Into The Woods

Chapter 5

     The others heard the slam and sprinted to Tatum faster than cheetahs. Once they entered the room he was gone. No where to be seen. They checked all the closets and rooms in the house. No sign of him anywhere. They made their way out onto the outside property and searched the yard along with the perimeter of the forest. No where. Tatum was gone.
     "Tatum!" They all yelled at once creating an echo.
     Silence fell strongly upon them as they lost hope in finding their friend. Hours had gone by and they were ready to give up. Serena fell to her knees and started pouting with her hands over her face. She let out a small scream and threw her body onto the grass.
     "How could you let him go in there alone Vanessa!" Serena panted.
     "I'm sorry Serena. I know how much he means to you. I promise we'll find him." Vanessa insured.
     Vanessa knelt down beside Serena and wrapped her arms around her tightly.
     "It will be all right. I won't let anything else happen" Vanessa  said while comfortably rubbing Serena's back. Charlie stood frustrated with a hand on his hip and the other on his forehead supposedly helping him think of a solution. Irene and Uriah were still curiously wondering with Malachi close behind them.
     "Think Charlie, think" Charlie whispered to himself.
     Something crackled in the woods behind him. He hesitantly turned his head around still with his hand on his hip.
     "Hello? Who's there?" Charlie questioned.
     There was no answer. Only the sound of twigs snapping. Charlie stepped into the mysterious tangle of trees and vigorously turned his head in every direction. He followed the sounds of the snapping and cracking until he got to a giant boulder in the centre of 10 large prickly trees. They appeared to be in the formation of a circle. He strutted around the boulder with his hands behind his back looking very interested in it. Charlie has always been fascinated by the Earth.
     "Quite interesting" he whispered to himself.
     "I wonder where this came fro-" he paused.
     There was a sudden sound. It sounded like footsteps. He stood frozen with his eyes swerving from left to right. He was scared. There was another crack from behind him. He pivoted his left foot so he was facing the other direction. He looked up into the darkness and saw a large shadow in the tree. He stayed frozen.
     "Where's Charlie?" Vanessa asked the others.
     "Um, I-I don't know" Irene replied.
     "Oh no, no, no. He's not good with directions. Where is he? Help, help help. What if he never comes back. I never even said I love him-" Vanessa worriedly scrambled.
     "You love him?" Serena questioned.
     "Well, I guess you guys know. I've liked him as more than my best friend for a while but I was too scared to tell him. What if I never see him again?" Vanessa sobbed.
     Charlie backed away with his eyes fixed on the shadow and slowly turned around to start sprinting through the trees.
     "Help! Help! Someone help me!" He screamed.
     He could hear something running behind him but he was too afraid to turn around. He kept running and running but it was getting too dark to see. He started stumbling over rocks and twigs and was exhausted but he couldn't stop.
   He said with a shortness of breath,  "Can anyone hear me!? HELP"