Whispering Woods

Indigo Lake had the adults in town shook up and somewhat spooked. But it was not until the children of Locust Corners witnessed something near Camp Wachuka for it to all make sense.

Tell me, who couldn't wait until school was out? The preteens at Oak View sure couldn't. Lily Thompson and Penny(Pen) Carter sure couldn't. They were the best of friends ever since they were in diapers. They shared everything. You would think they were sisters. Walking side by side, Lily said,

Part One: Suits

"I packed four new bathing suits this morning before school. Two are bikinis. My mother let me pick them out."

Penny replied, "My mom would never let me do that, but she did buy me the new Olympic swimsuits."

"My dad was a counselor at Camp Wachuka a long time ago. He's old, you know." said Lily. The girls laughed.

"Did he ever say the camp gave him the 'willies'?"

"No. But he did say he had a lot of fun when he was there. It's going to be cool, Pen, I just know it. Guess who's going to be there? Three guesses? No, I'll tell you. Brendon, Andy and Zack."

"Oh my god! Zack is coming? He's my heartbeat! You can't tell anybody Lily, anybody! Wow, it's going to be a great summer!"

The two parted ways and headed home.

Meanwhile;

"I'm glad school's out. Bring on summer!" shouted Andy.

"Who's going to Camp Wachuka this year?" asked Brendon.

"I am." replied Zack.

"I thought we all were going?" Andy asked.

"Just checking to see if you squids were backing out." said Brendon.

"Zack said, "I'm not backing out because Penny's going."

"Penny Carter? You like her, don't you?" Andy asked.

"Yeah, and she likes me too." he replied.

"You hope she does." said Brendon. They all laughed.

Part Two: Remember

The preteens boarded the yellow bus while camp counselor Paul Jones called out all twenty-five of the children who were attending.

"Here!" shouted Penny. Zack smiled.

They were on their way. Passing by the old burned out hotel that was once called The Whispering Woods gave all the children and a few of the counselors the chills. Years ago, it was said that a woman lost her two young children there. After swimming in the lake behind the hotel, they suddenly vanished without a trace. Heartbroken and angry, the woman attacked the staff and the sheriff's department because she felt they didn't do enough to find them. So she set a big part of the hotel on fire. It was so badly burned that the owners never repaired it. Many in the little town believed she never left.

After arriving, bus sixty-nine was joined with two other buses filled with children from other counties. They all were shown to the cabins. All was quiet the first week.

Part Three: Lights

Into the third week at the camp, the five friends began to know each other very well and acquired an additional friend. Sheena Dobson's brother dated Lily's babysitter a while ago. Their acquaintance was friendly to say the least. Any friend of Lily's was a friend of Penny's. The girls bonded together, the boys had no problems in keeping up with their mischievous deeds. The camp was filled with laughter.

After the last call for lights out, all was quiet. The polliwogs and the crickets were all you could hear...until a loud shrieking scream was heard in cabin five. It was one of the camp counselors. When she woke, she told the others that she had a dream filled with the horror of being abducted and killed. Laughing was the only relief the campers had. This brought back memories of the children that were missing from the hotel after all, it was only a stones throw away from the camp. Many of the campers had a hard time falling to sleep, especially those who were in Counselor Engel's cabin. Lily, Penny and Sheena stayed up most of the night.

The following day, the children played games and frolicked in the lake. Canoeing, archery and fly fishing was the order of the day. None of those things meant anything to Lily and the gang, so she and her cohorts decided to explore the woods. Noticing their exit from the rest of the campers, counselor Mark Johnson shouted at them,

“Don’t go too deep into those woods! We are responsible for you!”

“Yeah, yeah, we hear you! I know these woods. I got this.” said Andy.

They trudged on and by the time their conversation about the counselors' dream was over, they had ventured in too far.

“Oh shit! Where are we?” Brendon asked.

“I don’t know. Andy, I thought you were the navigator of this trip. You never knew were we were going and now we all are screwed!” replied Zack.

Looking around, Andy responded by saying,

“Did we pass by that big pine tree before? I could have sworn this was the way back, but I’m not so sure now.”

Part Four: What is That?

A rustling sound startled the group and before they realized what it was, Mark shouted to them,

“Lost are we? I told you kids not to go deep in here! I should have never followed you but my conscience didn’t agree with me. Next time you do this, you on your own!”

“Thank you, Mr. Johnson. We were scared for a minute. I knew our way back. I just got turned around somehow.” said Andy.

As the group began to exit the woods, they came upon a clearing. And in this clearing, they observed a huge stone, a flat rock that displayed dried blood with scattered shards of bones around the bottom of it.

“What the f…!” said Mark.

“Is that blood?” asked Sheena.

