nfc3goodlife
11-06-2017, 03:38 PM
The Trees
By
Nick Forest Cise ©
I never like to talk about this. It’s my least favorite subject. We hosted a barbecue in July of 1977. I had a cold beer in my hand – Budweiser. My son was throwing a football around with his friend. Man, that kid was getting good.
My wife was off conversing with people who were probably better at tolerating her, some of my oldest friends from the neighborhood were scattered about the back yard, and I was flipping some burgers on the grill. It was turning into a great night.
I polished off my beer and flipped over some burgers. God, I love the smell of a good cook out. Dreams by Fleetwood Mac was on the radio. My son’s best friend Jake threw a long pass to Frank. That ball spiraled like a drill bit. Frank was back peddling quick to catch this bastard, but it simply wasn’t catchable. The football flew straight into the woods. Pretty damn far too. My son went in after it. The forest was thick, and when Frank went in, he went completely out of sight.
*
I lifted the lid on the grill, picked up my spatula, and moved a few burgers onto a plate. The sun was due to set in forty-five minutes.
Frank suddenly screamed out. It was so loud that his voice echoed off the trees. I threw down my spatula. Two of the other boys went into the woods after him. They ran far back, and as I entered the tree line, it looked as if the sun had already set. I ran like hell. All I could see was the backs of the two boys running.
They suddenly halted hundreds of feet ahead of me. Dead in their tracks. They were afraid to move forward.
Franky’s cries for help continued, getting louder as I came closer. An rapid bolt of lightning struck the forest floor. The sky lit up. I fell backwards, disillusioned by the blast. Franks cries stopped. I stood up, and ran over to the two boys that laid unconscious. A burning essence sifted through the air.
There was no sign of Frank. I kept running as far back as I could go. Eventually I stumbled out onto a main road. I looked both ways and saw nothing.
I ran back to the boys. Half of my barbeque guests were in the forest now, and not long after, we had the every house on my street searching out in the woods.
I was a wreck by then. A half-hour passed by. Sweat poured down my forehead like a broken water fountain.
“FRANKY! WHERE ARE YOU!?” I shouted into the evening air. “Franky!” I lost my footing a few times and fell straight to my stomach.
An ambulance came for the two unconscious kids. As the siren wailed away down the main road, my brain was under attacked. A cancerous anxiety attacked my mind. I couldn’t think. A police officer grabbed me by the arm.
“Your wife is looking for you.”
“No. NO! I have to stay here. I have to find him.” Tears started to roll down my cheeks. A sharp pain slit open my stomach, and poured my emotions all over the forest floor.
“We’re not going to stop looking.” Said the officer. He escorted me back through the woods. I watched the beam of his flashlight reflect onto the ground hoping that I would find some sort of clue of what the **** just happened. It was a delusional attempt to stay progressive. I walked into the back yard. My wife was on the deck. She stared down at me in disgust. Passing judgment through a look in her green eyes.
“You were supposed to be watching him!” She cried out. A police radio blared out an audio transmission.
“How dare you!” I screamed to her. The cop grabbed my arm again, and pulled me back.
“I know this is a terrible night for you, but you need to keep calm.” He said.
“I can’t when that ****ing ***** is putting all the blame on me! I was flipping burgers for everyone!” I shook lose from the officer’s grip on my bicep, and stepped closer to the deck. “How dare you put that blame on me! Where the **** were you? Telling the neighbors how miserable you are?” I shouted at her.
“You’re an absentee father! You’ve always been! Now, here’s your result!” Becca sobbed into her hands. “Where are you Franky?” She whispered.
“Screw you!” The officer dragged me to the front of the house and put me into the back of his squad car. He started up his engine.
“Where are we going?” The cop put the car in drive and accelerated forward. “Hey!” He looked back at me.
“We’re going to the hospital.” Said the police officer.
“Why?” I asked. I kept shifting impatiently, wanting so badly to spring back into the woods, and only return when I had my son.
“One of the boys who ran into the woods after Frank is awake now. He said that he saw something.”
*
We arrived at the hospital and rode the elevator to the third floor. A long hallway lead us all the way to the end of the wing and into the last room on the right. The young boy was sleeping in a bed with an oxygen tank feeding him air. His parents sat beside him. A few officers stood guard at the door. The look on their faces wasn’t right. The expressions didn’t read concern, the expressions on read something deeper. They were disturbed. Jake’s father looked up at me.
“Nick – can we go somewhere to talk.” I looked back at him and nodded. We went out into the hallway. “Before my son fell back asleep, he told me what he saw.” I swallowed a heavy knot in my throat.
“What happened?” He was anxious. I could tell. It seemed like he didn’t have any idea how to say what was going through his mind.
“You’re Frank’s father, you deserve to hear every detail-“
“Just tell me Rich!” I grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him closer. “Now.”
“Before the lightning struck, Jake saw Frank get dragged along the forest floor-“
“What was it!? An animal, a person!?” I stared into his face. Frantically anticipating his response.
“Nick. No.” He teared up a bit.
“What the **** was it!?”
“Frank was getting pulled along by – tree roots.
“What?”
“The roots of a tree – it dragged Frank – underground.” I couldn’t speak. My knees felt weak. I thought I was going to keel over. I gazed back at him.
“H-how do I explain this to my wife…?” I said slowly.
The officer drove me back to the forest. Flight lights glowed in all directions. A woman ran over to the officer.
“I can’t find my daughter!” Just like Frank, that girl was never found.
