It was about six o’clock. I sat looking out my bedroom window into the forest that my backyard disappeared into. The sun was just setting.
“Sam, Jack, come for dinner!” My mom yelled. I ran downstairs with my nine-year-old brother close behind me. The table was already set. Our mom was dishing out the mashed potatoes and pork chops as we sat down. Our mom sat with us but out dad was at work. “How was school today?” Our mom asked.
“Good,” I reply. “I handed in my book report today and I got an A on my math test.”
“Great job Samantha!” I frowned. I hate being called Samantha. “What about you Jack? How was school for you?”
“It was great,” Jack said with his mouth full. “We played soccer at recess and my team won and then second recess we told scary stories. Guess what Tyler told me?”
“What?” I asked.
“My friend Tyler told me that there was a man in the forest who killed a little girl! He lives there. Tyler says once his big brother went in the forest to look for his house and see the man but he couldn’t find anything.”
I knew exactly whom he was talking about. Tyler’s brother has been telling kids that story since I was in grade 4. Tyler’s brother was in grade 10 now; you’d think he’d give the story a rest by now. I guess not. I’ll admit that I believed that story when I was Jack’s age too. I’m 12 now.
“Jack, I think Tyler’s brother made up that story. If there was a man who killed someone in the forest, we would be hearing about it,” my mom reassured him.
“But it’s true! Tyler said it happened a long time ago! Before we were all born,” Jack protested. I had never heard that part of the story before.
“Jack, if it happened a long time ago, even if it was true, the man would be dead by now.” I slowly ate my dinner wondering if there was a possibility that it could’ve been true a long time ago. I’d research it after dinner. And I’d get my neighbor Ben to help too.
Ben is in my grade except the little brat skipped a grade. Actually he technically didn’t because anyone can skip JK! I’ve known Ben forever and he was probably one of my best friends. Together we are one genius. If I were going to find anything out about this I would get his help.
After dinner I ran to my family’s office room with the laptop and logged into my file. Then I ran to my room to get my walkie-talkie. I hit the alert button and waited. The button would make Ben’s walkie-talkie go off. I hit it again and waited. No answer. Maybe he was busy. I hit the button once more just in case. “What?”
“Go onto your computer as soon as possible!”
“Why?”
“You know that story about the man who killed a girl in the woods?”
“Yes. Everyone does.”
“Well I was thinking we could research the town history to see if it’s true.”
“That’s stupid Sam. It’s obviously not true. You’re wasting your time if that’s what you want to do. Tyler’s brother just wants to scare people.”
“Whatever,” I reply with a frown. I set my walkie-talkie down on the desk and Google my town. Then I find the site with archives on it. “I’m not even sure what year to look for,” I think to myself. I click on the obituaries. I start looking in 1910. All the old pictures were creepy! Going up each year looking for a little girl that was murdered. “I’m pretty sure someone would know that a girl got killed here if it actually happened,” I think to myself after getting bored. I look through another coupe years. 1930 nothing. 1931 nothing. 1932. I grabbed my walkie-talkie and hit the alert button three times in a row, waiting for Ben to answer. I kept pushing and pushing the button. “WHAT?” Ben yelled.
“I found it! I think I’ve found it!” I say quickly. I can hear Ben’s breathing. He was probably freaking out.
“Where did you find it?” He asked very quietly.
“I found it on an archive. It says Mary Rose Newman. 1927-1932. She went missing and then they found her body dead in the woods.”
“Well you found a girl to match the story but you still don’t know about the man.”
“We’ll find out.”
“What do you mean ‘we’?” Ben asked with a gulp.
“I mean we, as in us two. How much clearer could I have been?” I quickly turned my walkie-talkie off so that he couldn’t respond. We WERE going to figure this out.
