~4:30am, Near Alex's house~
Nick had found more blood, leading him in a faint trail toward that shortcut in
the woods that he and his friends liked to bike on. Once in the woods, the
moonlight was cut off and the blood was no longer visible, but he just followed
the trail of trampled ground and broken branches that mountain bikes had a
habit of leaving. His footsteps crunched softly in last year's dry leaves, and he
looked around uneasily. What if whoever – or whatever – had gotten his sister
was still out here, waiting for him? Eventually he reached the clearing that
opened onto the road, and he stopped and looked around. The ground was
churned up with tire tracks, clear even in the dim glow of his flashlight. In the
time it had taken him to walk from his house to the clearing, the moon had gone
down, leaving him with only the flashlight to see by. He was suddenly very glad
he had brought it.
Nick looked carefully at the tread marks in the dirt. They came into the
clearing from the direction of the road, then seemed to stop, turn around, and go
back out again. He knew, somehow, that he had found the trail of his missing
sister. He didn't know how he knew. He just did. Walking out to the road, he
saw the track disappear to the left as the dirt gradually fell off the tires, until the
trail could no longer be seen. Fixing the direction in his mind case the tracks got
washed away, he turned around and headed quickly home again.
Striding up the trail, the flashlight swinging from his hand and sending wild
shadows flickering around the woods, Nick carefully developed a plan. He
didn't have much faith in the police, despite the fact that he found them very
interesting – he had already discovered more than they seemed to have found.
He knew plenty of kids – well, at least a few – at school who had committed
crimes and gotten away with it. Sure, they weren't big crimes, like
kidnapping…but it still didn't boost his confidence in the local law enforcement
system.
Slipping in through the front door as quietly as he could, Nick went first to the
kitchen, found his note, and ripped it to shreds so nobody could read it. Then he
snuck past his parents' bedroom and back into his own, put the flashlight and
compass on the table, and threw the sweatshirt on the floor. By the time he was
back in bed, his plan was complete.
* * *
~6:00am, Nick's room~
Beep-beep! Beep-beep! Nick rolled over in bed, groaning, and slammed his
fist down on the alarm clock. Beep-beep! it insisted cheerfully.
"Shut up."
Beep-beep!
"I said *shut it!*"
Beep-beep!
Nick sighed. How could it be morning already? It felt like he'd barely slept.
Then he remembered that that was probably because he really hadn't slept
much. He tried to think, but the clock kept interrupting him.
Beep-beep! What had happened the night before? The police…the woods…oh,
yeah. That's right – his sister was missing. What – beep-beep! What was he
going to do? He'd had a plan…if only he could remember the details…beep-
beep! Shut up. Beep-beep! He'd had a plan. He knew it. Beep-beep!
Once again, he slammed his fist down on the clock, and once again, it ignored
him. Beep-beep! He was going to…oh, that's right! Beep-beep! He grinned.
This was going to be a good day. He was going to – beep-beep! – go exploring.
Nick sat up, shutting off the clock as he did so, then hopped out of
bed and started getting dressed. He threw on jean shorts and a t-shirt, then
grabbed the bag he used for school and dumped the contents out on his bed.
Shoving last year's books and binders onto the floor between the wall and the
bed so his mom wouldn't see them and wonder what he was doing, he started
stuffing things into the now-empty bag. In went a notebook, pen, compass, and
flashlight, followed after a second's pause by his bike lock with key and a black
baseball cap.
He slung the bag over his shoulder and opened the door to his room, walking
down the hall and into the kitchen.
"Nick?" said Karen is surprise. She was sitting at the kitchen table in her
bathrobe and pajamas, drinking coffee.
"What?" he asked.
"Why are you up so early?" There were circles under Karen's eyes, and she
looked worried.
"Couldn't sleep," he mumbled. Karen nodded understandingly. That was not,
of course, the truth – he could have slept several more hours, and on any normal
July morning, he certainly would have. This July morning, however, was far
from normal, and it held the promise of interesting adventures. He headed into
the kitchen, dropping his bag next to the fridge as he did so, and dug up a bagel.
He stuck it in the toaster and started searching for the cream cheese, then a
knife. While he waited for the bagel to toast, he ducked over to the snack drawer
and stuffed two granola bars, a box of crackers, and a juice box into the
backpack along with the other things – they might be the only lunch he would
get that day. By the time he finished eating breakfast, he was nearly ready for
his adventure. He had only one thing left to do: get out of the house.
