The Woods: The Complete Novel (The Woods Series)

by Milo Abrams

  "Yes," he stammered, "I—I mean I think so! I don't know, I was so worried about Duffy and he slipped right out of my hands, I can't remember!"

  "We have to look around!" Owen yelled, looking up and down the driveway.

  They searched the grass on the barn side of the driveway and came up empty handed. Next, they moved to the barn.

  "Retrace your steps," Jack advised.

  "Man, why's this thing have to be camo?" Owen complained.

  They searched around the ground by the tool box and the car. James looked all over the bench along the inside wall but didn't find anything.

  "Maybe it's up there?" Jack suggested.

  "I don't know, I can't remember," James said.

  They climbed the ladder up to the hayloft and hurried over to the hay door. On the floor in the corner was the game camera.

  "Thank God!" James yelled. He picked it up and hugged it like it was a lost child. "By the way, what were you throwing at Duffy?"

  Owen picked up an empty bag of jerky. "Found this on the floor. Smelled kind of nasty but it was the only idea I had. Hope Duff doesn't get sick."

  Their stomachs growled loudly. "Man, it's been hours since we ate," James said. "Let's get inside and get the cable and eat."

  "How're we going to get in?" Jack asked. "We don't have a key."

  "This is the country," James smiled, "the door will be unlocked.”

  20

  James stood at the front door and gripped the handle. It turned effortlessly and he pushed the heavy door open into the cool air conditioning of the house. "See? Told you."

  Owen laughed as he watched Duffy run back and forth through the yard like a giant canine yo-yo. "Uh, James, how are we going to get him to stop?"

  "Here, Duff!" James yelled. This only caused Duffy to change course and run closer to them but he kept going. They all took turns calling him but it didn't work. Then Jack had an idea.

  "Do you have a bag of dog food here?" he asked James.

  "Uh, I don't know. I don't know if my dad bought any. We kind of grabbed Duff on the fly." James went into the kitchen and started looking through the cabinets and in one he found a large fifty-pound bag of dog food. "Man, my dad prepares for everything," he said. He scooped a bunch out, filled a bowl and walked outside.

  "Here Duff, FOOD!" he yelled, shaking the bowl back and forth trying to make it as noisy as possible. Duffy heard this and spun around. When he got close enough, James grabbed his collar then dragged him into the house with Jack right behind him holding the food bowl.

  The USB cable for the game camera sat in plain view on the kitchen counter. James let go of Duffy then grabbed it and held it straight up in triumph as if he had just pulled the sword from the stone. But their celebration was short lived.

  "Wait a minute," Jack said pessimistically, "we don't have any way to see the pictures here!"

  "What are you talking about?" Owen asked.

  "Well there's no internet out here. We're in a dead zone, remember? No internet, no computer. No computer, no USB port and no pictures!"

  James smiled. "Well, not actually."

  "Okay, now what are you talking about?" Owen asked James.

  "Well, my dad does have internet out here, but I told you guys he didn't because I didn't want to get in trouble for using it and have him take it away from me. But, that was before all this happened."

  "Great! So, where's the computer?" Owen asked tapping his foot impatiently. "I've been waiting too long and been through too much already to see these damn pictures."

  James went into his dad's room and on the end table next to the bed sat his laptop. He picked it up then returned to the kitchen. He sat at the table, flipped it open and then powered it on. Jack and Owen watched as his excitement deflated in front of them.

  "Oh, what now?" Owen yelled and then slumped into a chair at the table.

  James shook his head and pursed his lips. "His laptop is password protected and I don't know it."

  They all deflated simultaneously. Defeat is a heavy weight and they were ready to tap out. All of the effort they had put into simply trying to see the pictures on the game camera had been a waste.

  "Well look at it this way," Owen said, "maybe there weren't any pictures on there and so we aren't missing anything."

  "Yeah," Jack agreed, "maybe you're right." He was half disappointed and half relieved. So long as they didn't prove a monster existed, the threat of a monster wasn't real. "So how are we going to get home now?"

