Copyright ©2011 by Tina V


All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced, used or transmitted in any forms or manner, electronic, graphic, recording, or mechanical such as printing, photocopying, or stored in any systems, except for brief quotations for personal use, without prior written permission from the author.


This e-book is entirely fiction. The characters, places and events used are fictitious. Any resemblance to real people or life is coincidental and not intended by the author.

She could feel the dawn of the winter is beginning to rise. Shaina just recovered from her recent accident. She inadvertently slipped at the forest hill when her family had a vacation at Yosemite Mountain. She stayed home for the past four months. She was quite frustrated during those times, but her mom often told her, “Shaina, just remember that everything will be back to normal soon.”

As she opened her bedroom window, she could now feel the holiday breeze; she could also see the mist from afar. She knew that there will be snow coming soon. But for now, it was time for her to visit some of her old friends from school. She got dressed hurriedly and went downstairs for breakfast.

It was already eight o’ clock when her mother arrived from the farmers market. Shaina took her jacket, smiled and said, “Mom, I’ll be meeting my friends Nathan and Tricia at the train station. We’ll be going to visit Tricia’s grandma. I’ll be home tomorrow for dinner.” She then kissed and hugged her mom. It seems like it was the happiest moment in her life.

Nathan and Tricia were already at the station when she arrived; both were giggling as they waved at her in a distance. They were so excited to see her again. All three of them hopped inside the train as it will be leaving in less than five minutes. As usual, they had a wonderful chat all throughout their ride.

It was almost a three hour train ride. Shaina texted her mom and her friends grabbed their things when they arrived at the Hancock Ville station. As soon as they got off, they went straight to their favorite nearby coffee shop. They sat at the corner table, dropped their backpacks and called the server for the menu. They ordered a large plate of fettuccine, large hawaiian supreme pizza and 3 diet coke for lunch.

They hardly stopped chatting with each other. Nathan and Tricia told her some juicy rumors about the group of girls they hated at school.

Nathan, with a mischievous look, said, “You should have seen how Tiffany’s face turned red when Brit shouted in front of the class that he didn’t like her.”

Tricia butted in, grinned and said, “Everybody knew that Tiffany had a big crush on Brit. She made her flirty moves, but Brit surely hit her hard.”

“Yeah, she did this and that.” Nathan added as he imitated the actions of Tiffany.

Shaina laughed out loud while she watched him. Funny, she wasn’t there.

Nathan continued, “Claire and Tiarra, her so-called best of friends, didn’t even bother to defend her. They just watched as Brit made fun of Tiffany. Huh! Good for her.”

Nathan sat down with a smile on his face showing his cute dimples at his right cheek. He slouched back as he extended his long legs that hid his broad shoulders. If he wasn’t gay, I bet many girls in our school would have a crush on him.

“That should teach her a lesson. Next time, she shouldn’t brag about how sexy and pretty she is. She loves to make fun of others, too.” Tricia said, laughing as she takes her first bite of the pizza.

I took another sip of my coke and shook my head. “Hey guys, let’s stop it. I guess Tiffany learned it the hard way. Okay?” I said it with a smile.

“Yes Mom!” Nathan and Tricia said in chorus. We all laughed together as we enjoy eating our lunch.

**********

After they had eaten their lunch, they took a 15 minute tricycle ride going to Grandmother’s house. It was already 1:00pm when they arrived there.

While they were walking toward the front door, Shaina remembered suddenly the last time they visited her. It was a small town and people almost knew each other. It was almost the end of spring when they went to their Annual Carnival Fair. There were food booths, toys and balloon. The children were all over the place. She could hear the whistle of the vendors that called their attention. When they went up for a hike in the mountainside, she saw a beautiful swan at a lake; and she also couldn’t forget the good looking guy riding a horse. It seemed like it was love at first sight. Happiness filled the air of her dreams.

Suddenly, Nathan shoved her shoulders and said, “Hey, you’re daydreaming again. Let’s get going.”

Oh well, Nathan just stirred her up from her wonderful daydreams. Shaina thought, “Will I ever see him again?” Perhaps, it will all depend as she just started her day in the world of adventure at Hancock.

