#13 No More Woods!

A Chapter by Rhi

by Rhi. on Sat Jul 12, 2008 9:13 pm

So while we are making our way to the next camp we begin to play the Game “I Spy” this doesn’t last very long. . .then I start ou the game where someone says a word and whatever it ends w/ is what the next word has to begin w/. so we choose the food category. . .this also goes fine until we run out of foods that begin w/ “E” and it all goes down hill when paul says ‘instant lunch’ and a whole debate ensues on whether it is a food or a drink. . . so about half way to the other camp (this kinda sounds like lost. . . .the other camp. . .) and no one is talking, every one is annoyed and we are all hungry and someone (I won name names) forgot to pack food! So as we are all walking in silence (in the semi dark, the sun is setting and we have flashlights) we hear a wolf howl, Christy puts aside their differences and clings to damian, (ah, young love. . .filled w/ deep emotion. . . . *I’m stifling giggles right now!!!!*) and I pull out my cell phone and begin playing Tetris but making sure to look up every so often so I don’t trip over anything which works until keith (whose in front of me) suddenly stops and I crash right into him (hes already mad at me about the instant lunch thing…)
Keith- will you for once watch where youre going! Or here, walk in front of me *steps aside and does a very sarcastic bow*
So I walk in front of him and continue my game, (I’m beating my al time score how could I stop now?!) and that’s when paul who is in a better mood than keith (but not by much) says
Paul- who in the world could you be texting at this hour and in this predicament?
Me-oh, well I’m not-
Paul- it doesn’t matter just turn it off! Will you?!
Me- ya, uh ok I will. (im guessing paul can be pretty scary when he is mad. . .)
Around that time a shrill scream/shriek can be heard from the front of the group.
- get it away! Get it away!!
George- its ok Christy its just an animal carcass.
Christy- but if its dead then that means there is something around here that killed it! And what if it is still hungry?!
Pattum- well it looks as if it cleared all the meat it could so it should be full.
Keith- *under his breath* or its just getting started
Christy- oh no, what if keith is right!? What if it is still hungry?!
Me- *turning around to face him* do you really have to do that? Its bad enough that we are walking through a forest at night, but do we really need you to put fear in the mix? I mean come on! This situation is bad enough
Keith- *steps around me, and doesn’t even make eye contact*
Me- hey! I’m talking to you! Don’t just ignore me! *keith continues on his way, so out of frustration I kick a rock and just after I make contact w/ the rock my other foot looses balance and I fall down a slope and roll into a bush covered in thorns and get stuck fast and not only am I stuck but no one seemed to have noticed and laying next to me is a hair brush a lot like the one that had been stolen and a little further on is a pair of glowing eyes, and glimmering white teeth. . . *

by Kerry W on Sat Jul 12, 2008 9:30 pm

Okay, I noticed I hadn't been actually been mentioned since before Ryan went missing. (I'm too quiet lol)

Pattum was musing. She was thinking about all the things that had gone missing, and why Ryan was now missing, along with his laptop. But there was something else she was overlooking, but she couldn't figure it out...

A piercing scream was heard. Keith's head snapped up. "That was Rhi!"

The others ran through the bushes to find Rhi tangled up in a semi-thorny shrub, pointing at something they couldn't see.

"What happened Rhi?" Keith asked, gently untangling her from the tangle of leaves and thorns.

"When I fell into the bush, I found the hairbrush, but I also saw a pair of eyes." Rhi said, shuddering. "It was too creepy.

"Hey guys, where's Kerry?" Pagan suddenly said. The others looked at each other in horror.

"I can't believe we overlooked her! Oh wow. Did she go missing at the same time as Ryan?" Pattum sighed, and sat on a tree stump, wringing her hands in worry.

"She disapeared around the same time that ryan did, so... they might have gone off together to check something out on Ryan's laptop, and we're just worrying for no good reason, OR they might have been kidnapped?" Rhi suggested from Keith's arms.

"Great! Just great! We're on a nice little camping trip when things start getting stolen, and people start getting kidnapped! This is just bloody fantastic!" Paul finally lost his temper and stalked off, muttering angrily, leaving the group staring after him.

Whimsey sighed. "I'll go after him."

"So we need to figure out what to do now that Kerry's missing too." George said. "Karen, that was you phone we used earlier?" Karen nodded. "Good. Can we send a text to Ryan's e-mail and hope they're able to access it?"

"What if they are being held captive?" Damian finally spoke. "What do we do then?"

"I don't know, but we'll cross that bridge when it comes to it." George replied.

So Christy was the one chosen to text the message and it was decided that they would wait 1/2 an hour before going out to look for them.

by pagan on Sat Jul 12, 2008 10:04 pm

Rhi not to worry I put my own in after I read here. I just whip it off the top of my head in response to what everyone else has written. Actually, I have already thought of the perfect ending to this one but will wait and see what everyone else comes up with in the meantime.

