The Adventure at Hancock - TINA V (the little red hen read aloud txt) 📗

Tricia was injured and Nathan needed to help her walk. I pointed the flashlight towards the trail so that we could see our way.

After almost two miles of hike from our last stop, the flashlight went off. It was already too dark for us to see where we were going. Nathan said, “I think we better stop here and rest. It’s no longer safe to go on.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” I answered, nodding my head. “Besides, I’m not sure anymore if we’re taking the right direction,” I said, feeling quite tired, and given that my legs were aching.

Tricia didn’t say a word. I can tell from the look of her face that she was too bothered her grandma might start to worry about us. Nathan helped her to sit down next to a big tree; then he immediately took some woods and small branches to start a bonfire to keep us warm.

I looked around and found a much safer place to rest at the side, considering that we were stuck in the middle of the mountain. I imagined I could hear those eerie sounds - howling of the owls, groaning of the wolves and growling of the bears, at night. I felt my body started to shiver again. Naaagghhh, those are just your imaginations Shaina, I told myself, trying to let go my fears.

I placed our things on the ground, opened my bag and offered my cellphone to Tricia. “Let’s try to check if there’s a cell signal here. Trish, why don’t you try to call your grandma?” I asked her. Still, she didn’t say a word, but she looked up at me with a teary eyed.

“It’s not your fault Trish that we weren’t able to make it. It was an accident, and we lost track of the time. I’m sure grandma would understand,” I told her with hopes it would make her feel a little better.
“Well, I guess we also owe her an apology,” I said while taking out the remaining goodies and drinks inside Tricia’s backpack.

Oh, what a day, I whined to myself. It started out right, but here we are in the middle of nowhere, hoping for our prince charming to save us, I thought. Will the good looking guy riding in a horse be my prince charming? I wondered, dreaming it would come true. Foolish me, you’re nuts Shaina, I told myself.

Tricia suddenly broke her silence and said, “I guess you’re right.” She then took my cellphone and tried calling her grandma. Unfortunately, the signal was still at a low level; besides, the battery was almost empty.

It was already quarter past nine; I gave them the pastries and water because I knew we were all starving by that time. Nathan already had his bonfire ready; then he positioned himself between me and Tricia. Sad to say, his first visit to Hancock was really a mess; or should I say, an adventure?

**********

Kidnapping, rape, murders, and now missing persons? This thought seemed to be a nightmare for Grandma Meryll. Her coffee was already warm, and she forgot she hadn’t even eaten her dinner yet.

It was already ten o’clock in the evening and still no word from Tricia. Her heart was beating faster, and she didn’t know what to do. She jumped out from her seat when the phone rang. It must be Tricia, she thought.

“Hello, Stevenson’s residence,” she said, trying to sound as calm as she could.

Then a woman’s soft voice answered her, “Sorry to bother you, Mrs. Stevenson. This is Shaina’s mom, Mrs. Parker. Are the kids home now? I’d like to speak with Shaina.”

“Oh thank goodness, Mrs. Parker. I haven’t heard a word from them. I’ve been worried something might have happened to them. I tried to call the police, but they said I needed to wait 24 hours before they could start the search-rescue operation,” she said continuously without even taking a single breath. She was sobbing and twisting the phone cords unconsciously.

Mrs. Parker butted in and said, “Hold on, Mrs. Stevenson. Just calm down; tell me exactly what happened today.”

Grandma took a deep breath and told her exactly what happened that day. Mrs. Parker got her complete address; then she told her she’ll be coming over as fast as she could. In the meantime, she instructed her to call the police station and report this incident again.

She stood holding the receiver, stunned. She hung up after she gave her address. Grandma thought, she was so calm, but obviously concerned about the kids from the tone of her voice.

She did what she asked her to do, except that I personally called Police Officer Marc Rockette. He was a family friend since she and her deceased husband lived there at Hancock Ville. He was the Chief of Police in their town. He might be able to help her, she thought.

“Hi Marc! This is Meryll,” she said in a low tone of voice. “I’m sorry to bother you, but you might be able to help me,” she added, almost sobbing over the phone.

Rockette seemed to notice through her voice that something’s wrong, but he tried not to say anything. “Hi Meryll, how are you? Is there anything I can do for you?” he asked, taking his pen and notepad, just in case he needed to scribble some notes.

“Marc, my granddaughter and her friends went to Hancock Hillside today. They were supposed to be home for dinner at 8 o’clock, but until now, I haven’t heard anything from them. I’m worried something bad might have happened,” she said continuously without even taking a single breath. “Oh please Marc, you’ve got to help me find the kids.”

