Nothing but an eerie silence filled the midnight October air. Mave looked over at the blinking orange light of a streetlamp as it faded out and did not turn back on. She suddenly felt very vulnerable on the empty bench with no one else in sight, and flinched back as a cat jumped out of the bushes nearby and ran down the road. She flicked on her flashlight, but then turned it off, wanting to save the battery. She had a plan, but unfortunately it included public transportation. A blue and gray bus with a picture of a bird on it pulled up to the sidewalk and screeched to a halt. The doors opened with much protest and an old woman frowned down at Mave, who eagerly jumped up onto the bus and paid her fare, taking a seat at the very back. It was an empty bus.
Waiting until the bus had pulled away, Mave quickly jogged across the empty road towards the path with a sign: "NO TRESPASSING," that would lead her into a dense forest, which was part of the estate that had once belonged to her family, and would again if she had anything to say about it. She abruptly remembered her flashlight sitting on the seat next to her in the bus, which she had left behind. It didn't bother her too much, though because the moon was so full and bright. She let out a yelp as the ground sank beneath her heavy step, covering her shoe with mud. Looking down, she saw a bit of white glistening in contrast to the mud hole it lay embedded in as the full moon kissed it. Her heart began to beat harder. This was it- a piece of the treasure her grandmother had left behind. Everyone knew that there was so much more money to be gained from the old woman, but nobody had ever tried to get it directly; without the help of a stupid lawyer. Tonight she was going to find it. Well Mave knew she was the smartest in her family, and she knew exactly how to get what she wanted from anyone. Even if she got caught she could always talk them into letting her off the hook or she could bribe them. She had lots of money, but it wasn't enough. She needed another ten thousand dollars to buy the new 3D Virtual World Game Master 6000. Throwing tantrums and getting really really mad worked the best on her parents, who spoiled her rotten, but her allowance of 50 dollars a month just wouldn't get it for her fast enough. Nothing could ever be good enough for her, which was what Daddy always said.
Mave looked around for the hundredth time, making sure no one had followed her through the dense forest surrounding the estate. Of course no one had; she was much too clever to be tricked and get into trouble. There were many pine trees and she scraped her cold gaze over them jealousy wishing she was as impervious to the cold as they were. First stepping out of the sticky mess of mud, Mave leaned over top of the mud hole and reached down with a gloved hand to pull out the treasure. At about the same moment she realized she was holding a piece of bone, a cloud of breath rose up out of the trees nearby, and something pushed her. The mud greedily wrapped its arms around Mave, pulling her down into its dark, wet stomach. Screaming, she became acutely aware of a presence and something watching her. The puddle was sinking fast and becoming deeper and wider than she had first thought it was. Mave scrambled up onto a log, wildly looked around, but saw nothing. She was now completely covered in wet, sticky mud and the forest suddenly darkened around her as a black-gray cloud stifled the moon's bright glow. A terrifyingly conspicuous presence surrounded her, clearing her mind of everything she wanted and leaving only one feeling that she had seldom experienced in her life before... Fear.
No comments:
Post a Comment