My Brother's Not Coming Home

January 28th Part Two

The next part is hard to tell because I haven't told the complete truth to anyone, including the police. I'd sound crazy if I did, but here it goes... the true story of what happened to my brother.  Just as I was babbling on about how our friends, Jessica and Mark, broke up, a saw something out of the corner of my eye.  When I turned around, the forest was still empty; there was nothing but bare trees as far as I could see.  Hearing me stop talking, Henry turned around to see what I was looking at.

"What's up?" He asked, trying to follow my gaze.

"Oh, it must be nothing, just a rabbit or something.  Let's keep going."  I continued on with my Jessica story, but continued to look behind me every once and a while.  I was far too paranoid now to enjoy the scenery

We had almost reached the end of the trail when a flash of black knocked my brother to the ground.  Before I could even get a good look at the creature, it grabbed my brother by the neck and took off, but not before I caught a glimpse of its eyes.  They were pitch black except for the speck of red in the center where the pupil should be.  The eyes seemed to see directly into my soul and every dark thought I've ever had washed over me like a flood of sadness and anger.  I frantically looked around the forest for another flash, or anything to prove my brother was even there at all.  Tears rolled down my face as I tried to stay calm enough to find Henry, but the forest just got darker and it was no longer just a hiking trail full of fond memories of Henry and I... it was now just as scary as any horror movie would portray it to be.

When it was clear to me that I wasn't getting my brother back from whatever that thing was, I decided the only sensible thing to do was get back to the main road and call 9-1-1.  I reached the road and pulled out my phone.  My fingers shook as I unlocked it and pulled up the keypad.

"9-1-1.  What is your emergency?"  A calm voice said.

"M- My brother," I sobbed.  "Something took my brother."

"Try to remain calm, Ma'am.  Please give me your location."  I told her.  "Did you see who took your brother?"

"Not who, what," I corrected.  "It was an animal or something, we were hiking."  I lied.

"Okay, there will be a police car by shortly."

"Thank you," I hung up, and called our parents.  I was crying so much that I couldn't get the words out but I told them to meet me where I was.

When the officer showed up, I was huddled on the ground staring at the forest with all its dark shadows.  He asked me the usual questions, where we were when he was taken, what he was wearing, and if I knew what took Henry.  I answered with, "I didn't get a good look, it all happened so fast.  It may have been a wolf or a coyote."

My parents arrived halfway through the questioning, and asked what happened and where was Henry.  I just started to cry, uncontrollably.  My dad held me while the officer explained my story to them.  After he finished explaining, the reinforcements arrived.  

"They're here to look for Henry.  Will the three of you please come down to the station with me to write a report on the incident."

I got in the car with my parents and followed the cop car to the station.  As I got out of the car, I saw my reflection in the window.  My mascara had run down my face, I looked hysterical.  This only made me all the more glad I'd lied about the creature.  If I'd told the truth, the cops would think I was nuts and there would be no hope of finding my brother.