had borrowed it so often, in fact, that Stewart’s father had finally replaced it and had allowed the boys to keep it as a permanent part of their “hunt toolkit” for the investigation.
Getting the camera out was never easy. Once, Andy got stuck in the log, and the boys nearly had to recruit a neighbor for help. They were scared to death that if their parents knew what they were doing, that would be it – no more shoving cameras in logs. To prevent that situation from ever occurring again, Stewart had taken the job of setting up and retrieving Camera Three. He had a slighter build than Andy. The boys couldn’t move the camera; the location they had was too good. This had been proven over and over by the data they’d collected. Camera Three stayed put.
Stewart stood behind the log and tightened the homemade hook. Slowly, he slid the rod into the log and lay down on his stomach, banging his head on the side of the log as he tried to maneuver the rod. Luckily, he suffered no scratches; they were much harder to explain to his parents. It took several tries, but Stewart finally managed to hook Camera Three. He wrapped the camera in a cloth and placed it in a black padded camera bag.
Camera Two was wrapped in brown carpet that actually looked like bark; it was suspended high in the branches of what they referred to as W1, the “Apparition Catcher.” It was the same location where they had seen the shadow figure for the very first time. It had been standing under that willow and seemed to walk toward them, only to disappear. When the event had taken place, the boys had frozen; neither of them could speak, not really sure what they had seen. Stewart finally managed a pitiful squeak, but by the time he had, it – the thing – was gone. Too scared to move and barely able to breathe, the boys had both pointed toward the willow at the very same time confirming they’d both seen it. They had been white as ghosts themselves. Still pointing, “Yep,” they had both said at the very same time. “I saw it too!” And right then and there the hunt had officially begun. They’d been so scared that they’d run home as fast as they could without discussing their experiences with each other until later. When they had discussed it, they had come to the same conclusion. The Whispering Willow Woods were definitely haunted, and they were going to prove it! The boys had gone back to the very same location several times, but they hadn’t seen whatever it was again. But they did continue to observe the strangest things: sudden temperature changes and odd, unexplained sounds and noises. There were other things as well, too difficult to explain, but they wanted to know more, find out what was going on.
The latest physical interaction between “it” and Andy had been huge. They had reached a milestone in their investigation. Now, if they had captured any data to back it up, that would be gold!
Stewart climbed the tree quickly where Camera Two was placed. It was getting late, and the shadows were long. Once he retrieved it, he made his way back down the tree. One camera left and he was still okay, no freaky experience to be had. He was glad, too; he’d rather have his buddy there with him if he were going to have an actual physical experience. Safety in numbers, he thought. It made him feel better. Breathe . . . just keep breathing . . . he told himself, forcing his mind to focus on the task at hand.
Camera One could be tricky, since it was located between two boulders that sat on a tiny speck of sod right in the middle of the brook. It was the one camera that the boys constantly worried about. It was easier to spot than the others, although the locations of all three cameras had been chosen carefully and with purpose, each camera placed at a precise angle, with the span of the other lenses capable of overlapping each other; this ensured not a single shot was missed. Any activity, if it were happening, would be recorded and captured, and they had managed to record some unusual things, though the actual ghost seemingly stayed clear of the shot. The boys were starting to think that the ghost was keeping its distance, staying just out of the camera shots. However, the evidence was mounting, and Andy’s experience just motivated the boy’s even more.
As Stewart reached the bottom of the tree, he noticed the air had chilled. Research had shown cooler temperatures were often a sign of a ghost being present. If that was the case, then a ghost or something was in his presence. Gathering cameras Two and Three, Stewart dodged to the left behind a tree to test his theory. He was right; the air was noticeably warmer, at normal temperatures behind the willow. He laid the camera bags on the ground and moved quickly toward the stream and the rocks. Stay calm, gather Camera One, and get out of here, he told himself. That’s my plan and I’m sticking to it! Stewart’s eyes darted about him as he realized three things:
1 He was nervous beyond belief,
2 the chilled temperature he was trying to avoid had suddenly reappeared and had seemingly engulfed him, and
3 it was starting to get dark.
He noticed that the leaves were blowing across the dirt and the stream was running faster than before; a breeze had definitely picked up. He also thought that the cooler temperature was following him. Suddenly, he felt scared on a level that he was unfamiliar with. Was it possible that he was being followed? Stewart tried his best to retrieve the last camera, but the rocks were very slippery and the water was flowing faster. As the water splashed against the bank, his clothes got soaked. In an odd way, the cool water that splashed him assured Stewart that his imagination wasn’t running wild – at least, not yet.
Stewart slid his hand between the rocks and gently removed the camera. He uploaded the data, reset the record button, wrapped the camera up in the protective waterproof cover, and placed it back in the waterproof bag. As Stewart worked, he was reminded of how fortunate they were that Andy’s dad was so cool about helping them with their stuff. His dad had made a waterproof box for them and ordered the waterproof digital camera for them in the first place. Granted, they would be working it off for the rest of their lives, but it had been worth it! Andy’s dad was the only adult who knew about their mission. Being in the armed forces, he understood the need for and respected their secrecy. He’d even offered to help if need be.
With the last camera finally in place, Stewart was ready to get out of the Willows and head for home. He had a sense of uneasiness, which had suddenly swept over him for no apparent reason. Not understanding or expecting it had made it ten times worse! Stewart wasn’t sure if he felt fearful, but it was safe to say he wasn’t comfortable. He stopped walking and looked behind him. Thankfully, he couldn’t see a single person. He suddenly felt as if eyes or something were watching him; the feeling was so strong, he could barely move, though physically he couldn’t see anything.
All of a sudden, to his horror, something whispered, “I see you,” and then brushed past him.
Stewart knew it was likely only seconds, but it felt like an eternity that he had been standing there on the path. “Ahhh!” he screamed, wishing he hadn’t as soon as he had. “Ahhh!” slipped out again, and even though he desperately wanted to run away, he was too scared to move. He looked all around; nothing was there.
The voice had said, “I see you,” but that was it. It hadn’t done anything. Stewart put his hand on his chest to make sure his heart was still beating; it was. He wanted desperately to move his feet, but they were planted firmly on the ground. His goose bumps had goose bumps! He couldn’t scream or call out again, because the words wouldn’t form. The air felt thick around him, as if the oxygen itself had suddenly become so dense he couldn’t breathe. Looking at his arm again, pinching it to be sure, he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the thing had spoken to him. It had to have intended to prove to Stewart that it was there – that it existed.
For the first time, Stewart felt very afraid and started to panic. Gasping for air, he was frozen in one spot. He was alone, and he had no idea what to do. “Breathe, breathe, breathe,” he said out loud, “It didn’t hurt you! It can’t hurt you, it can’t hurt you!” he repeated over and over again, trying to convince himself it was true. He wasn’t exactly sure about the last part, but he was holding on to that