THE END
By
Nick Forest Cise ©
I never like to talk about this. It’s my least favorite subject. We hosted a barbecue in July of 1977. I had a cold beer in my hand – Budweiser. My son was throwing a football around with his friend. Man, that kid was getting good.
My wife was off conversing with people who were probably better at tolerating her, some of my oldest friends from the neighborhood were scattered about the back yard, and I was flipping some burgers on the grill. It was turning into a great night.
I polished off my beer and flipped over some burgers. God, I love the smell of a good cook out. Dreams by Fleetwood Mac was on the radio. My son’s best friend Jake threw a long pass to Frank. That ball spiraled like a drill bit. Frank was back peddling quick to catch this bastard, but it simply wasn’t catchable. The football flew straight into the woods. Pretty damn far too. My son went in after it. The forest was thick, and when Frank went in, he went completely out of sight.
*
I lifted the lid on the grill, picked up my spatula, and moved a few burgers onto a plate. The sun was due to set in forty-five minutes.
Frank suddenly screamed out. It was so loud that his voice echoed off the trees. I threw down my spatula. Two of the other boys went into the woods after him. They ran far back, and as I entered the tree line, it looked as if the sun had already set. I ran like hell. All I could see was the backs of the two boys running.
They suddenly halted hundreds of feet ahead of me. Dead in their tracks. They were afraid to move forward.
Franky’s cries for help continued, getting louder as I came closer. An rapid bolt of lightning struck the forest floor. The sky lit up. I fell backwards, disillusioned by the blast. Franks cries stopped. I stood up, and ran over to the two boys that laid unconscious. A burning essence sifted through the air.
There was no sign of Frank. I kept running as far back as I could go. Eventually I stumbled out onto a main road. I looked both ways and saw nothing.
I ran back to the boys. Half of my barbeque guests were in the forest now, and not long after, we had the every house on my street searching out in the woods.
I was a wreck by then. A half-hour passed by. Sweat poured down my forehead like a broken water fountain.
“FRANKY! WHERE ARE YOU!?” I shouted into the evening air. “Franky!” I lost my footing a few times and fell straight to my stomach.
An ambulance came for the two unconscious kids. As the siren wailed away down the main road, my brain was under attacked. A cancerous anxiety attacked my mind. I couldn’t think. A police officer grabbed me by the arm.
“Your wife is looking for you.”
“No. NO! I have to stay here. I have to find him.” Tears started to roll down my cheeks. A sharp pain slit open my stomach, and poured my emotions all over the forest floor.
“We’re not going to stop looking.” Said the officer. He escorted me back through the woods. I watched the beam of his flashlight reflect onto the ground hoping that I would find some sort of clue of what the **** just happened. It was a delusional attempt to stay progressive. I walked into the back yard. My wife was on the deck. She stared down at me in disgust. Passing judgment through a look in her green eyes.
“You were supposed to be watching him!” She cried out. A police radio blared out an audio transmission.
“How dare you!” I screamed to her. The cop grabbed my arm again, and pulled me back.
“I know this is a terrible night for you, but you need to keep calm.” He said.
“I can’t when that ****ing ***** is putting all the blame on me! I was flipping burgers for everyone!” I shook lose from the officer’s grip on my bicep, and stepped closer to the deck. “How dare you put that blame on me! Where the **** were you? Telling the neighbors how miserable you are?” I shouted at her.
“You’re an absentee father! You’ve always been! Now, here’s your result!” Becca sobbed into her hands. “Where are you Franky?” She whispered.
“Screw you!” The officer dragged me to the front of the house and put me into the back of his squad car. He started up his engine.
“Where are we going?” The cop put the car in drive and accelerated forward. “Hey!” He looked back at me.
“We’re going to the hospital.” Said the police officer.
“Why?” I asked. I kept shifting impatiently, wanting so badly to spring back into the woods, and only return when I had my son.
“One of the boys who ran into the woods after Frank is awake now. He said that he saw something.”
*
We arrived at the hospital and rode the elevator to the third floor. A long hallway lead us all the way to the end of the wing and into the last room on the right. The young boy was sleeping in a bed with an oxygen tank feeding him air. His parents sat beside him. A few officers stood guard at the door. The look on their faces wasn’t right. The expressions didn’t read concern, the expressions on read something deeper. They were disturbed. Jake’s father looked up at me.
“Nick – can we go somewhere to talk.” I looked back at him and nodded. We went out into the hallway. “Before my son fell back asleep, he told me what he saw.” I swallowed a heavy knot in my throat.
“What happened?” He was anxious. I could tell. It seemed like he didn’t have any idea how to say what was going through his mind.
“You’re Frank’s father, you deserve to hear every detail-“
“Just tell me Rich!” I grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him closer. “Now.”
“Before the lightning struck, Jake saw Frank get dragged along the forest floor-“
“What was it!? An animal, a person!?” I stared into his face. Frantically anticipating his response.
“Nick. No.” He teared up a bit.
“What the **** was it!?”
“Frank was getting pulled along by – tree roots.
“What?”
“The roots of a tree – it dragged Frank – underground.” I couldn’t speak. My knees felt weak. I thought I was going to keel over. I gazed back at him.
“H-how do I explain this to my wife…?” I said slowly.
The officer drove me back to the forest. Flight lights glowed in all directions. A woman ran over to the officer.
“I can’t find my daughter!” Just like Frank, that girl was never found.
THE END