“Hell yes! And bones on the ground! Mr. Johnson, you have to get us out of here!” cried Penny.

“Ok! Let’s go this way!” He shouted.

As soon as they were about to exit, something stopped them from leaving. They all hid behind one of the huge boulders that lined the outer area of the clearing. What they saw was mind bending, enough for the boys to put their hands over the girls’ mouths.

Out of the dense woods came some sort of beings. They were slow in strut, but looked very powerful. Their necks and extremities extended way beyond their bodies. They were dragging two large live cows. They placed them on the rock and began to dissect them all the while capturing the blood from the animals. After this went on for about a half hour, the entities began to gather the remains. Water from their extremities flushed the excessive blood off the rocks. The group waited until it felt safe to leave and when it was clear, Mark led them all in the opposite direction shouting,

“Don’t you ever leave camp again! Did you see that? Grace will never believe me! She’ll think I’m crazy.”

“No she won’t. You have six witnesses. We saw it too”. said Lily.

Running back to the camp as fast as they could, the group stirred up an audience while Mark searched for Grace to warn her.

“I’m telling you, these ‘things’ the kids and I saw, they were not human! They weren’t animal. I, I don’t know what they were! I’m telling you, we need to call these kids parents and get the hell away from here!”

Grace said,

“You have to be more specific than this, Mark! I can’t create a false alarm about something you are not sure of. Besides, as long as this camp has been here, nothing like that has ever been reported before! You sound insane.”

“Ok! If you don’t believe me, I’ll go get the kids!” he replied.

Just outside of camp headquarters, Lily and her friends were conversing to the other children, who by then had gathered all around them.

“Lily, Zack, all of you. Come in here now.” said Mark.

Grace asked,

“First of all, why would you go into those woods when you were told not to without supervision? That’s a notch against your credits. And second, Mark said some really weird allegations of seeing something out there. Tell me what you all saw and don’t speak at once! ”

Andy spoke up to recap the entire story from the beginning to the end. Each one of them confirmed Mark’s version of what happened.

“So what he says is true?” she asked. Mark broke in and said,

“You take their word over what I just told you? Ok! I’m outta here!”

He went back to his cabin, packed his bags and placed them on the back of his motorcycle and sped off down the dirt road leaving her and the other counselors to tend with the situation.

Sheena said,

“Call my parents. I’m ready to go too.”

“Think of the money your parents spent to make sure you guys have a great summer getaway with all your friends. You would be disrupting the plans they made for themselves. Ok, tonight, I will think about going out there to see for myself. You can show me the way, ok? Now, no more talk about cows and aliens. We don’t want to stir up any more fear in the others. Just go and have fun with all your friends.” replied Grace.

Part Five: Call

Penny and Zack walked away from the others and started their own conversation.

“Zack, I’m afraid to go back out there. Whatever they were was not in our science books.”

“I secretly kept my cell phone. Let’s call our parents to come get us.” he said.

“What about our friends? We can’t leave them here.”

“Ok, ok. Let’s go down to the dock and call. Nobody is down there.” replied Zack.

While making the call, both Zack and Penny watched in the distance an ethereal glowing hue under the vast lake. Indigo lake’s depth was measured at 336 feet and a half mile wide. As quick as they saw it, it disappeared just as fast.

“Did you see that?” Penny asked.

“Yes. I’m calling my dad!” said Zack.

Zack dialed home. His stepmom answered.

“What do you want, Zack?”

“I want to talk to my dad.”

“He’s not here and he forgot his phone. You want to leave a message?”

“No. When is he coming back?”

“He had to work you numnut! Gosh, you’re spazed at times, Zack. I just don’t…”

Before she could finish, he hung up.

“Maybe you’ll have better luck with your parents than me.” he said while passing her the phone.

Penny dialed and her dad answered.

“Dad, come and get me and my friends. Something is happening at the lake. We saw a thing, no not a thing. We saw some very strange animals that we never saw before. They were dragging some cows behind them. Please believe me!”

“That sounds silly, Penny. The stories you all tell at that camp is ridiculous. Try not to eat too many s’mores. Sugar is not good. Hang up, sweetie. Your mother and I are busy. We love you, kisses.”

“Will you love me when I’m dead, dad!” she said just when he hung up.

Zack asked,

“What do we do now?”

“Go back to our cabin and wait to see what Ms. Grace does in the morning.”

Zack walked Penny back to her cabin. He leaned in and kissed her.

“This is from me and your parents. It’s going to be ok. You’ll see."

Part Six: Grace

Early the next morning, the activities went on as usual. After breakfast, the games were on, except during this time, Grace was leaving instructions to counselor Emma Davis. If for some unknown reason they were not back in six hours, call the authorities. Otherwise, stick to the camp’s schedule.

