Lost

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Hey, Jake!" I heard Timmy call for me. 

"I'm around back!" I yelled out to him. 

He came jogging around the side of the house and met me on the back porch. 

"Hey, man. You going out?" he asked when he saw my shotgun. 

"Yep. Been bored so I figured why not." I laughed. 

"Damn. I should have brought my gun." he sat down beside me. 

"You can use mine. I'll go get Dad's." I handed him my gun and went inside. 

"Jake, you know to be careful, alright?" Mom said as I passed her in the hallway. 

"I know, Mom. Is it okay if I use Dad's gun?" I asked. 

"Sure sweety." She leaned in and kissed my cheek. 

"Thanks." I said, turning into my father's home office. It was the first time I've been in here since he died. It's looks just the way he left it. Mom wouldn't go in, either. A thick layer of dust covered the room. 

I was afraid to touch anything. Afraid I would lose Dad for good. I felt guilty just getting his shotgun out of the cabinet. 

I passed his desk and noticed a photo on his desk. It was a picture that Mom took a couple years before he died. Our first hunting trip.

In the picture, a younger me held the head of a buck in my lap while Dad knelt down with his big hand on my shoulder. We both were smiling. 

I closed my eyes and sighed. I missed my dad. It's been 2 and half years and they still haven't found the man who killed him and it tore my heart in half every day that went by without hearing any news about his case. 

I sighed again and left his office. I went outside to find Timmy practice aiming at the trees behind my house. 

"Hey, man. Got it." I lifted Dad's shotgun in the air for him to see. 

"Awesome. Ready to go?" He said. 

"Yea." I told him as I grabbed the box of shells. 

We set off towards the woods. 

"So have you heard anything about your dad yet?" Timmy asked. 

"Nope. Mom tried calling the police station again but they wont tell her anything different." I told him. "It's pissing me off to be honest."

"I'm sure it is man." He said. "I hope you hear something soon."

"I do, too." 

We crept through the woods with our guns ready. Timmy hid behind a tree when we heard twig snap a few yards in front of us. 

I looked around and didn't see anything. Out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw a dark figure hide behind a big tree. 

I held my shotgun up, ready to shoot, as I walked towards the tree. I tried to be quiet but leaves and twigs crunched under my feet. 

I got to the tree and slowly peeked around it. Suddenly a squirrell fidgeted up the tree and startled me. 

"Shit. It was just a squirrell." I sighed. 

Timmy started laughing at me. "Dude, that was funny."

"You're the one who hid."  I said, laughing with him. 

We tried hunting for another hour but couldn't find anything. 

My mind could have been playing tricks on me but the whole time we were in the woods I kept seeing a dark figure out of the corner of my eye, peeking at us and hiding when I looked. 

I doubted it was a squirrel. 

We gave up and headed back to my house. 

"Oh. Stacie's having a party on Saturday. She wants you to be there." He said, winking at me. 

"Why? So she can completely ignore me like usual?" I said. Stacie was our friend, just not at school. Or in public. It seems a little bitchy, but she's alright. 

"Just come anyway." Timmy said, punching me lightly in the arm. "I'll see ya, man." 

"Yea, see ya."