there.”
As BK soars off into the night, the three of us ready ourselves. I snap my bracelet onto my wrist; I certainly haven’t missed the painful tingling feeling I get whenever I wear it, but I’ll definitely feel safer with it on. I tuck my dagger into the back of my pants. Watching me, Sarah takes her gun out of her backpack and shoves it into the waistband of her jeans as well. All those road-trip fantasies of a couple hours ago are gone. It’s time for action. We start into the woods, the dim lights of Fouke about a mile away through the trees. Sarah grabs hold of my arm.
“Do you think we’ll see the Boggy Creek Monster?” she asks, widening her eyes in mock terror. “From the pictures, it looks a lot like Bigfoot. Maybe we can make friends.”
Six warily scans the woods around us. “Some dumbfolk legend isn’t the monster I’m worried about running into.”
“Besides,” I add, trying to keep things light for Sarah’s benefit, “who needs a sasquatch when we’ve got Nine waiting for us back in Chicago?”
Like Six, I’m also searching the woods for any sign of Mogadorian ambush. It’s eerily quiet out here, the dead branches that crunch beneath our feet sounding like fireworks. I hope that we’ve beaten the Mogs to Five’s location, that they weren’t as quick to figure out his weird riddle as we were. The fact that there isn’t a new scar on my ankle and that the small town up ahead doesn’t appear to be engulfed by flames from a recent battle are both really good signs. Still, we have to stay on our guard. There’s no telling what might be waiting for us up ahead.
As we get closer, Six reaches her hands out to us. Sarah has to let go of my arm to take hold of Six. I wish there was time for one last hug, just a quick moment to reassure her. With each of us holding one of Six’s hands, she turns us invisible. We walk on.
We’re deep in the woods, the highway far behind us, when I notice BK gliding in circles through the trees.
Down here , I call out to him.
I let go of Six’s hand so that BK can see us. He flutters down, transforming into a squirrel as soon as he hits the ground.
“BK says there’s a guy up ahead,” I tell them. “No sign of any trouble.”
“Good. Let’s move.”
I take Six’s hand and we pick up the pace, soon emerging from the woods and into the small town of Fouke. It really isn’t much more than just a pit stop. The road that connects to the highway exit continues on to the east. I see a few small houses in that direction and what I assume is the town proper. Where we are is pretty much the beginning of the town, right where travelers would pull off from the road. There’s a two-pump gas station next to us and a post office across the street. All the windows are dark, everything closed and locked up for the night.
And then, there’s the Monster Mart.
The billboards on the way into town really oversold it. The Monster Mart is really just a convenience store with Boggy Creek Monster T-shirts and hats on sale in the window. The main attraction is the twelve-foot wooden statue of the Boggy Creek Monster, a hairy beast that looks like it’s part man, part bear, and part gorilla. Even at this distance, I can see the statue is pretty much covered in bird poop.
“There!” whispers Sarah excitedly.
I see him too. There’s a boy up ahead, sitting cross-legged at the base of the statue. He looks bored as he unwraps a sandwich from some wax paper. A backpackrests next to him, but no sign of a Loric Chest that I can tell. I expected him to at least have that. It would’ve made it easy to identify him. Then again, it would’ve made it easier for the Mogadorians too.
I start forward, but Six stays planted, not letting go of my hand.
“What is it?” I whisper.
“I don’t know,” she replies quietly. “He’s just out here all alone? It all seems too easy. Like a trap.”
“Maybe,” I say, looking around again doubtfully. There are no signs of
As BK soars off into the night, the three of us ready ourselves. I snap my bracelet onto my wrist; I certainly haven’t missed the painful tingling feeling I get whenever I wear it, but I’ll definitely feel safer with it on. I tuck my dagger into the back of my pants. Watching me, Sarah takes her gun out of her backpack and shoves it into the waistband of her jeans as well. All those road-trip fantasies of a couple hours ago are gone. It’s time for action. We start into the woods, the dim lights of Fouke about a mile away through the trees. Sarah grabs hold of my arm.
“Do you think we’ll see the Boggy Creek Monster?” she asks, widening her eyes in mock terror. “From the pictures, it looks a lot like Bigfoot. Maybe we can make friends.”
Six warily scans the woods around us. “Some dumbfolk legend isn’t the monster I’m worried about running into.”
“Besides,” I add, trying to keep things light for Sarah’s benefit, “who needs a sasquatch when we’ve got Nine waiting for us back in Chicago?”
Like Six, I’m also searching the woods for any sign of Mogadorian ambush. It’s eerily quiet out here, the dead branches that crunch beneath our feet sounding like fireworks. I hope that we’ve beaten the Mogs to Five’s location, that they weren’t as quick to figure out his weird riddle as we were. The fact that there isn’t a new scar on my ankle and that the small town up ahead doesn’t appear to be engulfed by flames from a recent battle are both really good signs. Still, we have to stay on our guard. There’s no telling what might be waiting for us up ahead.
As we get closer, Six reaches her hands out to us. Sarah has to let go of my arm to take hold of Six. I wish there was time for one last hug, just a quick moment to reassure her. With each of us holding one of Six’s hands, she turns us invisible. We walk on.
We’re deep in the woods, the highway far behind us, when I notice BK gliding in circles through the trees.
Down here , I call out to him.
I let go of Six’s hand so that BK can see us. He flutters down, transforming into a squirrel as soon as he hits the ground.
“BK says there’s a guy up ahead,” I tell them. “No sign of any trouble.”
“Good. Let’s move.”
I take Six’s hand and we pick up the pace, soon emerging from the woods and into the small town of Fouke. It really isn’t much more than just a pit stop. The road that connects to the highway exit continues on to the east. I see a few small houses in that direction and what I assume is the town proper. Where we are is pretty much the beginning of the town, right where travelers would pull off from the road. There’s a two-pump gas station next to us and a post office across the street. All the windows are dark, everything closed and locked up for the night.
And then, there’s the Monster Mart.
The billboards on the way into town really oversold it. The Monster Mart is really just a convenience store with Boggy Creek Monster T-shirts and hats on sale in the window. The main attraction is the twelve-foot wooden statue of the Boggy Creek Monster, a hairy beast that looks like it’s part man, part bear, and part gorilla. Even at this distance, I can see the statue is pretty much covered in bird poop.
“There!” whispers Sarah excitedly.
I see him too. There’s a boy up ahead, sitting cross-legged at the base of the statue. He looks bored as he unwraps a sandwich from some wax paper. A backpackrests next to him, but no sign of a Loric Chest that I can tell. I expected him to at least have that. It would’ve made it easy to identify him. Then again, it would’ve made it easier for the Mogadorians too.
I start forward, but Six stays planted, not letting go of my hand.
“What is it?” I whisper.
“I don’t know,” she replies quietly. “He’s just out here all alone? It all seems too easy. Like a trap.”
“Maybe,” I say, looking around again doubtfully. There are no signs of
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