Into the Beyond Books 1-3

Josie and Rebecca stayed just within the treeline as they walked.

“I can’t believe you did that!” exclaimed Rebecca. “You’re probably going to get sent home, but that was the most badass thing I’ve ever seen.”

Josie blushed slightly, feeling awkward. She wasn’t used to compliments. In hindsight, pulling a knife on Steph probably hadn’t been the best idea. By now Steph had probably told Matt exactly where his missing knife ended up. Josie figured her camp experience would be coming to a premature end as soon as one of the counselors found her.

Rebecca looked thoughtful for a moment. “If you ditch the knife, I’ll just tell everyone Steph is lying,” she said.

It was a nice gesture, but Josie knew it would be impossible for her not to look guilty. She also wasn’t about to throw away her protection—not while she was still uncertain about the tall man.

“You are going to throw away the knife, right?” asked Rebecca.

Josie stepped over a root. It had been her plan from the start to search through the woods today. “Yeah, sure, of course.” Once I’m sure I’m safe.

They were nearing the girls’ cabins and the section of woods where she’d seen the slender figure standing. The peach-fuzz hairs on her neck and arms stood up at the mere thought of being so close to where the figure had been perched. Up ahead, an impression in the topsoil drew Josie in.

She raced over to the soft dirt and squatted down beside the impression. She could make out two distinct footprints, each about a foot and a half long, placed side-by-side, facing the cabins. She scoured the forest floor for more prints and found there to be a distinct trail leading back, deeper into the woods.

“Do you know what this means?” asked Josie, leaning in closer to the pair of prints beside her.

“You found Bigfoot!” exclaimed Rebecca, laughing hysterically.

Josie glared up at her. “No. Well, maybe. But what I’m trying to say is, this proves something really was out here this morning.”

Rebecca rolled her eyes. “I told you, this must just be a prank by the boys.” She hopped along from one footprint to the next. “‘Ooow, Bigfoot’s in the woods!’” she said mockingly. “How cliché. Tomorrow it’ll be the Loch Ness Monster down by the boathouse.”

“I’m serious,” said Josie. “You see the stride it had. And not even a professional basketball player has feet this big.”

Rebecca continued to hop along. She was barely able to make the leaps. “I saw a documentary about Bigfoot last year. People were just using wooden cut-outs to make the prints. Pressing them into the ground and jumping on them to make trails. It’s exactly the kind of stupid stuff boys like to do.”

Looking closely at the impressions, Josie could make out several toe divots. It was as if the creature was curling its toes under while it stood, digging them deeper into the earth. One clear toe divot even showed a groove, possibly from some sort of thick, pointed nail or claw. She clutched the knife at her side a little bit harder.

“The boys definitely did not make these,” she said as she ran her finger along the claw slice. The ground was hard to the touch. It must have taken a lot of pressure to form the mark.

Rebecca didn’t respond.

Josie looked up. “Rebecca?” she called, a little bit louder.

Still nothing.

She stood up and started walking deeper into the woods in the direction of the prints. “Rebecca!” she called out again. An anxious knot formed in her stomach. “This isn’t funny! Come out now!”

Rebecca was gone.

Her gut told her she needed to get out of there—to head back to camp where there were other people, where it was safer, but she couldn’t leave Rebecca out here alone. She picked up her pace, jogging between the trees.

“Rebecca! Where are you?” she cried.

Branches whipped against her as she dashed ahead. The trail of impressions continued. Worry rose inside of her with every step.

God dammit, Rebecca!

A twig snapped in the near distance catching her attention. She stopped and turned her head to face the sound. She was about to call out again when—

Thud.

A sound reminiscent of a heavy stone being dropped to the dirt filled her with extra caution. A moment later—

Thud.

The second clomp sent a shiver down Josie’s spine.

Thud. Thud.

Lumbering footsteps—something sizable was moving nearby. She ducked down behind a thick tree trunk, immediately regretting her decision to investigate the woods in the first place.

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.

It was getting closer. Josie felt like a rabbit hiding from a coyote. A pressure was building inside of her—energy deep in her muscles. She had to make a run for it. She’d been on the track team in seventh grade, but the uneven surface of the forest floor was not an ideal course. She took off at a sprint anyway, back in the direction of the cabins.

The thuds stopped for a short moment when she began running, but then picked up pace, honing in on her footfalls.

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud.

Leaves rustled and branches snapped as whatever was behind her mounted a pursuit.

Josie nearly turned her ankle on a root but continued running as fast as her feet would carry her.

Thud thud thud. Thud thud thud.

The pace changed—suddenly sounding more like a galloping horse.

Josie burst through the treeline and ran directly into an older boy. They both tumbled to the ground. The boy grunted in pain as he landed sprawled out in the grassy clearing.

Josie took the fall hard. The wind was knocked out of her. She gasped for air, unable to take a full breath. The panic in her chest made her feel ready to burst. The boy was first to get back to his feet. Josie grasped onto the grass with her fingers and forced her body back up into a kneeling position.

“Are you alright?” asked the boy, concern etched into his brow.

Josie slowly regained her breath. Her chest was still heaving hard, leaving her unable to piece together any words as she scanned her eyes back and forth across the dense woods. She listened intently, but the thuds had ceased.

The boy offered her his hand, helping her climb back up onto her feet. His palm was hot to the touch as his fingers interlocked with her own. His hand stayed clutched to hers for a lingering moment after she was already standing and steady.

Josie narrowed her eyes as she took in the boy’s appearance. He had a dark red spattering across the front of his faded blue hoodie, which looked an awful lot like blood.

“It’s paint,” he said upon taking in her concerned expression.

That was a lie.

Josie looked back into the woods, searching for anything out of place.

Only trees and dirt….

“What are you running from?” the boy asked, matching her serious demeanor.

Josie wasn’t sure what to say. She didn’t want to sound crazy, but Rebecca was still out there somewhere. “I don’t know,” she said truthfully between gasps for air. “There was something big. We were following some tracks.”

The boy’s eyes grew wide.

“Maybe a bear,” she added. The lie was the only way she could think of to be taken seriously.

The boy turned towards the woods while pulling up his right sleeve. He had some sort of strange silver bracelet coiled around his wrist and forearm.

“You said ‘we’?” he asked. “Is someone still out there?”

Josie nodded frantically. “My friend, Rebecca.”

“Go back to your cabin,” he said.

Josie stared at him oddly.

“Now!” he ordered before running headlong into the woods, leaving Josie with her mouth hanging open.

Now we’re rolling along at full steam! I do love so very much watching our little chess pieces dance around with one another. It is sad to say that Rebecca’s fate is a complete toss-up at this point… it’s difficult to see where everything will land with all of this other-worldly attention raining down upon the campground and nearby woods tonight. I’ve seen this night play out both ways for poor little Rebecca….

Keep vigilant,

-Mr. Gray