Grace met with the children near the entrance of the woods. She said,

“Well Andy, lead the way.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Andy led followed by Brendon, Grace, Zack, Penny, Lily and Sheena. They made a trail of cotton from a pillow to find their way back. After an hour and a half, they found the clearing.

“Here it is, Ms. Grace. Just like we saw it.” said Andy.

She looked all around and saw the bones and the dried blood. She wanted to make sense of what she saw, but being a thorough person, she needed time to make a valid decision of what they found.

“I’m scared they’ll be coming back, Ms. Grace. Can we go now?” asked Lily.

“You go on ahead. I’ll catch up. Besides, the cotton will take me back.”

Following the trail they made, Camp Wachuka was a sight to behold. None of them wanted to show Grace, but now they feel like once she returns, they can go home. Emma met them near the entrance of the woods and asked them where was she. They told her she wanted to stay a little longer to figure out what happened there.

Two hours went by, no Ms. Grace. Emma came out to ask them had they seen her come back. No one had. Four hours, six hours, it was getting dark. Emma was really concerned now, so she called the sheriff.

“Sheriff’s department.”

“This is Emma Stanton at Camp Wachuka and I’d like to report a missing person.”

“What’s the name and when and where did this person go missing?”

“She went missing about six hours ago in the Whispering Woods. It’s Grace Carter and she’s head counselor at the camp.”

“Did anyone see her go in the woods?”

“Yes. She was with a few of our children. They told me she wanted to explore something they found yesterday and for them to return to camp. She should have been here six hours ago.”

“Alright, hold on.” said dispatch.

A man with a raspy voice answered,

“This is Sheriff York. What’s going on at that camp?”

Part Seven: Missing

“Sheriff York, our counselor is missing. She was wearing blue jeans and a long sleeved red and white shirt. Grace was supposed to come back from the woods with some kids. Instead, they told me she wanted to stay and find out what happened there. Something about some bones and blood in the area.” said Emma.

“Blood and bones? Y’all stay put. I’m coming out there.” he replied.

Twenty minutes later, the sheriff and three of his deputy’s where on the scene. Soon eight men with guns and hound dogs joined in. Other people heard the call that came over ham radio showed up too. The fire department and ambulances arrived as well.

“What’s the deal, Billy? Say we got a missing person case?” asked the fire chief.

“Dunno, Clyde. Emma here says Ms. Grace done gone missing since 9 am this morning. No one seen her since.” replied the sheriff.

“That’s a shame. But we’ll find her.”

“Alright, listen up! This is a missing person case. We all know Grace Carter. We all know what she looks like and I told y’all what she was wearing. So we’re going to comb these woods until midnight. If we don’t find her by then, then we’ll start again at daybreak. Alright, let’s go.”

The searchers headed for the woods. Parents got wind of what happened and descended on the camp to get their children. It was chaos. But before the six friends could leave, the sheriff stopped their parents and asked,

“Can these guys show me where they last saw Ms. Grace?”

“I’m sorry sheriff, I can’t. Too much has gone on here and I can’t chance what happened to Grace might happen to mine.” said Lily’s mom.

Penny’s dad said,

“I can’t either, Billy. I should have listened to my daughter when she called.”

“She called? What did you say hon?” asked the sheriff.

Interrupting him, Penny’s dad replied,

“She told me her and her friends saw some kind of animal they never saw before dragging some cows. That’s all she knows. Let us by, Billy.”

The sheriff stepped aside to let them go to their cars.

Zack shouted out,

“Call Mark Johnson! He saw it too.”

“Somebody get Mark Johnson and bring him down here.” said the sheriff.

When the deputy returned with Mark, he continuously told them that he warned Grace about what they saw and to shut down the camp. She wouldn’t listen. He told them he refused to go back in there.

“Although I’m not going back, I can tell you where we saw ‘em. I told all six children not to go into the woods. They went anyway. I followed them and it’s a good thing I did. I went north west about a mile and a half until I came upon a clearing with huge boulders and a big, flat rock in the center. The children were looking all around it. I startled them. And as I was telling them how hard their heads were, we heard a rustle in the bushes. We hid behind one of the big boulders. Man, I tell you what we saw was, I don’t know what they were. They were dragging live cows. Moooo! I’m not going back in there!”

“Ok. You say a mile and a half north west of here?” the sheriff asked.

“Yes, replied Mark, good luck.”

Their search went on for hours until daybreak. No one found anything. This went on for six weeks. They didn’t even find the clearing Mark spoke about. No rocks, no boulders, nothing. The search was over and Camp Wachuka was closed down…permanently.