I am very distraught because Ryan has disappeared. Now how can both his laptop and he be missing in the village yet he be in another camp? When would he have had the time to get there, especially when he left his car parked outside his house? Hmmm...tis a puzzlement. All this fighting is upsetting me and I can't take it. On top of it all, I look around to see somehow Rhi has disappeared.
"hey everyone" I shout, Rhi is missing. No one pays any attention. Keith is pouting, Christy is terrified and Damian is trying to comfort her. Paul and Whimsey are trying to keep each other sane. Paul is having a hard time walking in only his socks. No shoes so he is stockingfooted. George, Karen, Pat et al are trying to work out the pieces of the puzzle. I am getting frustrated and ready to hit someone. My sweetie and my friend are missing and no one seems to care. I sit down and start to cry tears of fear and frustration. FINALLY George hears me and comes over to me.
"What is wrong Pagan?" he askes putting his arm around my shoulders.
"Rhi and Ryan are missing and no one seems to care, " I sob. "I am afraid we'll never find them. All Keith can think about is food, Christy and Damian only each other, Whimsey and Paul heaven only knows and the rest of you, well I don't have a clue. I want to go home. I am sorry I came on this lousy trip."
Pat joins us. "There there Pagan. It will be all right. You say Rhi is missing too?"
"Yes" sobs Pagan. "I just noticed it."
Keith "OMG Rhi is missing."
"As if you care," Pagan snaps at him. "You've been biting her head off for miles. I wouldn't blame her if she had enough of you and took off for elsewhere. I know I would if Ryan ever treated ME like that. To top if off Paul threw his shoes away AFTER he lost his hiking boots. So now he is stocking footed. His feet smell AWFUL and could be used as a deadly weapon. I am sure he will cut his feet. And then what? He will whine and cry when it is all his fault. I want to go home." I really start bawling. I am fed up with this entire mess.
All of a sudden there is a thrashing in the bushes. Ryan breaks thru with his laptop. He runs to me.
"Pagan what is wrong?" he asks.
"Where have you been?" she sobs. "I have been so worried. You disappeared so fast. How did you get here?"
"There was a note in my bathroom saying my laptop was in the other room. S omeone put a bag over my head and knocked me out. When I came to, I was lying near a lake with my laptop. I heard voices and came to investigate," he replied.
"I want to go home," I wail crying even harder. Ryan puts down his laptop and takes me in his arms. "Hey we'll find everyone's stuff and then go back to my house, I promise."
"I don't mean your house," I snap. "I mean MY house. In the states. I've had enough. I come over here for a nice vacation with my friends, only to have a dog and cat kidnapped, chase around after them. Then, go on a camping trip where stuff AND people turn up missing. This is just too much. Whatever happened to look at historic buildings, castles, museums, etc?"
"Awww Sweetie. I promise when this is all over I'll take you sightseeing over the entire country," Ryan promises. He rocks me back and forth to comfort me. "Guys, she is really upset," he says.
Keith gets a sheepish look on his face as do Damian and Christy. "I guess I've been pretty selfish the past few miles."
Damian says" We have, too. I am very sorry Pagan."
Christy puts her hand on my shoulder. "I am sorry too. Let's see if we can find Rhi."
George says"When was the last time anyone saw her?" Nobody says anything.
I say" I saw her about a mile or so back then she just disappeared."
"Okay," says George. " We need to backtrack and find her.
Ryan says"Pagan and I are staying right here. Pagan is all worn out and needs some rest. The rest of you go find Rhi. George why don't you, Pat, Keith and Karen go? The rest stay here. Paul has no shoes and his feet are in bad enough shape.
Keith says" Paul and I wear the same size shoe so I'll lend him my extra pair." He rummages in his backpack and finds a pair of tennis shoes. Hands them to Paul who puts them on.
"Okay, I am ready to go," Paul says.
"Now we need some strategy here," says George.
"Right, "says Pat. "How many cell phones do we have?" Everyone looks at each other.
"I lost mine rescuing Paul's boot," Damian says.
"me too when I caught Rhi" Keith says.
"Well, I have mine,"Ryan says.
"OKay. We'll do it this way," George says. "I'll call you if we find something. If she comes back, you call me. In the meantime the younger ones stay here with Ryan and Pagan. The rest of us will go hunt for Rhi."
The search party takes off in the direction of Rhi's scream.
Kerry stays behind with Ryan, Pagan and the others.
Kerry you and I must have been typing at the same time.

All of a sudden Pagan wakes up. "Oh no. I just had this kind of nice dream. Ryan came back and Kerry was with us. I see they are gone. Now what?"
"We gotta go find them," said George.
"I think something isn't right," Pat said. "Ryan leaves with Pagan. Turns up missing. Kerry is missing, too. Rhi screams. She has fallen in a thorn bush. Hmmm...... Something very suspicious is going on here".

How is that Kerry? Better? Now take it away.....

by Kerry W on Sat Jul 12, 2008 10:20 pm

yeah we were. And then I just started typing again right before you posted, so then I had a perfect set-up, dang it. ecchhh. I hate it when that happens.

