Fifty Reasons to Stay (Book Three)

Chapter Thirty Two- Stalk

(Narrator's POV)

A group of six young boys were on a hike up to the beautiful waterfall for the day, and they made the youngest tug along the picnic basket for them, saying it would make him stronger.

But Andrew didn't mind. He liked being around these boys. They were brave and different and so much more interesting than the ones from his neighborhood.

"Little boy... could you come help me for a moment?" A darkly dressed woman had been following them the entire time, but he'd seen her so many times. He wasn't afraid of his grandmother. The only problem is, she made him promise to keep her presence a secret from his parents.
"I'm going to the waterfall." He struggled with the basket, trying not to look at her. Her eyes were just too dark...

"I need to ask a few more questions. Just a few. I promise I won't hurt you."
"That's what you said last time. I don't trust you at all." Andrew chewed on his lip. "I think you're a bad person. Stay away from me."
"It's just about Donatello. Please.. Just a minute." She begged of him.
"Then go ask him yourself!!" He ran ahead to keep up with the others, and Akira disappeared.

Once the path got a little steep, he struggled to keep up with the other boys. "Hey, slow down a little, please! This thing is heavier than it looks." He mumbled, considering just ditching the basket. But then they wouldn't let him hang out with them anymore.

"We're nearly there." Nikko, the second youngest of this group seemed to show the most sympathy. "You can do this, Andy."

"Won't it be dark soon? I can't go out after dark..." He glanced back at the trail, fearful that Akira may have been following him. "We could go back and try again tomorrow."

"What's he saying, Nikko?" The oldest of the boys-who was nearly sixteen- turned to his cousin.
"He's afraid of the dark. We should send him back, Hiro." Nikko responded. Sure, he was only two years older than Andrew but he felt like he was much more mature. Who was afraid of the dark?? Babies.
Hiro stopped his brothers and turned to face the little boy. "Tell him we are not turning back, we are staying after dark to watch the meteor shower. If he's afraid, he needs to go home by himself. We don't associate with babies."

Nikko took the basket from Andrew. "Just.. go home. We won't be back until late."
"I won't be able to find my way back! It's getting too dark!" Andrew whined, praying they'd all just turn back. She was still out there..
"It's a straight path. You'll be there quicker if you run, I promise. You can come next time if you want." The slightly older boy forced a smile before following the rest of the group up the hill.

Gulping, Andrew turned to face the downhill trail. He just needed to go straight. Follow the trail, and run. Just like Nikko said.

He started to walk, noticing how very quiet and dark it was becoming and tried not to panic. If he'd gotten lost back in Portland, surely a streetlight would've helped him on his way. But out here, only the moon could guide him, and unfortunately a cloud was covering said moon.

If I wasn't such a baby I could've been safe with them. But I just had to get scared and go back. Now I'm probably going to get killed by a wild animal or that witch.

He followed the trail for a long while, hugging himself when the sun was completely gone and all light with it. In the near distance, he could see a bridge which meant he still had almost a mile to go until he reached the house.

That was when he heard a twig snap in the forest and made a run for it. Even though he couldn't see where he was going in his distorted sprint, he knew he was getting close to the river when he heard that sound of rushing water.