“Grandma! It’s me, Tricia.” She shouted as she knocked at the front door. “Oh my, she must have slept and got tired waiting for us.” She continued to knock hoping her grandma would hear it.

It was five minutes later when a charming old lady wearing a light yellow long dress opened the door. “Hi there kids!” she said as she smiled at them.

Grandma didn’t change a bit; I thought, giving her a quick glance from head to toe. Her high built didn’t show her age. At 70, she still was slim, physically fit and an attractive woman. She always had been good with people, too.

Tricia in excitement gave her grandma a big hug and said, “I miss you Grandma!”

“You kids must have been tired from your trip. C’mon, let’s get inside.” She said as she led us into her living room.

“Know what Grandma? I’ve been dreaming of your old time favorite, chicken pot pie for dinner.” Tricia said.

Turning to Tricia, Grandma curiously stared at her and said, “Wow! Look at you; you’re all grown up now. You look lovely dear.” She then kissed her cheeks.
“Oh, you must be Shaina; and he must be Nathan. Am I right?” She asked, making an eye contact with us.

I shyly answered, “Yes Grandma, I’m Shaina.”

“Grandma, remember she was with me when we visited you two years ago?” Tricia asked while placing her things next to the side table.

Her grandmother lowered her head and adjusted her glasses as she looked towards Shaina. “Yeah, I remember. Oh my goodness, you look taller and prettier, too.”

Shaina’s face turned red as she said, “Thanks Grandma.” She timidly scratched her forehead and tried to get a glimpse of Tricia and Nathan’s reaction.

Tricia nodded and smiled at her; then she slowly tapped her grandma’s shoulder and moved towards Nathan. She said, “Grandma, this is Nathan. Nathan, this is Grandma Meryll.”

“You’re a good looking guy, Nathan.” Grandma exclaimed; she turned to Tricia and said, “You’re lucky you’ve got beautiful and nice friends Tricia.” Nathan didn’t have the chance to answer her. “Hey wait, just leave your things here and let’s go to the kitchen.” She prepared and offered them a choice of snacks: sandwiches, pudding, and an assortment of cookies and pastries.

Unfortunately, they were too stuffed to eat another bite. “These all look delicious, but we’re still full.” Tricia said, carefully trying not to offend her grandmother. “I’d like to take them out for a short hike at the Hancock Hillside. This is the first time Nathan was able to come with us. Can we take some of these?” She asked enthusiastically, holding on to some of the pastries.

“Well of course dear, you can. Take as many as you want.” Grandma replied pleasantly, offering her a pastry plastic bag. “By the way, here’s the key; you can take the old Chevy at the garage. Be sure to come back at eight tonight.” She instructed them. “We’ll have chicken pot pie for dinner.” She told them.

Tricia jumped out from her seat, hugged her grandma and said, “That’s great! I hardly can wait for dinner. We’ll be back soon, promise.” She said, gleefully snatching some of the goodies on the table.
We headed towards the living room, got some of our things and placed it in a smaller backpack as we left the house for a short hike.

**********

Hancock Hillside was only 10 miles away from the house; and Tricia drove the old Chevy we borrowed from her grandma. Nathan seated in front at the passenger side, while I took the back seat.

Along the way, I called my mom at home and left a message in the answering machine. She might have gone to our next door neighbor, Mrs. Jane. She’s an old family friend; and Mom has visited her usually every weekend.

It was 2:30pm by the time we arrived at the hillside. Just then, we can feel the soft breeze of the wind and the smell of the falling leaves. Aaaahhh! It feels wonderful to be away from the city life, I thought, closing my eyes.

“What a lovely view you have here!” Nathan exclaimed. He was playfully moving his hands, skipping onto his feet, and swaying his body slowly as if he was dancing to a lovely music.

Tricia and I were exchanging naughty glances with each other, planning to run on the higher side and leaving Nathan behind. I signaled her while counting my fingers: one, two, three, and we ran as fast as we could; then we laughed and shouted at Nathan, “Catch us if you can!”

I felt like we were kids again as Nathan ran after us. He made some comical actions acting like Shrek, roaring hard with his arms up and showing his hands as eagle claw. When he caught us, all three of us tumbled down the hillside. Good thing the hill wasn’t steep and wet. We all burst into sharp laughter.