  Of course, they hadn't thought that far ahead. The boys had gotten so caught up in the excitement and possibility of capturing a monster on their camera that they hadn't planned an escape route. They stared at one another blankly, realizing the gravity of their situation. They weren't supposed to be there and to make matters worse, if James's dad came back they would be in serious trouble. As Jack started to piece everything together more quickly than his friends, he also started to panic.

  "It won't be long before your mom notices that Duffy isn't in the backyard, James, and if your dad comes back here we're dead!"

  "He won't be coming back," James said, "I don't think he's staying here either because of the theft last night."

  "Are you sure?" Owen asked.

  "Well, no, but when I asked him when he was leaving my parents were talking about it. He never said for sure what he was doing."

  "I got an idea,” Jack said, "I'll call Nora and ask her to pick us up."

  "Genius!" James yelled, relaxing a bit.

  "Yes, she can pick us up and drop us off at Owen's, and then we can stay there, bring the USB cable with us, and then we can use his PC to finally look at the pictures!"

  With Jack's new plan, the boys felt sure they would get away with all their deceit and manage to finally see if there was a monster on the game camera. But they couldn't have been more wrong.

  Jack grabbed the cordless phone off the table and dialed Nora's cell phone number. He waited patiently, knowing their entire plan was completely dependent on his sister. If she didn't answer they would be stranded and without a back-up plan. Just before the call went to her voicemail, Nora answered in an unsure voice.

  "Hello? Who is this?"

  "Nora it’s me, Jack."

  "Where are you calling me from? I don't recognize the number."

  "I'm at James's dad's house. Listen, I need a favor. I need you to come pick us up."

  She paused for a moment. "Listen, if you need a ride then then go next door and bother Mom, I'm busy."

  "No, I'm not at James's house! Nora please don't hang up!"

  James bit his nails as he watched the exchange from his limited perspective.

  "What? You said you were at his house."

  "No," Jack said, "I said I'm at his dad's house. I need you to pick us up, and don't tell Mom."

  This piqued Nora's interest. Any opportunity she had to potentially get her little brother into trouble interested her. She didn't hate him, but the age difference between them was enough to create a certain love/hate relationship. He was too young to hang around with her but at the same time wasn't young enough for her to feel like she was a caretaker. Coupled with her brewing teenage hormones, it was the perfect combination to produce a super bitch from time to time—as far as her brother was concerned. Her voice sweetened, but not in genuine love or compassion. Instead, it flowed with the sweetness that comes with a poison like drinking antifreeze. There was a malicious intent underneath her sugary tone. "What do you mean don't tell Mom?"

  Jack already knew he was too deep into her trap. Nora was a predator, and as such, he was at her mercy. Without an upper hand, he was forced to divulge everything. He risked her going back and telling his parents anyway, but it was a risk he had to take. "You can't tell Mom because she thinks we are staying at Owen's."

  Nora felt a sense of camaraderie with her little brother just then. His step into the dark side by lying to their mom was just the sort of thing she specialized in. But the use of the pronoun
"us" distracted her from warm fuzzy feelings. "Wait a minute," she said, "who's us? Who’re you with?”

  Jack sighed. "James and Owen are here with me. We needed to sneak out here to get something and now we're stuck and need your help. Please come pick us up."

  Nora could hear the pathetic whine in Jack's voice and felt bad for him. But she hadn't revealed her position yet—her decision was still unmade. She still held the power. "How did you sneak out there?"

  "Oh come on, Nora! Just come get us please!"

  "Tell me how you did it."

  "We hid in the back of Dr. Callum's truck bed when they drove out here, then hid in the barn until they left. There, are you happy now?"

  "Wow," she said. She was impressed. That was something that even she didn't have the balls to do, or at least had never thought to anyway. "All right," she said, "I'll come get you after I leave the party. I'll call you back and you can tell me how to get out there. You better answer or I won't come, you hear me?"

