today, Ethan. You helped those kids be at peace." He hugged me, crying his eyes out. "Let's go home." I reluctantly say, wishing I could help poor Ethan.