The Winding Woods: Tales of a Boggle

by Dani Swanson

  "I don't remember ever doing this."

  "Because camping is a bad idea. Being inside is a good idea." Zyon also had his head sticking through the tent's door as he crawled under Jack's arm to peer in, causing Izzie to giggle.

  "What's so funny?" Jack smiled back to Izzie as he thought she was looking at him.

  "I'm just so excited!" Izzie shot back. That was one of her fastest comebacks to when she was reacting to Zyon.

  "I'm glad. Well, here are some flashlights in case you need to come back to the house for anything. I'll leave the sliding door open for you. Do you need anything else?"

  "No, dad! I'm a camping pro!" Nathan had his sleeping bag set up and was sitting on top of it with his legs crossed under him.

  "Okay, I'll go inside. Make sure you dump some water on the fire before you go to sleep, Nathan. And take care of your sister."

  "Dad, I know. I've been camping with you like a hundred times!" Nathan rolled his eyes as he linked pinkies with Izzie. "I always protect Izzie."

  "Good night, kids." Jack zipped the outer flap shut so that the screen would keep the bugs out, but Nathan could still see the fire. They watched quietly as their dad made his way back to the house. He waved from the screen door, and the kids popped their heads down into the tent, giggling.

  "I'll be out here, Izzie. I hope you change your mind soon." She saw the top of Zyon's head passing by the tent's screen window before it disappeared over by the chair where Izzie was previously sitting.

  "Goodnight, Zyon!" She whispered out the window.

  "Oh, now you acknowledge I'm here. Thanks, kid."

  "Now, what do we do?" Izzie sat down on her sleeping bag and folded her hands in her lap.

  "Well, usually we tell ghost stories and wait for the fire to burn down. Then we go to sleep. But I don't want to scare you with my stories." Nathan finished his statement with a whisper as he held the flashlight up to his chin.

  Izzie crawled over to her brother, getting awfully close to his face. "I can see all the boogers in your nose when you do that." She giggled as she pulled the light away from his face and took it to make her scary face under the light.

  "Well, I can see all your veins running through your face when you do that!"

  The night went on into the wee hours of the morning; they fought off going to sleep as long as possible, telling silly stories with long yawns in between the punch lines. The fire had burned out on its own, with nothing but a few glowing embers left in the ring. Zyon, too, was fighting sleep as he did his best to march around the yard on patrol. He made the mistake of sitting in the soft grass under Izzie's chair, just for a moment to rest his feet, and he drifted to slumber.

  The moon was full and starting to set in the west. It must have been at least two in the morning. Izzie had awoken; her tiny bladder couldn't hold all the soda she had drunk before bed. She laid there, listening to the soft snores coming from Nathan as she could see the shadows from the tree branch dance in the breeze outside through the roof of the tent.

  "Zyon?" She loudly whispered. She was too frightened to go to the house on her own. Why had she thought this was going to be a good idea kept racing through her head. She again called out for Zyon, a little louder than her previous whisper. Her brother started to stir from his slumber. She froze and was embarrassed that she was calling out for her friend who her brother couldn't see. He would probably tease her for it if she fully woke him.

  She lay there for a while longer until her bladder felt as if it were going to burst. She sat up in her sleeping bag and started to undo the zipper carefully. Out of the corner of her eye, she swore she saw something looking in through the screen door at her. She quickly turned her head, but nothing was there. She held her breath and listened for a moment. Only the soft rustling of the leaves on the tree mixed with Nathan's snores were heard. She crawled over to the zipper door with trepidation, peering out into the night. "Zyon? Is that you?" Shadows on the outside of the tent's walls seemed to stir more, though the wind wasn't blowing at that moment. She looked over her shoulder, and Nathan was still sound asleep. She gingerly reached out and took the flashlight before opening the zipper.

  The night's air had drastically cooled; Izzie shivered as she quietly redid the zipper on the tent. "Zyon?" She once again called out into the night. "Where are you?!" Her voice was a bit louder.