  "Yes, yes, thank you!"

  "Okay."

  "Wait, I thought you were grounded?”

  “I am. I mean it, you better answer.”

  “Wait, what time are you leaving the party?"

  Nora smiled but Jack couldn't see it. He could, however, hear her smiling as she said, "Around midnight or so." Then she hung up.

  "So, she's coming?" James asked.

  Jack set the phone on the table and sighed. "Yes, around midnight."

  Hearing this, Owen immediately went for the fridge. "Well, better get comfortable. That's..." he counted the hours on his fingers, "Nine hours. Long time. I'm hungry."

  As he rummaged through the fridge he found a big jar of pickles, some more hot dogs, and lunch meat. He set them all on the counter when something outside caught his eye. He squinted as he looked out the kitchen window. James noticed his stare and immediately rushed to his side.

  "What?" Jack asked as he stood up.

  "What is that?" Owen asked.

  At the back of the field was the gray figure crouching in the same spot it always sat.

  "That's it!" screamed James.

  "I can hardly see it, it's too far away,” Owen said.

  "Shit, where are my binoculars! Quick, help me find them!"

  Jack and James began frantically looking around the kitchen and living room. Owen stayed at the window watching the gray mass at the back of the field.

  "What...is that?" he whispered.

  James searched his room but turned up empty handed. "Oh no," he said, "they might be in the barn!"

  Owen turned around. "I didn't see them up top when we were there."

  "You didn't?" James asked.

  He shrugged. "No, but honestly I wasn't looking for them so I can't really remember."

  All three of them looked out at the creature sitting perfectly still. "What is it doing?" Jack asked.

  "I think it's watching us," James said.

  "That's fucking giving me chills," Owen said rubbing his arms.

  "Well, if the binoculars are in the barn, we have to get them," James asserted.

  "But—but," Jack stuttered, "what if we step outside and it sees us and it comes after us? We need to just stay in the house, lock the doors and keep an eye on its movements.”

  “Can you see that?” Owen asked him. “I can't see shit that far away. We need the binoculars so we can see it.” The boys looked at one another nervously. "There's no point in flipping a coin. I'm not going to win just to watch one of you get killed. We all need to go. Three against one. Strength in numbers or some shit right?” Jack and James nodded.

  James took a deep breath. "We need to be fast." He looked at Jack who was starting to shake. "Okay, I know the barn best so you two wait at the edge of the house and be the lookout. I'll run up to the hayloft and grab the binoculars then meet you back down there.”

  "Can't we look out from the house?" Jack whined.

  "No way," Owen said puffing his chest, "James has the right thinking there. If something happens then we have to be able to jump in and help! By the time we got out of the house and to him, he'd be a goner! I told you I won't watch one of you get killed!"

  James hadn't thought about it like that and swallowed hard. "O—okay, let's go."

  They took one last peek to see if the creature was still sitting at the back of the field and it was. They slowly walked to the door, opened it and stood out on the porch, no longer able to see the backyard. James was careful to make sure Duffy didn't get out, then closed the door behind them. They slowly walked down the porch then up the driveway toward the back corner of the house closest to the barn. They stopped just before they could see into the backyard.

  "Okay, you guys stay right here and peek around the corner to watch my back. I'm going to run across as fast as I can and hope it doesn't see me." James's breathing was shallow and he hadn't even started running yet. His legs tingled as the adrenaline built up and he bounced on his heels in nervous anticipation.

  "Right," Owen said putting his hand on James's shoulder, "we can't let it know we are here, just in case."

  James swallowed hard at his friend's insensitivity. "Okay, here we go." He peeked around the house and squinted hard. "It's still there, I think," he said. He clenched his fists and then with one deep breath, he shot like Duffy across the space separating them from the barn and ran inside. He was running so fast he couldn't slow down enough and tripped on the fallen toolbox. He quickly regained his footing and ran for the ladder.