Wait, so which version are we going with?

b/c Ryan and I are missing in mine, but now I'm getting kind of confused...

by pagan on Sat Jul 12, 2008 10:36 pm

Well we can kind of fix that. Hang in there. On my way to fix it now. We'll use yours.

by Kerry W on Sat Jul 12, 2008 10:38 pm

I decided to go ahead and post what I was trying to set up. We can figure this out later, and delete it if wanted.

Ryan,

We're worried about you. Where are you, and is Kerry with you?

The group.

That was what the text Christy sent off said.

10 minutes later, a text was recieved:

Dear CT and the girls,

We're watching you. If you ever want to see your two friends alive again, come up with a million dollars to save their lives. We know CT definitely has the money, so it's no use pretending that you don't have it.

No cops or any other people can know about this. Or else.

Black

Ryan Kelly and Kerry White (not my real last name. sorry peeps.) were just now waking up, both having splitting headaches. The last thing either one of them remembered was that Ryan and Kerry had been checking out the gaelic football games and how the preparations for the Olympic trials were going. The two had been walking back to the camp when they had been attacked. A group of men in black (lol) had attacked Kerry and chloroformed her. Ryan held off a little better since he'd had a little more warning, but ended up having to be knocked out instead.

"Ow!" Ryan groaned, rolling over. There was a small knot on the back of his head, but no blood luckily.

Kerry sat up and looked at their surroundings. They were in a very small, gray room (about 12x10ft) with only one cot, and the laptop was in a corner, closed.

"Ryan, come look at this!" She went over to the laptop and opened the screen. A word document was already opened, with a message on the screen...

by pagan on Sat Jul 12, 2008 10:44 pm

Good for you Kerry cos I just fixed mine. I like yours.

With horror Ryan sees the message left for his friends. There is a vid showing them gathered around, very upset.
"Oh no. How are they going to come up with that kind of money so fast?" he says.
"Don't know," Kerry replied. "What is even worse is those men hiding in the bushes with guns aimed at everyone."

by Pattum on Sat Jul 12, 2008 11:17 pm

Here's my ending, everyone, typed before Kerry's last one. I hope you all like it.

"OK, everybody sit down for a minute. We need to count noses. Rhi has gone missing again, Kerry is back but I don't know that any of us are safe yet. Somehow things and people are appearing and disappearing in the most confusing manners."

George was trying not to sound frustrated but the whole mess was getting confusing. Ryan wasn't acting quite right though he was talking sweetly to Pagan. He was really holding onto his laptop. Rhi had been very frightened by something she saw but wandered off again as soon as she got with the group which wasn't like her either. The carcass we'd seen on the path a short while ago wasn't there any more but it was totally quiet in this part of the forest.

Keith was rummaging in his backpack again and looking more and more angry.

"Okay, enough. I got my mirror back but now my lucky hat is gone. Whoever's playing these tricks is in for trouble."

He set off on a run deeper into the forest. George and Paul raced after him with Pattum and a couple of the other girls right behind. Damian and the rest followed more slowly. If the older members of the group couldn't get control of things they were really bad. Nobody noticed that Ryan had gone in a different direction.

Paul's long legs kept him even with Keith as the men dodged trees and bushes, rushing toward the bog and the river. George sped ahead but Pattum and Pagan started to fall behind. The younger group crowded around Damian, unsure whether they should go on in the deepening darkness. Then they heard the loudest, maddest gobbledygook they've ever heard in Paul's voice. The next voice they heard was Ryan, yelling at Paul but Ryan's voice sounded tinny and strange.

Keith was yelling too.

"There's my hat, and Damian's jacket and Ryan's boxers and some girl's gloves and scarf and Paul's boot and one white shoe. What are they doing all piled up out here?"

Ryan walked over the the stack of clothing and put his laptop down in front of it and turned it on. Desperado came out of the speakers, then a crackling sound and drums, loud drums. The pile of clothing started moving gradually, a bit at a time. First the shoes took up a wide-legged stance, the shorts settled themselves above a pair of knee socks and Damian's jacket folded itself around the carcass we had seen before forming a torso. The scarf wrapped itself around the neck and hood of the jacket and Keith's favourite hat settled itself jauntily above it. The figure looked a lot like a man. It started to sing and it wasn't really half bad because it was using Ryan's voice. Rhi moved out from behind the figure holding a tiny white rabbit with very big teeth and the hairbrush. She brought the animal to the other girls who all sat on the ground to pet and brush the sweet creature while listening to the figure singing. Even Keith and Paul were silent.

When the song was over, Ryan apologized for frightening everyone and admitted he'd caught the creature stealing the diaries and the pages got ripped while he was trying to get them away from it. He'd thought that letting the being have a few small items would keep it from causing trouble but it discovered the computer and music and now wanted to learn the guitar. The other Ryan voice explained that he would be going hom in a few days but would like to learn the guitar and jam with Celtic Thunder before leaving. So the group lit up a bonfire, Keith went back to the campsite and got the guitars and a large bag of food and the group had a wonderful party until dawn.