Willow Creek Park

"Dennis, what are we doing? Let's go home. Now," Charlie hissed in my ear. He trembled beside me, fearful as we walked through the woods. The clear night wind was glacial. I, too, shuddered from the cold, but continued to walk. Truth be told, we should've grabbed larger jackets, since we'd be out here for a while. Hopefully, this chilly air cleared up as the night went on.

We'd been walking for some time, Charlie trying to convince me to turn back, but never leaving himself. The forest along the edge of my backyard was lush and overgrown with trees and bushes. There were walking paths from back when the neighborhood was nice, but had since been flushed out by weeds and Mother Nature's wrath.

And of course, children.

For years, as the town fell apart, the more broke kids in my area made clubhouses and huts out of scrap wood, metal, and other trash we found on the streets and in the woods. Eventually, it became its own kind of neighborhood within the neighborhood. The deeper you go into the forest, the more you can find. Only about a few minutes walk North was our spot.

“Please, Dennis. I’m begging you. Let’s go back,” Charlie continued. I waved him off as I heard some shuffling in the distance. Charlie tried to cling to my satchel, but I weaseled him off. “Dennis, they're all crazy–”

"They aren't crazy."

"No? They invited us to a ceremony in the middle of the woods."

"It's mostly just burning school papers at the end of summer. This is really important to Lucia; we can't miss out on this."

"No, you can't miss out on this. I get a bad feeling about her."

"Will you knock it off? We can trust Lucia."

"Can we? Dennis, I think she's working with the other side," Charlie grabbed my bag strap and looked me dead in the eyes. His baby blues shining in the moonlight, full of fear. He whispered, "Dennis. What if she's working for The Clawed?"

I shoved him off. "Lucia is not working for The Clawed. They've gone Oriental and moved on. Let's go, Charlie, we're gonna be late," I said, and kept moving. Charlie groaned with some fear and followed along.

"Lucia, Lucia, Lucia," teased Charlie, "Gosh, aren't you just in love with her?"

I shot him a nasty glare. But Charlie batted his long lashes at me, bright blue eyes still trying to convince me. I shook my head at him and kept walking.

We eventually made it to the center hub in a clearing on the west side of the forest. A small fire was very slowly being built in the middle by kids wearing masks made of bark and foliage.

Charlie and I slowly made our way around the outskirts of the large gathering of children, who chatted quietly and excitedly. They watched the masked others create the flame. They held binders, folders, entire backpacks, and even school-issued textbooks. I gave polite nods or quiet "Hello's" while scanning the crowd for Lucia.

Eventually, I found her more towards the back. Her amber hair was tied in a fluffy messy bun. Her hair glistened in the firelight and she smiled when she saw me and Charlie.

"Hey! So glad you could come!" she exclaimed.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," I said with a big grin. Charlie looked a bit afraid. Lucia was in eighth grade, and Charlie was still a lowly sixth grader and found resistance in being around her. Though we'd all been friends for a while, he was hesitant to be near her.

"Did you bring stuff?" She asked me, pointing to my satchel.

"Of course," I said. I opened my bag and took out a large stack of papers. "I have Mrs. Whitten's history class and Mr. Clark's English." Lucia's jaw dropped.

"You kept all of this?" she asked.

"I didn't feel like throwing it away; it sat in my dresser for most of the year," I explained.

She smirked and nodded, "Impressive. What about you, Charlie?"

Charlie gave me a worried glance, then looked at Lucia and simply shook his head.

"Well, no worries. It's your first year, you probably didn't have a lot of papers anyway." She said, giving him a small pat on the shoulder. Charlie looked absolutely terrified at her touch, but Lucia didn't seem to notice. Soon after, a trumpet was heard, playing a merry tune, and Lucia reared her head.

"I have to go, see you guys!" And she sprinted off into the night.

Charlie and I congregated on the west side of the fire with the rest of the seventh and sixth graders, watching as the eighth graders lined up on the other side. Stacks of palettes were placed a few feet behind the fire, making a stage, and a small girl got atop it, facing us.

She wore one of the bark masks decorated with leaves. Hers was much more special, and looked as though it had scales made of pinecones, and pine needles sticking out like spikes. She bequeathed a long, quilted cloak made of dark mixed fabrics, which I can only assume were scraps from around the neighborhood.

The bystanders whispered excitedly until the cloaked girl lifted her hands and silenced us all.

"Good evening, those of Willow Creek Junior High," said the masked girl, looking out to all of us, "I, Claudia Hemmings, am excited to have you all here tonight. I see the faces of young and old visiting as we honor this year's eighth graders, and indoctrinate them into Willow Creek High. We've practiced this time-honored tradition for the last five years, and since that first faithful ceremony in 1982, we see how important it is for our eighth graders to be given the proper send-off into high school."

