Text Hunter

Chapter 4

Here's the thing about forests at night: they are totally creepy. And on a moonless night, when you're following instructions from your dead grandfather, that creepiness is epic. But there I stood, in the dark looking into the forest on the edge of Gramps' farm wondering if I'd be eaten by wolves or just fall off a cliff and break my neck.  

I didn't want to go into a dark forest alone in the middle of the night, but I didn't have much choice. First thing tomorrow, the land developer would be here to buy the farm. If that happened, any chance of finding Gramps' treasure would be gone.  

I pulled out my phone and opened up Treasure Hunter. 

<You stand in front of a forest. It is too dark to continue this way.> 

This was always the part where I got stuck. Back at home, I tried everything to enter the dark woods. Without the lamp in my inventory, I couldn't go any farther.  

Now, standing in front of the real woods I had a real plan.  

Since finding the lamp in the loft, I had plenty of time to think about what to do next. The adults spent the rest of the day bickering over Gramps' belongings and what to do with the old farm. Rod and the other cousins scoured the root cellar, the barn and beyond in search of the hidden treasure. They returned empty-handed and frustrated. I spent the day waiting. And now the waiting was over.  

It had been surprisingly easy to sneak out of the house and into the barn while everyone was asleep. I managed to grab the lamp without any lights going on in the farmhouse. If all went well, I'd be back before breakfast.  

I had never been into these woods, even in the day time. They were always off limits for us kids. Gramps said there was a big lake holding all the town's drinking water at the top of the hill. A reservoir he called it. He told us stories about a kid who drowned in the water up there many years ago. It was too dangerous for us to be messing around up there. 

My fingers fumbled around the base of the lantern. It looked like an old oil lantern, but actually it ran on batteries. I found the button and turned on the lamp. A soft yellow glow bathed the path around me.  

At the same moment, my phone chirped. A new text message. It was from Treasure Hunter. 

<You light the lamp. You can now see the path leading East into the forest.> 

For the second time, my actions in the real world changed things in the game. If Gramps did make this game, he was a genius. A video game that could see what you do in the real world would be the coolest game ever. I'd be excited if I wasn't so freaked out. Each message from Treasure Hunter, was like my grandfather speaking to me from beyond the grave.  

Gramps was telling me to go forward. Go deeper into those dark woods. Somewhere hidden in there was his treasure.  

I took a deep breath and stepped into the forest.  

"Freeze, Pinky!"  

Near the cars parked in front of the farmhouse, stood Rod and Marissa. I didn't even hear them coming up behind me.  

Rod's hair stood up on one side and his eyes were puffy with sleep. Marissa was wide awake, wearing teddy bear pajamas and yellow slippers. She held me frozen with her cold, calculating eyes. 

"I knew he was up to something," she said. "He's been sneaking around all day." 

"Where you going Pinky?" Rod said.  

"He knows where the old man hid the treasure." Marissa had a gleam in her eye. She might be the youngest in her family but she definitely had all the brains.  

I didn't know whether to speak or run. Either way, it looked like it was game over for me.  

"I don't know where it is," I said, finally finding my voice.  

"Yes you do," Marissa snapped. "You always listened to the old man's boring stories. He must have told you." 

"He didn't!" I said.  

"Then why are you out going into the woods in the middle of the night?" Rod wore a smug grin on his fat face.  

"I don't know," I said. And it was true, in a way.  

I had no idea what lay ahead in those woods. I didn't know where the game was leading me. But I did know one thing: I wasn't going to tell Rod or Marissa about Treasure Hunter or its messages. They would just laugh and think I was crazy.  

"He's lying," Marissa said. "He was going to grab the treasure while we were all sleeping. It's somewhere in the forest. It must be."  

Rod snatched the lamp from me.  

"Let's go for a walk in the woods. Together." His smug grin turned sinister in the lamp's yellow light. "Like a family."  

My heart sank. With family like Rod and Marissa, who needs wolves to scare you in the dark scary woods?  

My cousins pushed past me and charged through the forest like a pair of hyenas tracking a wounded bunny. They stormed up the path, fearless in the dark and spurred on by their hunger for treasure.  

I hurried behind them, keeping my eye on the lamp's yellow light swinging back and forth in the distance. I couldn't be sure what they would do if they found Gramps' treasure first, but sharing it with the rest of the family was definitely not on their list. They would bully me into silence and wait until the rest of the family was long gone from the farm. Then they would grab the loot and show up at the next family gathering wearing diamond watches and driving sports cars. Uncle Ross would make up some story about making a killing on the stock market. That guy wouldn't share the sweat on his forehead if he thought he could make a buck out of it.  

The glow of the lamp grew smaller. Marissa and Rod were getting farther away. I stumbled along in darkness. Tree limbs loomed out from the sides of the path. Their branches scraped my face like outstretched arms trying to drag me to my leafy doom. I cursed every horror movie I ever watched. 

Farther up the trail, the ground rumbled, like the belly of a hungry beast. 

Rod screamed. The light of the lamp vanished.  

My phone chirped an new message.  

<The ground beneath you opens and swallows you whole. You are surrounded by darkness.> 

I raced up the path. It opened to a clearing. A steep cliff ran along the far side. About halfway along the cliff, stood the mouth of a cave. The opening was covered with sturdy planks, like a wall. In the middle of the wall stood a solid-looking door. Someone had come here before. Gramps? In the distance, the quiet sound of flowing water echoed in the night.  

Marissa stood on the edge of the clearing. Her yellow slippers covered in mud. Tears streamed down her cheeks.  

"He's trapped." A wide pit opened in the muddy ground in front of her. "Down there. You've got to help him."  

The lamp's yellow light flickered from the bottom of the pit. My cousin's twisted body lay beside the lantern. He wasn't moving.