Into the woods

Chapter 4: The Woods

  The next day, Principal Ingrid and Mr. Natale were both absent, but the office people were there. I kind of thought it was weird they were both absent. Math, Gym, Language Arts, and writing passed by in a breeze. Now it is time for lunch. 

  I meet April at the table that I sat at yesterday. This time, I remembered my lunch. When I get to my table, April is already there. "What took you so long?" asked April. "My teacher let us out late," I say and sit down. April gets a little closer to me. "So...you wanna go to the woods today?" she asks. 

"I am not sure if it is a good idea though," I reply.

"C'mon!" 

"I dunno. I think my mom would die if her other kid disappeared too."

"We won't disappear!" 

"Oh, alright. If you insist." I didn't want to be a scaredy cat. Just then, I noticed that April's words were just like Summer's before we left into the woods. Another weird thing is how come I have never noticed April was in orchestra with me? 

"So, I'll come to your house after school?" asks April. 

"Yeah. Actually, no. Meet by Club Park." I say. "My mom will drive us,"

"Sweet," says April. Then, the bell rings to go to the fifth period. I say bye to April and go to my locker. During the fifth period, I notice April sits in one of the desks on the other side of the room from me. Did she just, appear out of nowhere? Maybe she is new.

  After school, I go to the back where my mom told me she would pick April and me up. Again, I meet April by the lockers and we walk to the back. "Did you tell your mom we were going 'you know where'?" asks April.

"She would kill me if I said that to her," I say.

"Oh, I guess my mother would too. These woods are forbidden." 

"I wonder why were are going in them then." we both laugh.

 We push open the back door and look for my mom's car. It is all the way at the end of the line. "Where did you tell your mom we were going?" asks April.

"The park," I reply as we walk all the way around the car line to get to my mom's car. Once we get settled in, my mom asks, "So, Winter! April! How was your day at school?" 

"Fine." I reply.

"Great, thanks for asking." replies April.

"So it is nice you guys are going to the park," says my mom.

"Yeah, um..we needed some fresh air. To get out for once," says April. I nod in agreement.

"Make sure to avoid those woods." my mother said, her voice going down. I bet that she is thinking of Summer. So am I. That is why we have to go into the woods, to find out the mystery of Summer Hart. 

  When my mom drops us off at the park, she says to just walk home whenever we are ready. April thanks her for the ride, and we walk over to the swings and swing until my mom is out of sight. Once she is, we run into the woods. I am a bit nervous. 

  This place brings back memories. Bad memories. The ones I do not want to remember. Mostly everything looks the same from when I was last here. There are still those tall trees and the spooky feeling you are being watched. There is the rock I hid behind and the vines me and Summer used as swings. The vine is broken now though. I think about 5th period and ask April, "Are you new here?" 

She takes a bit to respond. "Yeah," she replies. 

"Where did you move from?" I question.

"Arizona," she replies, looking around.

"Oh...cool! I have always wanted to go there." I say.

"It is super hot there," she says.

"That is what makes it cool!" We both laugh. 

"Let's go this way," April points to a passage in the woods.

"I dunno," I say.

"Are you scared?" she asks.

"No!" I blurt out.

She laughs. "Then c'mon!" she runs into the passage. I follow her.

 The deeper we go, the darker and creepier it gets. I decided to ask April, "Isn't it spooky in here?" 

"I guess." 

 Man, it is cold in these woods. It is damp too, looks like light has not touched this place for years. I get the creepy feeling someone is watching me. It is dark, it is hard to see. So I take out the flashlight keychain I have connected to my backpack, which I am still wearing. It doesn't do much, but it helps me miss a couple of rocks I would have tripped on. April, on the other hand, is having a fine time seeing. "How can you see in this dark?" I ask.

"I ate a lot of carrots," she says. 

"Yeaaaaah," I reply.

  The deeper we go in, the more muddy the ground is. It starts to get disgusting. "I think we have gone far enough, can we turn back?" I ask.

"We are too far to turn back now," April replies. 

  I cannot stand this. I want to leave, but I can't just leave April. Or what if something takes her like something took Summer? No one would be there to help her! Although, she is a pretty brave person. But I should stay though. April is right. It is too far to turn back.

  After a few minutes, my flashlight keychain starts to burn out, so I put it in my backpack, and stop for a minute to see if I have anything else that is useful in this situation. Maybe like a glow stick or something? I don't have anything that could help. Then I see April stop and take a flashlight out of her backpack and flashes it at what I think is a tree. But when she shines it, it is actually an enormous beast.