Bravely but cautiously, the six walked along the side of the road toward the noise. They walked slowly for twenty yards when they heard a large tree snapping. They could see a man’s red shirt weaving through the leaves. As he moved to the music of the saw, the six adventuring kids glimpsed the menacing threat.
But their attention was quickly diverted by a large tree top moving slowly and majestically downward past the tops of the other trees. The falling tree was coming directly toward them, and it was picking up speed fast. Running in panic from the large mass rapidly descending upon them, the group scattered frantically across the road. The unexpected movement caused the saw wielder to spot the interlopers.
Farmer Hawkins was staring straight at them.
The old farmer was known to be grumpy and gruff, with little tolerance for childhood foolishness. Having been chased from his orchards many times over the years, the boys were well aware of the old man’s nasty moods. Penny, however, was oblivious.
When the crashing noise stopped, everyone turned to see how close they had come to being smushed by the big oak. It had been a very close call. Farmer Hawkins was now closing in fast, carrying the screaming chainsaw, but his angry voice could be heard over the deafening roar.
“I told you darn kids to stay off my land!” he shouted as the chainsaw’s roar pulsated to accentuate his words. The old farmer continued to scream, but the kids couldn’t hear his angry words as they crashed and crunched through the brush and dead leaves.
They ran to their trail in panic and headed back toward home through the woods. They didn’t stop running until they crossed the first meadow and were a short way into the woods on the other side.
There they stopped to catch their breath. After a minute, Clayton walked back to the edge of the meadow to see if they had been followed. Other times, the old man had chased after them much further than they thought he could run. He sometimes set an ambush when they took a longer route to the orchards. The rumor was that if old Farmer Hawkins caught a boy out in the woods, he would take him home as a prisoner to replace one of his sons who had died falling off a crane boom.
Stories about Farmer Hawkins elevated him to local legend status, and older children delighted in scaring the younger kids with outrageous tales about the old man, especially around Halloween. Satisfied that he wasn’t still chasing them, Clayton returned to the others.
“I don’t know what was scarier—almost being crushed by the falling tree or seeing crazy Farmer Hawkins coming at us with a chainsaw,” Ron gasped.
“Both,” Karl said, breathing heavily.
“Now what are we going to do? Penny asked, dejectedly. Now she knew why the boys made him out to be such a monster. But the Halloween horror stories about Farmer Hawkins couldn’t possibly be true. Could they?
“Let’s just go around,” Ron said.
“He expects us to do that. He’s caught us before when we tried that trick,” Phil said with a sigh.
“We can’t get to the fairy tree?” Penny whined.
“Well, we’re not going to get there tonight,” Clayton said with disappointment in his voice. He put his arm around Penny in comfort as he nudged her to start the walk home.
“Hey, if we have to, we can cut another trail over to the lake and come at it from that direction,” Karl declared defiantly as he and the others followed Clayton back along the trail.
“Yeah!” the others voiced with renewed hope.
“He can’t keep us from seeing the fairies,” Ron joined in.
“I still haven’t seen them,” Paul said, disbelief creeping back into his voice.
“Well, you were going to,” Phil insisted.
“Well, I didn’t,” Paul argued back, giving his brother a slap on the arm. They swapped hits as they walked along the trail.
“Stop it, you two,” Clayton demanded, tired of the bickering. “Next time we’ll just have to check to see if the old man is around, and sneak far around him if he is.”
They walked in silence, each again lost in their own thoughts. The gathering gloom under the forest canopy and a chorus of crickets announced the coming of night. As the darkness started to blur shapes, their walk neared the top of a hill, and Penny’s flashlight snapped on.
Immediately, Clayton dropped into a crouch. “Get down everybody. Lights off!” he ordered in a whispered but urgent voice. The others obeyed; they could hear a faint voice in the distance.
“Come on, Mike, let’s go back.”
“No, I want to see what those idiots are doing.”
“It’s Mike and a few other guys from the subdivision,” Ron whispered as he peeked over Clayton’s head.
“What are they doing here?” Phil demanded. Hearts sank at the thought of being discovered going to the fairy tree.
“Seeing what we’re doing, dummy,” Paul said, whacking his brother’s shoulder. After exchanging a few whacks back and forth, they were pushed over by Clayton.
“Stop it!” he whisper-shouted.
“What are we going to do?” Penny demanded fearfully.
“I know!” Karl said. “We run down the trail and scream that Farmer Hawkins is chasing us. They’ll turn and run for sure. We avoid a confrontation, and we make them think it’s dangerous to be here.”
Clayton quickly thought over Karl’s idea and suddenly jumped up. The others followed, showing their agreement to the plan. On cue, they started running over the hill’s crest toward Mike and his friends.
Mike was just climbing out of a gully when Clayton and the others started their frenzied run. At first glance, Mike appeared to be an adult. He was over six feet tall and overweight. His long, dark hair and the beginnings of a moustache, added to the black leather vest with chains hanging from it, gave him a sinister appearance. Another boy was partially visible as he followed Mike out of the ravine.
