The Woods: The Complete Novel (The Woods Series)

by Milo Abrams

  Poor dog, he thought as a flash of lightning lit up the living room and hallway. He stood in the hallway and quietly called out to Duffy. “Here boy,” he said, “c’mon buddy, come with me to my room.” Another rumble of thunder struck the house, even louder this time, causing James to jump. Duffy didn’t appear and James was too afraid to go walking out there looking for him. The storm was scaring him and he reasoned that, as an animal, Duffy could take care of himself and would be fine. As the next boom of thunder struck, James hurried back into his room and closed the door. Jack and Owen slept completely unaware of the storm, but James didn't. He could hear the rain pouring on the roof and the walls and the window. The downpour continued the rest of the night.

  Day Seven

  22

  James was the first to wake up the next morning. The sun was already up and trying to squeeze its way around the edges of the barricaded window unsuccessfully, leaving the room dark. He could hear the rain still beating against the window. Below him, Jack was sleeping soundly on the cushions while Owen had fallen off onto the floor. They had made it through the night without incident but James still felt vulnerable. He was ready to get back home away from the country and its monster. He hoped desperately that Nora would come get them, but if not, they would need all day to make the long walk back into the city. Using his foot, he nudged Jack awake.

  Jack looked at him confused but then started laughing when he saw Owen snoring face-first into the floor.

  James looked at Jack, "So, you going to try and call Nora again?"

  Jack shrugged and yawned, "I guess. I don't think she'll answer. Even if she did, I don't think she'll come get us. She hates me."

  James frowned at that. He didn't have any siblings, but if he had, he hoped that they wouldn't hate him like that. After Owen woke up they left the bedroom for the kitchen to have breakfast and call Nora. James really hoped that Jack was wrong. He didn't want to make the long walk back into the city. Walking for seven hours made walking to the hardware store with his dad sound like a cakewalk. It was still summer, which made James even more anxious. He hated the heat.

  He watched anxiously as Jack picked the cordless phone up off the table and pushed the power button. Jack’s face twisted in surprise as he pulled the phone from his face.

  “What's wrong?” James asked.

  Jack pushed the power button several more times. “I think it's dead.”

  “Oh, well that’s probably because we never put it back on the charger.”

  Jack nodded and then replaced the phone on its charging base.

  “How long does it have to charge for?” Owen asked.

  James shrugged.

  “A few minutes should be enough to make a call I would think,” Jack replied, “we could eat while we wait.”

  The default food for children in the morning, when candy isn’t available, is cereal. Nolan knew this and loaded the cupboards full of all different kinds. The boys stood in awe of the grocery store-like selection. After several minutes of contemplation, James settled on one with cinnamon and sugar dusted squares, Jack filled a bowl with some shredded wheat, and Owen just laughed.

  “What's so funny?” James asked him.

  “Look at you guys,” he said pointing. “There's no adults around and you guys still eat like them. Look at all of the different kinds!”

  Jack picked up a piece of his cereal and held it out toward Owen. “Look there’s frosted sugar on these.”

  Owen scoffed then grabbed nearly every colorful box and mixed them all into one bowl. He looked up with a smile causing Jack to just roll his eyes.

  “Man, it’s really raining still,” James said as he listened to the water hit the windows in staticky waves.

  “Good,” Jack said, “walking in the rain will make the heat more bearable.”

  James’s eyebrows tilted downward in concern. “You really don't think she'll pick us up?”

  Jack shrugged. “I guess there’s a possibility.”

  “Maybe she just forgot,” James added.

  Jack looked down at his bowl. “I think she finds pleasure in torturing me.”

  “Man, that’s dark,” Owen said with his head in the fridge.

  “No,” Jack replied, “that's just reality.”

  “No,” Owen said reappearing from behind the door. “I mean the fridge is dark. There’s no light in here.”

  “Huh?” James grunted getting up from the table. He walked over and noticed Owen wasn't lying.

  “Maybe the light bulb is burned out,” Jack suggested.

  “Maybe. Or…” James ran over to the light switch and flipped it up, leaving the room unchanged. He looked at his friends and sighed. “The power is out.” As James started to think aloud, Owen pulled out the gallon of milk and filled his bowl. Jack filled his right after, then they both sat at the table watching James talk.

  “I don't know how I didn't notice it before. The fan! Last night the fan wasn't on all night!” Jack and Owen just looked at him and shrugged as they chewed. James was too embarrassed to say that he needed the noise of a fan at night to sleep, that he was too much of a baby to not have some sort of security against the unknown terror of the darkness. They might've understood given the circumstances—there was a real live terror roaming the darkness in the woods and even in the barn. But he had needed that comfort his whole life. For some reason unknown to him, be it a hereditary fear from ancient human culture or by divine design, he was terrified of the dark.

  After Jack finished chewing he had a revelation. “You realize that we can't call for help.”

  James turned toward him and sucked his lips in frustration. “I guess you're right. We will have to walk.”

  The rain whipped the window with sporadic grumbles of thunder while they ate. Nobody talked for a while. While walking was second nature to humans, the long walk back to the city was the greatest physical challenge that three city boys, with no more physical endurance experience than gym class, could endure. Or so they thought.

