The Tracks by Sally Royer-Derr (little readers TXT) 📕

its steady hum lessening in the inky blackness surrounding me. I clutched the flashlight, a beacon of brightness in otherwise total darkness, and moved slowly, deliberately delaying the arrival at my destination. Halfway in, I leaned against a tree and listened. The branches hung low, their wet leaves hugging me. Muffled sounds of the woods surrounded me. An occasional owl hooting. Some scuffing in the brush in front of me. Likely an angry squirrel wanting to escape the rain. Normal sounds. I wanted to move closer. To the tracks. But my feet were cement. Stuck fast in that spot, unable to advance.

I stood there a long time. The rain stopped completely. The silvery moon appeared in the night sky. Part of it glowed through the dark canopy above me. I turned off my flashlight. The moonlight illuminated the crest of the hill leading to the tracks. I walked.

My heart raced. Faster than I’d ever felt it beating. For all my hesitation, now I couldn’t reach the tracks fast enough. I ran through the woods, the swift and smooth movements of my body bringing back my confidence. The unknown would soon be before me. I was ready to face it.

I reached the clearing. The tracks were deserted. I sighed. I’m not sure whether it was out of relief or frustration. But he’d eventually show up. I was certain of it. I needed to keep moving or I’d lose my nerve. So I made my way down to the railroad tracks and hopped up on one. Its steely strength beneath my sneakers was comforting and familiar. An old friend. I walked again.

One positive thing about summer darkness was its coolness. Fresh and damp after a warm rain, the honeysuckle growing wild along the bank lent its mellow sweetness to the late evening air. Humidity hung in the atmosphere, but not as heavy as it had been this afternoon. Instead, it almost gave me a shiver when I picked up speed on the narrow track. I kept my eyes wide open tonight. I didn’t want to be surprised by anything. Train or ghost.

I thought for sure he’d be here waiting for me. He must know I’d found out his secret. I stopped abruptly. A thought shot through my brain. Had he been watching me all day? Maybe all along he’d been watching me, studying me as I went throughout my day. A real shiver raced inside me. He only made himself known to me at the tracks or the clubhouse. But what if those weren’t the only places he’d seen me?

I turned around. I was too far down the tracks. Close to the path that trailed through the woods to our clubhouse. I wasn’t going there. I didn’t want to be here anymore. I wanted to be in my bed, safe and tucked in, like I was six years old. If he wanted to see me, he could find me. He was a ghost, for crying out loud, he could find me anywhere. I tried to walk back, but something blocked me. Nothing visible. I just couldn’t move.

“I want to go home!” I screamed into the night. “Let me go home!”

But someone didn’t want me to leave. My body lurched forward. I was running now. Straight into the dense woods.

Chapter Eighteen

The low evergreen branches slapped me in the face as I sailed down the dirt path. Instinctively, I put my hands up to block the blows. My legs pounded the well-known trail. I knew exactly where I was going. Even though I did not choose to go there. My running slowed. Control over my body returned. I bent over, panting. I surveyed my surroundings. About halfway to the clubhouse. I flicked on my flashlight. I needed it in this part of the woods. Much denser and overgrown with brush than the area behind my trailer. I shined the light down the pathway. Might as well start walking. I didn’t think I’d be allowed to go back anyway. I’d rather walk on my own than be pushed.

The flashlight bobbed while I traveled the beaten walkway through the trees. I smiled, remembering how many times Tommy and I had gone on this path. We were the reason it was so beaten down. Down to the very dirt in some spots. The clubhouse had become like a second home. At least to me. I wasn’t sure if a ghost had a home.

I rounded the bend, and the familiar sound of the creek water swishing below greeted me. I slowed my pace, parts of the sky now visible. The woods shallowed in this section. Moonlight streamed down on the grassy creek bank. Where Tommy sat.

His back was to me. His long arms stretched out behind him, fingers etched into the wild grass. I stepped on a twig, its snap breaking the cool night silence. I froze, still staring at his unmoving form. This was the boy I’d spent practically every day with for the last four months. And now I was so nervous and tongue-tied I felt as if it were our first meeting. In a way, it was our first meeting. The first time I knew his secret.

He still didn’t turn around. Just continued to lie in the grass bathed in bright moonlight. I didn’t move either. We were at a standstill. The woods around us hummed with sounds of the night. Tree frogs croaking, lightning bugs flying, and a lonely howl of a coyote in the far distance. At least I hoped it was a far distance. He shifted his weight to his right and moved his head to the side.

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

Another icy shiver raced through me. I considered trying to run away from him. But it would be useless. I doubted I’d even be able to run. I summoned up my courage and walked toward him. I slid down next to him in the