One

The Shortcut Through the Woods

James McGowan wasn’t a very big kid, not like his older brother. He wasn’t as strong as he was, or as fast, and he wasn’t nearly as good at sports. In fact, he wasn’t even as smart as him. But Tommy, his older brother, never treated him that way. He was always kind to him, and defended him from the bullies at school who were constantly trying to shove James’ head into toilets.

James had a best friend named Aden, whom he’d known for as long as he could remember. They had grown up on the same road, and their parents had been friends since long before they were born. They even shared the same birthday. Occasionally, James thought he was more closely related to Aden than he was to his own brother, even to his own parents.

The two boys were sitting at their usual spot in the Devil’s Den; it was a little restaurant named after the school sports team, The Blue Devils. They were talking loudly to one another about the latest videogame coming out for PC. They both loved to play those shoot-em-ups that were always in first person view, where the only thing the player could see is a gun barrel directly in front of him. James was good, but Aden was one of the best in town. Even though he couldn’t afford many games, it didn’t matter because the two boys shared everything and usually stayed in the same house.

While they spoke to one another, munching on a couple of burgers, a pair of girls walked over and said hello. One was a tall blond with bright green eyes. Her name was Ashley and she made James blush every time he looked at her. Her skin was decorated with make-up and she wore a jean mini-skirt that showed off a good bit of leg. James tried not to think of her as beautiful though, since she was practically his sister.

The other girl was a bit shorter and had a thin face. Her name was Calisto. She was dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt that was much too big for her size. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail.

“What are you dorks up to?” Aden asked with a smile. Ashley and Calisto pulled up some chairs and sat down.

“Nothing much. This town is so boring. We just went to the mall and spent all our allowance, and now we’re out of stuff do. Cheerleading practice was terrible. I had to be on the bottom of the pyramid and I almost got crushed!” Ashley said, rubbing her neck.

“Oh, poor dear! What a hard life, being the head-cheerleader!” Aden said as he pretended to play the violin.

“Oh shut-up. At least I do something useful with my time, instead of playing videogames.”

“Videogames are useful. They improve eye-hand coordination,” James said.

“Then I bet with all that eye-hand coordination you’ve been building up you’d be perfect for the soccer team.”

James gulped.

“That’s eye-foot coordination, you dimwit,” Aden said. Ashley jabbed him hard in the side.

“But seriously James, your brother is the captain of every sports team at our school. I mean…you will probably make it. You might as well try out,” Calisto said. She had a point. Tommy was one of the best athletes that Harkness High School had ever seen; it should be in the genes. What if I just embarrass myself in front of Tommy, or worse, in front of Ashley? James thought.

“Yeah, we’ll see,” he said, not really making eye contact with Calisto. “Well, we’d better head home. Mom doesn’t even know I’m here.”

“Okay, but I want Ashley to give me a piggyback ride.” Aden said, and she shot him a disgusted look.

After paying for their meals, they walked outside to the bike rack. Aden mounted a rusted old huffy that didn’t switch gears. James unlocked his shiny blue BMX bike. Calisto rode a skateboard, and Ashley was the proud owner of a small pink bike with streamers coming out of the handlebars and a basket on the front.

“Did you get that thing from a Barbie play-set?” Aden asked.

It was about a half-hour’s ride to Sheepskin Hollow from the Devil’s Den, even longer because they had to wait for Ashley to walk her bike up every hill. At the top of a particularly large one Aden offered a suggestion.

“I found a shortcut through the woods the other day. Takes us right onto our road.”

“You know—our parents don’t—want us going through—the woods to get home,” Ashley muttered as she tried to catch her breath.

“So what? Do you always do what your parents tell you?”

“You boys can do—whatever you want—and get eaten by bears, but I am taking the normal way home!”

The boys shrugged and began to walk into the woods. Soon Calisto followed, and then Ashley rolled her eyes and yelled for them to wait up.

The path was smooth enough for them to ride their bikes on. Only Calisto had to walk, carrying her skateboard under her right arm. It went on for a long time until they came to a fork that was marked by a large oak tree. Aden, who had been leading them, stopped and scratched his chin.

“I thought you said this was a shortcut,” James said suspiciously.

“It is. I went this way yesterday. Kind of funny though, I don’t remember this at all.”

“What do you mean, you don’t remember this?” Ashley cried out. “Oh my god we’re lost in the woods. We’re going to die. I’m going to kill you, Aden!”

“Would you shut-up? We’re not lost; we can just go back the way we came. Unless…”

“We could find out where this path actually goes. I bet the left one comes out behind the old cemetery,” James said, finishing Aden’s sentence. He got the feeling that Aden had never intended for this to be a shortcut. He could never pass up a new adventure.