  The thunder eventually disappeared and Duffy crept slowly into the kitchen. As soon as he saw the boys, his backside spontaneously shuddered in excitement and he came alive again.

  “There you are!” James said as Duffy jumped up to lick him.

  “I forgot he was even here,” Owen said.

  “He was probably hiding under my dad’s bed. Thunderstorms have always scared him.” James looked out the window above the kitchen sink toward the woods. The rain beat the dying grass as he tried to stare through it. Jack noticed this and joined him.

  “Do you see something?” he asked.

  “No. I mean, I don't know.” James backed away from the window and sat back at the table.

  “Anyone notice we weren't attacked last night?” Owen said filling up a second bowl of cereal. It was something that no one had mentioned but all three boys had thought about.

  “Yeah,” James replied. “We’re lucky, I guess.”

  “Maybe, or maybe not,” Owen said with his mouth full. “That thing stole the gas tank off your dad’s car, so it must be pretty smart, right?”

  “I would think so,” Jack replied.

  “Maybe it can't get in the house,” James said.

  Owen pulled his spoon out of the bowl and pointed it at James, spilling milk all over the table. “Yeah right. It ripped the gas tank off the car and you think that it can't make it through that door? C’mon bro. You said that thing was digging around in the toolbox in the barn, too.”

  “Now wait a second,” Jack interjected. “We don't have any actual proof that the monster did those things.”

  James slid the laptop over and flipped it around so Jack could see the picture of the monster that was still on the screen. “Here’s the proof. Look, it's going to the barn on the same night the gas tank was stolen.”

  Jack shook his head. “Circumstantial. The picture alone doesn't prove the monster stole the gas tank. If it were a picture of it taking the tank…then okay. We don't even kno
w if it was what was under you in the barn that day.”

  James looked at Jack in disbelief. “What? Are you saying I'm lying?”

  “No…it’s just that all we've seen is one picture of it in the backyard.” Seeing the anger in James growing, he stumbled over his words. “It could just be a coincidence. Your dad could be right; it could've just been an animal in the barn. There could've been a thief in the area…”

  James pointed at the picture again. “Do you really believe that? Look at this.”

  “Sure as shit ain't a deer,” Owen said mid-chew.

  Jack looked at the picture intensely then sighed. He didn't want to believe the fantasy but he couldn't deny the picture, no matter how grainy it may have been.

  “Well, if we're going to walk back into the city we better get going. It's going to take a long time and the morning won't last forever,” James said.

  “Okay, but what if it gets us on the way?” Owen asked.

  “What?” James couldn't fathom the negativity in the thought.

  “Well, what if we step outside and it's there? Or what if it follows us? Face it bro, we won't be very fast just walking.”

  “Well, what other option is there?” James asked, “Just wait here?”

  “We could wait for the power to come back on,” Jack suggested, “and when it does, we call Nora.”

  “I thought you had no faith in her showing up?” James asked.

  “I didn't, until I realized I have dirt on her now. All I need is for her to answer the phone. She's grounded and wasn't supposed to go to that party but she went anyway. She refuses to pick us up and I'll call my mom.”

  James’s eyes widened. “You can't do that! She'll tell my parents!”

  “Relax,” Jack reassured him, “there's no way she’d risk it. That car is her life and if my mom finds out, she'll lose it. I guarantee she’ll cave and come get us.”

  “Okay, so we wait here until the power comes back on,” Owen said, “that shouldn't be too bad unless the monster tries to attack us during the day. But at least we wouldn't be asleep.”

  James’s breathing increased as his anxiety began to overwhelm him. “I don't like this,” he said, “why don't we just make a break for a neighbor’s house or something? We’ll just call for help.” The reality of a real-life monster possibly being anywhere outside the house was begin to sink in.

  “I think we'd be better to wait it out,” Owen asserted, “the power is never out in the city more than like an hour or so. How much different could it be out here?”

  Jack sat back and listened, attempting to calculate the possible down time of the electrical infrastructure in relation to triage. It was easy for him to see that residential property in the country wouldn't be high on the list of priorities for the electric company. If the power outage was widespread then it would only be logical to restore power to important businesses and hospitals first. “It could be hours,” he said, “or even another day.”

  Owen knew Jack was smart but he didn't want to show his friends how afraid he was. “Well, I still think we should wait it out. We don't know how fast this thing is or what it can do. Even if we try just to get to a neighbor, what if it's faster than we are? Besides, their power is probably out too. And how far is the nearest neighbor?”

  James shrugged. “It's mostly open fields and woods out here.”

  “We can't risk it. We don't have any wheels,” Owen said. “Even if it's all day or into tomorrow then we can wait. We have food and your dad is bound to come back sometime.”

  Duffy started whining and scratching at the door. James hesitated to get up.

  “I don't think we should go out there, that thing could be waiting under the porch ready to get us,” James said as Duffy whined louder.

  “So, you're just going to let him piss in here?” Owen asked. “Your dog, dude, I'm not cleaning that up.”

  Jack had been half listening and half thinking up to this point. Suddenly he looked up, the expression on his face the telltale mark of an epiphany. He ran over to the laptop on the table and stared at the picture intently.