“Okay Meryll, just calm down. I promise I’ll help you,” Rockette said while writing “granddaughter & friends, Hancock Hillside” in his notepad. “Don’t worry, I’ll do everything I can to help you find the kids,” he added.

“Oh, thank you so much. I don’t know what I’d do,” she answered, trying to relax; even at the back of her mind, early morning is still too long to wait.

“Just take some rest, and I’ll be there first thing tomorrow morning,” he said and hung up.

**********

A migraine headache woke Tricia at the ungodly hour of one o’clock early morning. She, Nathan and Shaina fell asleep after eating the last pastries they brought. Her back aches from leaning at the big tree while they were sleeping. She tried to stretch her body, arms and legs slowly; as she was trying not to disturb her friends.

“Psssttt,” Tricia heard a sound from behind their back. She looked around, but it was too dark to see anything.

“Psssttt,” it was the second time she heard it. She tapped Nathan’s shoulder while she shook Shaina's legs. “Did you hear that?” She asked in a whisper.

Nathan and I all of sudden woke up and sat straight, but still yawning from our sleep.

“Psssttt,” for the third time Tricia heard the sound. “Somebody’s here,” she said in a soft voice, moving closer next to Nathan and holding his right arms with both hands; while I squeeze in closer to his left and holding his arms, too.

“Hey, over here,” said a voice behind them. It sounded like a small high-pitched tone of voice that you wouldn’t recognize if it was a male or female.

“Who’s that?” Nathan said with a shrug. The three of us slowly stood up; at the same time, we were holding each other.

“It’s me, over here,” a strangely relaxed voice said.

All together, we made the sign of the cross. “Who’s that? Show yourself to us,” Nathan said nervously.

Oh God! Dear God, Please help us, I silently prayed to myself. This is somewhat similar to what I’ve seen on TV. He might be a kidnapper or a killer; perhaps, he may even be a rapist, I thought fearfully, holding tight to Nathan’s arms.

“Where are you?” Nathan asked in a loud voice, trying not to sound scared.

“Hey!” another voice yelled. “We’re over here!”

Out of the blue, a light flashed and then two human-like figures appeared in front of us. We were startled that we moved backwards, but fell on the ground. “Aaaaahhhhh!” It seemed like we cried at the top of our voice.

**********

Grandma Meryll screamed while shaking her head, and sat straight while catching her breath. She was having a bad dream about Tricia and her friends. She felt her whole body was perspiring; her knees felt weak and numbed.

She slowly stood up, shook her legs a little and went to the kitchen to get some water. She looked outside the window wondering what might have happened to them. She took a sip from her glass, wiped her lips with a napkin while thinking about her dream; it seems like her nightmare was so real.

In her dream, she saw a human-like figure at her left and three small trees at her right. She tried to touch the trees, but it was swallowed suddenly by the ground. Then the figure vanished. That’s when she woke up.

What does it mean? She thought. Is it someway related to the kids? She wanted to call Tricia’s mom, but she doesn’t want her to worry. So she decided to give her a call in the morning.

She went back to her room to get some sleep. She told herself she needed some rest. She closed her eyes and prayed that everything will be fine. She felt a drop of tear from her eyes.

**********

Ding-dong! Ding-dong! The doorbell rang. Grandma Meryll was walking fast from upstairs to open the door. “Who is it?” she asked.

“Mrs. Stevenson, this is Mrs. Parker, Shaina’s mom,”

She opened the door and gave her a hug. But Mrs. Parker immediately noticed her eye bags; she asked her, “Are you okay, Mrs. Stevenson?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just had a hard time sleeping last night,” she answered. She wanted to tell her about her dream, but she decided to keep it to herself. “Oh, come ‘n Mrs. Parker. Would you like to have a cup of coffee?” she asked.

“Thank you, but I’m good; just call me Sharnette.”

“That’s a nice name, Sharnette; and you can call me Meryll,” she replied. “Well, I guess we better get goin’,” she said, grabbing her bag and keys on the countertop. “I was able to talk to our Chief of Police, and he said that they’ll go straight at the park,” she continued to say, while walking along with Mrs. Parker towards the garage.

“That’s good to know. Is it okay with you if we use my car?” Mrs. Parker asked.

“Sure, no problem,” she answered. “Oh by the way, so sorry for what happened to the kids. I really have no idea why they weren’t able to make it last night,” she added.

Mrs. Parker was trying to console her by tapping her right shoulders and said, “It’s not your fault Mrs. Stevenson, oh Meryll. This is not their first time they went for a