Part Eight: Die Hard

Ten years later, after the incident at Indigo Lake, the town calmed down. The case of Grace Carter had officially closed. Although some diehard loyalists were not on the verge of giving up, they still believed after all these years she could be alive. One thing for sure, the sheriff gave up long ago but it occasionally crossed his mind. Today, those same children that were at the camp, where all grown up and back in Locust Corners after they graduated from college.

Andrew Yicket earned a degree as a forestry/environmental technician. Brendon Bates became master mathematician. Zack Picola’s specialty was an astronomer. Penny Driscol took up astronomy as well. She was an associate scientist. Lily Thompson studied animals and became a veterinary Specialist/underwater research analysis. Sheena Dobson received a degree in forensic science.

They all came back for one reason only; to find out what happened to Grace Carter and Olivia and Noah Spencer. It was at this time they realized the killing of humans may have been committed over the years the town had been there. Was there more?

Two weeks after their arrival, the crew prepared to venture back into the woods. Armed with technological equipment, complicated components, monitors, cameras, microphones, guns and camping gear, they began on their journey. They drove to the edge of the road where the woods began. Andy tried to remember the trail that led to the opening of the clearance. He asked the sheriff if they ever found the spot. The retired vet said the clearance wasn’t there anymore. It would be hard pressed to find.

Finally, after walking over two hours, and with sonar equipment Lily brought with her, he was able to pinpoint a few of the boulders that had been covered over with kudzu. They saw some headway after chopping down the thick vegetation. Boulders began to show. The slab was visible again. Much of the plant life they chopped down was moved to the side of their campground where they sat up the equipment and the tents.

Later, they sat around the fire after their meal. The talk was if they could solve the disappearances and prove what the mysteries behind the mutilated the cows were, then they would be famous. Even earning accolades from those who excelled in the world of science. Grants would be given to their research. Brendon put out the fire. The lanterns were extinguished. They called it a night.

Part Nine: Gone

Before sunrise, the crew began to unpack their gear. Zack sat up his tables of small satellite dishes. Sheena unboxed her microscopes and sample vials. Laptops were laid out and hooked up to the small monitors on the tables. Everyone was ready to deal with what terrified the minds of Locust Corners. All day they waited. Hours went by. It rained for a few moments. Still there was no movement, no sightings. They spent three days there in the woods with no sightings of the memories they experienced as children. On the fourth day, just after sunset, the sound of the crickets and the polliwogs began to stir. All was still.

“Oh, what a beautiful sunset.” said Lily.

“I’ve never seen a sky so clear and pristine. It’s like a wind rushed in.” added Penny.

No sooner after Penny’s comment, they all saw what looked like a comet barreling down from the sky. A frothy white tail was streaming behind it. As it was occurring, Zack was filming the entire incident.

“What the hell is that?” asked Sheena.

“It’s a comet, silly. That’s what it looks like to me.” replied Brendon.

Lily asked,

“A satellite maybe? Space junk?”

“Well, you’re both wrong. It’s not either one of those. Penny, get on the sat phone and call Roger. Give him our co-ordinance and tell him what’s happening. I will send him these pictures and video.” stated Zack.

Penny contacted Roger. He asked her what was their precise location. She said in the middle of Whispering Woods near Indigo Lake. They were northeast, 116.2023.w latitude, 43.6150.n longitude. He knew they were going there, but were in those woods, he didn’t know. Once they were done communicating, the object crashed somewhere nearby.

“Did it crash in the lake?” Andy asked.

“If it did, we need to pack before a tsunami ruin all our equipment.” shouted Brendon.

They managed to get most of it to a higher ground upon the large boulders and from there; they waited for the roar of the water. It never came. They were puzzled. So they wandered slowly down off the rock. There they stayed with the camera focused on the clearing.

What occurred next was unbelievable.

In the few moments, the crew was terrified of what they saw. It was hard to keep a level head. The women wanted to scream. The men wanted to yell out loud. They were frozen. The very thing that haunted them when they were children came rushing back in their memories

The horror they felt when they saw the dismemberment and beheading of the cows once again became all too real. The blood, torso, the limbs. Each and every piece chopped and deliberately destroyed and for what purpose? Well, they waited to see.

Andy turned around and was purposefully trying to gain his friends attention.

“Guys? Guys?” whispered Andy.

Zack said quietly,

“Shhh! Don’t you see what’s happening. If you don’t shut up and be quiet, you are going to get us all killed.

“We are not alone out here.” he said in a quivering voice.

“Don’t you think we know that!” said Sheena.

Andy said one last time;

“Guys.”

They all turned around for one last time.

Riding from Boise to the town of Locust Corners was approximately eight hours. Roger and a team of scientists in their field arrived at the co-ordinates given by Penny. When the crew arrived, there was no sign of a clearing, or the children who camped out at Lake Indigo.