Category : Stories

Sub Category : Suspense/Mystery

The river ran for about a mile near town, the water pure and clear. Billy looked down towards the rushing water and looked back up to the other boys. It was deep and the width of the river was about the length of three adults. "So what do you think Billy?" The leader of the group Evan asked lightly, "It isn't so bad is it?" He smirked. "I don't know how I feel about this Evan" he looked at the boy and then the other two. "Well what are you going to do then? It was a dare after all you have to do it!" Evan pushed. "Yeah a dares a dare!"exclaimed Tom the more excited fellow behind his big brother. "If you back out everyone is going to know you are a chicken! Chicken!" He laughed gleefully. 
As to make matters worse the water splashed and soaked Billy's trousers. "He doesn't have to do it, if he doesn't want to guys." The last boy a lanky one blurted from the back. "You cannot force him to do it" he said standing firmly on a stone close to an old oak tree that was now a mere skeleton of what it used to be. "Butt out will you Garraty?! This has nothing to do with you. Like I said before a dare is a dare!" He turned back and flicked Garraty on the chest. 

Billy backed away from the river fixed his glasses on his face and walked over to the tree. "I...I don't think I can do it!" He said stammering. "It's to wide and deep I won't make it across" he pointed at the river which looked only deeper and wider than before. "You can use the tree braches to get across" Evan pointed up to the old tree. "I'm sure that it's strong enough to hold onto and jumped from". "Evan let it go man he isn't going to jump across. There is no point in you pushing it". Garraty walked over to Billy who was now pressing his trousers to get off excess water. "I guess you can go; we are not going to force you to do anything." He smiled at the younger boy.  "Thanks Garr, but are you sure?" "Chicken!Chicken! Yelled out Tom now running around the base of the tree. "Billy is a chicken! Hahaha!".

Evan looked to the river then back to the boys "Sigh... I guess it can't be helped? Can it? You are not cut out to be one of us then". He stuffed his hands in his pockets and kicked some rocks towards the water. "Guys let's get out of here" he ushered the two other boys to follow him back into town. Billy sat by the tree and watched as their silhouettes disappeared between the houses. 

Two days had gone by and Billy didn't see the boys. He started to wonder if they had truly ditched him. So he went around town asking if anyone saw them. Most people looked at him in confusion. As a last attempt he decided to visit Grandma Lucinda to see if she had seen any of the boys. "Hello is anyone home?" He knocked on her door. "Hello!". He had just about turned around to walk away when an elderly woman in her night gown appeared at the door. "Can I help you boy?" She looked at him through thick round spectacles with beady black eyes. "Um... Yes I was wondering if you had seen Evan,Tom and Garraty?" She stopped finicking with her glasses as soon as she heard the names. "What are you trying to get at boy?" He looked puzzled. "What do you mean?" Billy gazed at her just as confused.  The old woman sighed heavily and with her skeletal looking index finger pointed at the tree. "It happened about seven years ago at that spot." She hesitated.  "Evan and his brother Tom were fooling around playing by the tree. That's when it happened I guess". She paused momentarily. "They were playing a game of dare with other boys your age and they were told to cross the river using the tree." Billy didn't moved a single inch as he listened to her words intently. "They jumped one after the other, the older brother made it across but the younger sibling did not and fell into the water. So the older boy decided to jump in after him." A frown began to appear on her face. "They both drowned that day. And two years later the boy you called Garraty also tried to jump from the tree across the river and fell; hit his head on a rock and 
drowned". Shocked Billy tried to speak up. "But.. I was just with them a few days ago!" The old woman backed up towards her house. "The say the boys are still there and they lure other young boys into death".