Bear Child (Book 1)

Chapter 5

                    5. Lost

          I kept walking through the woods, looking at everything around me, but it was all the same: tree, after tree, after tree. But they were still beautiful. Their leaves were red, orange, yellow, and brown. The trees were full of leaves, but there was plenty on the ground, too. There were so many leaves on the ground of the woods that the dirt floor wasn't even visible. It was just like a carpet. But I found it only natural, with autumn almost being here.

          I turned around, looking through the trees. Small pieces of the house were visible through all the tree trunks and bushes. The house wasn't very far off. "Maybe I haven't come as far as I thought." I said to myself. "Oh, well. No matter. I still want to go out hiking, and I don't plan on going back now." I continued to walk.

          After about 5 more minutes of hiking, I reached something that caught my attention. I was still walking through the woods when I found two bright yellow flags screwed into and cemented to the leafy ground of the forest. The flags were about 2 feet tall. The trees next to the flags and the other trees nearby had yellow ribbons tied around their trunks. All the trees and flags were lined up in a row that stretched on as far as the eye could see on both sides. "This must be the border." I said quietly and curiously.

          I didn't know if I should keep going or turn back. I checked my wrist watch. It was 5:08 PM already. "I left around 4:37, so it's been . . .” I said as I calculated the time. "It's been 31 minutes already. I wonder if Ben has gotten home yet. Maybe I should turn back before he gets home."

          I turned to leave but I couldn't get myself to walk. I turned my head and looked at the yellow border and into the mysterious woods beyond. I sighed. "But, I really want to see what's past that border, though . . .” I folded my arms tightly across my chest, hesitating to make a decision. Then, I had an idea.

          I took out my cell phone. Holding it in my hands, I paced back and forth. "Okay, this is what I'll do." I said as I paced. "I call Ben and ask him what time he's going to be home. If he's already there or he'll be there in less than two hours, I go back. But, if he won't be home for about two hours or more, or if he doesn't even pick up, I go past the border and keep hiking." I went through my calls history and dialed in the number.

          Holding the phone up to my ear, I continued to pace and waited for the connection. Then, I instantly dropped the phone. The horrible beeping and screeching of static was blasting out of the listening piece. I shot my hands to my ears blocking out the noise. I quickly picked up the phone with one hand still over my ear and clicked the red button. I checked the service. "Crap!" I hissed, slamming the phone shut. I didn't have any bars. There was a big, red "SOS" where the bars should have been.

          "Oh, well. Technically, he didn't pick up. So, I guess I go on." I took the first step across the border, only to find myself lying on the floor in total shock. As I took the step, I felt like I moved something. I stopped for a second, hearing a cocking sound. Like the sound a gun makes when it's loading and getting ready to fire.

          "Uh oh. Not good." I threw myself to the floor, saving myself from whatever was going to shoot at me. I heard something being fired by what should have been a gun. I got on my knees, examining the area of the two yellow flags. Then that's when I found it. It was a trip wire.

          "A trip wire?!" I shouted in disbelief. I got up and looked at the tree I heard the cocking coming from. There was a hole in the trunk about the size of a quarter. I stuck my finger in the hole, feeling around. I felt something cold that I guessed was metal. "This is a bullet hole." I realized, confused. I looked across from the tree with the bullet hole.