Here I am again with another chapter of The Forest. There is only a few more until I start my next story, The Assassin. Enjoy.

Chapter 13: The Truth is Out.

Dawn came in early as the sun roses up in its position. During the night, Gumball's time on guard duty was up. He handed the Tobias' dad pistol to the next person before he grab his sleepy sister and went back to bed. Each hour the gang took turns watching guard and holding the pistol. The one who was the last having the pistol after each gang took his or her turn was Masami, who fell asleep once the sun was up. Gumball was the only one who woken up and sit on the edge on the tracks, while reading a comic book. He didn't bother waking her up because she was being a bitch last night when Gumball discuss about everyone futures and she brought up about Penny's future of being like her fire had died moments before the sun was up.

As he was reading the comic book that he enjoys, a deer about a few feets from him alarm him. It wasn't the monstrous deer from back of the forest, it was just an orderly deer. Gumball smile lightly at the adorable creature before it run away. This was the first time Gumball have saw something not horrible or dangerous in the forest since he and his brother got lost in the forest.

Moments later, a train roar in, alarming the crowd and waking them up. The gang had put their sleeping bags and the remaining snacks in their backpacks. They continue walking along the path, resuming their trip. Gumball wanted them to tell them about the non-dangerous deer he had saw just now, but decided not to. He never breath a word or uttered a sentence about the deer. They'll just think he was seeing things. The gang kept walking as the sun was growing higher and higher by every seconds. Its beam shine upon the pre-teens faces, earning another reason to be woken up. Their bellies were rumbling as every step make them hungrier. They didn't bother of eating the snacks they have left after that camp out because it'll make them sick.

Darwin asked while his stomach was growling "Man, Gumball, why couldn't you bring some Cupcakes or Twinkies while you and Tobias were out getting the food?"

Gumball shrugged "Sorry, man, we thought that everyone will be eating weenies or s'mores during the trip."

Carmen pointed "I wouldn't mind eating the same thing, but not warm soda in the morning."

Teri asked "Who would drink soda in the morning?"

"Who wouldn't?" Remarked Tobias.

With their stomach rowing, they travel about fifty miles on walking the tracks of the forest. They have spend till noon walking along the tracks. Their minds of finding Justin Blake's remains were growing larger and larger by every step they had travel. It was started to grow an obsession for them, including Gumball. They will do everything in their power to see the body even if they died trying. The sun was in full heat when the noon reaches. There were barely a few clothes from the skies. The gang stop in a halt when they saw an area that was a few feets from them.

"This is it, guys." Carrie said. "This is where we'll reach Dead Man's Tracks in no time."

Darwin exclaimed "Finally!"

"There's two ways of reaching the tracks; we'll stay along the track, or we'll go to that big area over there."

Gumball thought back of what Carrie said just now before pointing to another forest "What if we go along the area?"

"It'll take us about an hour if we cut through there."

Darwin suggested "I think we should stay on the tracks."

Tobias replied "I say we should go along the area."

The gang agree on what Tobias said; most of the girls wanted to end this trip right now, including Leslie. They got out of the tracks and started running to the area.

"H-Hey guys, maybe we should stay on the tracks. It's safer away from the animals. Guys? Oh, man." Darwin said as the gang ran to the area, leaving him he last one before catching up to them. It won't be long until they came across the main point of the journey.

Back in Elmore, people were minding their own business. The gang were wondering of how their parents will react if they didn't come home yesterday. So far not everyone was in a freak state about most of the missing except for a piss off middle age peanut antlered driving up to the Watterson's house. He knock on the door for a couple of times harshly until Richard open the door.

He yawed and was a bit surprised Penny's dad is here. "Patrick, what are you doing here?"

Patrick shouted "You know damn well why I'm here, Watterson!" He went inside the house after pushing Richard very rudely. Nicole notice him entering through the kitchen and entering the backyard, ignoring her concerns. Patrick look around to see Gumball or her daughter or the rest of her friends, but nothing.

Nicole and Richard follow him in the backyard and Nicole asked "Patrick, what's going on?"

"Where is he?!" Patrick asked in a shout. "Where is that sick pervert son of yours?!"

Nicole scolded "Hey, that's my son you're talking about!"

"So you know where he is?!"

Richard shakes his head negatively. "No, we thought he was camping with your daughter, along with Darwin and Anais. It said on Gumball's note that he have given before he and the kids had left."

"Well, they're not!" Patrick sternly said. "I call her friends' parents last night and none of them said that their child or my child is at anyone homes! So I assume that they all be at your house, I wonder!"

"But...But," Nicole stuttered confusedly. "Wait, are you saying that they're missing?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Oh, my god! Richard, call the police!"

