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Laurie could not see the windows or the door. She could only wait for the
sound ofone footfall after another, coming closer and closer.
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The door did not make a sound. But suddenly Laurie knew the footsteps were in
her room. They fell, heavy and determined, against the bare floorboards. Fear
choked back the scream welling up inside her. Now the footsteps were at the
end of the bed. In only a few minutes they would be...
Laurie's scream echoed in her mind like a dream. Before it ended, her father
and mother were in the room. They flicked on the light and ran to her.
The footsteps had stopped. Laurie stared wildly at her father as he rushed to
her and then stumbled over something on the floor. Together they looked down.
There, next to her bed, sat the pair of brown, worn shoes.
A Night in the Woods
The five boys gathered at the school parking lot in late afternoon. They
carried neatly rolled sleeping bags and carefully packed knapsacks. They were
waiting for their leader, Mr. Robinson, to take them on a camping trip. There
was an edge of nervous anticipation in the air.
"Wonder where old Robbie is," Ty said. "He's never late like this."
"Probably getting more food," Paul answered. "Remember how much we ate last
trip?"
The boys sighted a black van driving down the road toward them. Mr. Robinson
pulled into the parking lot with a broad smile on his face.
"Got some extra food," he called out as he jumped from the van.
The boys broke into clapping and cheering. They had been camping with Mr.
Robinson for three years now. He was like a father to them.
"We've got a long way to drive," Mr. Robinson said. "I'm taking you to a
place where we've never camped before. Let's get rolling."
The boys threw their gear into the back of the van and piled into the seats.
Ty sat up front with Mr. Robinson. Paul and Nick shared the middle seat. Brad
and Ron wedged into the backseat with the sleeping bags and knapsacks. Ty
always tried to sit by Mr. Robinson. He was the youngest of the boys.
"Where we going, Robbie?" Brad yelled from the back.
"It's called Wolf Ridge," Mr. Robinson answered. "I went there a long time
ago with another good group -- like you guys." "That's a state park, isn't
it?" Paul asked. "I heard something creepy about it once."
"The state owns the land," Mr. Robinson said. "But not many people go there.
It's too wild for the kind of camping amateurs like to do."
Ty turned around. "What did you hear about it that was creepy, Paul?"
"Just a story my older brother told me. Forget it."
A long silence filled the van. Ty and Nick saw the scared look on Paul's
face. They turned away and stared out at thetrees along the highway, wondering
what he was thinking.
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After two hours of driving, Mr. Robinson asked Brad and Ron to pass out the
sandwiches he had packed in a cooler in the back. Once their stomachs were
full, the boys began to joke around again. They almost forgot what Paul had
said.
"How much longer till we get there, Robbie?" Brad asked. "It's going to be
dark soon, isn't it?"
Mr. Robinson checked his watch.
"We'll be at the park station in half an hour."
"Why are we stopping at the station?" Paul asked.
"Wolf Ridge is a wild area. We need a ranger to take us into the park where
we'll spend the night. I'm just not that familiar with it anymore."
"You sure this is a good idea, Robbie?" Ty whispered. "I mean, we could have
camped closer to home."
"I heard that," Nick said. "Ty's afraid again, aren't you, Ty?"
The rest of the boys laughed, except Paul. He knew how Ty felt.
Twilight was dimming the sky as the van pulled into a rutted lane edged by
towering pine trees.
"We're almost there," Mr. Robinson said. "The station is right ahead."
"Looks deserted," Nick said. "What kind of person would want to be a ranger
here?"
"I think it looks creepy," Ty added.
Nobody made fun of him for sounding scared. This park was different from
anyplace they had camped before. It seemed like the end of the world.
Mr. Robinson parked the van about two hundred yards from the station, which
was set back from the entry road. He told the boys to unpack their gear while
he went in and got the ranger. They watched him walk up to the station, push
open the door, and disappear from sight. Then they got busy sorting out the
sleeping bags, knapsacks, and supplies.
"Hurry up," Brad yelled at Ty. "Let's get loaded up so we can start walking
in. I don't like getting a campsite ready this late."
"Look, there's the ranger," Nick said, pointing to a man in a brown uniform
coming out of the station.
"Wonder where Robbie is," Ty added.
"Evening, boys," the ranger called out as he approached them. "I'm Harris.
Mr. Robinson asked me to take you into the woods."
The boys stared at the ranger. He had a full beard and dark, beady eyes. He
looked like he hadn't been in civilization for a long time.
"Where's Robbie?" Ty asked again.
"He's making some calls to your parents, to let them know where you are," the
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ranger said in a rough voice. "Now let's get moving. It's getting dark."
The boys fell in line behind Harris, trudging through the thick underbrush
that was beginning to lose its color and form in the shadowy twilight.
"I don't like him," Ron whispered to Brad. "Did you see how hairy he is?
Weird!"
Brad was turning something over and over in his mind.
"How could Robbie be making calls to our parents?" he whispered back. "I
didn't see any telephone lines."
The two boys' eyes met in a troubled stare. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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