Fighting Harvest

Chapter Twelve

"Why are you even out so late?" Clyde questioned Jamie who stood around the same size as Clyde, humoring Anthony who watched with his arms crossed.

"It's not that late" Jamie argued "but I was just in the woods collecting snails, or trying to, until I found something super creepy"

"Where are your parents Jamie, why were you in the woods?" Clyde didn't give Jamie the chance to explain themselves, more so worried about the safety of this child, rather than what they had to say.

"Can you just listen to me? I'm old enough to do what I want" Jamie kicked the sidewalk they stood on, hearing Anthony chuckle as it was funny to see Clyde argue with a child.

"Come on Clyde, let the kid talk" Anthony butted in, having been concerned at first due to Jamie's stalking of their private moment, but now was curious about what They had to say. Reluctantly, Clyde allowed Jamie to explain themselves.

"Like I said, I was in the woods collecting snails for a snail farm. I don't have one yet, but I planned to make one since snails are pretty cool, slugs are cool too but I don't think I could find any of them" Jamie ranted, Anthony already regretting letting the child speak "But! When I went deeper into the woods, I found a crazy-looking building. It looked abandoned and overgrown, and I knew snails would be in that place for sure! But I couldn't find a way in... when I walked around the building, I could hear people inside, like a party"

This got the two friends' attention, and though it could be nothing, Anthony wanted to check it out. He had nothing better to do anyway.

"There was music and screaming, but I didn't find a way inside... but that's when I found a bear trap!" Jamie waved their arms around like a storyteller, keeping the two guys' attention as they continued "I didn't step on it thankfully, but I knew it was probably dangerous to be around there, and I knew snails wouldn't like parties like that... so I left" they shrugged "I started to walk home, but I saw you!" They pointed toward Clyde, who looked in confusion "You were all over the news, so I wanted to tell you about what I found... but you went in there, and I couldn't follow" They motioned to the bar, unable to enter due to their age "so I waited right here for you two to come out so I could tell you, and now here we are!"

This made a little more sense, but still left the two questioning the legitimacy of the whole situation. This was a child who probably had a wild imagination, I mean they were in the woods looking for snails late at night, but Anthony wanted to check it out.

"Thank you for telling us, but how are we supposed to find this place on our own? We could use your help guiding us there" Anthony reasoned, feeling Clyde bump his arm against Anthony.

"No, we should report this to the police... bear traps are illegal to use in public locations like the woods, and it's not our job to deal with that kind of stuff" Clyde argued

"But you're a detective, it is your job to figure out what's going on... and who knows, maybe this could solve a case nobody was even expecting" Anthony retaliated, but Clyde wasn't having it.

"I'm a detective, you're not... so it shouldn't be any of your concern on what we can and can't do"

Jamie's eyes switched between the two as they spoke, like arguing parents, they had no idea what to say or do in a situation like this. "Look, ladies... I can take you to the place, I kinda sorta remember where it is"

Clyde was going to speak, but Anthony cut him off by speaking first "Yes, take us there... I'm sure we could find something of use"

Much to Clyde's annoyance, the three of them started to make their way towards the woods. Just on the outskirts of the city sat a large wooded area, housing many abandoned buildings due to the city being the main priority and not the smaller towns or neighborhoods surrounding it, though most structures had either collapsed or decomposed, leaving behind trash for nature to take hold of.