The Three

Chapter 1

Kym struggled with her shoe. Toby and Ben had already pulled on theirs, and were standing near the door, breathing on the glass and doodling on the fog. Kym finally yanked up her heel and stood up. She considered taking a hairbrush, but the look on Toby's face made her reconsider. She had made them wait long enough. She stepped into the front yard as Ben held the door. It was a cold day, but warm enough to leave the hats and heavy jackets. The sky was white, and the trees were mostly bare. Leaves skidded around the driveway. "Next time, please wear different shoes." Ben muttered to Kym. "We only have a half hour with Toby now. He has to go at seven, remember?" Kym shot him an angry glare. "Guys!" Toby moaned. He was always caught in their fighting. "Can we please go faster?" He pleaded. Kym shuffled up to him and matched his pace.

Maine Lake was quiet and icy cold. Near the dock on the opposite side, the water churned and bubbled around a huge, man-made drain. The kids chose a huge boulder to sit on. "Well, what do you wanna do?" Ben asked. Kym shrugged. "We could climb the rocks across the lake." Toby suggested. "And risk going near the drain?" Kym laughed. "I'd rather not." Toby shook his head. "No, really. We really could climb the rocks, right, Ben?" Ben was staring into space. "Ben." The boy slowly faced Toby. "I don't know, Toby. I think Kym's right." Toby snorted. "Well, then, she can stay here." he got up and walked onto the first protruding rock. He then leapt to the second. "Wait." Kym studied his path. There was a large branch where he had started, with something red wrapped around it. Toby's shoelace. She was about to say your shoelace to the boy, when she saw the smug look on Ben's face. "He's going to fall." Kym hissed at the boy. "Yeah!" He grinned at her. "Toby!" Kym shouted. The stubborn child was now halfway to the drain, his shoelace about to go slack. "What?" Toby yelled back, just as he jumped. The shoelace caught in midair and he snapped downward. "Toby!" Kym screamed. She saw his arm emerge from the water. Then his head. "Grab a rock and don't fight the current!" But the boy kept on fighting. Kym could hear his weak gasps as he surfaced, then plunged back down. Suddenly, there was an enormous roar, and then silence.

Minutes later, the siblings peeked over the edge of the rock. The lake was eerily calm. Toby was gone. "Where-" Kym choked, her eyes stinging. She didn't like Toby. But she was scared. Scared of the drain. "Where is he?" Ben muttered. "Wherever that drain leads. Most likely, he drowned." Kym explained. Ben shuddered. "Kym, I want to go home. Please, Kym, can we go home?" Kym didn't object to his suggestion. The two carefully leapt off of the rock and ran home.

"Toby?" came the tell-tale voice. "What do we say?" Ben hissed. Toby's father, Antonio, appeared in the doorway. "Toby's not going to- He-" Antonio held up his hand. "Please, Ben." He turned away. "I know." The man mumbled. "You-"Kym began. Antonio fixed his stare on the girl. "Toby?" He asked. Kym tilted her head. "You just said that-" The man turned and walked out the door.

Ben turned to Kym after they had heard the front door close. "What did he mean, he knew?" He whispered. "I don't have a clue." She admitted. "Do you think... somehow... Toby survived?" She muttered. "Maybe. That pipe leads to the creek over by Saint Michaels Church." Kym was surprised that her brother knew this. "W- How do you know? we never go over there." Ben hid his eyes. "Here./ Meet me outside at twelve tonight."

Kym awoke around twelve-thirty. She immediately tugged herself out of bed and met Ben at her door. "Come with me. Bring a flashlight, if you want." He handed her a case, full of metal scraps. On closer inspection, though, Kym saw that they were an assortment of metal tools. Ben opened the door and stepped outside. This reminded Kym eerily of the past five hours. She followed him into the yard. "Please, watch your step." The boy instructed.

After about an hour of sneaking through backyards and avoiding nosy night owls, the two reached a stream. Even with Ben's constant practice, and Kym's cautiousness, nothing could prepare them for the sight illuminated in Ben's flashlight.