The Golden Locket

Chapter 2: The Stalker

Chapter Two: The Stalker

The drive took longer than expected. An hour and a half of Jake reading one of his books he brought along. His legs began to hurt just as they pulled up to the campsite. He looked around and noticed how beautifully unchanged everything seemed. As if the world forgot what happened here those eight years ago. The pond still sparkled like crystal, the birds in the trees still chirped their songs, and the large forest still beckoned mysteriously to people wanting a bit of adventure. Jake sighed and stepped out of the car.

"Could you grab that tent out of the back for me? I've gotta start lunch." Said Martha, getting out of the driver's seat. She stepped around and opened the back door, removing the three backpacks. She placed them on the ground covered with pinecones and then reached in to grab a grill sitting in the back seat.

Jake walked to the back of the car. He popped the trunk open and reached in, grabbing probably the heaviest thing in there. A large, green, cylinder shaped mess that would eventually turn into a tent. He threw it on the ground and rolled it over to the side. He found what he thought was level ground and started kicking the pinecones out of the way. He didn't need any bumps in the middle of his back while he slept. Jake set up the tent to the sound his sizzling hamburgers while bending over a list of instructions he could hardly understand. It took him a while, but eventually, he grabbed a nearby hammer and knocked the last stake into the ground.

Jake stood up and grabbed the backpacks besides his mother's car. He picked them up and threw them into the tent along with two sleeping bags and pillows just as Martha yelled that the burgers were done.

The food was delicious. Jake always loved the burgers, fired grilled to perfection by his mother. He wolfed it down so fast he forgot to breath and almost choked. After the meal, the rest of the day went by as it usually did. Jake and Martha spent some time down by the lake fishing or reading books out in the sun. When that same sun looked close to setting, Jake closed up his book and walked over to his mother.

"I'll be back." Jake said, turning toward the forest.

Martha raised her eyebrow, "Where are you going?" she asked, looking up from her book.

"I'm gonna go get some wood to start a fire." Said Jake.

Martha nodded and returned to her reading. Jake stepped over to the edge of the forest and looked in. Though some light from the sun still penetrated through the leaves and branches, the woods were noticeably darker then the rest of the campsite. He felt an eerie sense as he took his first step in between two oak trees. Like danger awaited him on the other side. Jake shrugged it off and kept going, the first dead leaves crunching under his feet.

He looked around himself, spotting a couple of long branches lying on the ground. He bent down, picking them both up and looked them over. They were a little wet from a recent rainfall. Not too bad though, Jake guessed they would still work for a fire. He took the branch and placed it over his knee.

Snap! The wood cried out as Jake brought it down and broke it in half against his leg. He took the other branch and did the same. Jake placed his hand on the ground and began to push himself back up.

Crunch. Came a sound from behind Jake. Almost like an answer to him snapping the branches. Jake spun around towards the noise and squinted, trying to find the source. An eerie sense of being watched came over him and Jake realized instantly where he was.

Jake looked around himself. The woods suddenly seemed strangely familiar. An area of pines off in the distance seemed to confirm it. He knew these woods because he'd been here last night. Jake placed one foot behind the other, being careful not to trip over anything.