“Mom will be angry if I come home too late,” James remarked.

“Mine too,” Aden replied, wearing a grin on his face.

“Oh…no way! We are going home right now! I have homework to do, not that either of you would know anything about that—”

“Okay Ashley, you can go on back through the woods and we’ll meet up with you later.”

She turned around to look down the path that they had come through. Tree branches loomed low, creating menacing shadows. She thought she heard the howling of a wolf in the distance.When she looked back, her three companions had already traveled a ways down the left fork. She sighed and pedaled after them.

It wasn’t long before the sun drooped downward and the shadows grew longer. James couldn’t decide which was more annoying: the bugs, or Ashley’s incessant complaining.

As it turned out, the path didn’t go to the old cemetery like James had thought. It led to an abandoned dam made of huge stones and boulders. To the boys, this find was equally as exciting and they began to climb on it.

“Those rocks could fall down on you.” Calisto warned.

“It isn’t going to fall. This thing was designed to hold back a river!” Aden cried from the highest point of the structure. His long blond hair was waving in the breeze. Aden was built like a monkey, thin but surprisingly strong and fast.

James was beginning to think that Calisto was right. He nearly fell down when he stepped upon a shaky stone that was wedged between two mossy boulders. A peculiar scent reached his nostrils then. He couldn’t put his finger on what it was but it gave him an overall sense of discomfort, like the feeling you get when you’ve forgotten about something important. A being from deep within momentarily took control and he jumped to the ground, landing without a sound and crouching with his hand placed in the dirt for balance. Just a moment ago he had been scared of falling, but he had just jumped a good thirty feet without a second thought.

He sniffed the air and the feeling of urgency grew.

Calisto and Ashley, who had been sitting on a log by the brook, were looking at him with awe, as if they had just seen him perform a great acrobatic feat.

“There’s something out there, guys,” he said, as he stared off into the forest. He felt as if he had been blind his whole life, and had suddenly been given the gift of vision. The trees looked different, more defined. All of his senses were heightened. He noticed every movement, every smell, and every sound.

Aden, who hadn’t seen his jump, called down to him. “Hey, James, what are you doing? How’d you get down so quick?”

“Shut-up, dude. Come down here. I hear something. I think it is a wolf.” The truth was that James didn’t hear anything unusual, he smelled it, but somehow he thought that Aden wouldn’t believe him if he were to tell the truth.

Aden was skeptical but did as James instructed and shimmied down the nearest tree.

“Seriously, guys. Hide.” His tone was like acid.

“I think I see something,” Calisto said, her hands shaking a bit. For the first time that day, Ashley was speechless.

The four of them hid behind the old dam. James and the girls all were sensing something they couldn’t quite put their fingers on, but they knew that it was no good.

“Guys, there is nothing there,” he said, peeking out from behind the dam. “This is stupid. I’m going home.” And he walked right out into the open.

“No, wait!” James cried, grabbing his shoulder. Aden turned around sharply. The sense of foreboding suddenly disappeared and James’ vision became normal again.

“I-I’ll race you!” James said, hopping on his bike. He didn’t want to stay in those woods anymore. There was something wrong there. Aden looked confused, but accepted the challenge. He jumped onto his old mountain bike. It wasn’t as good as James’ BMX, but he had some nice dirt treads on it that were perfect for the terrain.

“No, WAIT!” Ashley cried, rushing to get on her bike, which had been spotted with bits of dirt. Calisto was running as fast as she could to keep up, and it didn’t take very long to get out of the forest and back onto Sheepskin Hollow.

They all said good-bye to each other at the mouth of the road and went to their respective houses, which were all in close proximity to one another. The girls seemed to have forgotten about the amazing jump that James had done as well as the mysterious happening in the woods.

James walked over the cobblestone path to his porch, which was surrounded by lilacs. When he opened the door to his house he sensed a whole new kind of danger though. The air seemed thick and hot. His mother was standing in the kitchen, looking very angry.

“Where have you been?” she yelled. James’ mom was very short and thin with a pretty face and thick brown hair. She didn’t look quite as beautiful as she usually did though, more like an enraged animal. “I’ve been worried sick!”

“I’m sorry mom. I forgot to call you, I just…” James’ mind was spinning. He had to think of something. “I was busy practicing for the soccer try-outs tomorrow. I really want to make Tommy proud.”

His lie had done the trick. His mother’s face softened and a smile emerged.

“Well, I’m glad you are going to try for the team, but you still should have called. You know how dangerous the world is these days.”

“Yeah mom, I know.”

It wasn’t until later that night when James was lying in bed that the realization sunk in. Now he didn’t have a choice; he had to try out for the team.