Will of Man - Part One (5 page)

It had to be kept our biggest secret. I don’t think I’ll have a problem keeping it a secret, because to tell you the truth, I think Dad’s gone a little off the deep end and I’m kind of embarrassed with the whole thing. So his secret’s safe with me.

Tyler’s Journal Entry: 136

Date: May 27

Day: Thursday

Weather: Hot and sunny

Training: Biked home from school today

The power went out at school today. The new policy at school is that students that live in town can go home after the powers been out for two hours. Students with permission slips from parents that live out of town can leave at that time also. Today’s blackout was a TB meaning a total blackout, which means anything using electricity was deemed useless. Some teachers had to use hour glasses filled with sand to tell time. Primitive, but it works. Some have their own wind up clocks.

Anyways, as part of Dad’s “APOCOLYPSE” plan, he asked some people in town if we could leave a couple bikes at their house for Tanner and me to ride home if ever we’re stuck in town.

So I was able to leave after the two hours with my brother. We had a good time riding the six miles home. We joked around and were able to have a little bonding time.

We rode by the old Montgomery farm and I remembered the story kids would tell of it. I’ll do my best to tell the story. It kind of freaks me out whenever I go by this house. So here’s the story:

THE MONTGOMERY FARM

Once a long time ago in the year 1956 in the small town of Laingsburg lived two brothers named David and Mathew. They fought all the time. They fought over anything. They fought over who got more cereal for breakfast, who was faster on their bike, even who could eat the most pancakes.

              One day they were arguing who could jump the highest while plugging their nose and holding one ankle. "I jumped at least 2 feet high!" said David.

              "Then I'll jump three!" proclaimed Mathew.

              David looked across the field behind their house and saw the old abandoned Montgomery farm. It was a huge old farm house built in the late 1800’s, a large gray barn, and one tall silo.

              "I know," said David. "We can see who's the bravest!"

              "How we going to do that?" said Mathew.

              David said, "We're going to sneak into that abandoned farm at midnight. We'll take turns. "Sounds like a dare to me," said Mathew. "I'll do it!"

              People say this true because David and Mathew had a little sister named Amy who saw and heard it all. It was the old days when siblings shared rooms together. She’s claimed to tell the same story over and over through the years before they moved far away.

              So midnight came. David and Mathew and Amy pretended to be asleep in their room. Once their parent's went to sleep, David headed out his bedroom equipped with only a flash light. He would prove himself the bravest that night.

              That night the moon was full, the leaves on the ground danced with the wind, and the trees creaked from side to side.

              David sorted his way to the old Montgomery farm. He climbed over fences, he stumbled through the corn field, and he jumped the flowing creek. When he reached the farm, he saw a great big silo. It was the closest structure to him, so he went inside.

              “They must have kept corn here,” David said to himself.

              On the top of the silo was a huge cap with a big M mounted on it. “That must have stood for the Montgomery’s. The people who owned this farm before it was abandoned. I’ll take that big M back with me and prove I was here. No one will miss it.”David said.

              David climbed and climbed till he reached the top. He pried the big M off and tucked it in his jacket. Suddenly he heard a terrible sound. Thump! Thump! Thump!

              “What could that be???”

              A ferocious wind picked up and the silo began to shake violently. The thumping got louder and louder. David covered his ears and squeezed his eyes shut. His heart pounded harder with each thump.

              Then all went silent and calm…

              David heard a low, crumbly voice: “Montgomery’s my name, and this is my farm. Steal from me and I’ll cut off your arm!”

              With the M tucked in his shirt, David jumped out of the corn and ran from the silo. He jumped over the flowing creek, sorted his way back through the corn field, and leaped over the fence. He sprinted back to his bedroom as fast as he could go.

              When David reached his bedroom window, there was Mathew and Amy waiting for him.

              “You won’t believe what just happened!” said David.

              Mathew and Amy listened to David’s story in disbelief. “You’re just trying to scare me,” Mathew said. “You want to prove yourself the bravest. Well I’m going tomorrow night!”

              The next night the moon shined bright again. This time Mathew climbed from his bedroom window while David slept. Amy saw him leave and asked him not to. He went anyways.

              The leaves on the ground once again were dancing with the wind and the trees creaked from side to side. Mathew sorted his way to the old farm. He climbed over fences, he stumbled through the corn field, and he jumped the flowing creek. When he reached the farm he saw the silo David went into the night before.

              “No ghosts,” Mathew mumbled. He was a bit nervous from David’s story, but shrugged it off and entered the abandoned barn. It was old and dusty and littered with spider webs.

Moonlight shined through cracks in the walls and ceiling. Shadows danced around outside from trees blowing in the wind. Every timber echoed a haunting creek with every gust of wind.

              He saw a horse shoe hanging on the wall and grabbed it. It had the letter M for Montgomery stamp in the metal. He shoved it in his back pack and began to make his way towards a door. Just then a ferocious wind blew and the barn began to shake violently. THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! The thumping got louder with each one.

              Then all went silent and eerily calm.

              David heard a low grumbley voice: “Montgomery’s my name and this is my farm. Steel from me and I’ll cut off your arm!”

              It was something big and it was coming his way!

              The thing was very angry about the M David had taken. Mathew hid under some straw in one of the cattle pens.