  "What're you doing?" James asked.

  “Have you ever seen the monster out in the day?” Jack asked.

  “Only sitting back at the woods,” he replied.

  “And everything that has happened has never happened during the day, right?”

  James thought back. “No, when it was in the barn underneath me it was still day time.”

  Jack’s epiphany seemed to fizzle away until James remembered a crucial detail.

  “But it was late in the day. I remember the sun being really low because I fell asleep.”

  “Good!” Jack yelled. “It may be safe for us to make an escape after all.”

  “What're you talking about, Brainiac?” Owen asked.

  "Look, here. The monster is walking away from the camera, further down the field, well out of range of the sensor to set it off."

  "So?" Owen asked.

  "So, look, there are two deer at the feeder in prime position to set off the camera, and when the motion sensor is triggered, the camera flashes an infrared light, a.k.a. night vision, and snaps a picture. Look at the monster. It's looking back at the camera."

  James looked at the screen, "Maybe it's looking at the deer?"

  "No way," Jack said, "look at its eyes. Its head is tilted in the general direction of the camera, yes, in which the deer are near, but its eyes are lit up. That's because the infrared light is bouncing off its eyes and back to the lens. It's looking directly at the camera."

  Owen leaned in for a closer look. "Ugh, that's creepy as fuck."

  Duffy paced around the boys’ legs whining. James tried to calm him down by petting him but it didn't help. He just scurried around faster, anxiously waiting to get outside to relieve himself.

  “That is common in nocturnal animals,” Jack said, “and given the fact that it seems to only move at night, as seen here by the picture, I would guess it should be pretty safe to go outside during the day.”

  “But don't nocturnal animals sleep during the day? I've seen it out in the back looking at me in broad daylight,” James said.

  “True, but have you ever seen it in the morning?”

  James had to think about this. “I don't know. I mean I guess not. Every time I've seen it out back it’s been in the afternoon or at least noon. I don't know, I've never kept track of what time I've seen it.”

  “It would make sense for it to be out later in the day and at night, depending on its sleeping habits. I would think it would do the majority of its sleeping close to sunrise and early morning,” Jack asserted.

  “You sure about all this?” Owen asked.

  Jack looked down at his feet. “Honestly, no. But it's as good a guess as any I would say.” By the time he had finished his sentence Duffy was full-on wailing.

  James walked to the sink and looked toward the woods. The rain was letting up and the coast was clear. The monster was nowhere to be seen. He sighed heavily. “Okay, well our options are stay here and wait or walk to a neighbor’s house to call for help.” Jack and Owen nodded. “But, if we don't have to worry about that thing chasing us and it sleeps in the morning, then maybe we should just make the trip back into the city. We walk back home without the monster even knowing we left, then once we get back we can get help. No one will know we were out here and we avoid the trouble.” Jack and Owen just looked at him. He thought his idea was brilliant, and even Jack hadn't managed to think of it. Owen finally groaned.

  “Ah man, I hate walking,” he said.

  “I think James is right though,” Jack said smacking him on the back lightly. Owen looked at him strangely causing Jack to withdraw his hand in embarrassment.

  “Then it's settled,” James said. “I've got a backpack, we’ll pack some stuff for the road and then we’ll leave. We don't want to wait much longer and take the chance that the monster will wake up.”

  Jack and Owen nodded then James disappeared into
the back of the house. After a minute, he reappeared with a black and yellow backpack in one hand and a rifle in the other.

  “Holy shit,” Owen jumped up from the table, “where’d you get that?”

  “It was in my dad’s closet. I figured it would be good for protection.” James beamed as he reveled in his new position as leader of the group. For as long as he could remember he always felt like a tag along to Owen’s toughness and Jack’s smarts. But now he had something the other two boys didn't, he had the ability to adapt and improvise. They may not have been country boys, but James could feel the wild country blood he shared with his father running inside him. It fueled his brain with ideas and he loved it.

  “Wait a minute James,” Jack said, “if we’re going to be walking back into the city, what're you going to do with that thing? I imagine the first cop that sees three boys with a rifle is going to stop us for sure.”

  “Hmm,” James said. His ego began to deflate. He hadn’t thought that far ahead. “I don't know, I guess I'll just take it outside with us just in case. If the coast is clear, I'll throw it under the porch and next time I'm back here I'll put it back.” That answer was good enough. It was a decent plan and while they were intimidated by the walk, they were glad they weren't completely unprepared. James set the rifle on the table and went to the fridge to find food for the trip. Jack looked over the gun then went to the computer and furiously began typing.

  “What're you doing?” Owen asked.

  “We need to know how to use this thing just in case,” Jack said as he scrolled through the webpage. “It looks like it’s a lever action rifle.”

  “Okay?” Owen asked, “So?”

  “It's important to know what we're dealing with. This says it has a tubular magazine that holds six shots. You have to cock it by pulling down that lever at the bottom between each shot. See here?” Jack pulled the rifle over and pointed to where the bullets would be loaded in. “Your father is a smart man James, so I don't think he'd keep it loaded in the closet. We’ll have to load it, so we’ll need some ammo.”