Just then, the rotisserie inducing scent of garlic, lemon, butter, and chicken crashed into us like a cargo plane. It smelled insanely good. We saw several people gathered together in groups. Some were talking and laughing, others were cooking and children were playing around.

We looked at each other, showing uncertainty in our face, for a few seconds without a word. But at the back of my mind, I asked, will I ever see again the good looking guy who was riding a horse? Please let it be true, I thought.

Tricia broke the silence and said, “Hey, are you hungry guys? Why don’t we go to the other side? There’s a picnic table where we could eat our sandwiches and pastries.”

“That’s a good idea,” I said. “I could hear my stomach moaning and rumbling.” I added, laughingly.

“You’re right,” Nathan said, taking a drag.

We all picked up our backpacks, moved leisurely and went to the other side of the hill. We positioned ourselves in a vacant picnic table where we could see the beautiful view of the mountain. Tricia took out the goodies she brought from her grandma. She handed each of us a sandwich, tartlet and can of soda.

Nathan and I nodded our heads in fondness as we took the first bite of our snacks. We laughed when Nathan licked his thumbs to wipe off the mayonnaise on his lips.

Staring at the windy park, I remembered the incredible things that had happened here at Hancock. If the good looking guy with no name was here, what would we talk about? I wondered. I lifted my soda and took a sip.

**********

Hancock Hillside is the only mountaintop and recreational park in their town where families and friends can spend time together. There are picnic area, children’s playground, medium size man-made lake, and eight mile hiking trail. The trail is located at the higher grounds of the mountain where you can see the beautiful falls.

Over the next hour, we decided to go for a hike. It would take about 45 minutes trek to reach the peak; then we could stay for an hour to enjoy the view and some picture taking, and perhaps, another hour to go back to the main park entrance. It was almost late in the afternoon, and the park would be closed before sunset.

“We better get goin',” Tricia said, grabbing her daypack.

“Yeah, it’s getting late. We need to be back before the sun sets.” I said, munching the last bite of my sandwich and holding on to my bag.

Nathan was nodding his head, in agreement with us, while drinking his soda and grabbing his backpack.

So off the trail we go as we continued to chat and tell our stories with each other. We headed directly to the swan lake before we proceeded to see the falls. There were paths that are too steep, and we normally lined up; Tricia first, then Nathan and I was on the last. I could hear my heart was beating fast. We were almost there, I thought with a sigh.

Later, I saw the beautiful swans when we reached the lake. My jaw seemed to drop down from my mouth when I watched them swam gracefully. It was like they were dancing to the sound of the chirping birds and blowing of the winds. I saw Nathan, similarly, couldn’t take off his eyes from the lovely scenery. He seemed to swallow a bit of his saliva. We were both amazed of the magnificent view.

“Hey guys! Let’s take some pictures!” Tricia shouted, splashing his hands on the lake.

“Yeah Nathan, take a picture of Tricia and me,” I said, handing him my Olympus Fe7010 digital camera. I sat beside Tricia and we both hug each other in a pose; just like the old days. Nathan positioned for a solo shot; then we took turns in taking photos.

As a matter of fact, we already planned to post it in our Facebook page. We were sure our classmates would be envious with it. haha . . . , I thought with a naughty smile.

We went next to the falls, which was only a quarter mile away from the lake. Again, we took turns in taking our pictures. The water was a little bit cold now, but we still plunged in for a swim. Anyway, we brought some extra clothes and handy towel with us. We had fun; hence we eventually lost track of the time. It was almost dark when we noticed that it was time to go home.

We hurriedly got dressed, picked up our backpacks and started to walk down the trail going back to the main park entrance. “I hope we’ll make it before the sun sets.” Tricia said, looking quite worried. “Grandma will really get mad if we don’t come home before dinner.” She said while trying to call her grandmother through her cellphone. There was no signal from our spot. “No! Damn it,” she grumbled.

“Don’t worry, we’ll be there soon.” Nathan told her, tapping her back shoulders.

“Let’s just walk fast,” I added with a slight guilt feeling of not taking track of the time. Grandma said earlier that Tricia was lucky to have us as her friends, I thought. Oh no, Grandma would really be disappointed with us, I murmured to myself.