Soon the kids parents arrive in packs around the police department, chatting and worried about their missing kids. The chief of police, Timothy Patterson, came outside with the Sergeant and his gang. The chief was about close to 200 pounds and in his late forties. He had mostly grey hairs around his sides. The obese living bucket of fried chicken chief addresses to the crowd with his hand up "All right, all right. Calm down people."

Tobias and Rachel's mother, Jackie, cried "How can we calm down?! Our children are missing!" The crowd resume chatting louder than ever.

The chief explain more "Now, now. I know you're all upset about this, parents, but I assure you that we're getting to the bottom of this. It might be possible that a child missing could be the act of running away."

Penny's mother, Jane Fitzgerald, shouted while holding her husband's arm "Oh, my god! Patrick, I'm scare!"

Patrick shushed, rubbing her head "It'll be all right, Jane."

Richard and Nicole overheard her cries with him saying "Calm down, Jane. I'm sure Penny is find as long she with Gumball-"

"This is your fault!" Patrick cried, pointing at him. "I knew my daughter will put herself in danger whenever she's around your ungrateful son!"

"Don't talk about my son, you son of a bitch!" The middle age bunny jumped on the middle age peanut antlered, sending them on the ground and landing punches on each other. Both their wives tried to get their husbands under control while both of them are saying "Stop! Stop!"

Some of the police officers restrained them both before calming down and letting them go.

The chief continued "I'm going to need a photo of your children and we'll create a dozen posters and set them around the city. My guess is they should be from here to all the way at the end. We'll conduct a search around a fifty yard radius. Our mens will ask everyone questions about the children. Meanwhile, you parents will go look for anything that your children fall on such as wells, holes, or bomb shelters."

Patrick shouted "How the hell would our children be fall there?!"

"Sir, I'm going to ask you to stand down if you don't corporate. It is just a guess, okay? Alright, gang, let's move!"

That afternoon, the police had constructed a search for the missing kids. The parents had given them a photo of their missing child and made posters. The police had went door to door, asking them about the missing children. They ask people around town if they see at least one of them. They hadn't found any clues. The parents had looked everywhere for their kids; they look at arcade, the library, the beach, downtown, uptown, or maybe at their homes because their kids might be playing a gag. But this wasn't a gag; this was serious. They were started to get worry for them. They ask themselves of what did they do to drove away their child. Was it because they were strict? Were they're disciplining their kids too much? Were they too rough of them? Or they didn't listen to them? They spend almost about two hours looking for them. Sergeant Parker and his gang had split three into two to try of getting some clues about the missing kids. It was exhausting for them; it was like Justin Blake all over again. They were still in town, but deciding to take a break.

The Sergeant took a break by smoking a cigarette and stated "Damn, this is exhausting."

Billy Trescott was drinking a beer and replied "Yeah, I know what you mean." He took a slip. "This doesn't make sense. Why would almost half of every teen in Elmore suddenly disappear?"

Sergeant Parker guessed "Probably because since school was coming up, they didn't want to face of torture. I mean, I heard about how that teacher made her students' lives mersible."

"Still, that doesn't explain why they left."

"I know, but-" The Sergeant stop and rethinks his thought about everything that has been going on in Elmore. Teens in this town suddenly disappear without a trace. There's been a number of teens left in the town. This didn't make sense for him. "Wait a minute."

Billy looked at him with great concern. "Sir?"

"Call it a hunch, but I'm beginning to wonder what's been going on here. Yesterday, we heard a report about a gun shooting at the market downtown, and as we're going, we stop a couple of two boys and ask them about the shooting. They denied it, and I notice that they were carrying snacks for a campout in one of their friends houses."

Billy asked "What did the boys look like?"

Sergeant Parker described "Both of them were fourteen years, but I don't remember nothing about them boys." He took one long inhale on his cigarette and blowing out a huge light smoke. "Wait. I remember what one of them look like. The boy kinda look like the hot ass blue cat whose marriage to that fat ass rabbit, who was beating the crap out of that mosse."

Billy said while thinking what his friend and knew who he was talking about. "Wait. You mean Gumball Watterson?"

"It's that his name, then yes. Those boys were acting strange when I stop them and lying about where they're going after seeing those snacks they were carrying."

"Where were they coming from?"

"Properly from the market."

And that's when the both of them had found their first clue. They throw away their smokes and half fill cans before getting in their car and drive to the market.

When they arrive at the market, the two officers went inside the market and goes to the cashier.

Larry greeted "Hello there, value cuto-. He stop at almost at the end of the sentence when he saw the officers right in front of him. He pleaded as his stone body turn white "Oh, dear god. Please don't tell me you're arresting me. I haven't done anything. I swear!"