  She held her breath and listened for a response. Crickets suddenly stopped their song in the seclusion of a nearby bush. The night was still, and all Izzie heard was the deafening hum of silence. Her eyes must have been playing tricks on her as she saw shadows coming from the tree limbs and from behind the neighboring houses, but nothing was moving them. The grass became black as one shadow started to merge with the other shadows, growing into a massive puddle of darkness. Izzie's legs felt as if they were of lead. She couldn't move as she stared with fright at this dark mass filling everything around her.

  "Zyon?" She again called out. This time it was louder than a whisper. Zyon awoke from his slumber under the chair, but it wasn't soon enough. The mass of the shadow engulfed him and muffled his cry of protest as it continued toward Izzie. She had heard Zyon's cry, wide eye she stared at the spot where Zyon had been. She started to run toward the house, screaming a blood-curdling scream that echoed through the night. She reached the handle of the door as she felt a tug on her foot and on a lock of her hair. She turned to see the black mass wrapped around her ankle. She screamed again, fighting to free her leg. She pulled with all her might, refusing to let go of the door handle; the mass was stronger than her, pulling her down to the grass. It climbed up her body and dragged her back into the yard.

  "Izzie? What is wrong?!" Jack flipped on the light on the back of the house, as had two of their neighbors when they heard her screams. He saw Izzie laying perfectly still in the middle of the grassy yard, starring up to the sky, screaming. "Sweetheart, come here." Jack went and scooped up Izzie, who was hysterically crying. He saw something had flipped the tent on its side, with the door facing the ground. Nathan was yelling for someone to come let him out. "Sorry, Gary." Jack waved at his neighbor with his free hand as he passed Izzie off to Sami.

  "I knew this was a bad idea." She turned and walked toward the house with Izzie's head over her shoulder. Izzie could see Zyon limping behind them. The boggle's teeth were stained with blood, and he moaned each time he stepped on his left leg.

  "Are you okay?" Izzie said through a sniffle. She saw Zyon nod at her.

  "You were the one screaming. Are you okay?" Sami said as she was examining Izzie for any cuts. "What happened out there?"

  "I had to go to the bathroom, and I came outside the tent, and this dark thing chased me." Her eyes were full of tears again as the boys came through the door.

  "Honest dad, I was sleeping, and I heard Izzie screaming. I got to the door of the tent and couldn't see anything but blackness. When I opened the door, something pushed me over! I couldn't get out. I tried pushing the tent back, but I couldn't move it. " Nathan, too, had tears in his eyes as he sat in the chair next to Izzie. He hugged his sister. "Are you okay? Why didn't you wake me up?"

  "I just had to go to the bathroom." Izzie's face flushed with embarrassment as she no longer had to go.

  "Izzie, what knocked the tent over?" Nathan had hugged her sister tighter. Izzie just shrugged and started crying again. She didn't know what that was that knocked the tent over.

  "It tried to get me!" She sobbed and started to rub her leg where the shadow had grabbed her.

  "Sweetie, there wasn't anything out there. I think you had a nightmare or were sleepwalking. Maybe you weren't ready for sleeping out of your bed." Jack knelt and started rubbing Izzie's back to comfort her. "It's okay. You're safe in the house." Izzie could see Zyon nodding behind Jack as he was keeping an eye out the sliding door. A bruise was starting to form on her shin. “You must have hit it when you fell.”

  "I told you it was too scary for them to be out there by themselves!" Sami snapped at Jack
as she started to wipe the tears off the kid's faces with a kitchen towel. Jack started to protest, but Sami raised her hand to signal Jack that she didn't want to hear it. "Everyone get up to their own beds, right now!"

  Nathan and Izzie hopped down from their chairs. They linked pinkies as they started toward their rooms. "You should have woke me up, Iz. I would have protected you. I could have walked you inside." Izzie paused for a moment by the stairs, waiting for Zyon to catch up. She scooped him up and carried him all the way to her room. She carefully set him on her bed, looked down the hall to make sure her parents hadn't followed her upstairs; she could hear them bickering down in the kitchen still. She shut the door and went over to Zyon.

  "Are you okay?" He looked up at her. A look of relief had spread over his face now that they were back in her room.

  "Yes. Where were you? I was calling for you." Izzie's eyes were full of tears again as she got up to pull the drapes. She cleaned herself up and changed into a fresh pair of jammies. "What happened out there?"