Two smaller masked figures shuffled onto the palettes and rolled out a large banner, reading 'PRAISE JACOB HANDSLEY' and showed it to the attentive audience. Claudia continued, "Jacob Handsley, born in 1969, was the youngest of six children of the Handsley household. As he grew up, he watched all five of his older siblings promote out of Junior High, with little class and recognition. He was the last to reach middle school, and even just being at Willow Creek for a year, he knew graduating needed a more extravagant celebration.

"He began developing his ideas right here in Willow Park, the ever-growing community it was at the time. He laid his plans out clearly and gave deliberate instructions to carry out the same traditions every year. Tonight, we honor them."

The banner was laid neatly in front of her, "We'll start with the Burning of the Papers."

Slowly, we all lined up at different points of the fire. We threw our papers, binders, books, and folders into the crackling embers to be torched into nothingness. I chucked my stack of history and english papers into the flames and watched as it instantly went up in a crisp smoke. The kid next to me threw a single study guide in, and gave the fire the finger before huffing back to the crowd.

When all was said and done, the crowd met again, now taking seats in the grass patch about ten feet away from the fire. The participating eighth graders were all lined up in front of the palettes, facing the fire. Claudia spoke again, "We will now honor our graduates."

One by one, the incoming freshman stepped onto the palettes, and were honored by a chosen quote, they then threw a paper or photo that brought haunting memories into the fire, and were given a bark mask.

"Lucia Marie Evans," read the cloaked girl as Lucia stepped onstage, "Her bowing out quote for the end of eighth grade is: 'Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.' -Ferris Bueller." Charlie and I chuckled. We'd gone to see that movie with her, and she loved it.

The masked girl placed Lucia's own new bark mask on her. It was made of dried flowers and moss, and in a wavy pattern. Lucia threw a copy of Lord of the Flies into the fire. She told me how much she hated reading it in her English class. She smiled brightly as it was thrown in, and afterward, gave me a little wave. I slyly waved back. Charlie quietly groaned beside me, "Oh, brother." I elbowed him in the arm, much to his dismay.

The ceremony continued on with about fifteen eighth graders, until eventually, all were masked and ready to have a great summer before high school. They came to the front of the palettes and took a large bow, as the rest of us applauded the new chapter in their lives. Claudia came to the front again.

"Thank you all for coming! It's about nine o'clock now, but we'll be here all night with music and-"

Suddenly, a loud bang was heard from the east side of the woods where we'd come in from. Without warning, a large gust of wind came through and blew out the fire. We were left in darkness and gasps from the crowd. A few dark figures came out of the clearing entrance slowly.

Single torch was lit, and revealed a crowd of kids in white gowns and animal bone masks. In the middle, holding the torch, was a girl, who looked like their leader. She wore a longer white gown that dragged on the floor, covered in dirt, with deer antlers as a headpiece. She had a necklace, with a single large claw.

“Is that The Clawed?” whispered Charlie. He was holding onto my arm tightly.

It looked like it, from all the stories I’d been told, they fit the description. For a long time, kids in the neighborhood had talked of the group of kids who lost their minds on the east side of the woods. Years back, a few kids went crazy and made a camp in the forest, and started recruiting others to ‘be free’. Then, recently, they started having raids on other people's clubhouses. We all thought of them as a myth until a few months ago, when The Clawed decided to raid the older kids’ hideout, Fort Willow. They, being somewhat the commanders of Willow Park, decided to build a wall on the east side of the woods to keep them out. At least, that's what we heard around the neighborhood.

“We gotta get out of here,” I whispered back, looking for some kind of escape. The clearing entrance was being guarded by two white gowned members with bone spears. “We have to get Lucia, though.” I hissed to Charlie, who gave an afraid look, “What if she lured them here, Dennis? You know her sisters–” But he was cut off by the leader of The Clawed, who spoke loudly to us all.

“Children!” She threw her arms up in the air, “I see you’re here having a celebration of education, run by monsters.” She turned to face Claudia, who breathed heavily, “Hello, Claudia.”

“Florence…” greeted Claudia, hesitantly.

“I notice your new batch of highschoolers is looking sparse. You’ve lost some supporters.” said Florence, holding her chin up high.

Claudia cleared her throat, “It’s been– A rough year.”

“I can testify to that.” Florence steamed, then looking out to us all, she roared with vigor, “Do you all realize what they did to us this spring?” She pointed a long finger at Claudia, shaking with fear. Florence’s eyes were wide and delirious. “They barricaded us into the forest. Overnight, a wall was built to keep us away from the freedom that is Willow Park," Florence decreed.