We were almost two miles away when all of a sudden I heard Nathan cried out, “Tricia, don’t trip!”

I was shocked and started to feel my hands were shaking. I couldn’t see Tricia anymore. Nathan kneeled down to reach for her hand and shouted, “Whatever happens, just hold on to my hands!”

I got my flashlight at the side of my bag, pointed it towards Nathan and I saw Tricia holding on to a branch, while grabbing his hand. I couldn’t stop trembling as I watched him reaching for her. She accidentally slipped from the edge because she didn’t notice the large stone in front. “Oh my God! Tricia, hold on!” I shouted with a stuttering voice. I felt I almost peed in my pants.

Finally, I placed my arms around Nathan’s waist and dragged him backwards to help pull Tricia up to the side. Trying to keep our balance, I stood my feet apart and pushed it hard on the ground to put some force. I felt as if someone was holding my waist to pull her up, but I just ignored my feeling. Small stones started to fall at the cliff. I could hear she was already crying and my heart was beating even faster; but I still yelled, “Don’t worry Trish! We’ll get you out of there!”

It took us almost 15 minutes to save Tricia from that terrible accident, but it seemed like it was a lifetime. Indeed, it was an ordeal. All of us were perspiring, speechless, eyes closed, and stock-still. Tricia was crying; at the same time, we all couldn’t stop shivering. At first I thought, it was because of that sudden fear of falling, but after a half-hour of lying on a bone-numbing ground, I felt like we were actually freezing

to death.

**********

Meanwhile, Grandma was busy preparing dinner. She fixed the two guest rooms earlier that day. She knew Tricia and her friends would be very tired when they come home. She was hoping they still would have time to chitchat tonight. Probably not; or maybe, they could if she would sleep in her room. She hasn’t seen her for over a year; and she really missed her a lot. She remembered they used to go to the Hancock Hillside to play soccer. They would end up running around the field, and sometimes they also would go for a hike when Tricia was only 10 years old. She had so much fun together with her only granddaughter.

Every five minutes, she looked at the antique grandfather’s clock at her dining room. In any minute, they’ll be home for dinner, she thought. Tricia as always had been on time with her schedule. I knew she was excited to eat chicken pot pie for dinner, she told herself.

The phone on the side of the kitchen countertop suddenly rang. She stared in panic at the caller ID number. Who might this be? She wondered, feeling weird insider her. She tried to calm herself down, telling herself that everything’s fine with Tricia and her friends.

She lifted the receiver and said, “Hello, Stevenson’s residence.” The woman on the other line introduced herself as Mrs. Parker; she’s the mother of Shaina. She was hoping to speak to her daughter, just checking if she was okay.

She told her that anytime they’ll be home for dinner, and will tell Shaina to return her call. Then the phone line went off. Shaina’s mom might have been worried, too. It’s getting late; what might have happened to them? Nuh, nuh, nuh, she tried to put off those thoughts out of her mind.

She went to the living room, turned on the TV and watched the famous show - CSI New York. She became more anxious because of their crime scene. It was so realistic that it induces her to imagine something might have happened to Tricia and her friends. They might have been kidnapped, she thought. Nuh, nuh, nuh, not again. She said to herself with a sigh, trying not to feel worried.

After twenty minutes, she stood up, went to the kitchen and got herself a cup of coffee. It’s almost 9:00pm and she had never been late, she thought. "I guess I have to report it to police; they might be able to help me find them." She was now thinking aloud.

When she called their town police station, they told her that she needed 24 hours before they could declare a person missing and start their search-rescue operation. She hung up the phone, sat down and stared at the corner of the wall. She felt like crying, but she doesn’t want to continue to think that something bad happened to them.

I guess I needed to wait a little more, she thought, praying for their safety. She lifted her cup of coffee and took a sip.

**********

Stuck in the dark, I suddenly came to my senses. It seemed like we fell asleep for quite a while. Oh no, I thought, we’ll never make it now. It was dark that I couldn't see a thing; I felt scared. So I shove Nathan’s shoulder to wake him up.

“Nathan, wake up!” I said, feeling my hands were still shaking. I certainly hadn’t expected this.

Nathan, seemed to be awaken from his terrible nightmare, quickly sat up and said, “Huh? What?” while looking around, turning his head at both sides without a blink of an eye.

