Also this has not, and will not be edited, unless some kind person comes and asks to edit it for me. This isn't getting published, and if you want to buy the full book when it's done, it costs only 50p (about $1) as an e-book, so if you enjoy this, then why not buy it?
Carrie
laughed as John ran through the forest. It was getting dark, but they didn’t
care. The date was the eleventh of November in 1978.
“Carrie,
John, get in here!” Carrie looked back and saw her mom standing on the door
step, looking round, rubbing her arms. It was pretty cold today, but then
again, it could just be the shock. The neighbour’s kid disappeared about a
month ago with no trace. They asked around, and nobody knew anything. This was
a small town in Alabama, Natural Bridge was close-knit too, so if anyone knew
about her disappearance, then someone would cough it up. Nobody would leave
something like that a secret. Not for long, anyway – the guilt would eat away
at them until they were forced to ‘fess up. And it isn’t like many people came
through this way.
Carrie
stood still and yelled at her brother, but he didn’t reply, just kept on
running past the trees. He kept on laughing and running for about five minutes,
with Carrie chasing after him, occasionally tripping.
“John I’m
serious! Stop” Carrie had always been the more mature of the pair, but they
were both childish and enjoyed playing in the woods. It had always been a fun
little game for them.
John
stopped dead in his tracks when he got near the lake. “Hey… hey Carrie!” He
looked over. The lake was usually clear, but it was murky today. His eyes
skimmed the trees again, searching for the person he just saw. “Carrie!”
“What?”
Carrie stood next to him, out of breath. She looked up at him and rubbed her
hands on her sleeves. “What’s wrong?” John smiled and kept searching through
the forest. He swore someone was there… there had to be someone there… he
didn’t just imagine them
“Nothing.
Let’s go.” They turned back and when they got home, their mom was angry.
“Why the heck
didn’t you come back when I told you?”
“Sorry
mom…” John kicked his foot on the floor.
“You better
be! Both o’ you – get to bed. It’s late.”
Their mom went back into the kitchen and lit up a cigarette, looking at
her husband who was sipping from a mug. “You’re useless. Why didn’t you get
them?”
He put the
mug down. “I didn’t need to, they came back, didn’t they, Jess?”
Jess took
another drag of her cigarette before sighing. “I s’pose you’re right. But… it’s
just… after she went missing… I just don’t trust them stayin’ out this late.”
She sat next to Carl.
“Hmph. Well
if you don’t soften up, you’ll never let ‘em out. Lighten up on ‘em will ya?”
She sighed and rested her head on her hand.
Upstairs,
the kids were getting changed out of their now-muddy clothes. “Hey John what
was up out there? You seemed kinda… different.”
“Nothing. I
told you. Eyes are plaiyin’ tricks on me.” Carrie flicked off the lightswitch
when she was dressed and put a dim lamp on.
“You do
whatever… I’m going to sleep. Night Johnny.”
“Night.”
They both clambered into bed and Carrie shut her eyes and started to fall
asleep, but John picked up his comic. He liked reading his comics at night
because he could always get into them better. After ten minutes, Carrie was
asleep and John was still reading.
He yawned
and looked out the window. There it was again! He focused on the trees. There
was a tall, slender man in between the two trees closest to the house. “Hey,
hey Carrie!” He looked over at her. “Who is that?”
“Who’s
what?”
He looked back
out the window. “This… nevermind…” he’d gone again. He didn’t know anyone in
the town who wore a suit like that. He turned off the lamp and pushed himself
down into the blanket, shutting his eyes tightly.
~
“Where the
fuck is my son? You better tell me damn it because I swear I won’t put up with
your lack of evidence! Kids don’t just go missin’ here, and I won’t rest till’
my son is safe an’ sound back in his bed, you hear!”
Jess
slammed the phone down and looked over at her husband. “And you! How the hell
could you not notice someone come into our house and steal away our son?” He
looked up at her and scowled.
“I was
asleep damn it! Don’t pin the blame on me! If anyone shoulda woke up, it’s
Carrie!” Carrie hugged her knees closer and kept crying.
Jess sat
next to her and rubbed her arm. “Don’t you dare blame Carrie! She’s just a
child! It’s ok baby, moma’s here…”
“Moma, are
we gonna see Johnny again?”
“I don’t
know sweetie… I hope so…”
~
In the
course of five weeks, three more children had just vanished – including Carrie
Madeline Porter. The parents were
distraught. They refused to put up with the incolence of the police. But
nothing helped. Meanwhile, in Iowa, twelve children had gone missing. One was
found in the forests – but all they found of him, were bones. Nobody could
explain the sudden surge in kidnappings, nobody could even attempt to. Children were warned in schools that they
were not to leave the houses after dark, and they were all told never to go off
with strangers. Two people were jailed for kidnappings, but there was little to
no evidence, and most of it was fabricated by judges to put the townsfolk at
ease. But there was little they could do…