Nick had found more blood, leading him in a faint trail toward that shortcut in
the woods that he and his friends liked to bike on. Once in the woods, the
moonlight was cut off and the blood was no longer visible, but he just followed
the trail of trampled ground and broken branches that mountain bikes had a
habit of leaving. His footsteps crunched softly in last year's dry leaves, and he
looked around uneasily. What if whoever – or whatever – had gotten his sister
was still out here, waiting for him? Eventually he reached the clearing that
opened onto the road, and he stopped and looked around. The ground was
churned up with tire tracks, clear even in the dim glow of his flashlight. In the
time it had taken him to walk from his house to the clearing, the moon had gone
down, leaving him with only the flashlight to see by. He was suddenly very glad
he had brought it.
Nick looked carefully at the tread marks in the dirt. They came into the
clearing from the direction of the road, then seemed to stop, turn around, and go
back out again. He knew, somehow, that he had found the trail of his missing
sister. He didn't know how he knew. He just did. Walking out to the road, he
saw the track disappear to the left as the dirt gradually fell off the tires, until the
trail could no longer be seen. Fixing the direction in his mind case the tracks got
washed away, he turned around and headed quickly home again.
Striding up the trail, the flashlight swinging from his hand and sending wild
shadows flickering around the woods, Nick carefully developed a plan. He
didn't have much faith in the police, despite the fact that he found them very
interesting – he had already discovered more than they seemed to have found.
He knew plenty of kids – well, at least a few – at school who had committed
crimes and gotten away with it. Sure, they weren't big crimes, like
kidnapping…but it still didn't boost his confidence in the local law enforcement
system.
Slipping in through the front door as quietly as he could, Nick went first to the
kitchen, found his note, and ripped it to shreds so nobody could read it. Then he
snuck past his parents' bedroom and back into his own, put the flashlight and
compass on the table, and threw the sweatshirt on the floor. By the time he was
back in bed, his plan was complete.
* * *
~6:00am, Nick's room~
Beep-beep! Beep-beep! Nick rolled over in bed, groaning, and slammed his
fist down on the alarm clock. Beep-beep! it insisted cheerfully.
"Shut up."
Beep-beep!
"I said *shut it!*"
Beep-beep!
Nick sighed. How could it be morning already? It felt like he'd barely slept.
Then he remembered that that was probably because he really hadn't slept
much. He tried to think, but the clock kept interrupting him.
Beep-beep! What had happened the night before? The police…the woods…oh,
yeah. That's right – his sister was missing. What – beep-beep! What was he
going to do? He'd had a plan…if only he could remember the details…beep-
beep! Shut up. Beep-beep! He'd had a plan. He knew it. Beep-beep!
Once again, he slammed his fist down on the clock, and once again, it ignored
him. Beep-beep! He was going to…oh, that's right! Beep-beep! He grinned.
This was going to be a good day. He was going to – beep-beep! – go exploring.
Nick sat up, shutting off the clock as he did so, then hopped out of
bed and started getting dressed. He threw on jean shorts and a t-shirt, then
grabbed the bag he used for school and dumped the contents out on his bed.
Shoving last year's books and binders onto the floor between the wall and the
bed so his mom wouldn't see them and wonder what he was doing, he started
stuffing things into the now-empty bag. In went a notebook, pen, compass, and
flashlight, followed after a second's pause by his bike lock with key and a black
baseball cap.
He slung the bag over his shoulder and opened the door to his room, walking
down the hall and into the kitchen.
"Nick?" said Karen is surprise. She was sitting at the kitchen table in her
bathrobe and pajamas, drinking coffee.
"What?" he asked.
"Why are you up so early?" There were circles under Karen's eyes, and she
looked worried.
"Couldn't sleep," he mumbled. Karen nodded understandingly. That was not,
of course, the truth – he could have slept several more hours, and on any normal
July morning, he certainly would have. This July morning, however, was far
from normal, and it held the promise of interesting adventures. He headed into
the kitchen, dropping his bag next to the fridge as he did so, and dug up a bagel.
He stuck it in the toaster and started searching for the cream cheese, then a
knife. While he waited for the bagel to toast, he ducked over to the snack drawer
and stuffed two granola bars, a box of crackers, and a juice box into the
backpack along with the other things – they might be the only lunch he would
get that day. By the time he finished eating breakfast, he was nearly ready for
his adventure. He had only one thing left to do: get out of the house.