“Hey, it’s me, Shaina.” I said, holding his arms with both of my hands to calm him down. “We better get going ‘coz it’s getting late,” I told him. I handed Nathan my flashlight; then I instructed him to check
on Tricia.

Tricia looked even more confused; although, she wasn’t crying anymore. Nathan helped her stand up while I picked up her things. She couldn’t walk straight without limping; she might have hurt her legs badly.

Nathan placed his arms around Tricia’s waist to support her; whereas, Tricia placed her arms around Nathan’s neck, holding on to his hand at her waist.

Tricia told me to get the other flashlight; so I opened her bag and took it. Now, I was in-charge to lead the way because Tricia was injured and Nathan needed to help her walk. I pointed the flashlight towards the trail so that we could see our way.

After almost two miles of hike from our last stop, the flashlight went off. It was already too dark for us to see where we were going. Nathan said, “I think we better stop here and rest. It’s no longer safe to go on.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” I answered, nodding my head. “Besides, I’m not sure anymore if we’re taking the right direction,” I said, feeling quite tired, and given that my legs were aching.

Tricia didn’t say a word. I can tell from the look of her face that she was too bothered her grandma might start to worry about us. Nathan helped her to sit down next to a big tree; then he immediately took some woods and small branches to start a bonfire to keep us warm.

I looked around and found a much safer place to rest at the side, considering that we were stuck in the middle of the mountain. I imagined I could hear those eerie sounds - howling of the owls, groaning of the wolves and growling of the bears, at night. I felt my body started to shiver again. Naaagghhh, those are just your imaginations Shaina, I told myself, trying to let go my fears.

I placed our things on the ground, opened my bag and offered my cellphone to Tricia. “Let’s try to check if there’s a cell signal here. Trish, why don’t you try to call your grandma?” I asked her. Still, she didn’t say a word, but she looked up at me with a teary eyed.

“It’s not your fault Trish that we weren’t able to make it. It was an accident, and we lost track of the time. I’m sure grandma would understand,” I told her with hopes it would make her feel a little better.
“Well, I guess we also owe her an apology,” I said while taking out the remaining goodies and drinks inside Tricia’s backpack.

Oh, what a day, I whined to myself. It started out right, but here we are in the middle of nowhere, hoping for our prince charming to save us, I thought. Will the good looking guy riding in a horse be my prince charming? I wondered, dreaming it would come true. Foolish me, you’re nuts Shaina, I told myself.

Tricia suddenly broke her silence and said, “I guess you’re right.” She then took my cellphone and tried calling her grandma. Unfortunately, the signal was still at a low level; besides, the battery was almost empty.

It was already quarter past nine; I gave them the pastries and water because I knew we were all starving by that time. Nathan already had his bonfire ready; then he positioned himself between me and Tricia. Sad to say, his first visit to Hancock was really a mess; or should I say, an adventure?

**********

Kidnapping, rape, murders, and now missing persons? This thought seemed to be a nightmare for Grandma Meryll. Her coffee was already warm, and she forgot she hadn’t even eaten her dinner yet.

It was already ten o’clock in the evening and still no word from Tricia. Her heart was beating faster, and she didn’t know what to do. She jumped out from her seat when the phone rang. It must be Tricia, she thought.

“Hello, Stevenson’s residence,” she said, trying to sound as calm as she could.

Then a woman’s soft voice answered her, “Sorry to bother you, Mrs. Stevenson. This is Shaina’s mom, Mrs. Parker. Are the kids home now? I’d like to speak with Shaina.”

“Oh thank goodness, Mrs. Parker. I haven’t heard a word from them. I’ve been worried something might have happened to them. I tried to call the police, but they said I needed to wait 24 hours before they could start the search-rescue operation,” she said continuously without even taking a single breath. She was sobbing and twisting the phone cords unconsciously.

Mrs. Parker butted in and said, “Hold on, Mrs. Stevenson. Just calm down; tell me exactly what happened today.”

Grandma took a deep breath and told her exactly what happened that day. Mrs. Parker got her complete address; then she told her she’ll be coming over as fast as she could. In the meantime, she instructed her to call the police station and report this incident again.