  Jack and Owen sunk their heads like turtles into their shells when he fell, making an inhaled hissing noise through clenched teeth. Owen peeked his head around the house to look for the monster and gasped.

  James scampered up the ladder with his heart beating in his ears. He hit the thick wall of warm air at the top and ran for the hay door. He quickly scanned the floor but didn't see the binoculars anywhere.

  "James!" Owen screamed from below. He looked out the opening to see Owen frantically waving his hands. "It's not there anymore! Hurry!"

  James's heartbeat went from a beat to a pound. Looking out into the yard, he saw Owen was right. He gave up the search and ran for the ladder with hot tears streaming down his face. Blurry-eyed, he stumbled down the ladder and slipped, falling from the last four rungs and hit the ground. He groaned loudly and hobbled over the tool box then stopped at the front of the barn. Outside, he saw Jack and Owen frantically waving for him to run.

  "C'mon, James!" Owen yelled.

  "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" James struggled to leave the safety of the barn. He dug his shoes into the dirt floor and ran as fast as he could. As soon as he crossed to Owen and Jack, they all ran for the porch. They screamed wildly as they climbed the steps, pushing for the door and falling over their own feet before crashing into the kitchen. Jack kicked the door shut and then stumbled up to lock it.

  21

  They sat on the kitchen floor panting heavily while Duffy slept like a dead animal in the corner. As James stared at the floor, trying to catch his breath, he had a thought. He sat up and wiped his eyes, looked over at Duffy, noticing a slender black loop of plastic sticking out from under his head. He crawled over to him, slowly reaching over and pushed his head to the side. He followed the loop of plastic to the binoculars underneath Duffy's head. "Son of a bitch," he hissed.

  "What?" Jack asked.

  James pulled the binoculars out and held them up so they could see. Jack and Owen both sighed. James got up and walked to the kitchen window and peered outside with the binoculars. He saw nothing in the field or anywhere else. "Maybe it just went back into the woods," he suggested.

  "Either way, I'm not going outside again until my sister gets here."

  Owen stood up. "We should try the laptop anyway," he said.

  "I told you I don't know my dad's password."

  "I know, but what could it hurt to try? You could figure it out? Maybe there's something around here that could give us a clue." Owen walked around and started looking at th
e living room walls. "Does he have some sort of thing for angels?" he asked.

  "Not that I know of," James said, "but my mom has a bunch of those little angel statues at home. It's weird, it's almost like she decorated the place."

  "Your dad is a smart man," Jack said as he sat down next to James, “so his password won't be easy." The computer screen came on as they opened the laptop and a login screen appeared.

  James sunk into his chair. "This is impossible," he said.

  "Think," Jack said. "You can do this."

  James tried different combinations of things relating to hearts, cars, and he even tried using his birthday. He tried his own name and different variations of his birthday but nothing worked. He sat back defeated. "Well nice idea, anyway."

  Owen came back into the kitchen. "Get it?"

  "Nope. You come up with anything?" Jack asked.

  "Nah, but I was in your dad’s room. You realize his bed sheet and pillow cases are pink?"

  James fell into thought.

  "Your dad's weird," Owen said.

  James typed in a different password this time. He typed "Margaret" then hit enter and watched as the screen loaded and let him in.

  "Wow!" Jack yelled, "you did it!"

  "What was it?" Owen asked.

  "My mom’s name." James replied in shock.

  "How the hell did you ever guess that?" Owen looked dumbfounded.

  "Actually, everything around here looked like it was decorated by my mom, and the pink sheets reminded me of her bed at home. I mean, he's had this laptop a long time so it was probably an old password."

  Owen quickly grabbed the game camera and cable then slid it to James across the table. "Plug it in," he yelled, "we can finally see the pictures!"

  James grabbed the camera and plugged it into the side of the laptop. After a few seconds a window popped up saying the software was installing. James was nervous and terrified. He knew the monster was real, and even his best friends had seen it, but for the first time there was a chance to see it up close. The installation finally completed and a window popped up saying there were forty-two images.