“We were defending ourselves!” said Claudia, taking a step forward.

“We have done nothing! Those raids you speak of, we are not responsible for them,” screamed Florence.

“How could we know that? Our headquarters were invaded after we gave you extensive warnings!” defended Claudia.

Florence heaved a great sigh. “I thought we were close enough, but obviously you don’t trust us,” she said. There was a glint in her eyes, but then she smiled fiercely. Charlie's nails dug into my arms, and he shook next to me.

“Luckily, we’re willing to make a compromise,” suggested Florence. A girl stepped forward; she didn’t wear a bone mask, but instead a veil that covered her head, and she took the torch from Florence, who continued, “I have a member who was found to be responsible for organizing the robbery on your land. She was found guilty, and all of her accomplices have been punished.” Claudia seemed to relax, until, “However,” said Florence, “I found she was connected to one of your own. And as payment for building the wall that encapsulated my people, I will require… a sacrifice.”

I heard gasps and screams from the crowd around me. People had huddled into fearful clumps as they watched the two leaders talk, but this was insane. We may do weird things out in the forest, but no one has been sacrificed.

Claudia was tense again as some of the other masked figures began to whisper around her, “Who?” she asked.

Florence smiled and looked at the veiled girl. “Why don’t you take off your veil?” the girl nodded, and handed the torch to another member. She stepped forward, towards the edge of the stage, and slowly unveiled herself. She had crimson red hair that looked as though it was on fire in the light of the torch, and a look of guilt.

“No…” whispered Charlie beside me.

“What?” I asked, but he remained silent.

“I believe there is a certain Lucia Evans here, hm?” said Florence, but she already knew the answer. On stage, heads turned to look at Lucia, masked and afraid. “Lucia, do you want to join your sister, Margot Evans?” asked Florence. Whispers and gasps came from the bystanders. I let out a soft, “No.”

Lucia gripped her chair in fear, as Claudia looked at her with confusion. Lucia stood up, took off her mask, and handed it to Claudia. “Miss Lucia here is guilty by association,” claimed Florence.

“No!” said Claudia, “You can’t make that assumption!”

“Oh, I can’t? It sure explains a lot.” said Florence, “Who has access to Fort Willow?” spat Florence, she gave Margot a small shove, “Who lives with this abomination? Lucia!”

“Lucia, is this true?” asked Claudia, panicking and grabbing Lucia by the arms.

“No!” I didn’t even hear myself say it. I was sitting upright on my knees, pointing at Florence. Charlie was tugging at my sleeve, silently begging me to shut up, “Lucia would never do that!”

“Sit down! This doesn’t concern you,” shot Florence. Charlie tugged me back to the floor. “What are you doing?” he whispered to me, but I didn’t respond, watching as Lucia panicked onstage.

“As head of my society, I sentence both of you to a permanent scarring due to your acts of treason.” declared Florence. Claudia scoffed, looking like she was going to make a stand, but then she looked at Lucia gingerly, “Is this true?” she asked.

Lucia hesitated, “I– I didn’t know what I was getting into! They asked me for supplies– and–” she tried to explain, tears rolling down her cheeks. Claudia held up a hand to silence her. She gave a large disappointed sigh. Then nodded to Florence.

“No!” screamed Lucia, as two members of The Clawed grabbed her arms, holding her in place, “No, please, I wasn’t trying to do anything! Margot!” she screamed.

Florence took a large iron rod, and placed the end of it in the torch, warming it up. Lucia screamed and begged for mercy, as her sister Margot sat in silence. In shame.

Everyone around me was in shock, no one said or did anything, and just watched as they took Margot’s arm, and placed the burning hot iron into her forearm. Lucia squealed and shrieked, pleading for them to listen and stop, but they placed the rod onto her, too.

Charlie sat silently beside me as we watched our friend get branded, forever a traitor. She screamed in pain, her sister in tears beside her.

The next day, Charlie and I knocked down our clubhouse on the northwest side of the forest. We let it collapse onto the ground after retrieving our most valuable possessions. We left the Ferris Bueller poster inside. It ripped on impact with the ground.

Charlie and I walked home, unsure of where we were going to hang out for the rest of the summer. We couldn’t go home; there was nothing to do. And the forest? It wasn’t an option anymore. We’d figure it out.

I stopped in my tracks as we neared the edge of the forest, to the neighborhood. I’d probably be riding my bike and eating popsicles now. Charlie turned around to look at me. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

I sighed deeply, “You were right.”

And we walked back into the neighborhood.