  "I'm sorry, Iz. I dozed off. Those were the shadows I told you to beware of them. You shouldn’t to be outside after dark, especially when the moon is so bright! That's when they can find you the easiest."

  "Why are they trying to steal me away? I don't want to go with them!"

  Zyon gave her a weak smile as he went to the top of her bed, pulling down the covers so she would lay down. "I know, Princess. We can't let them get you. No more sleeping outside, okay? It's easier for me to protect you from inside the house. I and your night light can cover your room." He winked at her as he tucked her into bed. "Now, try to get some sleep."

  The boggle hopped down off the bed after Izzie had drifted off to sleep. He examined his battle wounds in the mirror and cleaned the bits of blood from his teeth. Izzie could hear him scold himself for falling asleep.

  "You dummy. There's too much riding on this. You can't let the shadows take Izzie!" Zyon knew the importance of this one little girl. He had to keep her safe. The shadows of the night were growing in numbers and becoming more aggressive with their attempts to get her. Zyon wasn't sure how one little boggle was supposed to fight an army of shadows on his own, but he had to do it for the Winding Woods, and for his family.

  Zyon didn't feel tired anymore as he made his way to the sill of the window. He sat on the ledge, looking out into the yard. He saw a lone shadow cross the well-lit grass and then disappear by the tree, leaving the night back to the neighborhood’s silent slumber.

  5: Fuzzy Photos

  The 3rd grade was going great for Isabella. She was making friends in her class, and she was excelling with her grades in the English and Math sections of her course. She was even enjoying the extracurricular cooking class and ceramics class that her mom signed her up to take.

  Zyon hitched a ride in Izzie's backpack each day. He usually took a nap while she was learning, as he didn't get much sleep at night.

  Her best friend was named Denisha, and they were joined at the hip. They sat at the same table during class and were always partners for their reading assignments and science projects.

  Denisha was short for her age – she had dark freckled skin with hazel eyes. She was always changing her hair – this week, she had her hair back in tight braids wrapped up into a bun on top of her head. She wore chic glasses that went into cat-eyed points but made of clear plastic. She was ahead of the rest of the class when it came to fashion, for only being eight, she had a style all her own – she was the only second grader with two holes pierced in both her ears.

  It was Monday, which meant they were starting a new science project, and of course, Denisha and Izzie were locked arm and arm waiting for the assignment. Their teacher, Mr. Bellinger, had passed out a piece of cardboard, flour, newspaper strips, and string to each group of chatty kids.

  "Okay, gang, we're going to be creating volcanoes with paper mâché – we'll water down the flour and build your volcanos. They'll dry overnight, and then tomorrow, we'll paint them for the art class! Two classes, one project this week!"

  There was an excited chatter that filled the room. The kids didn't know what the volcano had to do with science class, but they were excited to play in the glue-like substance they were making at their desks.

  "This stuff feels gross!" Denisha wrinkled up her nose as she dug her fingers into the glue and slapped it around the cardboard form sitting in front of them.

  "It's just some flour and water. It will wash off," Izzie said with a giggle. The girls continued to build their volcano quickly and giggled the entire time until Izzie was hit in the back of the head by a glob of something wet and sticky. She raised her hand to find that she had a ball of paper that had soaked in the flour-water mixture. She turned around to see a group of boys laughing at the table in the back of the classroom. Andrew, the class bully, waved at Izzie as her eyes started to fill up with tears. "Why would you do that? You jerk!" The shrill pitch of Izzie's voice woke Zyon from his sweet slumber, and he rolled off the shelf from where he had settled.

  He could see the table legs start to tremble as Izzie’s temper rose. She could feel the heat rising to her cheeks as the other kids started to giggle at her. Zyon saw the table start to lift off the ground and hover just an inch above the floor. “Easy, Iz! I’ll take care of it!” Zyon went under the table where the boys were, deciding how he would deal with this situation. He heard the gentle click of the table settling back down in its original place.

  Izzie took the blob of paper and threw it back at Andrew. This time, Mr. Bellinger saw Izzie throw the form back. "Isabella Smith! We do not throw things at people!"

