The Boy in the Woods (2014 Wattys Winner, Wattpad Version)

Chapter 2 - On the Street Where You Live

"Jessica, wake up!" 

The words brought Jess out of a sound sleep and she felt a hand firmly shaking her shoulder.  She opened her eyes to her uncle's hard, disapproving gaze and then looked out the train window. 

They were stopped outside a small one-story brick and stone station.  A few people stood on the train platform under an overcast sky.  Beyond that was an empty two lane road with thick woods on the other side.  It was a marked difference from crowded Grand Central Station where they'd boarded the train in New York City the day before. 

"Gather your things and mind you don't forget anything," Uncle Jonathon said sharply as he stood up. 

"Yes, sir," she murmured, and tried unsuccessfully to suppress a yawn.  Thankfully, he was too busy putting on his coat and fedora to notice.  He took his suitcase from the overhead net while Jess tugged on her white gloves as quickly as she could and pulled on her coat.  Then she wrestled her suitcase off the net. 

Carrying it with both hands, she followed her uncle as they left their compartment and began walking down the narrow aisle.  One of the porters saw them and immediately stepped forward to take their suitcases.  Uncle Jonathon said nothing when he handed his over, but when he took Jess's she thanked him.

She climbed off the train just as her Uncle barked, "James!"  A stocky man in a black suit with thinning hair and a heavily lined face immediately came forward.  He passed them on the way to the porter and handed him a bill before taking their suitcases.  Uncle Jonathon didn't stop walking and Jess followed him, feeling uncomfortable she hadn't been introduced.  She glanced over her shoulder at the man.  He was following with his mouth set in a firm line, his eyes on the pavement.  

They reached the other side of the small train station where a large black car was parked at the curb.  Her uncle stood waiting and the man set their suitcases down so he could open the rear door for them. 

Jess waited, thinking they would be introduced, but her uncle muttered, "Get in!" with annoyance.  She rushed to climb in as her uncle said, "We'll go straight home.  I want to get Jessica settled before I go into town."

"Yes, sir," James said, and closed the door.

There was a stack of mail on the seat and Uncle Jonathon began sorting through it while Jess looked out the window.  The road they traveled on had very little traffic and they passed patches of forestland separated by farms with black and white cows.  Jess had never been this deep in the country before.  She could feel the ache in her chest get worse as she realized she was as far from Manhattan as she could be.

 But whether she liked it or not, this was her new home now.  She had a new family with Uncle Jonathon and her cousin, Douglas.  When she thought of her cousin, her spirits lifted.  She'd always wished she had a brother or sister.  Maybe he'd wished the same thing, especially since he'd lost his baby brother.  Surely he would appreciate having her in the family.  With Uncle Jonathon for a father, his life couldn't have been easy.  No longer noticing the passing countryside, she imagined the happy times she was going to have with Douglas.

The car turned down a deserted dirt road.  A high iron fence topped with spikes ran alongside it, enclosing a thick forest.  The fence never seemed to end and after some minutes, they pulled into a short driveway and stopped.  In front of them was a wrought iron gate that was padlocked with a heavy iron chain wrapped through the bars. 

James got out and pulled a bundle of keys out of his pocket to unlock the padlock.  Once the gate was opened, he drove through and then stopped.  Jess was surprised when he got out again, and turned to watch him go back to lock the gate behind them.  She looked at her uncle but he was still absorbed with his mail.  She was about to ask him why he lived behind a locked gate, but thought better of it.  In the week she'd spent with him, she'd learned he didn't like being questioned.