She stood holding the receiver, stunned. She hung up after she gave her address. Grandma thought, she was so calm, but obviously concerned about the kids from the tone of her voice.

She did what she asked her to do, except that I personally called Police Officer Marc Rockette. He was a family friend since she and her deceased husband lived there at Hancock Ville. He was the Chief of Police in their town. He might be able to help her, she thought.

“Hi Marc! This is Meryll,” she said in a low tone of voice. “I’m sorry to bother you, but you might be able to help me,” she added, almost sobbing over the phone.

Rockette seemed to notice through her voice that something’s wrong, but he tried not to say anything. “Hi Meryll, how are you? Is there anything I can do for you?” he asked, taking his pen and notepad, just in case he needed to scribble some notes.

“Marc, my granddaughter and her friends went to Hancock Hillside today. They were supposed to be home for dinner at 8 o’clock, but until now, I haven’t heard anything from them. I’m worried something bad might have happened,” she said continuously without even taking a single breath. “Oh please Marc, you’ve got to help me find the kids.”

“Okay Meryll, just calm down. I promise I’ll help you,” Rockette said while writing “granddaughter & friends, Hancock Hillside” in his notepad. “Don’t worry, I’ll do everything I can to help you find the kids,” he added.

“Oh, thank you so much. I don’t know what I’d do,” she answered, trying to relax; even at the back of her mind, early morning is still too long to wait.

“Just take some rest, and I’ll be there first thing tomorrow morning,” he said and hung up.

**********

A migraine headache woke Tricia at the ungodly hour of one o’clock early morning. She, Nathan and Shaina fell asleep after eating the last pastries they brought. Her back aches from leaning at the big tree while they were sleeping. She tried to stretch her body, arms and legs slowly; as she was trying not to disturb her friends.

“Psssttt,” Tricia heard a sound from behind their back. She looked around, but it was too dark to see anything.

“Psssttt,” it was the second time she heard it. She tapped Nathan’s shoulder while she shook Shaina's legs. “Did you hear that?” She asked in a whisper.

Nathan and I all of sudden woke up and sat straight, but still yawning from our sleep.

“Psssttt,” for the third time Tricia heard the sound. “Somebody’s here,” she said in a soft voice, moving closer next to Nathan and holding his right arms with both hands; while I squeeze in closer to his left and holding his arms, too.

“Hey, over here,” said a voice behind them. It sounded like a small high-pitched tone of voice that you wouldn’t recognize if it was a male or female.

“Who’s that?” Nathan said with a shrug. The three of us slowly stood up; at the same time, we were holding each other.

“It’s me, over here,” a strangely relaxed voice said.

All together, we made the sign of the cross. “Who’s that? Show yourself to us,” Nathan said nervously.

Oh God! Dear God, Please help us, I silently prayed to myself. This is somewhat similar to what I’ve seen on TV. He might be a kidnapper or a killer; perhaps, he may even be a rapist, I thought fearfully, holding tight to Nathan’s arms.

“Where are you?” Nathan asked in a loud voice, trying not to sound scared.

“Hey!” another voice yelled. “We’re over here!”

Out of the blue, a light flashed and then two human-like figures appeared in front of us. We were startled that we moved backwards, but fell on the ground. “Aaaaahhhhh!” It seemed like we cried at the top of our voice.

**********

Grandma Meryll screamed while shaking her head, and sat straight while catching her breath. She was having a bad dream about Tricia and her friends. She felt her whole body was perspiring; her knees felt weak and numbed.

She slowly stood up, shook her legs a little and went to the kitchen to get some water. She looked outside the window wondering what might have happened to them. She took a sip from her glass, wiped her lips with a napkin while thinking about her dream; it seems like her nightmare was so real.

In her dream, she saw a human-like figure at her left and three small trees at her right. She tried to touch the trees, but it was swallowed suddenly by the ground. Then the figure vanished. That’s when she woke up.

What does it mean? She thought. Is it someway related to the kids? She wanted to call Tricia’s mom, but she doesn’t want her to worry. So she decided to give her a call in the morning.

She went back to her room to get some sleep. She told herself she needed some rest. She closed her eyes and prayed that everything will be fine. She felt a drop of tear from her eyes.