  By the time Mr. Bellinger made it over to where Izzie was sitting, the waterworks had already started. She told him that Andrew had started everything.

  "Mr. Bellinger! Izzie was just sitting here; the boys did it!" Denisha was on her feet and pointing her finger straight at Andrew. She started to charge toward the back table but was intercepted by the teacher.

  "We'll be having none of that, Ms. Sanders. Have a seat Denisha." Mr. Bellinger pulled out her chair and gestured Denisha back to her work.

  "Andrew, come up to my desk, please." Andrew huffed at the teacher. "Now, Andrew." Mr. Bellinger's voice deepened as he pointed to the front of the class. Izzie dried her eyes on the back of her hands as she slowly got up to go to the teacher's desk as well. Mr. Bellinger could see the residue that was clinging to the back of Izzie's head.

  The classroom filled with a bunch of "owwwwww" expressions as Andrew stood and started to make his way from his seat. He began to move, and his feet were not cooperating with the rest of his body. His face twisted from confusion to terror as he fell forward, smashing his face into the floor with a loud thump that echoed through the classroom. His shoelaces had been tied together around the bottom rung of his chair. He was crying and screaming at his friends who were laughing like a group of hyenas as Andrew's face turned red with embarrassment. Izzie also giggled as she saw Zyon wave his long fingers at her from under the other table, then holding his finger to his lips for her to keep their secret. Zyon always knew how to keep the smile on Izzie’s face. The whole class erupted into laughter, causing Andrew's cheeks to grow an even darker shade of red.

  "Settle down, class! Andrew, take yourself to the nurse's office and get some ice for your face."

  Mr. Bellinger went to the sink and wet some paper towels before meeting Izzie at his desk. He gently washed the goop out of her hair. "Thank you," Izzie said through a sniffle.

  "No problem, kiddo. What did you do to make Andrew throw something at you?" He lowered his voice so the rest of the class couldn't hear their conversation.

  "Nothing." She shook her head as she spoke. "I was working on our project. Honest. Ask Denisha." The tears had started to form in the corners of her eyes.

  "No more crying. I'm just trying to find out what happened. I'll be talking to Andrew's parents. Again. How about you go back and work on your project, okay?" He gave her shoulder a light sque
eze before she left to go back to her desk. Zyon was now wide awake and settled in the empty chair next to where Izzie had been sitting.

  "That Andrew is such a brat! I don't know who tied his shoes together, but he deserved it!" Denisha was livid as she looked over at the rest of Andrew's friends, who were whispering and pointing at Izzie as they were trying to figure out how she had tied his shoes together. Denisha stuck her tongue out at them and turned back to her project.

  "She must be a witch!" Izzie could hear one of the boys loudly whisper.

  "Don't even look back at them." She heard Zyon whisper to her. She nervously fidgeted with the sparrow on her necklace.

  "All I was doing was making the volcano." Izzie quietly pouted while helping Denisha with the edges of their sculpture.

  "He'll get into plenty of trouble when he gets home. Don't worry, Mr. Bellinger believes you." Denisha was tilting her head back and forth as she smiled at her friend. Zyon could not help but smile at Denisha too. He liked Izzie's new friend.

  "I printed some pictures for you to take home from last week's field trip. I have one of each of you at the top of the giant slide." The class was again filled with chatter as everyone got their picture to take home. They also watched as Mr. Bellinger hung many random pictures that he had taken up on the bulletin board.

  "Why do you have a fuzzy spot on your picture?" Denisha asked as she looked over Izzie's shoulder at her picture.

  Izzie tilted her head to the side as she held the picture at an angle so that Zyon could also see the image. Izzie sat on the ground with her head resting to the side, and she was smiling ear to ear as she waited for her turn to go down the slide. You could see a fuzzy light spot on her shoulder. Izzie knew that the picture had caught Zyon, as he had been standing right behind her. "I'm not sure." Her voice often trailed off when she was lying.

  "Weird. Let's go look at the other ones." Denisha pushed herself back from the table and offered a hand to her friend to join her. Izzie smiled and held hands and giggled as they looked at all the pictures from the park hanging on the wall. "Look, you have another fuzzy spot, and there too!"