              The thing began to open doors around the barn. It looked inside the cracked and broken windows. It sifted through the cattle pens.

              Grasping the horseshoe in his hand, Mathew jumped out of the straw and ran to the door. He jumped the flowing creek, stumbled through the corn field, and leaped over the fences till he found his way back into his bedroom.

              Mathew told David and Amy all that happened. “I told you!” David said while holding a blanket over his head. “I’m never going back there again!”

              Mathew shoved the stolen horseshoe deep in his closet. “Me either.”

              The next day David went to school and Mathew stayed home. Mathew was too tired from his scary adventure the night before.

              When David returned home he ran to Mathew and said, “Mathew I had a horrible day. Every time I saw the letter M my arm started hurting and it wouldn’t stop. I got sent to the office for refusing to work and I missed recess!”

              “Me too! Every time I saw anything that looked like a horseshoe my arm started hurting and it wouldn’t stop! “

              Mathew looked out the window. He saw the Montgomery farm. “We need to return what we took.”

              So David and Mathew waited till midnight. Both boys were very scared, but they knew what they had to do.

              Mathew being the oldest and worried about his little brother, volunteered to take the stolen items back. So that night he headed back to Montgomery farm.

              David and Amy stayed back and waited impatiently for their big brother. They waited a long time, but Mathew never returned. David sat back on his bed and stared up at the ceiling of his room when suddenly he heard a soft knock on his bedroom window. He excitedly jumped to his feet and opened the window only to find a young boy near his own age.

              They boy was dressed in old clothes similar to those worn in the late 1800’s. The boy said he was a friend of Mathew’s and that Mathew needed David to come to the farm right away. David asked why and the boy said he didn’t have time to explain and that Mathew needed him right away.

              Most people would have been suspicious of the young boy but the boy had a way of speaking that made David trust him. It was like he put a spell on David and David could not resist.

              The story goes that David left with boy never to return. Never to be seen again. There was a massive search for the boys that lasted weeks. However the boys were never found.

              Years later the boy’s sister Amy went to the old Montgomery Farm with her husband. They went there to plant some flowers in remembrance of her missing brothers. It is rumored that she found a picture in the farm house and in the picture was a young boy. To her horror, the boy in the picture was the same boy who came to the window that eerie night and took David.

That boy died on that farm decades before David and Mathew disappeared. In the background of the photo were two scarecrows. Each scarecrow had a remarkable resemblance to Mathew and David. Each had a missing arm.

              Today, you can see the big M placed back on the silo and rumor has it, there’s a horseshoe hanging in the barn with a big M stamped in it. Some people say they glow when the Moon is full. Some have claimed to see blood seep from them. And some have even claimed to hear the voice of the Montgomery ghost warding people away.

THE END

So that’s the Montgomery Farm story. I hoped you liked it.

Now let’s continue with my crazy day.

Dad’s plan is to ride his bike home from his work which is nearly fourteen miles. My dad’s in good shape and can ride that distance with his eyes closed. However, he can’t leave his classroom till his principal gives the ok.

Some days he may have to stay overnight if it’s his turn to stay and watch the remaining kids that haven’t been picked up or released to walk home.

However, Mom works forty miles away and is not in good enough shape to ride that far (she hates to exercise). The plan for Mom is to stay with a friend of hers that lives close to work.

I feel bad because I totally forgot to say goodbye to Hailey before I left. I was in a rush to get my brother and get out of there before the school decided to keep us longer. I hope she understands. I will make it up to her the next time I see her. I already miss her.

When Tanner and I got home, we had to go over Dad’s to-do-list for when the power goes out. We had to turn the water off, lock the doors and stay inside (although it was hot and we took our chances outside), make sure the pole barn is secure and locked, pull the shades throughout the house, fill the kerosene lamps and set them on the back porch in case we need them for night, fill jugs with water from the pool and set near the toilets so we can flush them, get the candles out and set on table, set out blankets and pillows in basement so we can sleep there (it’s cooler down there at night during the summer), and some other things I won’t bore you with.

It must have been Dad’s turn to stay with the kids at his school because he didn’t come home. The power stayed off all day and is still off. I thought it was cool at first having no parents around. But now I’m a little worried about them and a little scared being home alone with just Tanner.

The clouds are darkening outside and the wind is picking up. I think a storm is coming. Dad won’t be able to make it home even if he does get released early. However it is Dad and I can see him riding through the storm anyways.

I double checked the doors to make sure they are locked. Tanner and I have been killing time playing Stratego and Monopoly. I hope Dad gets home tonight and that Mom and Dad are alright. It will be hard to sleep tonight. I hope the power comes back on soon.

Tyler’s Journal Entry: 137

Date: May 28

Day: Friday Morning

Weather: Hot and sunny

Training: None

Holy Crap! What a night! The dark clouds turned into a funnel and then the funnel turned into a tornado!

This is how it went; Tanner and I had settled in for the night down in the basement. We had a candle lit and were finally able to fall asleep. I made sure the radio was plugged in and the volume cranked all the way up so it would wake us if the electricity came back on.

Anyways, sometime in the middle of the night we were awakened by Molly (our dog) barking and whining. There was nothing going on that we could tell. It was eerily silent, which made it even creepier.

Then slowly like a train coming from far off in the distance you could hear the wind pick up. Lightning lit the outside and became stronger along with the wind.