When Clayton and his followers were almost down the hill, Mike had apparently spotted them and assumed a fierce fighting stance. When Clayton saw the direction the scenario was taking, he began doubting the success of Karl’s plan.
They ran another ten yards before Clayton began shouting, “Run! Farmer Hawkins is after us with a chainsaw!”
Mike hesitated for a second, but he took the bait. He turned and shoved his way past his friend, now out of the gully. Mike’s friend also turned and ran. By the time Clayton was out of the other side of the gully, Mike and his friends were out of sight.
When they were sure Mike was gone, the exhausted kids stopped next to Clayton and listened furtively for any other sounds.
“I guess we showed them,” Penny said.
“But they know where the trail is,” Ron anguished. “Now we have to watch out for them all the time!” Unease started to spread quickly, and the six adventurers were silent for the rest of the trip home, each filled with their own apprehensions.
That night’s sleep provided little rest. Sleep was a series of short naps broken by troubled dreams. They all dreamt of being chased and attacked by the old farmer, followed by the encounter with Mike and his friends. They dreamed the fairies were coming to rescue them, but the little creatures turned into a fine mist that dispersed and faded away.
As the six tossed and turned in their beds, questions tossed and turned in their heads. How would they get back to the fairy tree? How would they keep Mike and his friends from finding it? Why was the old farmer cutting a road that seemed to parallel their trail? Would his road go to the fairy tree, and would he cut it down too?
Not only were fairies on their minds, but school was starting the next morning.
The only relief they got that night was when dawn broke. In the morning, fairy thoughts were quickly banished by the excitement and anticipation of the first day of school. Getting ready and organized for school left little time to think about fairies.
Once in class, the adventurers were too busy talking to friends they hadn’t seen all summer, meeting new kids, and getting instructions for what each subject required. It was the usual
first-day-of-school chaos right from the start.
In the small rural community, the middle and high schools occupied the same building, but with kids from the new subdivisions, there were more than four times the students. Even though the new, free-standing classrooms helped ease overcrowding, it also created more chaos. The teachers were as confused as the students, and nobody appeared to be in control, for which most kids seemed grateful.
Wendy was in two of Clayton’s classes, but he sat up front so he couldn’t see her. He passed her in the hall a couple times, and when she surprised him by calling, “Hey,” he dropped his books and barely managed to croak, “Hey back.” There was certainly no way he could talk to her about fairies.
With a surge of jealousy, Clayton noticed that Mike had no trouble talking to Wendy. He had seen the two at her locker, and he’d gotten a dirty look from Mike. Clayton turned red with anxiety and embarrassment, knowing he really had to talk with Wendy about the fairies soon or he would miss his chance.
The halls filled with cheerful banter between classes and during lunch. There were no opportunities for Clayton to talk about fairies with his friends. Fortunately, for the moment, Mike gave them no concern. As it played out, this first day of school ended like all the others—confusion in the bus line.
The six adventurers spent most of their energy during the hectic first day getting ready for school, catching the bus, getting to class on time, rushing to find and catch the bus home, and rushing to get chores done at home before supper.
After supper, all six relaxed, letting the comforts of home wash over them. The sound of rain falling on roofs and trees added a happy, cozy feeling, and offered hope that the three-year drought was finally over. It was enough to make most kids head for an early bedtime, except those who had seen the fairies. They were restless. Thursday would be the first opportunity for all of six of them to go to the fairy tree, which they had all agreed upon.
Until then, they waited, lying in their beds, listening to the pitter-patter of rain lulling them into a comfortable trance. They knew the fireflies wouldn’t appear in the rain, but their minds still wandered to the fairy tree.
And all they could do was wait.
SeeLee
On Thursday following supper and chores, Clayton and Penny met the twins and Karl at the tree house. The day had been sunny, and the returning heat dried the forest and fields after the days of rain.
School was settling into a routine, but Clayton felt strange at school whenever he tried to talk with Ron about the fairies. He felt even stranger whenever Wendy was around. Despite his embarrassment, he talked louder when Wendy was in earshot, hoping she would overhear their secret.
Clayton figured that she'd think he was nuts if he told her about the fairies outright, but if she'd “overheard,” it might be different. He thought about asking Wayne to bring her to the tree house first for a look-around. After she got to know him better, telling her about the fairies would be easier.
Everybody was glad about the new school year, but all were anxious to return to the fairy tree. Ron was the last to arrive on that Thursday evening with Brian trailing right behind him.
“I couldn't ditch him,” Ron said, answering the looks shooting his way.
“I know, I know,” Brian said with a grin. “You guys are probably playing a big joke on me.”
“You and me both,” Paul echoed.
“I do know that Ron has been acting weird since you guys took Penny to see the fireflies. He stares blankly into space and can only say ‘What?' when I ask him a question. He constantly forgets things, too. So, maybe he did see fairies,” Brian said with indecision in his voice.
“I do not stare into space!”
“You do too, and you're always bumping into things.”
As they began talking about the fairies, Brian held up his hand to stop them, ordering, “If I can't see them, then I don't want to hear about them!” Paul told Brian about their failed attempt to visit the fairies and the run-in with Mike. He agreed with Brian that until he saw them up close and personal, he didn't want to hear about them either.
