The Maple Town Murders part 1. The discovery in the Forest (standard:horror, 3006 words) [1/3] show all parts
Author: Richard J Cobain	Updated: Jun 02 2003	Views/Reads: 3621/2498	Part vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
George Peterson is drawn to a part of the forest one day that he has never seen before. Little does he know the horrible secrets it holds.

THE MAPLE TOWN MURDERS 

PART ONE - THE DISCOVERY IN THE FOREST 

George Peterson was a quiet and highly intelligent young boy.  He lived
with his father Jack in a small country town called Maple Town with a 
population of about two and a half thousand people.  It was the kind of 
place where everyone knew everyone and you could leave your front door 
unlocked.  His mother used to live with them until recently but one 
night she left without even saying goodbye.  The strange thing was that 
she took none of her personal possessions with her, not money, clothes 
or anything.  That was about six months ago now and talk about it was 
just starting to die down among the townsfolk.  George didn't ask his 
father too many questions about it because from experience (black eyes 
and a broken arm) he knew that his father had a very violent temper.  
He didn't blame her for leaving because although she used to deny it 
George knew that he wasn't the only one who felt the wrath of his 
father's rage when he was in one of his moods.  According to her she 
must have walked into about ten doors in the last year of her stay with 
them.  The only thing he did resent her for was not taking him with 
her.  That was something he couldn't forgive her for.  There was a 
large forest next to their house, which all the kids in Maple Town were 
strictly warned never to venture into, and George was no exception. 

George found his “special place” on the day of his twelfth birthday.  He
was looking forward to a party and presents but on the day his father 
was drunk.  When he asked where his presents were he was spat on.  
Needless to say there were no presents for him as Jack had spent the 
money on booze.  “I hate you” he screamed and with tears streaming down 
his face he ran out of the house in despair utterly determined never to 
return.  After a brief moment of indecision he entered the forest.  He 
ran deep into it deeper than he ever had before and he didn't care.  
Images started flashing by his mind, him and his father playing 
football, getting his arm broken when he spilled ink on his fathers 
papers, “George you're my only son and I love you” his father had said 
“but I will kill you if you tell anyone it was me”.  He had meant it 
too.  It was really beginning to get dark in there when he burst 
suddenly back into the sunlight and a massive clearing in the woods.  
He stopped dead in his tracks and gazed with awe at the sight before 
him. 

A huge castle lay before him, there were towers and brightly coloured
flags and he could even see people moving up there.  “What the?” he 
said to himself as he rubbed his eyes in disbelief.  When he looked 
again it was gone.  Ahead was a huge and perfectly circular clearing 
about a hundred meters in diameter and in the centre standing on its 
own was a solitary tree.  Something about that tree terrified him, it 
just wasn't right somehow.  The strange thing was that while the 
hundreds of other trees around were blooming in the spring sunshine, 
this tree had no leaves.  And no grass grew around it either.  He was 
probably the first person to see this place in hundreds of years, he 
was at least 2 and a half miles into the forest but it was common 
knowledge that this area was completely unexplored.  It would be 
visible from the air but this was Maple Town, George had never seen nor 
heard a plane go by in his life.  He stayed there for perhaps an hour 
and then walked home calmly completely forgetting his earlier 
intentions of never going home to his father again.  As he walked he 
wondered whether in fact he had actually been lead there by something.  
He tried to dismiss this thought as childish but somehow it wouldn't go 
away.  He visited that place as often as he could from then on and told 
no one about it. 

One dark and windy night some months later George couldn't get to sleep.
 After lying awake for what seemed like hours he decided to creep 
downstairs to get something to eat knowing full well that to wake his 
father at this time of night would be a very bad idea.  Jack was a 
terrible snorer and so when George listened at his door and heard 
nothing he found it strange.  He opened the door quietly and peered 
into the darkness of his father's room, it was empty.  He looked at his 
watch, it was 2.52 am.  He should have gone to bed long ago thought 
George to himself as he started down the stairs.  He checked every room 
yet there was no trace of Jack.  He began to get worried now and forgot 
about his late night snack.  A lot of questions needed to be answered.  
Where was he? What was he doing? Had he left the house like this 
before?. George went back to his room, as there was nothing else to do. 


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