Sergeant Parker sighed "You're not in trouble, Larry."

Larry let out in deep sigh as a sign of relieved. "Thank god."

"We came here for some questions. Was Gumball Watterson was here yesterday with someone else?"

Larry nodded "Yes, he and Tobias Wilson. They were putting some snacks on the counter and give me the money."

Billy asked "Was there any suspicious on both of them?"

"Well, now that you mention it, yes I did. I ask them of what's the food for, and they said that they're camping at someone elses house."

Sergeant Parker's suspicious grew more and more by the minute. "Can we see your security cameras?"

The three of them all went to the security room, where it was filled with many rows of t.v. The cameras from the store correspond to the mini televisions. Every moment from inside and outside. Larry was ask to play the video from yesterday the moment Gumball and Tobias came to the store. Larry sat at the chair and press the reverse button as one of the mini t.v was making that sound it gets when you're reversing a video. Larry stopped and the t.v show Gumball and Tobias entering the store.

Sergeant Parker ordered "Now fast-forward to where they're at the counter."

Larry fast-forward to the part where they're at the counter. They watch the whole scene until the boys left the market. "That's all I know, Sergt. They came in and left the market. I don't see how is this-" He said before he was interrupted by Billy.

"Sergt, look at this!"

Both Larry and Sergeant Parker were looking at the mini t.v. where Billy is pointing at. The t.v. show Gumball and Tobias back behind the market before showing him his father's pistol that he had stolen from his safe. Gumball fumbles with the pistol before setting an discharge from it and running away from it.

Larry shouted "So that was that shot was!"

Sergeant Parker declared, his eyes narrowed "Looks like we're on the right path."

The two officers left the market before heading to the car as the Sergeant explained "Okay, so we know that they're not camping at someone elses house and it was them who fired the gun, but we need more clues of where they are."

Billy rethink about the clues they had discover just now. First they're not at someone elses house, his friend telling the story and seeing the cameras back at the market. From all the clues merging together, the sergeant didn't know where they are, but Billy know. In fact, Billy and Same already know.

Billy stated "John, I think I know where they are, but you gotta promise me not to tell anyone about this. You swear in your mom's life you won't tell?"

Sergeant Parker replied "You got it, pal."

The two other sides of Sergeant Parker's gang had gone and did the same thing they were doing. According to some witnesses, they saw a pack of teens going at the end of town, one of them was from a piss off old man living in a junkyard with a friendly dog with a tough reputation. A lying one. Sam knew where this was heading, so he did what Billy had already done.

With Matt Dent as his team, Sam stated "Matt, I'm going to tell you something important but you got to swear in your mother's life you ain't telling anybody."

Matt nodded "I swear."

Billy and Sam both had managed to keep their secret about Blake's body for about 38 hours. By three o'clock, John and Matt told the gang about the secret. Unfortunately, not caring about keeping the secret in their mother's name wasn't an option. They meet up of at the barn where they hang out. They have a plan of how are they're going to get the body. They put in some fishing nets on one of the two cars. They were about to get ready to reclaim for what's theirs, except two of them have some concerns.

Billy said "Listen, John, we been thinking and me and Sam shouldn't go."

Sam replied "Yeah, I agree."

"What are you freakin nuts or something?" Sergeant Parker said, outrage. "You guys are acting like my bitch ex-wife! Look, we go to the forest and if a cop, god knows the chief, ask us of where we going, we'll tell them we're going fishing, and once we get there, we'll just stumble upon while exclaiming "What have we here!"

"Yeah! We're going to be famous! And if we're lucky, the chief might promote us! It's a win-win scenario!" Exclaimed Chuck.

Billy repeated "I still don't think we should go."

"Okay, okay. I understand you too. Now here's what I have to say about this." The German Shepherd replied before raise his voice, shouting "GET IN THE GODDAMN CAR!"

Both Billy and Sam took a step back after being stated by his commander and enter the car in fear.

"All right." John stated, satisfied. "Let's go find us a body!" John went into the car and started it up. Before he drives, Matt said, showing a bit of his anger "Let's hope those bastards don't try of finding the body first."

John evilly grin "Don't worry. They won't make it in time. They're probably dead already. And if they're not…" He took out a handgun, making his point before putting it back. The car then drives away out of town.

Holy crap! Sergeant Parker and his gang knews about the truth of the body and the pre-teens. Looks like it'll be a showdown of who deserve the body. Also, the parents discover that their kids missing. The suspense is killing you all, right? Just wait till tomorrow for another new chapter. NiteOwl18 out.