“Then let's go,” was all Clayton could say as he climbed down the rope ladder. The others quickly followed.
They started off on the trail in good spirits, anticipation building for what they would find when they finally reached their destination. This time, they frequently checked behind them to make sure they weren't being followed.
When the band of seven neared Farmer Hawkins's newly built road, they decided to send a scout ahead to see if the old man was around. If he was, they planned to sneak around him to avoid detection. This time they were confident nothing would keep them from reaching the fairy tree.
The further they walked, the quieter they became as they strained to hear any faint sounds of a chainsaw in the distance. They also scanned the area for Mike.
They soon reached the spot where they had encountered the old farmer. They didn't know what to do next, but their heartbeats quickened with the memory of the old farmer brandishing a chainsaw, and they didn't want a repeat performance of that episode.
“What do we do now?” Phil asked. “I don't hear any chainsaw noises.”
“That doesn't mean he's not out here,” Clayton cautioned before heading for the road. “I'll go check. You guys wait here, and I'll sneak over to his road. If you see me racing back, run down the trail to the spot where we stopped before.” The others watched until he vanished into the trees and brush.
The closer Clayton got to the road, the slower and quieter he moved. His heart pounded as he lost the cover of the last bush and stepped onto the road.
The woods were deathly quiet as he looked up and down the road. He saw no one, and growing more confident that he was alone, he started walking along the curve in the road where the tree had almost crushed them. He could now see where the road stopped two hundred yards ahead. It was definitely heading toward the firefly field, and his heart sank as he realized the danger to the fairies this road represented.
He was almost back to his friends when he saw them waving at him to hurry.
“We saw Mike and his guys! He was way back on the trail and jumped behind a tree when he knew we saw him,” Phil explained as he nervously pointed to the trail.
“There are seven of us, so why don't we pick up stones and chase after them?” Ron exclaimed. Brian nodded and looked around the trail for ammunition. The twins started arguing about what to do.
“I don't want to have to go back home again,” Penny pleaded, tugging at Clayton.
“How many guys were with him?” Clayton asked.
“Well, I guess we really only saw him,” Ron admitted.
“We've got other problems to worry about,” Clayton informed the others. “The old farmer's road is heading directly to the firefly field.” As he said this, his face lit up with a plan.
“We have to walk where the trail curves to the right,” Clayton ordered, pointing to a spot some distance away. “Two of us will cover the old trail where it curves and goes out of sight. The rest will clear a new trail, curving toward the lake. We'll clear it for fifty yards, and then walk off toward the lake. That way, Mike will think it's just a trail to the water. We can clear the rest of the trail some other day if we want,” he concluded with a look of satisfaction on his face.
“Sounds good,” they all agreed, glad to have a plan.
They carried out their plan as loudly and quickly as possible, wanting Mike to see them working hard on the trail. They dumped dead leaves and branches from the new path onto the old one. They blocked the start of their old trail with the biggest dead branch they could lift and carry. Mike was too far away to see what they were doing, so he wouldn't suspect a cover-up. The seven accomplished their deception in less than fifteen minutes, then abruptly walked through the woods toward the lake.
Clayton led his band along the edge of the fields and woods nearest the lake, then into the tall reeds and bushes, giving them good cover.
The seven dared not make any noise as they walked; they were confident they couldn't be seen and didn't want to be overheard. They felt certain that Mike would head back home before the firefly show began.
As the group finally approached the firefly field, the little lightning bugs were beginning to appear. After crossing along the lake side of the field, they headed toward the fairy tree. Still afraid that Mike had followed them, they stayed in single file and kept what cover they could as they crept along the edge of the field. When they reached the field, there was no trace of Mike, so they assumed their hastily devised plan was a success.
Fireflies were out in full force. When they saw the swarming fireflies at the base of the tree, everyone quickened their pace. Penny ran straight into the gathering of fireflies, which quickly dispersed when she violated their space. The boys, hurrying to catch her, were relieved when Penny gleefully called, “SeeLee!” The little fairy was gracefully perched on a branch. Today, her clothes were weavings of green leaf strips fashioned with beads of blue and stones of gold, all trimmed with light-yellow feathers.
“I love your outfit,” Penny complimented.
“Hi, Penny! Thank you. Hi Clayton, Phil, Ron, and Karl! I'm so glad you're all here!” SeeLee excitedly called their names in quick succession, smiling. “I'm so happy to see you again, though I expected you back before now.” A show of concern crossed her face, replacing the smile.
“Some of us left for a holiday vacation, and then school started,” Clayton explained. “We tried to get back sooner, but got chased away by an old farmer, and he's cutting a road to the firefly field,” he added with a hint of urgency in his voice, pointing behind him at the road's direction.
“And we were also being followed by someone who isn't a friend,” Ron added.
“We're pretty sure we lost him, though. We sent him over to the lake,” Karl said to reassure SeeLee that they were trying to keep the fairy tree a secret.
Beyond the Firefly Field Page 6