**********

Ding-dong! Ding-dong! The doorbell rang. Grandma Meryll was walking fast from upstairs to open the door. “Who is it?” she asked.

“Mrs. Stevenson, this is Mrs. Parker, Shaina’s mom,”

She opened the door and gave her a hug. But Mrs. Parker immediately noticed her eye bags; she asked her, “Are you okay, Mrs. Stevenson?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just had a hard time sleeping last night,” she answered. She wanted to tell her about her dream, but she decided to keep it to herself. “Oh, come ‘n Mrs. Parker. Would you like to have a cup of coffee?” she asked.

“Thank you, but I’m good; just call me Sharnette.”

“That’s a nice name, Sharnette; and you can call me Meryll,” she replied. “Well, I guess we better get goin’,” she said, grabbing her bag and keys on the countertop. “I was able to talk to our Chief of Police, and he said that they’ll go straight at the park,” she continued to say, while walking along with Mrs. Parker towards the garage.

“That’s good to know. Is it okay with you if we use my car?” Mrs. Parker asked.

“Sure, no problem,” she answered. “Oh by the way, so sorry for what happened to the kids. I really have no idea why they weren’t able to make it last night,” she added.

Mrs. Parker was trying to console her by tapping her right shoulders and said, “It’s not your fault Mrs. Stevenson, oh Meryll. This is not their first time they went for a hike. I’m sure we’ll find them.”

Then they hopped inside Mrs. Parker’s red Toyota Tundra and proceeded straight to Hancock Hillside. When they arrived, the police were there with their K9 dogs scattered all over the park entrance; actually, it was still closed to the public since it was only 6:00 in the morning. But they saw the park ranger in-charge who opened the gate for them. They looked for Chief of Police Marc Rockette; they saw him at a distance giving instructions to his team. As they approached him, Rockette waved at them. They noticed a group of civilians with their nametags as volunteers.

“Hi Meryll! Good you’re here,” Rockette said. “We’re going to start our search and rescue operation, but we need something to identify them. Have you brought any of their shirt, shorts, pants, anything?” he asked.

“Yeah, I brought some shirts they left at home and a picture of Tricia. But I don’t have any photos of her friends,” Grandma Meryll replied.

Rockette noticed that her hands were shaking. He pretended to ignore it; instead he hold it and told her, “Meryll, everything’s gonna be fine.”

“Oh, I have a picture of the three of them,” Mrs. Parker butted in, while looking for the photo inside her bag.

“This is Mrs. Sharnette Parker, Shaina’s mom,” Grandma Meryll introduced her to Rockette.

Marc Rockette is in his early sixties; he’s 6 feet tall with slim figure and broad shoulders. But his white hair with few strands of black made him looked older. He extended a handshake to Mrs. Parker as she handed him the photo she got from Shaina’s album. He noticed the dimple at her right cheek when she smiled at him. He thought, she might be in her mid-fifties but looked pretty with her brunette hair and younger for her age with fitted long sleeves shirt, printed scarf and tight fitting jeans she’s wearing. “Thank’s for this photo,” he said with a smile.

“It’s okay; hope that helps,” she answered as she smiled back at him.

“We better get goin’,” Rockette said. Then he turned to his team and gave his final instruction, “Okay guys, we’ll now start our search and rescue operation. Remember, we are looking for two females and one male. This is their photo, take a good look at it,” he said in a loud, handing the photo to the police officer in front of him.

Rockette then gave the shirts to three of his men to use for their K9 partners as they conduct their search operation. K9 dogs have a good sense of smell as they sniff around for missing person or objects.

“Let’s go men!” Rockette gave them his go signal.

After almost an hour of search, one of their groups found three backpacks, cans of soda and pastry bags at the middle of the hillside. They continued searching until the sun set that day, but there was no sight, neither did they found any clue on the missing person’s whereabouts.

Mrs. Parker left the town with a heavy heart; although, Rockette promised to them that they’ll continue their search until they’ll an answer. But Grandma Meryll was so worried that her nightmares kept coming back.

Days, weeks, months have passed, but there was still no sign of Tricia, Nathan and Shaina. It became the news of their town – Will the mystery of three missing persons at Hancock Hillside be solved?

**********

[to be continued . . . :-D ]

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 18.03.2011

Alle Rechte vorbehalten